The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-01-14
The New City Charter.
TO the Editor Of the Press:

The provision in the new charter
which, perhaps, has oooasioned most de-
bate is the one providing for sin gle
board of aldermen, Instead Of two boards,
as at present. Under our present sys-
tenn of government by committees, there
is plenty of work for councilmen to do.
There are now nineteen joint star ding
committees and two joint special COM
mittees, and to provide each committee
with membership of from three to six,
requires good sized number to draw
upon. But when the purely executive
duties shall have been placed wholly in
the hands of the mayor, and in the de-
partments subject to him, a great part
of the work of these com ittees will be
gone. Some committees may be done
away with entirely, others may, without
public inconvenience have their member
ship reduced, and, peing relieved from
performing executive duties, one alder
man may accept mem bership upon more
commit tees than he can now, without
thereby overtaxing his time. There are
now twenty-eight men In the board of
aldermen and common council who make
up these comm ittees. Under the new
plan there will be fourteen, and with
the changes contemplated in the charac-
ter of committee work, this number will
be ample to furnish sufficient member
ship to each necessary committee.
The primary object of two legislative
chambers is that each shall be check
upon the other. 10 be most efficient for
this purpose the chambers should be
chosen by different constituencies, as is
the case with the national Senate and
House OF Representatives. Our aldermen
and councilmen, being row chosen by
the same constitute ncieS, lack this i'm
portant characteristic, as the commits
bodios, to be q check upon each other,
should meet separately and act indepen-
IDENTIFY, but our city government now
.neets and acts, upon many important
matters, in joint convention. Measures
requiring concurrent action generally
pass both boards the same evening.
There is, therefore, no opportunity for a
public sentiment, which may have been
aroused by the passage Of measure
through one board, to exercise itself in
support OF, or in opposition to, the same
measure when it comes befole the other
board. Practically the only opportunity
such sentiment now has in making itself
felt is in urging the mayor to approve or
to veto the act in question, and that op-
portuDIty Is still open under the new
system.
1t is urged in favor of the common
council that it provides valuable Train
ing school for young men seeking parlia-
mentary experience or political advance
ment. This fact may lie used with, per-
haps, greater force against it, for public
interest does not require that young men
should receive sncn training, or that
places should be provided which are
simply stepping stones" to something
better. The question Is not what advan-
tage may result to those who serve in
the concnil, but what advantage does tho
city receive from their Sol vice.
A reason for favoring two boards in
some cities is that it is harder to buy
up two boards than it is to buy up one.
In the large Ci,1es it is notorious that
men who are subject to corrupt influences
are often elected to the board of alder
men, and second chamber with large
mem bership is advocated for those cities
in the belief that it will be so difficuis
for persons or corporations, desiring IA
vorable action. to purchase the votes OF
a majority of both boards, that one
chamber will serve az an efficient check
upon the corruption of the other. This
is one of the reasons which influences
the commission now at work drafting
plan for the government Of GTaeter New
York, to provide for a legislative branch
of two chambers instead of single
board as, the city of New York now has
But the city of Portland, fortunately. is
not Obliged to resort to this means OF
checkmatiug the corrupt action OF her
city Legislators. Municipal corruption of
the kind that is. or has been prevalent
in such cities as New York and Balti-
more. for instance, is absent here.
While there may he much In our city poll
tics that is capable of great improvement
and while the ideals which our aldermen
and councilmen strive for may not al
ways be the highest or tie most COM
m endable, it will be freely admitted by
anyone VINO has had any ccnsieerahl BILE
with the mem bsrs of our
city governments, that there rarely will