Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-04-27
TWO MAYORS ACT
In Taking Hold of Second Ave.
nue. Sidewalk Acct
dent.
EACH WITHIN HIS POWERS
Which illustrates Question Often Dis
cussed as to Variance in Mu-
ncipaI Dates.

Not particularly at this time, but Oh
the occasion of the change of mum
cipal administration for some years
back the question has arisen as to the
| ACCESSIBILITY of changing the time when
the newly elected city officials shall
succeed those who retire.
That a full month should elapse has
been regarded for number of years
| as entirely unnecessary, a custom OBJ.
| served in no other city. and apt to re-
suit in the retarding of city progress.
Strictly speaking Rock Island has AZ
| the present time two mayors, either Of
| whom either through the force of GUS
| tom or of law might feel himself called
upon to act in a crisis. out of which
might develop a conflict of authority
that would be embarrassing if not an
| nOying.
| There was a circumstance of this
kind this morning when the accident
| due to caying in of the sidewalk oc-
Cured on Second avenue. Mayor Nc
| Caskrin inaugurated the necessary pr J.
| cautions, as mayor in Office. but per-
haps felt some delicacy about going
beyond the adoption of such measures
as were Immediately essential Mayor
elect Schaffer felt nevertheless that
the responsibility of guarding against :,
recurrence of the accident rested upon
him and he personally went over the
ground and gave orders for such steps
on the part of the property holders ds
might avert a future misfortune
Happily there was no conflict as each
official took up his duty as he saw it,
| The Law of Custom.
| Under the rules of custom Mayor McCas
krin is still exercising the functions OF
his office, and having been elected foG
a term of two years the question that
has arisen in the minds of many il
whether his tenure of Office dates
from the time he qualified, which was
on April Is, 1905, or from the time
that he took his seat, which was the
first Monday in May of that year
The general construction of the Law
is that an official holds Office until his
successor is elected and has qualifie l
. Mayor-elect Schaffef qualified two
{ weeks ago, his bond was duly approx
ed and hence he is in position to dis
charge the full duties Of the office. anc
yet there is a natural hesitancy on hi:
part. to seek to trangress the authority
; of the present mayor until the forma
induction takes place at the first coun
Gil meeting in May. AS matter
: fact Mayor McCaSkrin did not take III
the reigns of municipal government I'm
5 til the first meeting in May two year
ago, and in the strict sense his actua
incumbency of the office dates from
that time. regardless of how long o.
fore he may in fact have been mayor
Fiscal and Municipal Years.
That the council has felt some III
certainty as to the limitations of it
own prerogatives has been shown L
| the manner in which all importan
matters have been referred to the il
: coming council since the middle c
) April when the fiscal year expired, an
r it is the variance in dates between tn
fiscal and the municipal year tha
has led to the existing COZ
ditions. The fiscal year, as statet
: dates from April Is, while the mun
cipal year dates from the first Monda
in May. In former years the new CT:
officers took their seats at the begi-
ming of the fiscal year, about tw
weeks after the election, but the pla
was changed some 20 years ago whe
the Inauguration was set for the b.
ginning of the municipal year.
The Proposed Remedy.
The thing that seems proper to I!
in order to relieve the existing stu
ton and remove the ground for conf
sion is to adopt an ordinance provi,
ing that in the future the fiscal an
the municipal year shall begin on tn
same identical date.