Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-08

ever, that the proper method of dealing
with employees is the most difficult ana
critical problem of municipal owner
ship, and he favors recognition OF or
ganized labor as a safeguard against
the pressure of outside (politicaD re-
Communications.
On this subject heNsays:
THE appointment, promotion and dis
missal of employees and the wages to be
paid offer peculiar opportunities for
political and personal Influence neon
sistent with efficiency. Civil service re-
form, so-called, has been found In Its
highest perfection in the city of Chi
cago, but it is evident by comparison
with less perfect device in Syracuse
that its integrity depends on sthe politi-
cal influences that control the mayor
and the heads of departments. If the
head of the department is independent
of politics, as shown in Cleveland, De-
troit and South Norwalk the civil SER
vice commission is not needed. The
Chicago system is a temporary bulWark
built around the departments until such
time as the chief officer himself can also
be protected from political selection.
This is the case in British cities where
the idea of a civil service commission
is unknown. But even there, especially
in the Sheffield tramways, appointments
of councillors. The experience of Glas-
gov is Instructive. Fifteen years ago
the practice of hiring employees on the
recommendation of councillors was uni
versal in all departments. But with the
growth of municipal ownership it has
almost disappeared.
Our Investigations have shown that
the strongest safeguard of a manager
against the pressure of outside recon-
lied labor within his department.
Wherever we have found class of en-
ployes organized and dealt with as such
through their representatives we have
found those positions exempt from poll
tics. This follows from the nature of
labor organizations, which cannot sur
vive If individuals are given preference
on political, religious, personal or any
other grounds than the character of the
work they do. Even in the politically
honeycombed municipal undertaking at
Allegheny, the union of electrical work.
ers stopped practice of paying as
sessments by its members for political
campaigns. The success of the civil
service system of Chicago is owing more
than anything else to the fact that or
ganiZed labor has one of the three men,
bers on each examining board. The
manager of the Manchester tramways
ascribes his freedom from interference
by individual councillors to his recogni-
tion of the union that holds 80 per cent
of his motormen and conductors"
In the course of his report Prof. Com
mons said:
"I take it that the key of the whole
question of municipal or private owner
ship is the question of politics. For
politics is simply the question of get
ting and keeping the right kind of men
to manage and operate the municipal
undertakings, or to supervise, regulate
and bargain with the private undertake
ings. The kinds of business that we
are dealing with are essentially mono
poles performing a public service, and
are compelled to make use of the
streets which are public property. If
their owners are private companies
they are compelled to get their fran
chises and all privileges of doing busi-
ness, and all terms and conditions OF
service from the municipal authorities.
And in carrying out their contract with
the municipality they are dealing con-
tinually with municipal officials. Con-
sequently it is absurd to assume that
private ownership is non-political. 1t
is just as much a political question to
get and keep honest or businesslike
municipal officials who will drive good
bargains with private companies on be-
ndlI OF Jfle puDllC anu IIlen see lndI lIle
bargains are lived up to- as it is to get
similar officials to operate municipal
plant. We do not escape politics by
resorting to private ownership-we only
get a different kind of practical poll
tics"
Examples in Various Cities
Referring to unfavorable conditions
politically under municipal operation
and citing an investigation of the
Wheeling gas works, Prof. Commons
says:
"The secretary of the Wheeling gas
trustees, quoted by my colleague as
testifying to the political rottenness of
the municipal gas works, is the same
man who testified to the political rot
tenness of the private gas, electricity
and street car companies of that local
ity. Instead of relying on his state
ments, 1 interviewed large number of
officials politicians, business men, en-
ployes and others, and checked up his
statements respecting both the gas
works and the corporations. This
shows that while the gas works are in
politics, the public service corporations
take part in the primaries of the Re-
publican party and the motormen and
conductors of the street car companies
are given leave of absence on pay to
work in the primaries of both the Re
publican and Democratic parties. Even
the officers of the street railway en-
ployes union take part in this kind of
traction politics on behalf of their en-
ployes The councilmen and aldermen
nominated and elected in this way con-
troll the municipal gas works and they
control the franchises and contracts of
the private companies The city hall
ring is just as much ring of the poll
tical tools of the private corporations
as it is the ring of municipal politicians.
To pick out the politics of the gas
works and not to see that it is bound up
with the politics of the private corpora
tions would be a perverse and one-sided
method of investigation. The report
gives not selected facts, but all of the
facts in the situation. Indeed, the Sec
retary of the Wheeling gas trustees, in
his Indignation towards the political
management of the gas works. referred
to by my colleague, was defeated in the
Republican primaries by the motormen
and conductors of the street car COM
pany on leave of absence as political
workers.
ain cities other than Wheeling the
convention system prevails instead of
the direct primaries, and consequently
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