Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-12-14
TELL OF BENEFITS
Speakers Urge the Commission
Form of City Government
at Chicago Meeting.
CENTERS RESPONSIBILITY
Experience of Cities That Have Tried
1t Proves Sanity of Methods
Followed.

Chicago Record-Herald: John Mac
Vicar, member OF the city commission
of Des Moines, Iowa, and H. Baldwin
Rice, mayor of Houston, Texas. de-
scribed the virtues and achievements
of the commission form of government
in their respective cities at banquet
/ of the Commercial club Monday night
at the Blackstone, hotel.
City Controller Walter H. Wilson,
the third speaker of the evening, de-
voted his address to the advocacy Of
the consolidation of the various taxing
bodies of Chicago and Cook county.
/ Special guests of the evening includ-
/ ed United States Senator R. L. Owens
| of Oklahoma, Francis j. Heney, the
/ San Francisco graft prosecutor, and
William Kent, formerly of Chicago, but
recently elected congressman from
California district.
Mr.. Mac Vicar declared that the re-
suits in Des Moines proved that what
is needed in municipal government is
to center responsibility rather than to
divide 1t.
Need in City Government.
THE laws that have been placed up
on our statute books for the governing
of cities during the past 25 years have
been usually aimed, on the one hand,
to serve personal self-serving inter
ests." said Mr.. Mac Vicar, land on the
other hand, to hedge about the city
official with checks to make him hon
est, and compel him TO be diligent. It
seems to have worked fairly well in
the first instance, but has made a poor
showing in the latter.
Control Is Centerer.
! with the centering of responsibility
under commission government comes
opportunity to the official. Many well
! intending officials elected to municipal
/ offices have failed to make good for
! lack of opportunity.
/ The Des Moines plan involves sim
! ply the placing of the cfty's govern
ment in the hands of five men elected
/ at large and without relation to party.
All the other officers are appointed by
/ this body and removed at will.
The inherent advantage in this plan
/ is the removal of the city government
! from the county and state political or
ganiZations. BY the elimination of
ward lines it has created a united city.
! The tax levy is slightly decreased.
Monthly and annual detail and compre-
hensible reports are promptly issued
and circulated and for the first time in
the history of the city 1t lives within
its income"
Benefit to Houston.
| In relating the accomplishments in
Houston. Mayor Rice said:
Inauguration in July, 1905, the pres
ent government found a floating debt
of over 100000 and an empty treas
ury. The city virtually had no cred
it. There was not a single merchant
who desired to transact any business
with the local government.
I'm the five years of commission rule
the city of Houston has paid a floating
debt of over 100000 and has given to
the taxpayers out of the treasury,
without the issuance of a single bond
permanent improvements costing over
$3.50, 500. besides paying nearly $780,
600 bonded debt and acquiring a sur
plus of over $4,000.
while these improvements have
been going on the tax rate has been re-
duced 80 cents on the 500. We have
increased the salaries of the school
teachers, firemen and policemen