Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-09
GOING no THE OTHER EXTREME

y
IF your toes are pinchcd by corns
would you allow the surgeon to cut of
your foot? This is precisely what some
of the charter revision Quacks proposy
to do for the relief of Omaha The
taxpayers demand rational retrench.
ment and more equitable distribution
of the burdens of taxation. They de
mand the abolition of sinecurcs and
taXeaters who render no service tu
the public. They demand better safe
guards against reckless expenditure OF
public funds and unreasonable
eXactons by franchiscd corpora
tons who supply the city with
light, water, telephone communication
and other necessary COnveniencos.
They demand such changes in the
charter as will simplify our municipal
machinery without impairing the
efficiency of the service But they do
not demand changes in the name OF
retrenchment and economy that win
throw the doors wide open to greater
abuses than those we are afflicted with.
In other words, they do not want to
jump from the frying pan into the
fire. 1t is proposed, for instance. thai
the new council shall consist of nine
ward councilmen, who shall re-
ccive 81 200 year each and devote their
whole time to the business of the city.
The saving in salaries thus effected
would amount to $1,000 Il year. That
seems very desirable, but what kind
of council would we get and would
it be an Improvement on what we now
have? Nine ward cOuncilmen would
be the creatures of nine ward caucuscs
packed by political ward hcelers,
The increase of S400 year in salary
would not be sufficient inducpment to
business men of ability and integrity
to enter the ceSspool of ward. politics
and drop out of business. No man of
good business ability could afford to
accept the job even if he had the re-
motest chance of being elected.
Nine tirst-claSs men who devote all
their time to the cityS business could
transact the business of the city more
efficiently than it is now done by
eighteen couneimen, but such men
would not serve for less than S1.S0O
to $500 year ana would have TO be
elected at large. Even then it would
be more desirable to make twelve or
thirteen the number so as To break up
the ward domination system, which has
prevented the choice of the best caudi-
Int Z In, I,. nj,
ing each ward delegation in convention
to name its men. Another serious OBJ
lection to the nine ward councilmen
scheme is the impetus it would give to
jObbery. 1t now takes ten members To
pass an ordinance or resolution that re-
quires the expenditure of money, and
ii takes twelve votes to carry any such
measure over the mayors veto. With
nine councilmen it would only take five
To pass IN ordinance and six could
override the mayors veto. Ii is easier
to colTuptly influence five or six men
than ten or twelve, a more sensible
change would be an increase of the
council from eighteen to twenty-five
members, nine from the wards and
sixteen elected ut large, ana make
two-thirds necessary to the enactment
of any ordinance. Instead of raising
the salaries from $500 to 81 300 reduce
them TO $500 n year. 1t will be more
ditiicult to tamper with seventeen
members than with ten or twelve. The
proposition to abolish the Board of
Public Works will meet public ap-
proval, but we doubt the wisdom of
substituting the mayor and president
of the council to act as two members OF
the board. Both of these officers would
have to pass upon their own acts, one
in legislative and the other in eXecu-
tive capacity 1t is proper that re-
sponsibility shall be concentrated in
the mayor, ana for that reason he
should be no part of the contracting
power. The propositions to do
away with the health officers
abolish sanitary inspection, build
ing inspection and boiler in
spection are altogether too sweeping.
Omaha cannot afford to retrograde into