Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-05-18

OF local government proposed by Mr..
James b. Reynolds. who has just sub.
mitted n final report to the President.
MI. Reynolds was authorized to in
yestigatc the workings Of the trlum.
viratc commission system I'm Wash.
ington and to suggest improvements.
if improvements seemed practicable.
Evidently his inquiries have led him
to think that radical change Is
needed, for he advises an abandon
ment of the three headed commission.
with its attendant dispersion of au-
thorlty. and return to single exc
cutive with the title OF Governor.
The present form OF government Is
mn anomaly in American politics. 1t
marks the EXTREMIST departure from
the representative theory which we
nave ever attempted or tolerated. The
reason for this IL plain enough. Botn
Congress ana the substantial resident
elements In the District were thor
oughly disgusted with the experiment
OF territorial autonomy which culml.
mated with the Shepherd administers
ton, and in abolshing local suffrage
and local representative institutions
of all sorts Congress went as far MS
1t was possible to go In the other dI
rection. Congress practically agreed
to act rs board of aldermen for the
District. and executive power was
vested In three commissioners, one.
OF them to be an army engineer off
Ger and all appointed by the Prcsi.
dent
Government In Washington is to.
day benevolent depotism, and MS
The population has confidence that its
rule will continue benevolent there
mas been, on tho whole, no deep
founded public protest. After the
laxities and extravaganza of the
Shepherd regime washington was
contest with government which nut
the brakes on and kept them on. But
tho merits of the present system have
been largely negative, ana now that
the District is growing, prospecting
and even nursing commercial and I'm.
dustrlal ambitions, II is only natural
that desire shonld make itself felt
for greater leeway and initiative. 1t
would be inadvisable to give the par.
tial autonomy OF the organized terri.
tories or Of Porto Rico. The interests
of the national government are par
amount at the capital and there should
be no Investment of its general re.
sponsibility for order and local a1-
Yet there is degree
TO which local activity ana interest
may he properly encouraged, ana
Mr. Reynolds recommendations aim
with reason Mt giving the people of
the District II larger voice in the con-
duct of their own affairs. He would
establish modification of the ter
ritorial order, having II governor ana
two advisory bodies serving some of
the purposes of the two branches of
the legislature in the territories AMI
Porto Rico. A cabnet consisting OF
seven heads of departments would be
appointed TO supervise the routine OF
government and also to act as n l,oard
of aldermen with limited Legislative
functions. A second board of one
hundred members, to he called n cit
liens committee, would he appointed
by the President 1t would have only
advisory powers, but would be able
to express effectively the sentiment
OF the city on local questions.
These suggestions Seem to us well
worth considering. one defect OF
the existing system is IT'S lack OF I'M
divided responsibility. Another is the
imposition OH Congress of the bur
dens of trivial local Legislation and
the forced solution by Congress or n
host of minor problems in which 1t
Is not intelligently Interested. 1t is
desirable to relieve the two houses
of most of this routine work. Tho
federal district cannot and should not
he made a sclfgoverning community.
But 1t is evidently entitled to
greater measure of sclf-regulation
than it now enjoys.
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