The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-11-08
Trail Of Incompetency and
Graft in Des Moines Leads
Directly to Door Of Old Ward
Government.
STORY OF CORRUPTION
IN THE WESTERN CITY
But Investigation Shows That
Des Moines Is Solving Prob
lens for All Other Cities in
America.
(1y Carl Bernhardt.)
ARTICLE IL.


ARTICLE u.
What were the conditions in Des
Moines?"
Des Moines, Ihave already said, rep
resents typical or average American
city. emphasize this because other
wise the question would Immediately
arise, 1.-THE things you say of the Des
Moines plan are doubtless true, but
would they apply with equal force to
any city in the United States?"
And that is pertinent question
which should be answered with de-
scription of the town and its temper
and a sketch of the conditions prev
ious to the adoption Of the Des Moines
plan.
Average American City.
Des Moines is a town of over one
hundred thousand. growing rapidly. It
is a boosting town." "Des Moines
Does Things" is the slogan OF the
town. 1t is pushed ahead by the live
wires of its commercial organizations
which have reduced boosting to an
exact science. mention this because
1t is due to the great help OF the boos-
ters of that town that the Des MOines
plan was adopted. But this live wire
community Is simply typical of Ameri-
can towns today. Business-rush-hur-
ry-accomplishm That is
your average American town. But az
In all towns in which there Is constant
growth and attention to business the
town of Des MOines was by no means
perfect in its city government The
people were too busy with their own
affairs to care any thing about the
city business-again q typical Ameri-
can municipal condition.
Moreover. like all Iowa, Des Moines
10 solidly republican and as invariably
happens where one party has q mo-
nopoly of the city government for
years at time a ring was flourish
ing under the most favorable auspices
of incompetency. graft, corruption and
the like. Here again Is an average
American city.
When I say graft, corruption, in
competency and the like, am well
aware that those terms are vague.
am aware that most of the things
which are charged as such would be
very difficult Of legal proof. But that
10 also typically American.
City Hall Parasites.
In talking over the previous condi-
tions of the city hall with the news
10 ~
that department as their daily work,
I thought perhaps some of the charges
were too strong. Most of them l at
terward substantiated from q member
Of the former board of public works.
The contractors for public buildings,
streets and other public improve
ments played ward politics with such
success, that they had contracts
highly unnecessarily let by their SER
job. They repaid the debts in elec-
tion times by voting their large gangs
Of men. Not content with this the
contracts cost three or four times the
present cost under the present admin
istration. The bills for advertising
we're immense and purposely wrongly
dated In order to afford re-advertising.
The inspection" charges of i'm.
provements were also sources of In.
come to the parasites Of the city
building. The "inspectors'' even be-
came SO bold rs to pile the bricks be.
longing to the city in their back yards
whenever q street was repaved
(and that was as often as the contrac-
tor needed job). The bricks were
then sold. These things were all
proved item and time again. Photo.
graphs Of the bricks In the ''inspec.
tors" yard appeared in the daily pa.
pers and records Of sales established.
Contractors grew very wealthy with
this continual sapping Of the city
treasury-the city became In debt.
Contractors had much to say about
the city government-they ran tt
with the help Of the public service
corporations and the professional
ward healers who conducted the city
business for their mutual benefit
Fault Of the Old System.
And yet you must not get the idea
that this was the startling headline
graft" Of the muckrakers. It was
simply the established order Of things
IAN outgrowth pure and simple. ol
the old form Of government It is 1
typical American condition-the faul,
Of cumbersome and impractical sys
tenn which takes the government out
Of the hands of the people.
The great trouble Of all this was
that there were SO many petty ex
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