The Washington times., 1910-01-04
ENGLISH APPROVAL OF COM
MISSION GOVERNMENT.

In the current number Of the Fort
nightly Review, one Of the ablest Of
the English magazines, Sidney Brooks,
an Englishman who has long made &
study Of government IN this country,
writes an article on "The Failure OF
American Democracy That AIr-
Brooks has not skinned the surface
Of conditions Is shown by his apt
Characterization OF faults IN govern
ment which Americans themselves viii
be first 70 admit
In common with most other students
Of our affairs, Mr.. Brooks finds IN our
handling of municipal government de
fects 50 serious that he feels justified
IN saying that, while Americans have
demonstrated they "can destroy, they
cannot construct They can overthrow
a bad government; they have Yet TO
show they can construct a good one
He says municipal government presents
the spectacle OF "a routine OF pTOfes-
sional graft tempered BY sensational
UJ1tbursts Of amateurish rage" fairly
criticising the disposition of the Amer
lean voter to rest content with deposit
ing ballot; looking upon elections as
a sort Of follow theIeader game, and
after voting, calmly washing his hands
of al responsibility II things do not
20 right. He says:
Americans have always been apt 20
10 p SO = q Of
democracy SO long as they could
vote at recurring periods for a multi
tude OF shOrt-teTm officers, they have
persuaded themselves that little more
was needed TO fulfill the amplesC ideal
OF popular government They have
always had tendency TO look upon
the ballot box as an end In itself. 20
think more Of success at the polls
than OF efficiency In Office
and TO sleep with the comFOrCa bic
assurance Of public duty adequate
" performed from the eve OF one
election day TO the dawn Of the next
Sir Brooks criticises the structure OF
municipal government as not being
prepared 10 deal properly with city
affairs, declaring that It has an the
checks and balances, all the dispersal
of powers, all the Tiva'ries Of com
petitive authorities. that have con
veTted the American Constitution into
an ingenious conspiracy for doing
nothing"
With this introduction. It Is not SUI
Prising that Mr. Brooks should find
II the commission form Of government
a Panacea Tor many Of our municipal
ills. He agrees with a great body Of
thinkers who have come to believe
that there Is need Of a better and
different framework OF government in
American cities even more than there
IS need Of a better class Of men, that
the. present system Is so difficult that
even q succession Of good men cannot
long continue TO achieve satisfactory
results He admits that commission
government does not solve the vexad
problem Of the relation between NUM-
clPalltIes and public service corDora-
tons, but argues that It l,azes strong
appeal TO the now ind .fsrenr and
Jog bound citizen and tI.a5 IT will
powerfully re-enforce the numEqrIess
non-Political, voluntary. pubIic-spsrited
agenci,s for betterment tha- ven now
half redeem the civ5c failures of
American democracy The .e-sentfaI
difference uetWoen -f-.rfftz ~ of
city government defin'-a 5rrrrllrrla ton
81 responsibility. Joge. ar- with q. short
ballot as Is provided for by the com
mission form Of government and many
other reforms from which much was
expected but when proved 10 be
failures, i, IN Ar Brooks opinion.
t{sat none OF the latter affected the
standard OF public opinion or changed /
the average mans view of the place I.
shat politics should hold IN municipal
essuainistr IA ton