The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-02-03
RALPH EASLEY BUSY.
The Breezy Editor From the Kansas
Prairies Gives City Folks Pointers

Prairies Gives City Folks Pointers
Chicago, Feb. 3.-The Tribune says:
Secretary Ralph NJ. Easley of the Civic
federation returned yesterday from
trip to New York and Philadelphia ia
ken to gain information on the subject
of county and city consolidation plans
followed there for the use of the joint
committee charter amendments,
which is considering the subject of
consolidation of municipal and county
functions in one government in Cook
county. Mr.. Easley has prepared his
report to the committee and will pre-
sent 1t at meeting tomorrow after
noon.
His report is as follows:
while the consolidation schemes
adopted in st. Louis and San Francisco
solve many problems common to the
Chicago situation, the experience in
New York and Philadelphia taken to-
gether. find, practically covers all the
points likely to come up in the move
ment here. .t.
1.-The treatment of suburban towns
and local interests generally is better
in Greater New York than in Ph1ladel-
phia. While in the consolidation of
county and city functions, Philadelphia
furnishes experience more helpful to our
committee. In fact, Greater New York,
instead of consolidating into one coun-
ty, remains four counties, the great
population making it practically impos-
sible to have all the work of a county
done by one set of officials. To nave
consolidated the offices of four record
ers of deeds into one, for instance, would
have worked an Inconvenience to the
people that would not have been toler-
ated; but in Philadelphia the CONSOLE
dation, CIR practical absorption of the
county by the city has worked out so
smoothly that no one today knows the
difference between a county and city
function. In the matter of leVying tax
es Philadelphia has three grades OF
population-rural, suburban, and urban.
The rural or farming lands correspond
n towns nf harrington. Han
over etc, are taxed at one-third the
rate of the urban population, while the
suburban, corresponding to our Evan
ston, Oak Park, Austin, etc, is taxed
at two-thirds of the urban.
William G. De Witt, who is practi-
cally the author of the Greater New
York charter, having been the chairman
of the committee on draft and later
chairman of the committee on revision,
said he thought Chicago could profit
much by the mistakes they had made
and that, the situation being so much
less involved, an almost ideal scheme
could be worked out. In his original
draft he proposed q boroughS Tor
Greater New York, following the Lon
don ideas, but he found so much OPP
position to the word borough that he
consented to make five boroughs and
% local boards, the latter being COM
posed of the members of the municipal
assembly in each senatorial district,
plus the borough president. This local
board takes the initiative in all local
improvements primary IN character, the
cost of which is to be paid by an as
sessment on abutting property such as
opening, grading, paving of streets, etc.
The five boroughs of Manhattan, Brook
1yn, Richmond, Queens, and the Bronx
all elect their own presidents and have
powers on many local matters which
the short experience so far teaches can
be increased with benefit to the public.
There is to be found plenty of crit
icism on the charter by the New YORK
people, some municipal reformers gong
to the extent of saying it is a perfect
hotch potch, but found that objection
coming largely from theoretical rather
than practical workers, the latter class
calling attention to the fact that, when
the charter was framed, it was not
with the idea of an administration by
Tammany. Seth Lows administration
of a charter, which he had helped to
make, might have made considerable
difference in it's operation. Further
more, a charter containing 100000 words
would not be likely to be thoroughly
understood and perfectly put into OPP
Grafton in one short year.
1T is not the intention, as I under
stand it, of the committee now working
on the Greater Chicago scheme to un-
dertake to work out the details of con-
sOlidation in an amendment That
would be a physical impossibility in
time to get before the legislature, but
the object is to so frame the amend
ment that it will grant all the necessary
power to the legislature, with proper
restrictions, to work out the matter any
way the people desire it. The amend
ment If submitted, can not be voted
upon until November, 1900. If it carries,
then the legislature, which meets the
following January, will have the power
to 1egislate upon the matter, which will
practically give two years to work out
the details of a scheme that would be
satisfactory to the people"
In speaking of his trip Mr.. Easley
said he had found that people in the
east who had been interested in the
changes brought about in New York
and Philadelphia looked on the con-
stitution of Illinois and the charter of
the city of Chicago as admirably franz
ed documents, in fact almost models
of their kind in their general provisions.
1.-THE view they take of the NATTER
said he, 'sustains the position of those
in Chicago who have argued that what
is needed is not a sweeping innovation
in the way of new charter regulations
or new constitution, but simply such
amendments may be required to
bring about a consolidation between
the city and county governments"