The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-11-16
CITY CHARTER
DISCUSSED


conducting the business of the munlcl-
pality, saving that the present charter
was destined for a village such as
Walla Walla was when the measure
was adopted, and that he had helped
start the ball rolling for commission
form of government some three years
ago, being still heartily in favor of the
proposed change.
"The present charter is inadequate
in every way" said Mr.. Kellough. The
mayor and members of the council are
sadly handicapped; they cannot go
ahead with confidence, as they are not
given the authority to which they are
entitled. and the people cannot expect
them to assume the burdens OF the
community when they are paid abso-
lutely nothing for the time and labor
thew give to the affairs of the city.
About the. only compensation they re-
ceive for their generosity is criticism;
there is not a man in the council VINO
has not been criticised for one thing
or another, and this also tends TO
handicap them.
.The officers, outside of the mayor
and members of the council should
be appointive. An attorney, for IN
stance. may be elected by the people,
but he may be a man in whom the
mayor and councilmen repose little or
no confidence, and their opinions rem
dered are not such as to call for i'm
plicit faith therein. There is lack OF
harmony The speaker then cited an
instance of a request made by a COM
mitteemen of one of the elective Off
GERS. The request was refused, where
upon the committeeman insisted that
it be granted.
.Insist and be ID replied the
elective officer. I'm elected to this Of
flee as much as you are to yours" Mt
Kellough dwelt upon the importance OF
remunerating these men who give their
time to the. transaction of city bust
ness. and have a recognized head for
every department. In order that all
questions brought up in council meet
ing might be settled conclusively, and
decided in the proper manner, the
speaker argued that the attorneys sal
airy should be made commensurate
with the services expected.
The speaker offered no criticism of
any of the present city officers or
members of the council, saying he be-
lieved every man was straight and
square, but in case some change is not
made in, the form Of government II
may be imossibe to secure such men
in the future.
Something Wrong.
every sensible man in this room,"
said the speaker, knows that when
the city is running from $4,000 to $40,-
600 behind each year, there is some
thing wrong; he also knows that with
in a few years the city will become
bankrupt if the annual deficiency is
not eliminated. If it were not for
desiring to make safe investments, we
all know that city warrants would not
today be worth more than 80 cents on
the dollar The only way out of the
difficulty is the commission form of
government"
RAIDER Speaks.
Attorney z. M. RAIDER, who several
years ago held the office of city at
torney, gave his views on the pres
ent city charter, saying the great
trouble was in the fact that the mayor
and councilman were in a position to
give orders to subordinate officers, but
unable to enforce them because of the
plan now in force whereby all munich
pal officers are elective, rather than
appointive, and subject to the dictates
of the council That there is no rem
edy under the present system, and
that officers may use their positions to
further their political aspirations was
one of the statements made by Mr..
RAIDER, and he cited an instance that
occurred in the city election in 1897,
when a certain street commissioner
kept large number of men in his de-
partment solely that they might be in
the city to vote on election day; how
the mayor was forced to veto an or
dinance in order to insure his re-elec-
ton, and how the street commissioner
carried his point.
Had the commissioner not been cleo
tive, such a manipulation of politics
would have been impossible In Mr..
Raiders opinion, the following officials
should be appointive; street commits
sioner, chief of police, city attorney,
and the city engineer. He favored the
election Of fHo oIa nj h.