The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-09-06
COUNCILNEN'S TRIP.
Committee Report on Jaunt to
jamestown, N. Y
Expenses Were 5000. Balance of
$21O Deposited With City
Treasurer.

| At the meeting Of City Council last
night the committee appointed TO prepare
| Il report on the recent trip to IamcstOWn,
| New York, submitted the following
| statement:
Wilmington, Del, Sept. 5, 1901.
To the president and members of City
Council:
Gentelmen: Your committee appoint
ed for the purpose Of preparing II report
upon the proceedings Of the recent con
vention of the League Of American
Municipalities held in jamestown, n. u.
bits the following:
Your committee attended the various
sessions of the convention and listened
with interest and much profit to the
able papers which were presented ana
we feel that the lessons which we learn
ed there will. in the future, prove of
much benefit to our city. We were par
ticularly impressed with the paper read
by Mr.. Edward Bibler of Ohio, It being
an essay upon the charter of his city.
We saw from ii that there were many
good points which could be applied to
our city. We learned from his paper
and from the discussion that followed
the reading of it, taken part in by such
men as Mayor Samuel Jones OF Toledo,
Mayor Hayes of Baltimore. Mayor Har-
hesou OF Hartford. together with maLy
more representatives, and leading citi
zens of the country that the only sue
cessful manner in which municipalities
can be governed is by eliminating parry
politics entirely from elections for city
Offices. Mayor Ashley of New Haven,
Conn. described the operation of char
ter built upon those broad. liberal. non
partisan lines. his city at present being
under such charter and from his state
ments there seems to be no doubt bnt
that the non. partisan charter is the best
method Of governing municipalities
Mayor Samuel Jones Of Golden RUE
fame gave one Of his characteristic adj
Dresses. in which he pictured. as the on!.
permanent American city one grounded
upon American principles: one in which
politics cut no figure and one, ns ht
claimed. conducted without reference To
party. He, of course, is famous as
free thinker and a man without party
and his views are generally credited as
being the result Of much thought and
research and he always commands the
attention of his audience. We learned
too that our city stands in a class al
most by itself in regard to the source Of
its revenue there being hut few cities in
the country which receive no revenue
other than from taxntion upon real cs-
tate. Almost every city represented at
the convention receives considerable
part of its revenue from taxation Of
franchises and other corporate property
granted by the municipality to private
corporations. We learned by our trip
that what Wilmington needs most is n
new charter, one that will place The
government Of this municipality as close
to the people as possible; a charter that
will be liberal in its rights to the citi,
zcns aud thoroughly non-aNrtisan.
From the various reports and discus
siOns that We're presented at the conven
tion we are strongly Of the opinion that
while trip such as this to the annual
convention Of the League Of American
Municipalities is source Of expense to
our city yet the expcrienc" and know
ledge which may he gained by coming in
contact with various city officials and
men Of wide experience in municipal
affairs will he helpful in giving to Will
mington better municipal government in
the future.
The committee reports that the total
expenses Of the trip amount to 1890, leay-
ing a balance in the hands of the COM
mittcr Of S2lO which amount has this
day been turned over TO the city treas
urCr and placed to the account Of Incl
dcntalS and miscellaneous.
Thomas NJ Monaghan,
James Kane.
David j. Rrinhardt,
Charles II. Blaine.
The report was approved and ordered
filed.