The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-02
PROBLEM OF THE CITIES
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE TALKED OF
MODEL CHARTERS YESTERDAY.
Discussed What Is Best for City Gov
ernment-The Delegates Enter
tanned Last Night.

cussion of various phases of good city gov
errment a great deal of time being given
to the municipal programme, or model char
ter, submitted by the committee the day
before. The discussion of the day showed
that individual members have some ideas
at variance with the general scheme laid
down in the proposed charter. Horace e..
Deming, of New York, chairman of the
committee, arose to reply 20 such criticisms
as were offered. The adverse ideas were
rather in the nature Of friendly suggestions
than rabid controversies and lent consider
able spirit to the debate, especially in the
afternoon. The principal address Of the
forenoon was made by Mr.. Deming, whose
topic was: The Municipal Problem in the
United States" During the course of his
talk Mr.. Deming said:
Municipal government in the United
States Is, on the whole, less satisfactory
than our state or national government. II
has been confidently claimed by many that
the conspicuous failure of democracy as a
form OF government under the exactlnS con-
ditionS or our modern industrial civilization
is demonstrated by the American city. IN
several cities there have been elaborate in
vestigations and reports by specially APP
pointed state commissions upon the subject
of municipal government, and the evils have
been pictured again and again: Literary
thousands upon thousands of statutes and
not few constitutional amendments, nave
been enacted in the search for remedies.
Still the evil remains with US. is, then, the
search for a remedy hopeless? Does the
democratic-repubHcan form of government
make impossible the honest, efnclent eco
nomical, progressive conduct of municipal
affairs? In Great Britain and on the CONT
Dent Of Europe, under the widely varying
ayheHmS Of EngBBeH the
cities are the most conspicuous examples Oh
efficiency, economy and progress IN the
field of government. In each OF those cities,
for the determination of matters OF local
policy and the administration of local con-
Germs, is far more democratic, not only IN It's
conceptlon put IN actuaI praGIIlce, tnan ing
general government itself. The 1allure OF
municipal government in our own country,
therefore, can hardly be attributed to the
democratic character OF our institutions.
The two principal causes of the failure thus
far in the United States to secure efficient,
economical, progressive municipal govern
Il The municipality is not granted suffi-
cient power to determine for itself all mat
| tiers of local public policy and to settle for
itself the details of it's scheme of internal
local administration.
20. The municipality, as subordinate
| administrative agent of the state, is placed
partly or wholly under the supervision and
control, not of any state administrative de-
partment but of the State Legislature.
The cities have been governed from with
out, not from within; such governmental
powers as they may have are not exercised
by methods and agencies selected by their
own citizens, but according to the theories
of outsiders. They have not been Se!f-gOV-
erning communities free 20 apply their own
remedies to their own ills and taught by @X-
perience to work out an administration
adapted to their local neds.
LEGISLATIVE DESPOTTSM.
This process has been going on with ac-
celebrating speed for more than half a CEN
tury and is still going on before our eyes to-
day Both the process itself and the results
of it may be characterized as an attempt by
he 7 eli ftr 70 ha mn
ipal government. The legal position of the
city in relation to the Legislature has been
so helpless, it's dependence upon the Legis-
lature so absolute, and the need Of frequent
application to the Legislature as the real
source of power has been so continuously
urgent that not only does local Self-govern-
ment, either in the sense of the direct man
agement of its local affairs by the cities
own citizens without outside interference,
CT in the sense of the administration of its
local scheme of government scarcely exist
in the United States to-day, but there is
very little genuine local public spirit. This
constant resort to and interference by the
Legislature has grown to. seem. perfectly
natural, and as 1t were, inevitable In the
conduct Of municipal government. Except,
however, that our SenSeS have been dulled
invasion of our liberties would soon cease.
The remedy is plain. The city must cease
to be the abject slave Of legislative despot-
ism 1t must be made sufficient for itself.
1t must govern itself" Mr.. Deming laid
down these fundamental propositions:
Il. The municipal corporation should be
invested with the governmental powers
requisite to determine all questions of local
public policy. There should be no excuse,
and if possible, no opportunity to apply to
the Legislature for additional powers, and
on the other hand, the Legislature should
have no excuses. and, if possible, no oppor-
tunity to 1ntermeddle with the local govern
ment by granting taking away any pow
or to enable the city to decide for itself any
question of local public policy.
so. The citizens of the municipality, I'M
der general laws, should be free to make
and amend their own form Of municipal gov
eminent provided 1t is based upon demo-
cratic-republican principles, and to deter
mine their own methods Of admins tration
of the local governmental powers, accord
ing to their own ideas as to what will best
satisfy their local needs.
'3. In so far as the municipal corporation
is made the agent of the state to enforce
corporate limits, it should be under the su-
pervsion OF and responsible to central state
administrative departments, and not sub
ject to the sport of special legislation.
"A municipality thus constituted is not
an imperium in imperio, but a free, self-goV-
erning community. subject to state admin
istrative supervision as to all matters of
general state policy to be enforced through
out the state. Legislative interference is
eliminated. Home rule is not only possible,
ITO accomplish these results in their COM
pleteness and to guarantee their perma-
nence a constitutional amendment is very
friends of efficient, economical, progressive
municipal government should organize and
continue a vigorous and unwearying cam
paign until a constitutional amendment en-
bodying these fundamental principles shall
have been adopted. But without any con-
stitutional amendment many important re-
suits can be effected, and the efforts to ac-
complish them will not only aid the ulti-
mate adoption of the amendment, but will
help to create an alert and intelligent pub
lie opinion, which is a Surer safeguard OF
popular liberties than any written constltu-
ton. There is one needed grant OF power
to cities however, that can only be made
through a constitutional amendment. Our
present nomination and election methods in
city, State and Nation are the subject or
Just criticism. They have shown themselves
Inadequate to the requirements OF a demo-
cratic republic under the complex conditions
of modern Industrial civilization. The char
acteristics of that civilization, both for good
and Ill. are most marked in our cities, and
naturally in our largest cities most OF all.
Many thoughtful men are as firmly con-
WINGED that the present electoral methods
are as outgrown and have proved 10 be as
ill-suted to existing needs as the device or
an electoral college for the choice of a Pres
ident: some are strong advocates of minor
ity or proportional representation; many
others while not convinced that the rem
edies for the evils in our electoral methods
have yet been found, are no less convinced
of the existence of the evils, and all can
agree that the last word has not been said
on the proper solution of the grave Ques-
methods of nomination and election to pub
lie office in a democratic republic.
FINDING A REMEDY.
THAT some remedy will be found is GER
tain. To think otherwise would be to de-