Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1907-01-27

a bare majority that the new form OF
: government was unconstitutional be-
cause Of the presence Of the appointive
members on the board. The legisla-
ture was in session at the time and a
new law, providing for the election OF
all the commissioners. was rushed
through Less than a month later the
supreme court Of the state. which is
the tribunal Of last resort only in civil
cases. handed down unanimous de-
csiun that the original arrangement
was in thorough consonancc with the
basic law. There was no way Of rec
onciling the difference between the
two courts. and so the matter stands
To this day. the people of Galveston
preferring to abandon the appOintive
feature rather than run the risk Of
having all their police laws and regu-
lations nullified through appeals to the
court of criminal appeals. Nothing
was lost through this action. however.
since the conditions which at first
seemed to make the appointment Of
the commissioners necessary no longer
existed The commissioners, all good
and representative men. stood for re-
election and were put back into office
by an overwhelming majority. Not a
single dollar was expended in their
be half.
The results they have achieved mark
a new era in the recent history of
American municipalities. Under the
old system the city. devastated as il
was by the storm, would doubtless
have been plunged deeper into debt.
The commission brought about an eX-
actly opposite condition Of affairs.
When it took hold of Galveston's
floating debt was upward of $780, 600.
In approximately three years this was
wiped out. and in the meantime more
than $4,000 had been expended in sat
isfying old claims and judgments. and
nearly as much more in the liquida-
ton of interest charges. Street i'm
provements to the value of more than
S1O0. 900 had been made and about one
thirdthird as much had been spent on
other municipal betterments. RedUc-
tions in interest rates had been obtain
ed from holders of the city's bonds
Material additions had been made TO
the sinking fund.
All this was accomplished without
the issuance of a dollars worth Of
new bonds. II was made possible by
the collection of all taxes due without
political favor; the complete elemina-
ton Of ali graft and waste. and Il wise,
honest and business-like administra-
ton of affairs generally. The COM
missioners were confronted with ques-
tons of much graver import than affi-
Gals Of a town OF similar size are call
ed on to handle ordinarily, but they
stuck 10 business principles and scored
at every turn Above all else. perhaps.
they gained and retained the conf
dence and esteem of the people. Now
their work has long since ceased to be
experimental and the commission sys-
tenn is apparently a fixture in Calves
ton
The tax rate there is now SIP. Of
which amount 20 cents aree applied
on the general fund. So cents on the
bonded Indebtedness and 20 cents on
the school fund. This is to be COM
pared with an average rate Of about
$40 in one hundred leading cities of
the country. and with an average Of
upward of S2.35 for two dozen places
about the size Of Galveston, selected
entirely at random.
Houston had been badly governed
for years before it adopted the com
mission system. Not every admins
tration had been corrupt. but the good
officials had found it impossible to en-
tirely overcome the effects of the
widespread graft and corruption per-
mittad or encouraged by the had ones
The tax rate was S2.93. the public debt
large and not diminishing. the general
financial condition unsatisfactory and
the administration machinery not in
keeping with the city's rapid growth
and development. The Galveston plan
naturally appealed to the reform ele-
ment and after a vigorous and acri-
moniOus campaign that plan was
adopted by small majority at a gen
cral election The old ring" element
opposed the innovation and is still OPP