Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-05-19

| 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 practically
prohibited by law. enforced by crimi-
nal sanctions. The candidates for the
council are prohibited from compensat-
| ing or promising to compensate voters
| for political support with any emoiu
ment whatever and are especially pro-
hibited from promising appointments
| to Office.
Responsibility is concentrated upon
| the five councilmen, the mayor is may
or in name only, since he is clothed
with all the powers of councilman
and is in fact councilman rather than
mayor, although he is placed at the
head of the department of public safe
ty and is at all times within reach
of the public as representative of the
city, and for which extra service he
receives an additional salary
What Has Been Done.
| Having adopted the new law with de-
termination to give it thorough trial,
in the belief that everything was to BE-
gained and nothing was to be lost, how
! did Des Moines go about the municipal
revolution, and what, in detail, has the
Iplan accomplished?
In the first place. the old governing
lpowers We're thrown out of Office, from
mayor to councilmen and from board
of public works to board of Library trus-
tees, with host of inspectors who did
not inspect and contractors who con-
tracted for everybody's interests eX-
lcept the city's.
Five commissioners were elected ami
the work apportioned among them rs
follows: A. j. Mathis, mayor and SUI
IEerintendent of the department of pub
lie affairs; Charles w. Schramm, SUI
Iperintendent of the department of pub
lie accounts and finances; John l..
Hamery, superintendent of the depart
ment of public safety; John MacVicar,
superintendent of the department of
streets and public improvements; ]. w.
Ash, superintendent of the department
of parks and public property.
These five men took over the con-
troll of the business of a city of 90 600
population. covering an area of fifty
four square miles, the assessed
valuation of whose property is
S74,O4l 800. From giving out posi-
tons in payment of political debts
they turned to giving them out as a
result of civil service examination.
selecting the men most fit for the
work. The electors had decided that
business methods should prevail.
). Why? Because millions of dollars
were at stake. The police force num-
bers 80 men, at an annual salary of
!, $4,000. Should not this money be
spent so as to conserve the welfare
of the people and their property?
: The fire department force Plumbers
!; loo men, its maintenance is an an
nual expense of $130.5S5. Should not
/. this money be spent so as to pro-
tect property worth millions from
, wanton or useless destruction? The
{ city has 70 miles of=paved streets,
II SO miles of sewers.f 125 miles of
| water mains, 120 miles of gas mains,
| SO miles of electric street railway
{ trackage, 10 parks; should not the
= rights of the humblest individual be
: attended to as well as of the greatest
= corporation? From having filthy
: streets, at a cost of $35 600 a year
f for alleged cleaning, the city was to
turn to having clean streets. with q
| balance left in the treasury at the
: end of year.
Il Financial Management.
Although handicapped by a deb
9 of SlS0.000 left it by former coun
ellis, the slate was cleaned for the
O commission by a bond issue and the
Des Moines plan was launched on {
clear sea to demonstrate what il
could accomplish. That the test ha!
o. been more than satisfactory is tn,
! opinion of every Des Moines citizen
), The $4,000 the city has in it!
o treasury at the beginning of the new
! year is largely due to the superin
tendents of the various department.
:, living below their appropriations
Approximately $4,000 was saved il
8 this way, while there was paid to TIN
. city from the county $4,000 NOR,
than was estimated.
Many of the notable achievement
of the commission plan are the re
4 suit of the elimination of small
u wastes. Indeed, it is estimated tina
such savings would more than pa
. the $15,o00 in commissioners sal
Is aries. The item of interest alon
Al amounts to more than $4,000. Tn
e der the old aldermanic system moth
III ing was received, while the city no,
n draws per cent interest on time de
s posits and 2 per cent on daily bal
y ances. The city's funds will hav