The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-11-14
GIARlNG DEFECTS OF
OLD SYSTEM EXPOSED
Municipal Expert of the Iowa
Capital Continues His Argu-
ments Which Convinced the
Des Moines People.
(By Carl Bernhardt.)
ARTICLE 7.

Berryhill, in speaking of the Des
Moines Plan, that our city govern
ment is not like our national and state
government. The nation and the state
both have constitutions. The city is
the creature of the state. l have al
ready pointed out the evils of the ape
ing of the state and national govern
ment in what should be simply busi
ness corporation in which the citizens
are the stockholders
Those evils are, for the most part,
simply the fault of bad system. You
could not run the Union Pacific rail
road with an organization like that
1t would go into bankruptcy at once
as do most cities in actual effect. The
evils of the old plan are glaring.'
Contrast Of Des Moines Plan.
ITO meet these evils the Des Moines
Plan of Government was devised. The
trainers of the measure recognized the
fact that our government, national,
state and municipal, was based upon
democratic principles, and unlike the
Texas plan, the new system was made
optional with our cities, and before its
adoption must be approved by a ma
jority of the voters, declaring therefor
at a special election called for that
purpose. s..4--.-s-...s-.~.s4a. .8.s. Il. ........-
THE method Of electing the council
is practically new one. 1t involves
the selection of double the number of
candidates. for the places to be filled.
at formal primary to be conducted
under the Australian ballot system.
The ticket thus nominated must run
the gauntlet of regular election. and
the successful candidates must of ne
cessity receive a majority of the votes
cast at the election. All party terms
which enable the voter to distinguish
the party relations of candidates, are
kept from the ballot, and the personal
tiles of candidates are the sole factors
submitted to the voter for his judg-
ment. Party machines are practic-
ally prohibited by law. enforced by
for the council are prohibited from
compensating or promising to COM
pensate voters for political support
with any emolument whatever. and are
especially prohibited from promising
appointments to office. Responsible
ity is concentrated upon the five coun-
Cilmen. the mayor is mayor in name
only, since he is clothed with all of
the powers of a councilman, and is in
fact councilman rather than mayor,
although he is placed at the head of the
Department of Public Safety, and is at
all times within reach of the public as
the representatives OF the city. and for
which extra service he receives an ad-
ditional salary.
Duties Of Commissioners.
1.-The various functions of the city
are divided UP into five departments.
each councilman being placed at the
head of one department by a majority
vote of the entire council. The duties
devolving upon any one councilman
may be decreased or increased or
transferred from one department to
another. The object to be attained is
to at all times hold the majority of the
council responsible. II councilman
proves unworthy or incapable. the re-
eponsibility rests with the entire coun-
ell to so supervise his work as to Sc
cure results and in the event of their
failure to SO supervise such depart
ment they are held accountable to pub
lie opinion. In order to make them
representatives of the entire city they
are elected at large and every voter in
the city feels that he has a personal
interest in every department of the
city and in the work of each individ-
ual councilman.
Blow at Corporation Graft.
ITO remove one of the most fragrant
sources of corruption. all public fran
chises. except those OF minor char
acter, must be submitted to the pop
ular vote for ratification before they
become effective. whereby it would be
improbable for franchise seekers to
corrupt the council in the matter of
securing franchises. in view of the
fact that the franchise. when secured
from the council. might not be ratified
by the people. Safe guards are thrown
around the action of the council to
prevent abuses of power.
Thus. in Section 12.-'Every ordi-
nance or resolution appropriating
money or ordering any street i'm.
provement or sewer, or making or au-
thorizing the making of any contract,
or granting any franchise or right to
occupy or use the streets. highways,
bridges or public places in the city
for any purpose, shall be complete in
the form in which it is finally passed.
Continued on Page Seven.)