The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-11-17

| the boss, but the servant Of the PEG
pie. After you adopt the plan such
matters will rest entirely with the
people Of Burlington If the board
tries to raise the saloon license
| against. the public will the people
have seventeen days in wfscn to get
busy, and IS per cent of the people
can take the matter away from the
council Five men will not attempt
to force a policy upon the city, which
/ the people do not want, when they
are depending upon the people for
their election. No more than sales
man would try to sell goods for more
or less than the proprietor Of the
store had ordered GSs
From one of the back seats: Does,
/ the office seek the man under the new
/ SYSTEM?
Mr.. Ingham: I'm this American
country of ours have observed that
the man generally seeks the office.
But the advantage lies in putting the
man where everybody can see him.
Some one wanted to know about
franchises.
Mr. ngham: franchises must be
submitted to the people. And they
put a pretty wide construction on the
word franchise now. About every
right has to be submitted now except
perhaps that Of walking on q public
/ sidewalk
A voice from the right inquired
about secret meetings.
Mr. Ingham: There are no secret
meetings. Everything is done in the
open. There is just one exception,
and that is when an appointment is
discussed and it might work to the
applicants injury if he were turned
down. But the appointment itself is
made in the open.
Some one wanted to know, how
i many people in Des .Moines favored
the new plan now.
Mr.. Ingham: 1.-THE editor of the In
ter-Ocean put it at 80 per cent. be.
lieve that be is too conservative. /
should place it at 95, and then / be-
lieve that am short of the mark.
i There was sereious opposition, when
4 the plan was submitted The polite
ians opposed it, and union labor op.
posed it, but they are almost all for
i it now
i A gentleman asked about three of
the members getting together in Sc
cret session:
/ Mr.. Ingham "They would need no
secret session Three can always rule
4 the board But whatever they do
must be done in public and it must
always be open for investigation for
at least seven days, and then If there
is anything wrong, we stop them,
The civil service was again breach
ed.
Mr.. Ingham "The appointments
are uniformly good. In the very be-
ginning, when the old habits were still
strong upon US, city marshal was
appointed. whose appointment was in
the nature of the payment OF polit-
4 ical debt. Within six months, he was
removed, and a good man from the
ranks was promoted to the position .
Mr. Ingham also made clear, that nc
appointments are made by single
commissioners, and that the mayor
has no veto power and could not APP
point street commissioner over the
wishes of the council.
A citizen asked: How do the an.
pointiye officers rank as compared
with those formerly elected?'
Mr.. Ingham: Il am not familiar
with all of them, but know that the
city attorneys office was never in
more competent hands, and the en-
gineer's department was never SO sat
isfactorily managed since the Office
was created, as it is by the present
incumbent No railroad company
would have an engineer elected BY
popular vote, and the assessor is fire.
quently overlooked by the average
voter, while the people who are in
terested in him keep both eyes OPEN
A man with a deep bass voice ask
ed about bonds.
Mr.. Ingham stated that the city was
heavily in debt. But that there were
no bonds issued to pay current ex
penses, but that the city paid It's way
on cash basis and like good bust
ness men discounted its bills. The
actual saving in the running expenses
amounts to over 100000 per annum. A
floating debt, a heritage from form.
er administration. has been paid off
AS to transferring money from one
n fund or one appropriation to another
the speaker explained that the com
mission was not tied up, except Sc
, far as these matters were fixed by
state law. OF course, the commits
sion plan is under state law.
Somebody wanted to know. If il
were customary in Des Moines to
order public improvements, which
were not to be done.
Mr.. Ingham: Public improvements
are not ordered, unless 1t is intended
to do the work Immediately. Oh
course, if the commission find that II
, would cramp the treasury. the jot
could be laid over to another year,