Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-06
SUFFRAGE AIDS
COLORADO CITY
CITY CLUB TOLD OF GRAND
JUNCTION FIGHT
M UNlcIPAL DEMOCRACY sENA-
TOR BUCKLlN's SUBJECT
Author of New Charter Declares the
Larger American Cities Miserable
When Compared to Euro
pean Municipalities

Municipal Democracy" was the sub
ject of Senator j. w. Bucklin of Colo
rado who spoke to the City club yes
terday. Senator Bucl--in is the author
of the new charter of Grand Junction,
| Colo, which is the most advanced
form of the commission system of gov
ernment, and he told a large audience
! what difficulty Grand Junction had
had in adopting its charter.
IAN American travelling abroad is
! quickly impressed with the idea that
the American cities are the worst gov
| erned in the world" said Senator
Bucklin. "San Francisco, Philadelphia,
| Chicago, New York and our other large
cities suggest at once municipal cor
ruption. The government of some or
our cities is disgrace.
1.-THE theory of our laws is that mu-
nicipal bodies have no powers except
| those granted them by the state legls-
lature, and the result is that our cities
are actually governed by the state law
| makers, most of whom have no concep-
| ton of the needs of the municipality
for which they are legislating. There
| should be as strong a line OF demarca-
| ton between city and state govern
ment as there is between state and ma
tional government.
There are three forces that make
for bad government. First there is the
political control by the public utility
corporations. Second, the power and
influence of the sa,oons-and want
to say that the time is coming when
either the saloons will have to go out
of politics or they will have to go out
of business. Third, the machine poll
tician. l believe in organiZatlorl-you
cannot have good government without
organization-but what is usually
hn
bad influence in government"
All these forces had to be met IN
Grand Junction in the adoption of the
charter of that city, said senator
Bucklin, and he declared that II 1t had
not been for woman suffrage the
charter would not have been adopted;
But the women arose in a BODY ana
voted for it.
The charter takes care of the public
utilities by providing that no franchise
can be granted for more than TWO
years without a vote OF the peopIe,
and that such franchises are granted
for an indeterminate period. Inc
charter also provides that the people
have the right to take over these pup
lie utilities at any time they cnoose
bv paying for the pro- erty at lts ac-
tual physical valuation, plus ten per
cent Senator Bucklin raid this hao
worked admirably. as before the char-
ter was adopted there was not a street
car track in Grand Junction, but that
since its adoption three ana mar
miles had been laid already and there
is material on the ground + extend
ing the system sixteen miles more.
The saloon question was met by drlV-
ing them out of business altogether
with a clause in the charter giving tne
| people the right to vote them IN again
any time they chose. He said there
now is not a saloon within seventy
| FIVE miles of Grand Junction.
A non-partisan ballot and the prefer
ential system of voting took away the
power Of the machine politicians, the the
non-partisan ballot is similar to the
one in use in Los Angeles, but the
preferential system of voting is entire
" new in the United States; It gives gives
ehoices. IF on the first choice a can
didate has a majority of all the votes
cast he is declared elected. II not the the
second choice is then added to the
arst and If that does not result In an
election the third choice is added.