The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-26
DAVID STARR JORDAN ON POLITICS.
Evils of Present City Governments IL
Iustrated in Il Lecture.
San Francisco Chronicle.
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! San Francisco Chronicle
1.-THE Management of Cities was the sub
| 1ect of the lecture delivered in Metropolitan
| Hall last evening by Dr. David Starr Jor-
| dan president of Stanford University. 1t
was the first of the new series of free lee
| lures under the direction of the Young
| Mems Institute Lecture Bureau. Dr. DOR
dan was greeted with the most hearty APP
plause.
THE business of the government of the
| city said the lecturer, should be to make
| IT convenient and safe TO move about from
| place to place within the municipal limits,
and TO make il healthful; all at reasonable
| cost. These three things include about all
| the main objects Of municipal government.
! The first great trouble with city govern
ment in America is its extravaganza l
am satisfied that the government of this
city could be managed at much less cost
| by private corporation, though, OF course,
L do not advocate that sort of change. l
am informed that the cost of the govern
ment of San Francisco has increased 30 per
cent. in seven years though during that
period there has been decline in salaries
IN general business, and no great increase
in population or municipal expenses of
legitimate sort. | know that many men
grow rich out of the government of Ameri-
can cities. A great deal of soap IS re-
CURED and the people have TO pay for it.
Another great trouble with the govern
ment of our American cities is its ineff-
cheney; Many foreign cities compare very
favorably with ours in this respect. They
are kept Clean the sidewalks are free from
dry goods boxes and other distractions. and
the highways are well paved. The streets
of San Francisco are certainly nothing to
be proud of. There is no reason why any
well-governed city should have any slums,
or such quarter as your Chinatown. a
city in which all the people take Il proper
share in the government is sure to be fairly
well governed. Such city would be an
object lesson, in it's clean streets and the
general economy and efficiency in the adj
m1nlstration of its affairs The American
people, as a whole, are well fitted for gov
eminent. The amount OF executive ability
is greater here than in any other country
] think San Francisco, in particular, is
more remarkable for the energy and force
of its business men than any other place
know, when once they are aroused to action
THE greatest problem in American gov
eminent, perhaps, is not the government of
cities, but of counties. / rejoice in the
county in which I live, but, In respect to
its government, 1t seems to me that the
name OF Santa Clara is a stencil. And 1t is
so with many other counties with which
am acquainted.
'One difficulty with our cities is the
shifting and cosmopolitan nature of their
population In the old world the population
Of cities is more fixed and permanent. 1t is
harder to create a healthful public opinion
in a. population that is shifting than in one
that is constant. We have many of the
oppressed of all nations, and it is hard for
us to assimilate them. Still another diff
ficulty is the American tendency to treat
everything as d joke. Our most serious
moral questions are apt to be looked on
from a humorous standpoint. An American
who is imposed upon is expected to take it
as a good joke, and he generally does.
We have in our general government at
'seesaw.' First one party gains the ascend
ency and then another. And this national
seesaW has the unfortunate effect of
carrying corresponding changes along with
it in municipal offices. This result could be
avoided, to a large extent, by separating
municipal elections from general elections.
THE movement for civil-service reform
was intended to prevent all sorts of people
from making what is called pressure for
appointments to office. No doubt an APP
pointing power, if left free to choose could
make better selections than could be had
through any system of examinations. But
the trouble is that those who have the pow
er to appoint are often obliged, for what
are called political reasons, to make APP
pointments of which they are ashamed
There are a large number Of evils con-
nected with corporations But the corpora
lions are largely forced into the corrup-
ltion they practice by the blackmail TO
which they are subjected. The corporations
will let you alone if you will let them alone.
The evils complained of could be done away
witt by removing the power to 'cinch' COR
porations.
II have thought it would be better to elect
a mayor with power to control all the mat
ters that are now left to number of other
officials, in such a way that you do not
know whom to hold TO responsibility Tor.
what is wrong. / have come to the conclu-
sion that the English system of city gov
eminent, by a numerous council, Under
system of proportional representation, is
more likely to be the ultimate solution of
the question. Such council choosing its
own executive officers, might give the best
results. 1t would be representative of the
people and not of political parties