The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-06
ADVANTAGES OF
 COMMISSION PLAN A. I. London Cites DeS MoineS
 As Happy Example LEGISLATURE SHOULD ACT Measure Should Be of Such Character That People of Greater 6irming-
 ham May Vote on Accept
 ance or Rejection.

for his timely suggestion of a com mission plan of government for the city. It has been said that it was unfor- tunate that MT. Percy's suggestion was injected into the prohibition campaign, but these criticisms do not seem well founded when the facts are considered. We had an exciting and hard fought municipal campaign on the question of high license and regulation in which Mayor Ward won, and, as is well known, he used every means in his power to carry out the will of the people thus expressed. These efforts were first thwarted by Messrs. Parker and Burnett and other members of the Board of Aldermen, and later, during the absence of the Mayor, these two members of the Board of Aldermen, as leaders, with the aid of others, re- versed this verdict of the people and nullified what had been done. It now seems. clear that this action of this majority in the Board of Aldermen is the real underlying reason for the suc- cess of prohibition in this county. The people were tricked out of the just fruits of their victory at the polls, the public will was thwarted and nullified, and the prohibition majority was the rebuke which the people administered. If any of the i'll effects prophesied fol- low prohibition they can and should be justly charged to the members of the Board of Aldermen who openly dis regarded the popular will ard what ever we may suffer is directly tracea- ble to a system of municipal govern ment which permits such a state of af- fairs, and it behooves us to correct it if possible, and so MT. Percy's sugges- tion was not only timely and appro- priate but went to the meat of the situation.
 Can any form of government be call ed democratic in the broad sense where the expressed will of the voters can thus be openly reversed by their ser wants? Is it true that MT. Parker and MT. Burnett, or any other two or more men in Birmingham, can do open vio- lence to the popular will and retain control of our affairs?
 I do not think so, and the recent elec- tion shows that very healthy ma jority of our people, regardless of pro- hibition, are of like opinion.
 It is said that the adoption of the commission plan will prevent the adoption of the Greater Birmingham scheme.
 I confess I do not see any force in this objection, for obvious reasons First, if the voters in the outlying towns once understand the commission plan think they will by large ma r.. if the recent action of the Board of All dermen or Birmingham is a sample of what they may look for in the govern ment of Greater Birmingham in the future we can hardly hope to see any of these outlying towns willing to sub stitute ours for their own governments: and, lastly, Greater Birmingham will not have the commission plan unless the majority desires it.
 It is essential that the people should understand what this commission plan means, and should also know that whether we are to have this plan or not will depend upon their votes, for do not understand it to be the pur- pose to force it upon any community which does not want it. If the legis- lature will pass the necessary legisla- tion then this must be submitted to the voters of any community to say wh heth- = CT they WISH IL OT nOts 4NoiulHS iS io be put upon the people except by their own choice. The essential right of local seI-covernment is the founda- tion of the whole plan. The majority of the voters in the whole town deter mine what their local laws shall be. The city becomes the prime object of the popular care, and whether the gov ernment is good or bad rests upon the people themselves.
 When properly understood the com mission plan as now administered will he found to be the nearest approach to a democracy yet tried in the united States.
 MT. Brand Whitlock, the reform May or of Toledo, o. and recognized au- thority upon municipal government has in a recent magazine article dis cussed the commission plan and un- aualihedly indorses it as the best yet devised for the government of cities.
 After explaining the Galveston plan' he says:
 "It is true of course, that conditions in Galveston were exceptional and ex- traordinary; men were brought together by the mighty necessities of aq appalling calamity; but that this is not sufficient to account wholly for Galveston's success is shown by the recent experience or Des Monies Des Moines has gone ahead or Galveston: she has all that Galveston has go far as charters go-and more; she has a system that is far more democratic, far more radical than Galveston, or any other city in the United States. for that matter. Des Moines has abolished wards and boards, and all that, and has a com mission like Galveston, in which the leg islative administrative and eXecutiVe functions are all centered; but she has other things, more democratic things. She has the recall, the initiative and reteren- dunn, including the compulsory reference of all franchises to the people. rms is the great achievement of Des Molnes; here at last, is chance for real democ- racy If the board passes an ordinance which is not to the satisfaction or the people. they can compel it's reference to them: they can vote on it, and either ap- prove or disapprove it. This is the veto power retained by the people themselves far better than the veto power in the hands of a mayor, or even of governor. The people, too if the board will not pass such legislation as the people want, can themselves initiate such legislation; this is the old New England town meet ing on large scale; and if any of the commissioners is faithless to his duty or his trust, the people may recall him; that is. remove and discharge him-far better and safer and more democratic than to have the removal power in the hands of a governor"
 Again, he says
 These movements in the west show the unmistakable drift of the times; the movement, at last, is not away from are coming into their own. What Amer ait ic nf hot xr-fI1