New-York tribune., 1909-03-27
NEW CHARTER FOR CITY
!. HAMPDEN DOUGHERTY
EXPLAINS FEATURES.
n Clear Constitution for the City,
Establishing Fundamental Sys-
tenn of Government.


work done by that commission is not generaliy
known Nor does the public fully realize what
the commission has done in laying broad fouada-
tion for a scheme OF municipal government
To this city the charter is in measure what the
Constitution of the United States is to the country
in establishing a fundamental system Of govern
ment.
To explain this feature of the charter and to
give some insight into the motives that actuated
the members of the commission in reachins oe-
csion on the various parts of the charter j. Hamp-
den Dougherty, OF the most active members OF
the commission has consented to write series OF
articles for The Tribune. The first one deals with
the underlying principles of the work shows now
the charter been divided into city constitu-
ton and administrative code. and how exactness
simplicity and brevity have been substituted Tor
ambiguity, involved language and redundancy
BY j. HAMPDEN DOUGHERTY.
purpose TO invite deliberation upon a new char
ter for the city of New York. The subject speaks
| its own Importance to quote from Hamilton in
the opening pages Of The Federalist" 1t cannot
be too strongly impressed upon the public mind at
the of this discussion that the substantive
changes in the scheme of the city government pro-
posed in the new charter, however valuable they
! may be IN themselves. are eclipsed In Importance
by the change which is proposed in respect or the
form of the charter itself
The present city has never had real charter
that is real constitution or organic law The
commission has differentiated the organic from the
administrative precisely as is done in the case OF
:
amendment of the organic city law difhcut-in
other words 10 stop constant charter tlnkerlng.
Since the revision of the charter in 1901 upward OF
a thousand bills to amend it have been introduced
in the Legislature, many OF which have become
law the consequence is that chaos instead of order
reigns. Having placed the structural provisions Oh
the city government in the charter, the conlfls-
sion has put the administrative provisions IN
code The charter E.. the city constitution Is
short document of 2g5 sections containing seventy
five thousand words. 1t might be even more
abridged and some its sections be shifted 10 the
administrative code. The code is somewhat longer
es II contains the provisions regulating the man
ner in which the fundamental powers conferred Dy
the charter TO be exercised, out II VIII PIoo-
ably not exceed four hundred sections Inc TWO
enactments together will have not more than ABOUT
ona-tbird as many sections as the present charter,
and will contain not more than one-fourth as many
words to be found in IL
NEED OF REAL CONSTITUTION
II nation or q state should have q constitution
90 also should city which greater in population
than many nation and many state
From the business point OF view the city corpora
tion should have constitution or charter ana ts
b1yIsws or administrative code. The power to amend
the constitution should be rendered more oinlcuit
than the power to amend the code ana the DC
/ casions for charter amendment should be much
fewer. This is the first and perhaps 'he sred'eS'
benefit OF the commissions Work.
When greater New York was formed II was at
arst expected that the commission 10 prepare ilS
arte would S'AA7NtNNNA'''-
! undertaking was too vast for the commission |"
enter unon during its short life Its charter was
not "a charter IN general terms, with concise sec
,,on. commemorative in character but was an az
gregation more or less symmetrically arranged OF
Ali laws touching the newly constituted city
The commission Of 1900 In turn decided not 10
enter upon such monumental enterprise az 'ile
creation OF a charter in general terms Ihat .aSA
has been reserved for the present commission Inc
reat value OF it's lies not in projected changes
a. tho shstance Of the law, but in It's DIVISION OF
the existing charter into constitution ano an Hu
ntstrative code IN its simplhcation OF the text Vi
the existing charter. and the reduction OF cum
brous and amorphous body Of law 10 ordoI4S' sSs
tematic form.
The proposed changes in the constitution of the
council or the Board OF Estimate IN the size OF the
Board Of Education, etc. reflect trans''o'y ssH,i
mont which may fuctuate from decade to decaue
yybua believe these changes IN the main 10 be IN
line with city evolution and progress am Ii'oie
o,,,,,cad Tint our codifcation OF the ctys laws
is the work which will longest survive ana WHICH
will be most widely followed in other cities
SIMPLIFYING THE CODE.
| tyopr q NAV be asked. can such condensation be
enacted without risk OF change of law Inc an
sver is by the application of few simple rules ::
ctota the Isuv In plain and comprehensive language;
omit all repettIons clarity ambiguous expressions
and eliminate all sections OF the present charter
which being penal In their character or OF genera
annlication throughout the state, have no proper
Mace in the cty's constitution or in It's code.
There are for example, nearly two hundred pehaI
sactions in the present charter with exact counter
parts In many in the penal code OF 'Iie 0ou'
- -, ,roosdura Law does not acquire
sanction by iteration; hence these repe''oiIS
orc unnecessary and sometimes harmful as Varl-
ance In expression leads to doubt as to what Is
the Law ,.
The present charter contains numerous reuuhuHl'
nrovtsions for the condemnation or real properly
For city purposes About twenty sections provide
tbe method OF condemnation TO be followed If land
! =. zo,,ob+ for additional water supply purposes
nerbans as many more sections furnish the ma
chinery for the acquisition OF land tor oock anu
water front purposes; and an altogether distinct
chapter of the present charter tells no" ue 't'y
NAV proceed to appropriate private property for
o.hnr ci+v pilrposes. In some cases title passes
~ the CITY as soon condemnation commissioners
have taken oath in other cases not until the pil-
vate owner has been paid. There Is neither logic
nor reason for differences of method; the explana-
ton of the present wilderness of condemnation law
Is that like Topsy In Uncle Toms CABIN II
"growed" -.
The city early in its history FOUND that II must
shnIv to the Legislature for power to acquire
,5 for streets: later that 1t needed authority to
obtain lands for waterfront purposes; later stii
g. notor suppIv and again. for park ard other
it,, ,,sas on each occasion an elaborate statute
or series OF statutes drawn each. except for
the narticular matter to which II related largely
g. renrodrction of It's predecessor. The new char
ter and the new code Will provide only one inetaod
or ACQUISITION in all classes of cases. thus dis
nensing with literally hundred lengthy and re-
dundant sections of the present law
USELESS vERBIAGE.
1,an,ei Webster in his celebrated speech upon the
5aatb Of Jefferson and the elder Adams, told his
hearers in Congress fully ten times over, In ex-
actIy the same words. that John Adams was dead
Twentieth century life requires laconic expression.
The simpler the language the better, especially in
7 fnd1 n