The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-01-15


an i'll adapted charter The experienc
has been nation wide. The evil is fun
damental
The first of these fundamental evil
lis the division of the city into ward
and the representation of each ware
lat its history will show that the in
stitution has no logical reason TO offe
for its existence. In 1881 the problem
of city government was not an impor
people lived on farms or in villages hal
the size of MankatO. The statesmen
of that day accordingly concentrated
their attention on the perfection OF state
and national, rather than city govern
ment. The very success of their eff
forts is at the bottom of the failure
of city government in this country to-
day For SO impressed We're the people
with the system of checks and balan-
ces devised that when the city rose tc
proportions they conceived it to be 9
miniature state and fashioned its gov
eminent accordingly. Then the presi-
came board Of aldermen, the house OF
representatives a common council and
the supreme court became the well
known municipal court. Born i'm the be-
lief that the national idea was God
sent and that what was good for the
nation would be good for the city and
small town, this type of urban govern
ment mas continued to this day. Prac-
loyalty to the national idea.
But whatever may have been the or
IGN or the system ii should not be
condemned if it satisfies the needs OF
the community, for the needs of n com
munity should be the chief factor In
determining ITS government. But the
supposed analogy between the city and
the nation fails when the needs OF each
are considered. We are coming TO see
that the needs of the city are not so
al
of a great business corporation. The
work Of a city is largely administrative
and but little legislative There are
but Few poHcies which require the ma
The building Of roads and sidewalks
the maintenance of parks and schools,
the management of Waterworks ana
sewerage systems. and the protection
fire, and disease, these constitute the
principal work of q city The idea
of elaborate legislative functions should
be abandoned The conception of city
administration as big business should
take its place.
In conducting this business the city
needs experts: Here in Mankato is
a city worth in property about 10000
900 and expanding in the neighborhood
OF 100000 ervey year. The city scarce
efficiency from men elected for a term
of two years to work of which they
know almost nothing. If the city sue
ceeds i'm electing honest men the pro-
blem is not solved for it has been re-
peatedly shown that there is nothing
about an honest man which tells him
intuitively when the city is being hon
estly done and whether or not the tax
expended. 1t is an expensive custom
to elect novices as city managers and
change them every two years. There
is something of common sense if not
much of American democracy in the
German custom of electing a mayor
because of his experience and demon
strated ability regardless of his habi-
tatiOn at the time.
Local representation should be based
on a difference of local needs. In Man
on practically no other basis than an
equal division of the population. There
can be no division on difference of
interests for the interests of all Sec
tons of the city are much the same.
This is especially true since the intro
duction of the street railway and other
improved means of transportation.
Everyone is interested in the main
tainance of city park. All want good
roads and sidewalks not only in one
ward but in all parts of the city. The
activities of men are not confined to
one part of town. Often their homes
and their business are in different wards.
Disease is not a thing which can be
determination effected by ward repre-
sentation on the council. In a city
the size of Mankato it seems almost
ridiculous to suppose that the interests
of one ward are so different and dis
tinct from those of another as to re-
quire special representation on the coun-
ell
Local representation is not only neces-
sary but is extremely detrimental to the
city as a whole. If a man is elected
by a ward he represents that ward.
If he is elected by the city he will
represent the city. Ward representation
pulling for six different localities and
only the mayor interested in the city
as a whole. An alderman must secure
a sufficient number of improvements
for his ward to perpetuate himself in
office. Otherwise his term has not
been a success. He might vote to
pave every street in his ward and be
certain OF reelection whereas if he
voted for a second bridge he would be
considered to be unfaithful to his trust.
So far as the city as a whole is con-
cerned an alderman is usually willing
to barter or sell his vote in whatever
cause it will bring the greatest returns
to his ward. 1t is next to impossible
to get men elected by wards to take
a broad view of the cities interests and
vote for improvements in other wards
unless they get similar favors in return.
And the trouble is not so much with
Representatives complain that it is i'm
possible for them to take states
men like view of national questions
when they are supposed to reflect the
attitude of one small district. The fact
is more true and less necessary in the
case of the city. Abolish ward lines
entirely and let the council be a mat
ter for general election. Then there
will be developed within the city a BODY
actuated by common interest which
shall be the welfare of the city as a
whole.
The second evil which has retarded
the development of cities and which |
shall call fundamental is the practice
by which the state minutely enumer-
ates the duties and powers of the city
struction thereof. To enumerate is to
limit. The Mankato charter contains
forty eight paragraphs devoted to an
enumeration of ordinances which the
council may pass and powers which it
may exercise. This means that the leg
to those forty eight or more cases.
Beyond that it cannot go for the
charter gives ii no authority. Obviously
this limits the usefulness of the coun-
Gil Tor having once passed such Ordi-
nances as it may it's legislative activity
is done by commissions or a board of
public works it's usefulness is small
indeed. Someone has likened the coun-
Gil under these conditions to the YER
inform appendix whose presence in the
human organism is liable to cause trou-
BILE without discharging so far as known
any useful function.
This limitation has occasioned the
much coming and going to the legisla-
ture with purely local affairs. 1t has
needlessly burdened the legislature and
bred uncertainty in every local under
taking