The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1910-10-01
The Story Of the Short Ballot Cities
A Series Of Articles on the New Commission Form of
Municipal Government
BY RICHARD S. CHILDS
III.
The Secret of the Success of the Commission Plan

unique. II Is so short that every citi
Zen knows what he Is doing and IS no,
relying on n party label or on the
guidance Of n politician The "average
man, "the man in the street. or tn,
plain people," whatever you choose
TO call them, are IN complete control
Of the government. The short ballot
has left no work for the politician to
do; the people arrange the whole mat
ter directly with the candidates with
out the politicians help.
The politician Is n specialist In cit
izenshlp. and In the commission gov
erned cities citizenship is SO simple
that there Is nothing to be specialist
in
The most marked phenomenon Of
commission government has been tho
Increased interest Of the people In
their city government All eyes have
been focused on the city hall month
after month without interruption,
Ihe acts OF the commission are the
topic of conversation for the street
car and the business mems luncheon
Criticism is plentiful, and-better yet
knowledge of the facts is wide
spread. The people of the city over
see the government.
The force Of public opinion has been
repeatedly Illustrated In the commits
sion governed cities Few men, good
or bad, would have the strength to re-
sist popular demand when it is so in
teDsively concentrated upon the m.
Each commissioner knows his respon-
sibility for what Is done. and knows
that everybody else In town knows 1t
too. Politicians of the average sort
have been elected to office many times
In commission governed cities. but
their conspicuous responsibility has
brought about remarkable respon-
siveness to the opinion OF the people.
The initiative, referendum and re-
call are considered important features
Of the plan by many people, but Gal
weston and Houston made success
Of the commission plan before any of
these features were thought Of and
their charters to this day do not pro
vide for them. Furthermore, these
cities do not feel the need OF these
devices and there Is no demand for
their Introduction.
A Chance For Mistakes.
A few suggestions for the improve
ment of the plan have been made rath-
er persistently, based not upon any dis
aster that has happened in the past,
but rather on the fear that there might
be trouble in the future. 1t has been
noted, for example, that the city clerk
In Des Molnes, who passes upon the
correctness Of petitions for the recall
of commissioners, is himself creature
of the commission and that in this
work he ought to be Independent. 1t
is also pointed out that there Is no in
dependent auditing Of the city's ac-
counts. The commission audits It's own
books. In both cases 1t has been sug
gested that these offices be filed by
popular vote. In the language of those
who propose these changes, "have them
independently elected by the people
and responsible to the people" This
argument involves an error,
the avoidance Of which constitutes the
treat value Of the commission plan.
It Is easy enough to create new office
and make 1t elective by popular vote,
but It Is not SO easy to have" such an
officer Irresponsible to the people," He
will not be responsible to the people II |
he Is elected in obscurity with no lime |
light directed on his Office. To be sure,
be may be legally responsible and the
In law may be very clear
y established, but the people cannot
and will not hold him to account un-
less he stands out conspicuously before
hem. An officer whose functions are
purely executive and not Of great Inn
portance cannot possibly be conspicu-
BUS. II the city clerk or city auditor
we're made elective in Des Moines 1t
would be little Office, overshadowed
BY the rest Of the ticket down at the
,ottom Of the ballot. There would be
very little publicity regarding the can
lidates, very little Of the purifying
imelight which is responsible for the
present good political sanitation in the
higher offices, and any group Of schem-
.rs might put through successful con-
Ipiracy to capture the Job.
The desirability Of an Independent
ludit and an Independent judgment on
v,nklkfnsnn e. hn1nca o1vy{nv,o |
{ should, however, be secured In some
'ther way than by attempting to make
he people choose the officers. The
anne effect an be obtained by having
he state assume these duties. Let an
ppointee Of the governor be charged
vith the duty Of auditing the books Of
II the cities In the state Qwith the
tight to prescribe Uniform method OF
,eeping them. There is no difficulty in
citing some state officer, such as the
Of state, pass upon the gen.
lineness and validity Of recall peti-
Ions. The remoteness Of such an off,
er from the disputants makes 1t
certain that his position
vill be fair.
II all false improvements can be
voided the future Of the commission
Ian will continue to be full Of sue
ess. and its fundamental principle.
vhen once understood, will be extend
d to states ana counties. Already
lational association, called the Short
,allot Organization. with Woodrow
wilson at its head. Is In the field
We are on the eve of vast and whole
Ome changesi