People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-09-17
GOOD GOVERNMENT.
Experience is By a. the best
TeacherA
WHAT BRITISH CITIES FAVE DONE.
Greater New York Interested in the Expe-
rieDce of Other municipalities
An Amazing and Instructive
Contract.

Greater New York is about to organ
ize vast new municipal government.
In this as in other matters experience
is the best teacher-comparison and
contrast are the best object lessons.
The before the people of Greater New
Xc-k . - :S>terca>oG IL tn o4pc1 ii>z.co
and the achievements of the other
great municipalities of civilization.
The easiest source of this informa-
ton is DR.. Albert Shaw's two books on
the governments of European cities.
His assembly of facts excites the inter
est, the amazement aud the envy of
every American reader. The book de-
voted to British cities is especially in
teresting to US because the British peo-
pie have met and are meeting the same
problems that now disturb us, and have
solved and are solving them in ways
that are open to us.
Let us look at few of the facts about
the three chief British municipal or
ganizations-Gla Manchester and
Birmingham. Let us see how their
governments respond to Mr.. Bryce's
test of municipal government-''W What
does it provide for the people and what
does it cost the people ?'
II
Glasgow contains about $50, 900 PEG
Pile Mauchester's population is $780,
900, but it's municipal government d.
rectly benefits 100000. Birmingham
has about 440, 900 within it's corporate
limits. All these cities are newer than
any of the great American cities. All
have had their real growth in the last
twenty five years. All their plans for
good government began about the
time of the close of our civil war
exactly the period when New York and
the other American cities fell into the
hands of bosses and rings of corrup-
tionists.
They are governed by an electorate
that in no essential respect differs
from ours. The masses of the people
vote and have absolute power over
their public servants, the officials
They select municipal council that
administers the city's affairs by divid-
ing itself into executive committees,
one committee at the head of each de-
partment of the public service. These
councillors serve without pay and, al
though elections are frequent, changes
in the council from causes other than
death are paratively raIe.
In their municipal campaigns the
questions of national or other than
city politics are never discussed. Local
affairs only are issues. Party lines do
not exist. Nominations for Office can
be made and are made by petition
signed by ten names-a proposer of the
candidate, a seconder and eight others.
Yet there are few candidates, and even
few contests. An official who serves
the city well is practically never oppo'
sed for reelection.
| ALI this is the result of a single cause
the complete divorce of politics from
city affairs. "There ought to be nc
more sentiment about running q city
than there is about running dry goods
store" said Richard Croker in an inter
view in The World the other day. In
these cities this ought to be" is fact
and has been brought about by the
driving from municipal campaigns OF
such distinctions as Conservative anc
Liberal, the English parallel of Demo
crat and Republican, high-tariff mar
and the tariff reformer.
#
In these three cities, and in scores o.
smaller Eng ish cities, the chief source
of revenue is not by direct taxation o
the people, as it is in New York anc
Brooklyn The most of the expenses
of government are paid out of the in
come from public works-water, gas
electricity, street railways, sc.
The most of the municipal depart
ments are almost or quite self-support