Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-10-30

no es party politics and abolishss legislative executive and judicial dis tinctions' writes Mayor James R. HaDna, of Des Moines, Ia., in tl.e c.rrent issue of The Public.
 It substitutes a board consisting Of .he mayor and four commissioner, who manage the affairs of the city as board of directors would manage the business of a bank or of any ot1- CT large corporation. They are in- vested with all the powers of city government, and are elected by tre people of the whole city.
 These five men divide the duties of city government among themselve. into five departnents: Public affairs accounts and finances, public safety streets and public Improvements, and parks and public property. They then elect all subo"dil1te officers neces. sary for the city business, such ae chief of police, police judge, city clerk, city engineer, city treasurer city auditor, etc. These subordinate officers may be discharged at any time. All subordinates, except com mon laborers are selected under civil service rules, administered by a civil service commission and are removable only for misconduct or lack of atten- tion to duties, Or activity in political matters.
 The four commissioners and :hc mayor act as the' administrative heads of their respective departments They also constitute the council and as such leg!slate for the city.
 It will be seen that directness and simplicity are the main characteris- tics of the Des Moines plan Of com- mission government.
 The great purposes are to make the city officials feel responsive to pub lie opinion, and to enable them to make themselves efficient in admin istration.
 To carry out those two fundamental ideas. two other great principles have dictated nearly all the details of the charter-namely: To confer upon the governing body great power, and to hold it strictlY responsible for right uses of it's power. Publicity and effi- clency are the watchwords of the Des Moines plan.
 Candidates must make public statement of their campaign expenses there can be no secret meeting of the city council; every ordinance appro- priating money must be on public file for seven days before it becomes ef- fective; all franchise must be submit ted to a vote of the people for ap- proval before they become operative: :: and officers must be under secret ob- legations to public srvice companies nthe way of passes, special rates or free services.
 These specific provision for pub- licity have created general spirit that demands the bringing of every thing in connection With the city gov ernment out into the open. Campaigns are conducted practically altogetne' in open meetings, hundreds Of which occur i'll every city election; and cv- cry meeting of sthe city council ia minutely reported in the daily news papers. The result is that public opinion we'll informed and intelligent, moulds the action of the city councv.
 The power of this public opinion is rendered still more effective by pro- visions for an essential part of the Des Moines plan-the initiative. the referendum and the recall.
 Having thus provided for intel.i- gent, active and effective public opin- ion, making the city government re. sponsible to the people for its every act, the thing of importance. indeed the great object. is to give 1t :he means Of efficient administrator. IL is therefore invested with every pow. CT incident to city government-les- islative, executive and judicial-so that there can be no excuse for !n- efficiency.
 Prompt, efficient. business like ad- ministration of municipal affairs IS the natural result. When you have intelligent public opinion stimulating business-like administration of com mon affairs, isn't that something like the fulfillment of the prophecy of Democracy?
 Now, how does this novelty in inun- ic pal government work out in prac- tiee.
 It has been tried in Des Moines on- ly little more than two years, and circumstances during that time have hampered the new form of govern ment more or less. Yet it has un- doubtedly been a great improvement indeed, an almost incalculable im- the old form.
 The administration has been prompter, and the city has been cleaned up physically and morally far beyond the old order. Permanent i.n- provements have been secured to an eXert not even approached in the