The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-08
GOVERNMENT OF
CITY TAKEN UP
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desire to know their city to help the
council in the study and work of
meeting these questions in the most
practicable manner.
The closing address made by At
torney H. S. Blandford was the sur
prise of the day, Mr.. Blandford being
strongly against the new proposed
commission form of government.
n. S. BIandford Speaks.
Mr. Blandford said:
THE subject of my address is not
the one which / would have chosen for
discussion before this know Your
City Congress" because a candid dis
cussion of it requires the broad state
ment of too many unpleasant truths
but / realize it is important to people
seeking to know our city and will try to
perform the unpleasant duty of telling
the plain truth. I consider that the
Walla is as good fundamental law
as the city of Walla Walia needs, that
it contains and confers upon the city
every power essential to the good gov
eminent thereof, and that ii it be adj
ministered in accordance with it's terms
and spirit by an intelligent, honest,
skilful and progressive mayor and
council, it will provide as good a NUM-
cipality government as any charter I'M
der the commission form or any other
form of government whatever.
Il believe that the present charter
form of government is a result of thou
sands of years OF struggles on the part
of the residents of cities for self-gov
eminent and the right to make their
own laws, to levy their own taxes, to
provide the rules and regulations
lives in the possession of real and
personal property, in the right to con-
duct their private business enterprises
in their own way, to regulate within
the cities the great public questions
of transportation, sanitation and the
preservation of the public safety among
the dense masses of the people; in
other words, / consider the present
charter form OF government as the
typical republican form of govern
ment for it is based entirely upon the
democratic idea that the people should
govern themselves and their own local
affairs. / am in favor of the. charter
form; of government, because / believe
that. it is the tpr6per form for free lib
ertyE loving people who desire to gov
ern themselves and conversely.
81 am opposed to the commission
form of government because L believe
the commission form is practically an
advocation of government by the peo-
pie and the abandonment of the re-
publican form and the adoption Of a
government by the people similar to an
oligarchy or a plutocracy in which the
people are deprived of their political
rights and of all such rights which
would be vested in a small autocratic
or bureaucratic body OF men who
would exercise all the political rights
of the community and arbitrarily gov
ern the citizens of the municipality and
as / know that the cities have been
the cradles or nurseries of political or
ganization throughout the ages down
to the present time still it is true that
in these days of intelligence or general
education the people in those very To-
calities or cities should be the first to
express a willingness to surrender the
/ idea of self government. j do not be-
lieve that the people of the cities are
incapable of governing themselves and
/ do not believe that those who believe
| in this great principal of self-govern-
ment should encourage the people to
cast off any political responsibility or
to assume any form of government
which will hinder them from learning
how to govern themselves or in which
| they permit themselves to be governed