Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-12
No MORE CITY COUNCIL HERE
Houston Decides TO Get Along without q
Municipal Legislature.
GOVERNMENT BY COMMISSION WINS
Years Experience with the Plan
Demonstrates It's Superiority over
the old Method of Doing
Things.

Government by commission" has been
demonstrated TO be success in Houston,
Tex for the last year. For many years
the city had been under political bondage
The system Of government was that In
vogue in most American cities, mayor
and a common council made up of mem
bcrs selected from wards, and each repre-
senting his own ward or subdivision thereof
particularly and the city a whole only
incidentally. The success of the Galveston
commission caused close study to be
made Of the plan in vogue there. and
Thomas II. Stone, then city attorney
finally evolved a plan wherein there we're
some improvements on the Galveston sys-
TEN. This IL the plan which has been
adopted in Houston.
II must be understood that Houston has
been badly misgoverned in the past. There
has been no wholesale corruption; the
grating was on the cheap order and en-
riched no particular man or set OF men.
But the wasting was great and the city's
revenues were FILTERED away in paying
salaries to useless subordinate officials and
in the ways common in most cities. There
has been grating. and It was we'll known
that tho system existed. But the graft
was cut up into such small pieces that
there was no general cutlery.
Beean Last July.
Tho charter providing for the commission
government went into effect July s. 1906.
The old board Of aldermen, composed Of
twelve members, was done away with and
ward lines we're abolished in the selection
NJ the new board. The commission is COM
posed of a mayor. or president of the
board, and four aldermen. They must de-
vote their whole time to the business of
the city, whereas under the old system
the aldermen devoted about three hours a
week to the business OF the city, though
they put In considerable time on their pri-
yate political business and called II work.
ing for the city.
The mayor has an oversight over all
departments. Each OF the aldermen or
commissioners has a separate department,
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 COM
missioners hold daily sessions, but only
once a week Is a public session held at
which decisions petitions are made
known and the public invited to attend
and present their motions grievances or
suggestions .-.s
Run Like Private Business.
nearly as possible to conduct the business
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 commission in its
first year. The revenues of the city which
may be used for general revenue pur-
poses thalf the income from the taxes
must go to the sinking fund.- amount TO
about $4,000 a year When the commits
sion took charge there was a floating in
debtedness OF about s3s5, 900, and there were
no funds in the treasury with which to
meet II. This has been wiped out, and
everything purchased is paid for In cash
that is. the bills are all paid on the lnti
OF each month, which is the date Tor set
ting accounts in vogue in the city.
The city had valuable plant for dis
posing of the sewage, which was the oc-
-saster for bone issue OF about $3.50 900,
and II was so nearly ruined that 1t prac-