New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-11-27
tastes opportunities and capabilities may lead


\ committee of the Boston Economic cum, o.
which President Eliot of Harvard University i
chairman has been studying Boston 'hd' te'
requirements and has advised that certain pll"-
ciules he followed in its revision It's most
important recommendations that in place OF
q MAYOR the city should be administered by
board of directors. to consist of five persons :
Tint these directors shall be nominated hot ny
parties. hut by petition party designations oelhs
excluded from the ballot in municipal elections
and that .'aH persons appointed by the couhcli
..o- IFS Officers for the cty's service should be
selected with sole regard for fitness. lrre7pec-
tive of political considerations or of geoeraphi-
"caI limitations and in accordance WIN 'he
..1nles Of the Civil Service laws Of the common
wealth.
We could never see any reason for beiieFlns
that cure for all the ills of the munlclpal boaF
poltjc was t. be found in a change from gov
eminent by mayor to government by com
mission Of which plan the Boston committee
seems cnamourcd. That plan has succeeded III
tho South where conditions ere simple ana
favor good government, city populations helhg
homogeneous. intelligent and public spirited. 1t
is based however. on 4 false analogy While we
are being told that cities must abandon one-hlan
government for government by board OF oil
rectors so as to follow the example OF busl-
ness corporation we are learning. on the other
Il
porations are really administered by one man,
the board Of directors being only What are popu-
Iarlv called dummy directors!
~ Nominations of city officials by petition and
the exclusion of party designations from the
ballot would he an interesting experiment, 10
which the Massachusetts ballot lends itself. IL
would not of course. prevent the naming OF
party candidates. campaigns By parties in their
interest and. finally. party voting. though 1t
might encourage ard develop independence ana
intelligence in the selection of officials.
The suggestion that subOrdinates, commissions
ers and the Ike should be chosen for fitness.
.rrespectfve of political considerations without
regard to geographical limitations and in at
'cordance With the rules Of the Civil Service
laws is most interesting. One reason why
municnaI government is bad is That, unlike
business it does not develop experts. There IS
no career in il. There is no chance to rise to a
commiSsionershp by reason of fitness, ana niue
temptation to do for those who expect to
continue in the Civil Service. because the tenure
Of the high offices is short
Moreover there is that sacred regard Tor
geographical limitations" What would he
thought of a New York City business corpora
ton which declined TO seek the services Of an
expert who would he valuable to it merely be-
cause that expert lived in Rochester. Cleveland
or Hartford: If Il man makes a reputation rs a
health commissioner in Rochester. park com
missioner in Hartford a fire commissioner IN
Philadelphia public works commissioner III
Cleveland why should not New York claim his
services if it could attract them? That would
be using business methods" 1t would be doing.
moreover. what foreign cities do where the
science of city government is better developed
than in this country. 1t is time for the public
to think how it shall get the service of expert
encef men who have demonstrated their ca
pacity for the duties TO which they are called as
heads Of its departments, and how ii shall retain
them. At present every man who is appointed
to one of these important Offices is an expert
ment and most of them are failures. What
would happen TO the United States Steel Cor
poration if it changed the heads of all its de-
partISnts every two or three years, and when it
made new appointments chose men who had no
experience in the steel trade, but were success
full dea lers in liquors or underwear: