The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-03-22
EDITO RIAL
Business Men in Politics.

Mayor Wm / Gaynor OF New York was recently
guest OF honor at the annual banquet OF the syracuse
Chamber of Commerce and made successful ta'k
TO the business men on muncipa soVe'ni'ei'''
Without any attempt at attery he impressed upon
his hearers that they were the VITAL intelligent, M
dustrious ever-progressing, middle group to wiioh
the other two wings of society cling as eacn genera
Il ton passes along. Upon men like you. saio nc
"the stability of society and government depcnos-
yu are the spine Of the social order. At TINS point
in his address he made the following quotation from
Eunpides
"In every State are three classes: he greedy
rich listess of the public good, all their thoughts
for more aspiring. They who, snort Oh Tue
means Of life, struggle with want ana hehec
are rude. to envy much addicted, and prove 70
be led astray by the lying statements OF sehish
and deceitful leaders. Twixt these extremes
are those who guard the State conservators OF
order and their countrys laws.
1t is significant that business men are becoming
more and more interested IN government eSPeoidhy
in the government of cities and the commercial or
CARNATIONS are doing better work than the service
they are performing in this connection 1t was through
the commercial organizations OF Virginia that a
convention tst representative e4tizeaSitoIn
ious cities of the state came together in Richmond
shortly before the General Assmebly met and Tor.
muated plan for simplifying our form OF municipal
government Although they we're busy men they
spent two days in Richmond conferrng and discuss
ing and finally agreed upon plan oil acuon. lhis
legislative enactment he matter was committeo
to a delegation and in due course was presented 10
the General Assembly with the result that the reso-
luton to amend the constitution was adopted ana
the bill recommended was passed and Is now law
The constitutional amendment will have to be
approved by the next General Assembly and alter
wards ratified by vote of the people, but there IS NO
reason to suppose that this will not be When the
amendment is ratified the cities OF the state VIII
then be sure to adopt what is popularity, although
incorrectly. called the commission plan. In the
mean time the cities may reduce the number OF then
cnuncilmen il they desire to three IN the upper
s branch and six in the lower making nine IN all
Under the old law it required that here should
be not less than eight members in one branch and
fourteen in the other.
In other states wherever there arc no such ilm
tations the business men are bestirrng themselves
In the interest OF simpfed municipal government
Somebody has recently said that this is becoming
national issue Sixty cities representing over 5ooooo'
people have adopted the smplified form twenty
OF the largest cities in Illinois have formed an or
ganization which is fighting in the interest OF ar
enabling act and similar organization exists If
Michigan. In Texas fifteen cities use the Galveston
plan. In Kansas nine have the Des MONIES plan
which is practically the same. Wherever the plan
has been tried it has proved to be efficient and in
no case to knowledge, has any city trying 1t gone
back to the old form.
cits is for the most part business corporation
and the wonder is that American CITIES have 1of
SO long a time been operated by the rule of politics
The wonder is that business men have not before
come forward and insisted upon an operation accord
ING to the rule of business They are now well IT
the saddle and the time is not distant when every
city in the United States will have business-iks
government conducted in the simplest and mos
economical way, consistent with the public needs