The Washington times., 1909-05-13

oO or outstanding judgments ana other
claims. This amount the new govern
msnt took up by issuing bonds and with
cleared field went forward to meet
current expenses. a statement by the
city auditor, John w. Hawk, shows that
on March 81 1909, the end OF the first
hscal year of the commission, the city
not only did not have any outstanding
judgments against it,. but had S49,472;14
more In its working funds than IN the
same date the year before. From the
most conservative viewpoint, the new
government has saved at least $4,000
ldppro%lmateiy) at the same uine that
1t has done more work than ever before
IN single year.
The evidence of citizens as to the work
accomplished is most convincing Said
j. y. Ione' OF Tone Bros, Inc, whole
sale coffee and spices
The streets end alleys are cleaner
under the new plan; one or two jobs
or bad paving were not accepted; side
walks are being laid OF uniform width
ana matsTfal--cement with an iron strip
rer edging. Police regulations are better
enforced: saloons are about the same
as usual, but slot machines have been
suppressed and the red-light district
broken uD, its deniZens being mainly
driven out of the city, not scattered.
IS even more so under present cOndi-
he fire department, usually efhcieps,
uons; and both policemen and firemen
present a neater appearance"
Improvement All Around
II. T. Blackburn, cashier of the Iowa
National Bank, corroborated this opin-
ION, declared the plan had worked well,
and that merchants favored il as a
great improvement over the old govern
ment. He, tco, emphasized the better
condition of the streets and ADDED:
There is clear-cut division of the
municipal work and officials take an
interest in their duties" F. j. Camp,
secretary and manager of the Brown
Hurley Hardware Company, spoke
strongly Of the value OF better street
cc!ldluonS In the business section. ''The
new methOd, he said, makes il pos
SlDle 10 locate responsibility ar the city
nan Tor any act or failure of the city
government and there is every reason
70 believe that the plan will be con-
A large property owner pointed out
me superiority of this new system over
the Old Formerly he said, sit wa
frequently Impossible to find any one 1T
Inc city hail. the council, being practJc-
ally unpaid, gave little or no time to
the city's business, meeting nights after
their own business was finished. Men
should be ls'id TO devote their whole
time 70 the work Of the city: this
Suits
Editor william Hale, Of the pes
Moines News. and Prof. McNauI. of Des
MONIES College, spoke enthusiasticaIlv
OF the Improvement tba methods bsIre
Drought about. Isaac r. riedlich a large
retall clothing merchant spoke warmly
OF the good effects Of having paid com
mlSsionerS in the increased nTornntuass
OF attention to business and The General
improvement: ans T J. Williams. OF
the Williams Buggy Company. caIle[. at
tention to the fact that some OF the
commissioners had held office under NE
old government. and pointed ont that
now the same men ara enabled to do
better work.
Worth Considering.
A moments consideration of the ner-
sonnel Of the commission is worth
while. In view Of the wide publicity
given TO the Des Moines plan. inquiry
naturally arises as to the men chosen
to carry 1t out. Are they representa-
tive citizens? Do they all come from
the same ward? In short, what are
their characters?
In the first place it should be noted
that Des Moines retains the old name,
city council" TO designate its new
commission of five. The rnayor-cOm-
missioner, who has charge OF the de-
partment of public affairs and general
supervision of the needs OF the CITY.
IS A j. Mathis, former police Judge
-
larry favorable to the new plan at the
outset The superintendent of ac-
counts and finances is Charles w.
Schramm, previously city assessor. In
his depa rtment John w. Hawk. the au-
ditor. was assistant auditor for many
years and is an experienced man.
John MacNlcar' mayor twice before,
is now head of the department Of
streets and public improvements. He
has been secretary for several years Of
the League Of American municipalities
and has taken great interest in city
affairs Albert c. FrisK, chief clerk IN
this depaI tment, occupied a similar
position for severs years.
John L Hamery. in charge OF the
department of public safety, is a union
labor man, iourne~man painter by
trade. He was alderman in 1907 and
has made a record IN police matters,
cleaning up the city with energy and
decision.
J. w. Ash, at the head Of parks and
public property, used to be a coal miner
and was a deputy sheriff for one term
He Is another union labor man.
East Side of Des Moines.
The east side of Des Moines-for the
city is divided by the Des Moines
river-cOntains the State capitol and a
business section of it's own. not so
large, however, as on the west size.
MAJOR Mathis and Commissioner Ash
come from the east side; the others
live west of the river There are beth
Republicans and Democrats on the
board; union labor is represented; there
Is no tendency discernible to choose
the commissioners from any one section
of the city. nor from any one profess
sion or class.
This Des Moines plan is the Gal
weston idea improved" as one man
expressed II. To the commission is
given large powers, authority to pass
ordinances, TO determine the duties and
fix the salaries of city employees, 10
create or discontinue offices, remcY e
subordinates and transfer employees
from one office 20 another. A ma
jOrity vote rules, the mayor having 40
veto. Des Moines following in this
respect the Galveston plan, rather than
that at Houston
With these large powers go three
checks of great Importance. which
make the commissioners strictly ac-
countable 20 the people-the recall. the
referendum, and the non-partisan pri-
mary and election already described.
Any ordinance rot satisfactory TO the
people may, upon petition of 25 per
cent Of the voters at the last election,
be suhynitted to popular vote and does
not become effective unless ratified by
a majority of those voting upon it
This safeguard Is especially valuable
in the case of franchises. aimed. as II
is, 70 prevent the council from giving
ayAay the city's rights.