Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-28
The Famous Police Court Re.
porter Talks About Govern.
ment OF Cities.
Believes the Mayor System Is
the Best That Has Been
Yet Devised.
Would Give Mayor Almost I'm.
limited Authority and
Complete Control.
sneoial to Times Renuhlican.

|
| pondent of the Times Republican
Knocked at the door of the room occu
pied by Jacob A. Riis at the Chapil
yesterday morning shortly after the ar
rival of Mr.. Riis train from the nortf
the response greeting the reporter wa:
high nasal Ave-" When informed
that someone wished to speak with him
he answered in the same high pitched
voice, Cant see you. Busy shaving
and dressing. Call again in half ar
! hour. The chilliness of the response
of the noted police court reporter was
attributed to the freshness of the
morning and the second attempt at ar
! interview was successful. Mr.. Riis is
the spirit of all that is cordial and sim
cere. He is a man of men, practical
man of the world who has none of the
harshness of the self seeker and of the
| impossible ideals of the theorist. He
does not theorize. He takes the prob
lem nearest at hand and grapples with
1t. In this was he has earned the title
.the most useful citizen OF New York, y
which Theodore Roosevelt applied to
him when governor of New York. Now
an author OF note and an authority on
problems of social and municipal re-
form he is still police court reporter
and is now serving on the New York
Sun for which he has reported for some
ten or a dozen years. Just before start
ing west on his present trip Mr.. Riis
and his wife made visit to the white
house as the guests of President and
Mrs. Roosevelt, of whom they are in
innate friends. While in Washington
President Roosevelt urged n certain
important appointive office upon Mr..
Riis who declined it in positive terms
"Once for all am not for Office" said
Mr.. Riis, yesterday. TT is not in my
line"
Speaking of the recent campaign in
New York city which placed Seth Low
at the head of the municipality Mr..
Riis said: 1T was the most heated
campaign ever waged in New York
since the days of the Tweed ring. Tam
many lined up every force in its control
to maintain its power and it seemed for
months before the election that Tam
many hall leaders realized that their
last chance had come and made the
most of their time in stealing from the
city's funds. With Bishop Potter were
all those approving law and order. All
the people voted. And when the re-
turns Were announced they stood with
a small majority in favor of law and
order. The question was not the clos
ing of the saloons on Sunday, or any
other ordinary question, but whether
the daughters and wives of the citizens
of New York We're to be protected on
the streets and in their homes, or
whether their ASSISTANTS were to go I'M
and the majority determined
that Tammany had shown it's colors
and it was time to give another admin
istration a chance
Speaking of the new charter of the
city OF New York which has lust gone
into effect Mr.. Riis said: The move
ment of concentration of administra-
tive powers in the hands OF the mayor
is proved by experience to be in the
right direction. Mr.. Lowe is one of the
closest students of this method of cur
Ing municipal evils and one of the
greatest advocates of the system. MIR.
Lowe was the man who drafted the
charter for the city of North Adams.
Mass, where the system was tried as a |
experiment and the results
we're most satisfactory both TO him and |
10 the citizens of North Adams This |
s city of about 25000 and the prob |
ems are those of the larger cities.
DR.. Albert Shaw, editor of the Re-
'iew of Reviews. who is as close and |
iccurate student of municipal gov
arnment as there is in America today
S an advocate of the present tendency
oWard concentration of government in
he hands of a few az the best remedy
or our present evils.
The modified New York charter,
which is. by the way. very much differ
mt from the old one in almost every
aspect and is practically a new char
er. abolishes one house of the council
nd makes the mayor the sole respon-
ible head of government, with abso-
ute powers of appointment and remov-
u In all administrative departments It Il
nay take the people two three, four or
ven rive years to see an evil in NUM-
ipal government and they may not act Z
lpon 1t for years, but when they fully
ppreciate the need they are bound to
espond and make their decision felt
What we need in a government like
his is confidence in the people and
heir Judgment We must have greater
oniidence in popular intelligence. /
elieve the senators should be chosen
y popular vote and the day Is coming
nd not far off when they will be chos-
II thus. The mayor system of munich (
al government is successful in that (
'hen 1T fails it wins. 1t takes a fail
re sometimes to make the people real ,
re just what they should do to remove |
n evil
For fifteen years fought and ham
1ered and worked to secure a public :
lay ground in the worst district OF
'ew York, and when the play ground {
as finally secured / found that public
pinion was aroused in favor of the I
lay grounds, and when more We're :
anted they came easy. 1t is the first !
that is hard to overcome. And q
} with the ten years war that resulted
the destruction of Mulberry Bend.
o effort is lost.
1T is comical situation that Tam !
any has placed itself in at present.
he Tammany leaders never recog-
Zed principle of civil service during y
leir rule and yet they now appeal to
lie civil service system TO keep the
ammany officials in Office now that !,
ammany has lost it's power"
In reply to the question If the mayor
stem of government, the system of
interferes with the hest a