East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-12-19
THE COMMISSION PLAN.
Duluth Herald.)

Olu you ever npllCG ltldl NOT
business men go into city politics?
Did you ever notice. in the govern
ment OF the average city that busi-
ness methods are about the last thing
thought of and did you ever think
that there miht be some connection
between that and the fact that ca
pable business men with valuable
business don't go into city politics?
There is a very close connection be-
tween those things, and the fact is
that it is the hardest kind of job.
in the average city, to get business
men, the kind who ought to fill most
OF the places, to become candidates
for mayor alderman
Why?
Too much politics. The business
man is afraid of politics, and is more
than glad to leave II to the profess
sional party politicians. even though
he knows that politicians aren't COM
petent to handle large public affairs.
and that he isn't getting the kind OF
government out Of them that he ought
70 have Bad government hurts bus
iness. Good government helps bust
ness. Bad business means high tax
es, waste, extravaganza, corruption
and poor service at heavy cost Good
government means economy business
methods in public affairs, low taxes
and full return in public service
for the tax money spent.
True though this all IS. Il isn't
strong enough to induce the business
n -ol %
because they are afraid Of politics
II business man becomes a candi-
date for mayor, he must run as a re-
publican or as a democrat and he
knows right at the start that that
puts a lot Of citizens against him be-
cause his partisan label is different
from theirs they are going to call
him a horsethief, charge that he puts
sand in his sugar. weighs the holes in
his cheese and robs the widow and
| orphan. No wonder he balks.
There is exactly where the COM
mission form Of city government
comes in.
At one blow 1t knocks politics out
Of the box. 1t absolutely forbids any
man to run for office as a republican
or democrat. It refuses to put his
party label on the ballot even II he
wants 1t there. 1t throws politics out
Of the field altogether and settles the
whole business down on the sensible
| basis Of fitness. No man-who is the
right kind of a mans afraid to 90
! into contest where personal fitness
alone is the issue, and that's the pre-
else and exact and sole issue in cleo
tions under the commission form of
government.
Then business men with level heads
/ and sound experience need no longer
rear any more-just city business.
That's the way 1t has worked out
| In the cities where 1t has been tried.
| For instance take Leayenworth.
Leavenworth was blind pig town in
! prohibition Kansas, and you can i'm
agine what kind Of government II
had. Its chief revenue was from
! ollnd pig fines, imposed monthly. II
adopted the commission form of gov
ernment, and elected hardware mer-
chant, a soap manufacturer, a lum-
berer and big drayman as commits
sioners. With the loss Of $4,000 in
revenue from blind pigs, these hard
headed business men kept the city
going, paid off $4,000 in bonds. and
reduced the tax levy $4,000 a year
on top of that. That was merely ap.
plying business methods to a business
that had been run into the ground
by politics.