The Portland daily press., 1897-05-13

In a letter from Capt. George W. Yer
rill on the city charter we find the follow
ing:
Examine Section A. 1t reads: "No
contract made by any department, COM
mission or board, or authorized by any
order, ordinance or resolution of the
board of aldermen in the construction Of
a new or in the structural change of any
building, or in any matter in which the
amount involved exceeds five hundred
dollars shall be in force unless and until
approved by the mayor. -
This deserves careful attention. Under
it the mayor could defeat almost any
meritorious measure involving a con-
tract, even if passed unanimously by the
board of aldermen. His consent must be
had by hook or crook or no school build
ing can be built or much changed. No
electric power or light station can be es-
tablished; no lighting of the city by cleo
tricity or gas, nor contract for lighting
by others can be made without his ap-
prevail No contract for purchasing paw
ing stones or brick, nor for large essen
tials in the fire department. But why
enumerate? A little reflection will con-
vince every thinking citizen that such
autocratic power should not be lodged in
any one man. 1t is u menace to our
rights and if granted will at some future
time rise up to plague us to our injury
Much better would it be to provide that the
mayor should be subject to impeachment
if he withheld his approval to contracts
duly ordered to be made by the board of
aldermen. One can conjecture how a
bad mayor might use this multiplying pow
er to his own advantage in many direc-
lions, and how to work some monopoly
schemes, and gain political ends.
The section that Capt. Verrill COM
nf I'd I,-+o
the city charter of Boston. We think
we can show that the dangers which
Capt. Verrill points out are largely imagi-
nary, while the advantages which he fails
to point out are of great value. At the
beginning of the year the board of alder
men passes an appropriation bill, con-
tanning SO much for streets, SO much for
school buildings, so much for fire depart
ment, etc., etc. This bill is subject to the
approval of the mayor, and becomes a
law if he signs it, or if he vetoes it, pro-
vided two thirds of the board pass it
law the money is apportioned to the sew
eral departments, and they proceed to
make their contracts for work. The
street commission contracts for q certain
amount of paving, the committee on
public buildings contracts for the repair
of old buildings or the construction
of new ones. Now this section simply
provides that all these contracts shall be
approved by the mayor before the city is
bound by them. 1t has been shown by
experience that there is apt to be great
looseness in the making of contracts.
The responsibility has been divided up
among committees and no person has felt
much. The result has been that many
contracts have escaped the scru-
tiny which they should have received,
and in consequence the city has made
many unfavorable trades The pu rpose
of this section is to put the responsibility
upon one person, who is continually in
the public eye, and to put it upon him
so directly that he cannot possibly evade
it. Now it is true that it is possible for
a mayor to use this power to defeat the
making of any contracts at all and hence
the carrying on of particular work. For
instance if the board of aldermen should
appropriate money for a school house,
the mayor might prevent the building of
it by refusing to approve contracts for
its construction. But what are the