The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-10-22
COMMISSION PLAN EFFECT IN
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA,
Merits of the New System Are Being
Discovered; Old Charter Did Moth
ing But Promote Strife and Bick-
erings; Sectionalism Has Been
Done Away With; Two Problems
Have Been Solved; the Election.
[St. Paul Dispatch Special

and half months of experience under
its commission government. Berkeley
has begun to have some idea of the
merits of that system of administra-
ton as compared with the dement's of
its predecessor. AT least in so far as
the problems, which gave rise to the
change, are concerned, the experiment
has proven success, for already the
sectional strife, that was so marked
before the adoption of the new char
ter. has almost disappeared, and the
city has settled down to the, enjoy
ment of such harmony as the charter
builders had anticipated.
Fractional Jealousy Caused Change.
For, to very large extent, it was
to dissipate the clouds of sectional
jealousy, of ward patriotism, that the
men who are responsible for the new
government in this city, set to work.
Berkeley, the seat OF the University
of California, is made up o ftwo fac
tions. In one end of the city is the
large portion of the population, which
is tributary TO the college. including
the faculty, the student body and the
families thereof In the other end
is a factory element, working men and
their families, almost completely out
of sympathy with their neighbors,
whom they are pleased to designate as
''hi9hbrows" or "longhairs,' as their
is not merely imaginary, but that it
finds actual basis in fact, was demon
strated some months ago when there
circulated through the West end, the
residence district OF the intercollegiate
element, a petition for the secession
of that part of the city. The petition
failed to secure enough signatures to
give it weight before the court, but,
was Indicative nevertheless of a feel
ing that BODIED no good for the city's
continued unified existence.
That the old charter did nothing to
inhibit this strife was always evident
Ia the man who seriously considered It.
The old charter provided ward lines;
ii provided for councilman and
school director from each ward; it
permitted the choosing of delegates to
primary nominating conventions from
the several wards. The Seventh, which
CHANGED to include majority of West
end voters. had thus constant re-
minder that, to some extent, it was a
separate entity. When its representa-
tive on the board Of town rustees
found himself in the minority on any
question and the particular sectional
interest for which, he worked lost out
as a consequence, mis- constituency i'm
mcdiately found reason to complain.
THE Seventh ward was again being
Disseminated against
Had Two Problems to Solve.
This much OF the conditions that
seemed to demand change in admin
istrative system may find its counter
part in more than one American mu-
nieipality, whether or not it be the
seat of university. Other reasons
that here existed such, for instance,
as the obsolescence of certain portions
Of the city's previous charter, brought
about by the growth of the place from
village into city, may and may not
lens. AT any rate, sectionalism and
obsoleseence were the two problems
which the chartcr-framers wished to
solve.
How they did it appears in their in
strument as it appears on the statute
books. 1t was tho university COM
munity which took the lead in the
change, and to a great extent, what
ever opposition developed at the polls
when the charter was submitted for
vote, came from the West end The
opposition was not important and the
charter carried by a safe margin.
The new charter provides. first of
all, that all officers be elected from
the city at large, that no longer shall
there be First ward or Seventh
ward, Fourth or Third. No longer
either, is there a nominating party
convention to which one section of the
city sends SO many delegates and an
other section so many more. In other
words, whatever artificial lines existed
before the change to intensity the al.
ready existent idea of sectionalsm
have been wiped off the city map. The
residents OF the warning sections may
fall back upon geography for an ex-
cuse to continue their jealousies, but
never again can the city itself be held
responsible therefor.
Has One Distinctive Feature.
To a great extent this consumma
ton, so devoutly to be wished, is at
rived at in the manner of electing of
ficers. Herein, also the Berkeley char
ter differs from the Des Moines plan
and the plan of most other cities that
have embraced the commission system
of administration. A manor woman, il
the school board is being considered
becomes candidate by filing petit
ton sieaed by twenty five of his fel
low voters. The names of candidate!
appear on the ticket in alphabetical
order with no word to show their resi-
dcncc place or the source of their sup
port At first election, if any of thu
candidates receives a majority of al
the votes cast for the office to which
ne aspircs, he is declared elected. II
SO far as the offices are not thus filled
-. mr.