The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-02

T DQlltICdI OOnQ8zc. Hc system OI BON- ernment was that In vogue in most American cities. Mayor and Com mon Council. made up of members se- lected from wards Or subdivision /there- | or particularly and the city as a whole I only incfdentaIlyF The success of the Galveston coramissidn caused a close study to be made of the plan in vogue :, the Galveston system. This is the plan which has been adopted in Hous- | ton
 | It must be understood that Houston | has been badly n,iseoverned in Sthe past. There has been no wholesale corrup- | tion; the grating was on the cheap order and enriched no particular man or set of men. But the wasting was great and the city's revenues were frittered away in paying, salaries to useless subordinate officlals and in the ways common to most cities. There has been grating, and 1t was well known that the system existed. But the graft was cut up into such small pieces that there was no general outcry.
 The charter providing for the com Attorney. finally evolved a plan where there. and Thomas H. Stone. then City mission government went into effect July 5. 1905. The old board Of alder men. composed of twelve members. was done away with and ward lines
 were abolished in the selection of the
 new board. The commission Is compos- ed of a Mayor, or President of the board, and four aldermen. They must devote
 their whole time to the business of the city, whereas under the old system the aldermen devoted about three hours Il
 week to the business of the city. though they put in considerable time on their private political business and called 1t working for the city.
 The Mayor has an oversight over all departments. Each of the aldermen or
 commissioners has a separate depart ment. for which he Is held responsible
 directly and he is also supposed to be
 consulted by the other commissioners
 as to general policy. though not as
 to details. The commissioners hold
 daily sessions. but only once a week
 is public session held at which de-
 cisions on petitions are made known
 and the public invited to attend and
 present their motions. grievances or
 suggestions.
 The commission plan. fin brief. Is as
 nearly as possible to conduct the bus
 mess of the municipality upon the same lines that the business of a corporation for private profit is conducted. This is the secret of the success which has been scored by the Houston commis-
 sion in its first year. The revenues of the city which may be used for general revenue purposes (haif the income from the taxes must go to the sinking
 fund) amount to about $75p,eo0 a year. When the commission took charge there was floating indebted ness of about saS5,00o. and there were no funds In the treasury with which to meet it. This has been wined out. and everything purchased is paid for In cash; that Is. the bills ~& ~h
 which is the date for settling accounts In vogue in the city.
 The city had a valuable plant for disposfng of the sewerage, which was the occasion for bond issue of about s350.0 and It was so nearly ruined that it practically was of no use. This big plant has been cleaned, repaired and put in shape to perform the work for which 1t was built.
 The city lies In a soil which makes
 black mud in rainy periods. and as only the business portion has been paved as 1t should be, this mud was hauled on
 the pavements and there caked, causing
 the streets to have an untidy appear
 ance. and the dirt generally found It's
 way Into the storm sewers, choking
 them. There is now not only a perfect
 system of cleaning the streets at a small expense. but the commission has
 bought with cash from the revenues
 Gall other paving has been done by is-
 suing bonds) three million brick with
 which to do a lot of additional paving
 tho coming year.
 In the residence quarter number of
 men are kept employed on the streets
 ditching them. so that the water may
 not stand, and grading them. so that the water may flow into tho ditches and prevent the accumulation of mud. Just as many men were employed under ths old system, but they didn't do the work. being partisans of one alderman or an- other. Now they are hired by the day, and If they don't work they are turned off at-once.
 Dividing the city is Buffalo Bayou. m arm of the Galveston Bay. mum
 Der of bridges span this at different points, and under the old system these bridges had fallen into such condition that some of them were actually un- safe It was no ones business to see that they were repaired and kept in order, and there wasn't any money to spare with which to do the work. un- der the new system one of the commits sioners Is in charge of the streets and bridges. The commissioners have spent $30, 0,000 on the bridges, all of them have been repaired and repainted and are adjudged safe by the Inspector Such sum as S30600 would not under the old system have done one-third the work or done 1t one-third as we'll
 For the last several years there has been a crying need for more school houses A number of them have been built at considerable expense. but they were no more than completed than an- other was needed. The old Council was frank in saying that If any more school houses were built there would have to be more bond issues. The commis- sion has promised to spend $100,000 on three new school buildings the coming year, and Is already advertising for bids for the first one. That sun, would have built two schools under the old system, and there would have been bonds to pay per cent per annum on for forty years, The commission will get the money out of the general reve- nu~.
 Under the old system there was much property that escaped taxation some of 1t never having been on the assessment rolls. The com mission has instituted a system where by every bit of the land within the city's limits has been listed and put | on the rolls. 4 general raising of the values has heen ' made (though there Is a lack of system to this which amounts to injustice), the | tax rate has been slightly reduced, and | the revenues of the city will be con slider lbly increased another year. The | Tax Department for the first time in 1 the history of the city Is being run | on business basis.
 The greatest reform which has been | instituted lies In the fact that. aside |