The Washington herald., 1910-01-09
CITIES IN OKLAHOMA
Many Towns Take Advan-
tage of Generous Laws.
TAKE ON COMMISSION RULE
Right to Regulate Municipal Affairs
Guaranteed to All Places of More
Than 1000 PoPuIation-Decisi Is
Referred to the People and They
Vote for Commissioners.

Guthrie. Okla, Jan. SIN the free
cities" of Oklahoma the people Of this
State are beginning to challenge the at
tention OF persons interested in munich
pal problems and civic progress.
The free cities" Of Oklahoma were
made possible by generous provisions Of
! the State constitution. a document eX-
| perimental IN many ways but framed IN
an effort TO restrain organized wrong
! from inficting injury upon the morgan
lied and too often defenseless individ-
usls Of the States communities.
| Under the constitution any city in Okla
homa having a population of more than
| 1000 Inhabitants may become a free
city" from which certain rights ard priv
! ileges conferred by the constitution may
| never be withdrawn by the legislature.
! For purposes Of local government. such
cities may enact their own organic law.
and the legislature has declared that any
! general law of the State affecting munic-
/ qualities, excepting that relating 70 the
| initiative and referendum, shall have no
| standing in a free city II I'm conflict
/ with its charter. b. reason Of this. the
lawful inhabitants Of a free city are prac-
tically supreme in their control OF It's
affairs. No legislature, at the behest Of
political bosses" or corrupt corporations,
may amend or destroy the vitality Of q
municipal charter in Oklahoma.
Initiative and Referendum.
When the State constitution reserved
to these cities. as Il did TO all municipal
| corporations existing in Oklahoma at the
time of the adoption Of the constitution,
| the power Of the initiative and the refer
endum, IL armed them with a sword Of
surprising keenness. The enactment Of
an ordinance or other legal act. other
than the grant. extension, or renewal Of
franchise. may be demanded under an
| initiative submitting the question 20 the
| qualified voters and no municipal off,
! GERS may evade this demand. And the
command for the referendum is no less
imperative. All questions are affirmed if
they receive a majority OF the lawful
votes cast on the subject.
The trainers Of the state constitution
appeared TO be acutely conscious Of the
evils surrounding municipal franchises
when they conferred upon the people the
right to create free cities, declaring. NO
municipal corporation shall ever grant.
extend. or renew a franchise without the
approval of majority OF the qualified
voters residing within its corporate lin
it's" And the voters. by a . per cent
petition. may demand the right to vote
upon the granting. extension. or renewal
| of a franchise. thereby forcing to an is
sue franchise service OF which the people
may be in need. and which municipal Of
ficers. for improper reasons. may be try
ing to withhold. The State constitution
SAYS further IN this particular.
Every municipal corporation within
this State shall have the right TO engage
in any business or enterprise which may
| poration by virtue of a franchise from
said municipal corporation. go Nor shall
the power TO regulate the charges for
public services be surrendered by the
state; and no exclusive franchise shall
ever be granted by the municipal corpora
ton"
Four Now Have Commissioners.
In the last eighteen months four Of the
| largest cities in the State-Ardmore, Tul-
sa, Shawnee, and Enid-have. declared
themselves free cities" They adopted
the commission form Of government
The change in Shawnee was DELAYED by
the necessity OF having the courts pass
upon certain questions that have arisen
in connection with the charter. Oklahoma
City has elected a board of freeholders.
all favorable TO the comm ssion govern
ment, to draft charter. Muskogee and
Guthrie contemplate doing likewise
! A spirit Of independence and nonparti-
| sanship has prevailed TO a remarkable de-
! gree among voters in the election Of Their
I commission officers. The administration
/ in power under the old form of govern
ment has been reluctant in several in
stances to surrender its peTQuisltes, but
! the people swept them out. even though
the terms for which they were elected
lacked more than year Of expiring
Another year win witness a further in
| crease in the number Of free cities" in
| Oklahoma. In time students of the IN
Vulnerable problems that perplex urban
communities viii find in the free cities"
Of Oklahoma attractive opportunities for
study. not only because Of their unusual
number, but because of the vigorous clti-
zenship engaged in this experimental
work Of cutting down dead. fire-swept
trees and uprooting stumps in fields that
are TO be turned over to a new kind OF
forestry, and a new kind Of "conserva-
ton OF natural resources.
The charters OF Oklahoma cities pro-
viding for the commission form Of GOV
eminent contain, in every instance, the
recall. whereby the people may Dust cor