Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-11

and democratic, as its makers designed, and
the people of the District have had self
government by public opinion more COM
pete and effective than Is possible where
partisan politics interferes with the opera.
ton of this opinion and corrupts municipal
affairs
Welcomed All Opinions.
In practice, the Commissioners have
represented the people in their adminis-
tratfon and in their legislation, under the
power delegated to them by Congress. and
have welcomed all expressions of opinion
by citizens organized or unorganized. They
have represented the citizens also In deal
ing with Congress, sitting with the COM
mittees In charge Of District affairs, pre-
pairing bills or reporting upon bills re-
ferred to them by the congressional COM
mittees, is done in the case Of all bills
not proposed by the Commissioners, and
also reporting to the President upon all
District bills passed by Congress before
he acts upon them. Every opportunity Is
given for the presentation of the needs
of the national capital and the views of
its citizens to Congress. The senators
and representatives. and especially the
chairmen Of the committees dealing with
District affairs, consider themselves the
representatives Of the District on the floor
Of the Senate and the House, and give
much time and thought and effort to the
Districts interests. In all this they do not
act as partisans, because they are not ap-
pealed to as partisans since there Is no
political division among the people Of the
District in municipal affairs. and no
bosses machines or partisan newspapers.
The Commissioners, Congress and the
citizens alike treat the Districts business
as business. The District Of Columbia Is
simply the largest business corporation in
the national capital
Our situation is absolutely unique and
requires long and intimate knowledge and
actual participation in our affairs for it's
understanding. The actual daily exercise
of the power of public opinion, SO well
represented and expressed by our citizens
organizations and by the newspapers, as
well as by individual citizens, is the most
important fact in our system, but it does
not appear in any statute or official order
This government by public opinion is, Of
course. effective chiefly because Of the
absence Of partisan politics. For the
same reason the Commissioners have been
able to maintain merit system of ap-
pointments and promotions in the District
service. We have annually asked civil
service law, since the District government
is not part of the national executive, and
the President, therefore, cannot extend
the national civil service law, and we
have been able to have competitive ex-
aminations only for the police and fire
departments, and technical appointments
and that only by the courtesy of the ma
tional civil service commission But for
years all appointments, promotions demo-
tons and dismissals in the District civil
service have been made. on merit reasons
and not for political causes.
An Executive Head.
There arguments for and against
a single executive head, as against
commission of three. The single head,
preferably called governor, might be able
to decide more quickly and act more read
lily. This could not be true. however. if
he was hampered by a number of indie
pendent heads of departments whom he
could not appoint or remove, and who, by
majority vote or by personal action, not
to speak of intrigues might seriously
barrass him, and would certainly greatly
divide the responsibility for the general
acts of the government.
In any event the executive head ought,
of course, to be a District man. and, as
the present law says of the civil Com
missioners, one who has not claimed resi-
dence elsewhere for three years. The
chief argument for a board of Commits
sioners is that nearly thirty years ex-
per1ence has shown that it makes good
executive, which can decide quickly and
act readily, and at the same time can de-
hberate, especially in its determination Of
policies in the exercise Of legislative and
judicial functions. and that it secures con-
sideration Of all views and phases of a
question.
The Commissioners have represented all
interests. and, each having his own par
have had, in addition to the public ex-
pressions of opinion, a wide private knowl-
edge of the desires Of citizens. The cfti-
zens have felt that they had better access
for their opinions than If they had only
one man to go to. Theoretically, there
might be expectation of divided RESPONSE
bility and confusion of authority in such
board, but in practice 1t does not work
that way.
All the departments of the District gov
eminent officially by order of the board
divided for immediate supervision among
the Commissioners. These assignments
are permanent from year to year, and are
officially published that any citizen can
have a printed list of them. Each Com
missioner Is primarily responsible for the
departments so assigned to him. and takes
the initiative In recommendations to the
board respecting them. The board of
course determines all general questions Of
administration and policy, including all
recommendations to Congress. The votes
of all the Commissioners are officially re-
corded, and also in all cases of difference
of opinion the reasons assigned by them
There is no confusion of authority, and no
division of responsibility. This system as
sures effective and economical admins
tration and ought not to be altered without
certainty that change would be for the
better.
All this would not be possible were 1t not
for the activity and the organization of
public opinion. The Board Of Trade and
the Chamber of Commerce, with such a
representative membership. and dealing
with all phases of civic affairs, and not
simply or chiefly with purely commercial
aHairS, and the numerous smaller organi-
cations devoted to public questions, engage
in the unpaid service of the public larger
proportion of the taxpayers than elsewhere,
and they maintain a more constant and eff
fective interest in their subject, probably
because their work Is more effective.
1t is twenty-nine years today since the
adoption of the present form of govern
ment. Under it there has been marvellous
progress. The population Of the District of
Columbia has doubled. The taxable value
of real estate has trebled, and the value of
personal property Is at least four times
greater. According to the report of the
United States census bureau in 1906, on a
comparison of statistics of the increase of
wealth from 1900 to 1904, the wealth Of the
District in that period increased Il per
cent or from S92S, 739, 773 to S1,O4O $50, 173,
wealth of any one of twenty-five states and
territories. These states and territories as
given in the census bulletin are Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island,