Evening journal., 1909-09-27
The United pun
Monday. September 27. 1909
CITY GOVERNMENT IN THE WEST.

HE commission form OF city government
- is increasing IN popularity throughout
the West although it is making little progress
IN the Eastern states. One Western city after
another is adopting the new scheme in the
hope of securing better municipal government.
Leading business men of St. Joseph, Mo.
some time ago decided that a change must be
made in the machinery of their city government
They proposed new charter based on the COM
mission idea, and the voters at a referendum
supported the new charter. 1t provides for the
election OF City Councilmen at large. Much
power is placed with the Mayor and other ideas
OF concentration and Capitalization in govern
ment are embodied in the new charter. The
control by the people is safeguarded by the
recall and the initiative and referendum The
people have the right to vote on all franchises
for public service corporations and the life OF
a franchise is hted.
The most Advanced new charter is that
~adopted by GrAnd <Junction, Colorado. 1t has
the usual initiative and referendum provisions
and i'm addition the Australian system of prefer
ental voting. On the official ballots the names
of the candidates are grouped, according to
the offices for which they are respectively nomi-
mated, without partisan designations, the indi-
vidual voter being privileged to write in another
name. Opposite the names of the candidates
are columns in which the voter may indicate
the entire order of his preference as regards the
complete list of candidates. The system is said
to be simple.
The object of preferential voting is to obviate
second ballots or the election of minority can
didates 1t would appear, however, that the
system is complicated, and in that it is open to
objection The simplest kind OF ballot is the
best
The intention Of all these new charters is to
secure efficiency and responsibility in muni-
cpal government--to have a municipal govern
ment conducted like the business OF large
private corporation
Many people seriously doubt the desrabiity
of some of the provisions in these new plans
of city government. For example the election
of councilmen at large is open to the objection
that certain parts of a city may be ignored.
1t might also be easy for Mayor or small
number of men who manage the city govern
ment under the scheme to be themselves con-
troled by public service corporations and other
concerns that have intimate business dealings
with the city. But the other hand, the
recall provision guards against that danger. 1t
is also noticed that the public service corpor-
ations in the Western cities have fought tooth
and nail the commission plan.
The activity throughout the West in these
matters shows that the people are alive to the
difficult problems OF municipal government.
The lesson we may draw is that Wilmington
ians should likewise bestir themselves in
similar manner. What may be good for one
city might not be good for another. The thing
Is to hnd out how our city government could
be improved, to devise a plan so that the tax
payers shall get more for their money.
Il is not TO be expected that the initiative in
these matters of reform will be taken by office
holders. This fact manifest by the recent
report OF the Wilmington delegates to the con-
ference of American municipalities. If we are to
have new city charter, the work necessary TO
bring II about must be done by the Board OF
Trade and other civic organizations.