The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-25
.LAUD BIRMINGHAM AND HER NEW MAYOR Atlanta Constitution Contains
 Lengthy Articles EXUM FITTED FOR PLACE Says the Whole Country VIII Watch With Interest Birmingham's Es-
 pousal of the Commission
 Form of Government
EXUM FITTED FOR PLACE


 municipal stage and Mayor Exum will be a national figure during the trial of the commission form of government.
 Editor Clark Howell. who is a great friend of Birmingham, prints dou- ble column editorial on Birmingham New Mayor and Goverrffnen ent," as we'll
 as half page article on the same subject.
 Here is the editorial:
 Birmingham's Mayor and Government
 "Elsewhere the Constitution pub fishes a story that should be of ab sorbing interest to students of mu- lnicipal government everywhere-the in- duction into office of Culpepper Exum, as mayor of Greater Birmingham, and
 the large task before him of creating and launching the commission form of
 government decreed in the same elec- tion that named him as mayor.
 "The entering by Birmingham upon 1 the experiment of commission govern
 ment is, in a sense. of national inn
 portance. From every city in America l wrestling with intricate municipal problems attention will be focused upon the demonstration in the wonder l ful Alabama city that has offered the | sensation of the decennial federal cen- | suS.
 "The idea of government by com mission has spread significantly among American cities. In Galveston and | Houston, Tex, in Des Moines Ia., even I in Boston, not to mention other cities, experiences have been many, and none | of them of so conclusive a nature as
 take the theory of this character of | administration out of controversy.
 "The showing made In Birmingham will. therefore, be of large significance in making or changing sentiment for or against a governmental innovation that first came to us with the approval of the old world.
 Cfrcumstances Unusual "In the case of Birmingham, the cir cumstances surrounding the launching I of the experiment are out of the usual. l "Chosen under the old form of ad- ministration. with the traditional par aphernalia of councilmanic and alder manic boards, 1t is the duty of Gull pepper Exum to materialize the revolu- tionary change that shall make of Bir- mingham a commissio n-ruled city. Rarely in the history of American municipalities has any one man been designated for such heavy and complis, cated responsibilities. MT. Exum has few precedents to guide him, for each city governed by commission offers its own peculiar set of problems. He must literally create the machinery of gov
 
 through many difficulties now visible and others yet to be disclosed. "Those who best know Gully Exum | to use lis popular designation, cherish no doubt as to the outcome. They are | confident he will get the most effective possibilities out of the commission form | of municipal government and that he will also lay his finger on weak points not yet revealed, for which he will also | find a remedy. Tn other words, if gov- ernment by commission is possible for l the city of Birmingham. Gully Exum will demonstrate that fact. "He Is a man of splendid business ex- perience and capacity. His popularity IS | one of his first assets. His aggressive ness and initiative are shown by the fact | that he was one of the commanders or | the movement that extended the boun- | daries of Birmingham. More than that,
 his influence has been instrumental In 1 the industrial and commercial expan- | sion measured so phenomenaly Tn the 1 federal census report.
 l "A man of frmness and courage and
 fine executive ability, the >city could not
 have chosen more appropriately the man charged with the heavy responsibility ne | now faces
 "Called on to construct new method aof government for the largest southern l city that has yet tried the commission
  1 years be a national figure. Effect on Other Cities | of the experiment in Birmingham is
 Successful. 1t may be expected to encour- 1 age followers among other southern ana l American cities. If it is unsuccessful or 1 indifferently successful, the growth of | government by commission will neces- | sarily describe halt, since the most con
 yincing evidence of it's lack of feasibility | would be the failure of such man as
 Mayor Exum to demonstrate it.
 commission rule of a city means sim
 ply locating authority and responsibility in the hands of a few men, chosen for their fitness instead of their prowess in | nolitics, It eliminates the numerous | boards and commissions of the ancient | form of municipal administration, with it's divided authority and the consequent
 difficulty of placing responsibility. It | treats a city simply as a great Iactory' | a great commercial organization large l industrial enterprise with the mayor ana | bis fellow commissioners clothed with the power and accountability of the cor | noration president and board or dlrec- | tors.
 ..The entire country will watch Bir- minghams experience in the unraVelhns of this unusual problem. It IS fortunate
 both for the future or goVerhI,em I,' us commission and for the sake Of Blrming- ham itself that the experiment Is 10 De directed by such strong and aple hahas
 as those of "Cully" Exum.
 specinI Article on Birmingham
 Here Is simply the introduction to the
 half-page article;
 .Birminpham. October 22.-(Special)- Greater Birmingham, the city that ere
 ated the sensation of the federal census
 by it's phenomenal increase of popuia-
 ton the last decade at a ratio Of z4o.4
 per cent has new mayor Culpepper Exum, recently inducted amid much cere-
 monial and universal prophecies or pro
 gressive administration.
 "It takes man of unusual parts 10 administer the government of muni- cpality of 133,000 the population given Birmingham by the latest census. His duties will be more arduous and
 his official scope broader than in the case of the average American executive, for the reason that he is to be Birming- , hams first mayor under commission
 form of government. The same muni- cipal election that carried Culpepper
 Exum into office by a tidal wave of votes
 voted in for Birmingham the commission
 governmental method introduced by Gal weston.
 Upon his shoulders now devolves the
 exacting task of creating the machinery
 under which Birmingham will attempt
 this new form of municipal government. , While the voters have authorized gov-
 ernment by commission, the details are yet to be organized and inaugurated. Tt is indispensable that the man who , is to materialize commission government