The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-21
FAVOR MAYORS SUGGESTION.
CITY's CHARTER MAY BE CHANGED
ACCORDINGLY.

ALUM III WILL
The Mayor Would Then he Elected
for Four Years and BE Ineligible
for Recollection, While six New AL
dermen would he Elected Every
Two Years-Members of Council
Generally Indorse the Mayors
Vievs-Some Think Aldermen
should Also he Ineligible for Re-
election.
The recommendation contained in Mayor
Myers annual report for a change in the
charter Of the city to provide for the cleo
tiou Of the Mayor and Aldermen for terms
Of four years instead of two, as at pres
ent, and that the Mayor should be made
ineligible for reelection at the close of his
term. evidently meets With the approval
of the members Of Council generally. Sew
eral. VINO were seen yesterday, gave The
recommendation their hearty Endorsement.
Il regard the recommendation as very
important" said Mayor Myers when
asked 10 outline his views on this point,
The two years-term for Mayor and Coun-
ell is entirely too short Those of US who
have served through several administra
tions are very well aware how difficult Il
IS for new members to get acquainted with
the details of city work. 1t is bad enough
when there are few experienced men 10
serve as guides for new board, but when
almost the entire board IS composed of
green men the results are very unsaus-
factory. The city has to pay for the ex-
perience of these green men. and it has
paid dearly for il in the past
by the plan which ! have suggested Of
having the aldermen elected for terms Of
four years, six being elected everey two
years, instead OF twelve. as at present,
this trouble would be obviated. There
would always be six men on the board ex-
perienced In city affairs, and as some Of
the old men would generally be returned,
there would always be a working majority
of experienced members. I do not think
the aldermen should be made ineligible
for reelection. Their case is different
from that Of the Mayors. and an expert
enced and capable alderman is a valua-
bic man to the city government.
THE Mayor should be Ineligible for re-
election at the end of his term, in order
that he might devote his whole power
10 making his administration a success.
He would then have no inducement to
prefer political favorites or make conce5-
Sions to party or faction or to yield one
Jot or title in the smallest matter in
order TO secure the favor of those who
might prove useful to him I'm seeking a
reelection With the present short terms
of office 1t IS entirely natural for an off,
cial who feels a pride in his work to de-
sire reelection, and in seeking to insure
his reelection, 1t is equally natural mat
he should favor those who are likely to
prove useful to him. Savannah has never
had a Mayor who would Wrongfully use
his power to secure his retention in Office
but Mayors are only human, and as such.
it is only to be expected that their per-
sonal ambitions and desires win sometimes
warp their better judgment. With the
change such as I have suggested the
Mayor would be entirely free to obey the
dictates of his judgment in all matters
and would be Independent of political adj
visers."
Alderman Mills gave his hearty ap-
prevail to the Mayors suggestion IL
would be a good thing he said. to limit
the terms OF both Mayor and aldermen to
four years. Let six new men come in
each year" he said, land let the men who
served four years give way to others. In
this way many good men would be given
the opportunity TO give the city their SER
vices for a term. With only six men to
be easier to obtain the right material than
with twice that many TO be selected. My
experience has been that after the fifth
or sixth man has been agreed upon for the
ticket the rest of the ticket Is made up of
miscellaneous material selected chiefly for
political reasons. Frequently good men
decline to go upon the ticket because they
do not care to get into the municipal har-
ness. 1t Is not entirely just 10 insist that
man shall continue in the service of the
city simply because he is experienced.
am now serving my sixth term and while
my friends doubtless think that they are
complmentng me when they insist that 1
shall so on the ticket because of my cx-
perience, I am beginning TO look at the
matter from a different standpoint"
''The Mayors idea is a good one" said
Alderman Haas. at usually takes a new
alderman six months to get acquainted
with his duties. and the citys interests
are likely to suffer during that time Take
the present Fire Committee. of which
am chairman Only one had been a mem
Der of Council previously. and not one
had had any experience with the fire de-
partmeut. We all had to learn our du-
ties, and by good luck and hard work we
have not made any serious mistakes I'm
der a system of having only half the board
go out every two years a case of this kind
could not happen.
Aldermen Dixon, Williams and Doyle all
gave their approval of the Mayors rec
and expressed the hope that
il would be carried into effect The prob
ability is that every member of Council
comedies with this view. This being the
case, it is not unlikely that a bill will
be introduced al the next session Of the
Legislature embodying the ideas advanc-
ed by Mayor Myers in his report.