Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-22
EASTERN COMMENT

4 MONG the many
u have been made in eastern news
IA papers and magazines on the
municipal situation in Los Angeles,
none will be found more interesting
than that published in the outlook,
which has taken pains to review the
question at some length. Tho value OF
the article in respect of the accuracy
of it's information has of course been
somewhat impaired by the new turn in
events which followed the resignation
of Harper But it remains interesting
as showing how keenly the highest au-
thorities in the east are watching de-
yelopments. Los Angeles has estab-
Ished it's reputation as a city not
afraid to make what conservatives or
other biased persons call experiments.
The only condition attendant upon a
Los Angeles experiment is this: The
city always MAKES SURE 1T is
RIGHT before it goes ahead. This
year records vigorous action taken for
BETTER CITY GOVERNMENT by
the citizens of Los Angeles" says the
Outlook" They adopted several radical
changes in their city charter. They
gave the city power to construct and
operate utilities employing electricity,
as it has now the power to develop and
sell water and gas. They gave 1t
new form of legislative council. Here
tofore the councilmen have been chosen
by wards. Each member of the council
has thus represented, not the whole
city, but a small portion of the city.
Hereafter every councilman will have
share in representing the city at
large, and will regard his constituents,
not as a group to get what they can
from the rest of the municipality, but
as a great body of people jointly under
taking to manage their common affairs.
The citizens of Los Angeles also de-
creed that hereafter nominations for
municipal offices shall be made by
petition and without party designation.
They thus followed out virtually the
same plan which has been recon-
mended by the Boston finance commit
tee for nominations in that city. They
also adopted seven other amendments
to their organic law. chiefly of local in
terest. At the same time they rejected
at least seven other proposed amend
ments Among those which the voters
declined to adopt was one which in
creased the salaries of city officials.
The rejection of this was disappoint-
ment to many good citizens who be-
lieve that higher standards of munich
pal administration would justify sal
aries more nearly adequate for the SER
vices rendered. 1t was pointed out,
however, that the people of Los An
geles, like the people of most American
cities, have not acquired confidence in
municipal servants. The action of Los
Angeles is in the direction of sound
municipal progress. The primary
amendment gives to the citizens them
selves a larger share of responsibility
for the choice of officials; the council
amendment raises the responsibility
and the dignity of municipal officials
and rescues them from that system o.
| the practice of log-rolling and trading
votes in order to secure local advan
tage and privilege, and which has DON
as much as anything else to foster cor
ruption and sordidness in American
municipal affairs. The utilities amend
| ment is one which ought naturally Il
| accompany the other two changes, fol
| it gives to the more responsible munich
pal government larger powers. Now
| the citizens of Los Angeles are looking
forward to a new sort of election. In
stead of being confronted with the tasf
| of electing a man into office, they are
facing the task of electing a man Out
of office. For the first time in the his
| tory of the city, and, so far as we
know, in the history of any American
municipality, the device known as the
recall is to be applied to the office OF
mayor. The required number of sigma
lures to a petition has been filed. As
| a consequence, on the 26th of March
| the people of the city are to decide
whether they will require Mayor Har-
per, who has been accused of using his
official power to further his own pri-
vate interests, to leave the mayor!
chair Although the law under which
| the recall is now exercised has beer
in the city charter for about six years
| this is the first time that it has beer
| invoked against an officer of the whole