Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-07
EXPLAINS NEEDED
CHARTER RE VISION
Charles WeIIborn informs City
Club of Work on Proposed
Amendments
CHANGE FROM OLD SYSTEM
Meyer Lissner Says People Must
Decide on Policy of the
Changes
CHANGE FROM OLD SYSTEM

Why the present charter should be
amended and no new one presented
to the people at this time was the sub
iect of an address by Charles o. Well
born before the City club yesterday.
Mr. Wellborn is a member of the po-
lice commission and the charter revls-
ion commission and he told some of the
difficulties the charter body has en-
countered.
There was good-natured repartee
between Mr.. Wenborn and Frank q.
Finlayson, president of the City club.
Mr. Finlayson is also a member of the
charter revision commission and he is
the leader of the minority of the COM
mission which stands out for COM
mission form of government MT
Wellborn belongs to the conservative
majority which believes the commits
sion form of government is not suited
to the needs OF Los Angeles at this
time
Mr.. Wellborn explained that the
charter board would recommend
amendments instead of new charter
because the instructions of the coun-
ell were for amendments only and be-
cause a majority of the committee felt
that the aqueduct, the harbor and 9TH
er large interests of the city would be
endangered if any experiment that did
not closely conform to the existing
form of municipal government was
tried
FORMER COMMISSION SYSTEM
He pointed out that in 1850, when
Los Angeles was governed by mayor
al council of seven members, 1t
practically had a commission form of
government and that it was not sat
isfactory. But there is no question
the present charter needs revision in
some way, Mr.. Wellborn declared, for
it is now a patch work of contradic-
tory and illogical sections.
A reduction in the number of cleo
tive officers will be one of the amend
ments to be made and each officer Will
hold office for four years instead of
two
According to the plan advanced by
Mr.. WellbOrn the mayor, city attorney
auditor and assessor will be elected,
as we'll as the nine members of the
council and the five members of the
board of education, but the mayor, at
torney, auditor, assessor four members
Of the council and two members of the
board of education will be elected on
presidential years and five members of
the council and three members of the
board of education on "off" years. BY
dividing up the number of persons to
be elected in this way the voters at
ed on those who are candidates for Of
fee.
Mr.. WelIborn spoke less than half an
hour, although the speakers at the City
club usually consume an hour, and
when he had concluded President Fin
LAWSON, an ardent advocate of the
commission form of government,
"ioshed" Mr.. Wellborn for his conser-
vative tendencies and said that he
hoped Los Angeles would have COM
plete new charter in the near future.
Meyer Lissner who also advocates
the commission form of government,
spoke a few minutes and said that the
council should not have tied the hands
of the committee by requiring amend
ments only and that if the committee
thought q new charter was better than
amendments that it would be a good
plan to put up two boards of freehold
ers for election, one board to stand for
amendments to the charter and the
other to stand for a complete new
charter with the commission form Of
government. The people could then
determine whether they wanted radi-
cal or a conservative change in their
fundamental law.