The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-12-25
FOR GREATER NEW YORK
DRAFT OF A CHARTER SUBMITTED
TO THE STATE COMMISSION.
How 1t Is Proposed to Govern the Big
City-Great Power Given
the Mayor.

NEW YORK, Dec. 24.-The draft of the
proposed charter of Greater New York as
submitted to the commission. will be pub
lished tomorrow. The legislative power is
to be vested in a Municipal Assembly to
consist OF two houses-a lower house of 104
members. elected from senatorial districts,
and upper house of thirty-seven MEM
bers, elected from council districts. All Of
the members of both houses are to be
elected for the term OF two years and all
are to retire at once. AS to everything con-
cerning the rights. privileges and liberties
of the citizens respecting municipal rule
the legislative department is to be sub
ject to no restraint. But in respect to pub
lie improvements the action of the Munich
pal Assembly is to be further subjected to
the concurrence OF the Board of Estimate
and the mayor IS to have power to appoint
all the administrative and executive officers
of the city except the controller who is
rendered elective by the people every four
years, that the treasury and finances
will constantly be in the hands of an in
dependent department. The mayor is to
have supervisory control over the various
departments, and enlarged veto power
on the acts of the Municipal Assembly. His
patronage and his power are so great that
he will in these particulars be a dignitary,
second only in importance to the Governor
of the State or the President of the United
States. The mayor Is to be given absolute
power to relieve. at will, every administra-
tive officer. irrespective of the prescribed
terms Of office. during the first six months
of his administration. After that he can
remove only on charges, with the approval
of the Governor.
Where the powers of the administrative
department are largely discretionary, it is
proposed to have the departments presided
sioners. Where they are executive merely.
but one commissioner has been provided
for. By far the largest ana most important
board is to be the Board of Public Improve
ments. consisting of the heads of six newly
created departments-the department of
street cleaning. of public buildings. light
bridges This is the St Louis system. The
police department will have four commits
reau of Elections. The charities depart
ment and the park department will be pre-
The law department, the fire department
and the department of correction will have
single heads. The building department may
Greater New York is to be divided into
five Observation-Disclosures. the Bronx, the
Brooklyn, the Queens and Richmond-and
granted TO the boroughs. There are to be
five commissioners OF taxes and assessment
instead OF three. as at present. and sys-
tenn for the equalization of the varying con-
ditions in the consolidated territory has
been devised.
In the matter of education. the committee
adopted a plan which centralizes in a Board
of Education, representing the whole city.
the physical conduct of the schools and
which devolves on school boards appointed
by the mayor in every borough the educa-
tional conduct of the schools.
The committee concluded not to deal with
municipal ownership. but says: From an
original and ideal standpoint il Is easy to
see that the city would become the recipient
of vast revenues by the ownership and
operation of all franchises for lighting by
gas electricity and for tramways and
other purposes necessary to the life and
business of metropolitan community and
exercised so largely by a use of the streets
and avenues belonging TO the people. Nor
could any one well deny the right and
power of the people to embark i'm such
enterprises. In Greater New York, how
ever private capital. upon the faith of the
State. embarked largely in such franchises
II would take sum too vast to be hastily
computed TO acquire the properties thus
vested in private persons by fair compensa-