Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-10-02
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 cident sis.ileston. fex after the great Coed of l!Nh was practically wiped out &6 much progressive and constructive work was demanded of the city government that the old sIs- tenn of n hoard of aldermen and the usual string ot Independent elective officers broke down \ group of buSi ness men petitioned the state govern ment 10 suspend the locai government and replace ii temporarily with q commission of five men This vas done and the whole city was pat un Ner the control of five men, three of whom were appointees of tae gov ernar fEiS was where the term con mission" originated aHtl the name for want of hetter deseriB- ttop has stuck to it ever. since. at- though the board is no longer a "com- mission in the true sense of the ward at ali
 This cotrnlt@&lan iii Galveston WAS able C. make Gp..tei ioas asld get things accomplished ia h.,'f the time that t 'aa& the o.d board of aldermen lo get a reSelntoa refarred to a colauIttee i'he conni~~j"a FtaGned and built sea wall to protect tho city against @urtlIer foo6e raised :he ground level If .arGe part of the town. got the city Govern!ilea: running again at one third less aannIi "eSl, made a number of importan; ilnurove1nents and at the same tiule reduced the debt and the tax rate.
 After two years during which the politicians were finding precious little to do. the commission was made en- tirely elective by popular vote. much to the dismay of many good persons ir the town. who had been much pleased with the practical success of the governors commission. Their fears. however. proved groundless. for tuc DcOplc plOCGGSieu lO eleCl tuG SuLle commission and have continued to do 1t at every election since. Except by death there has been only one change in the personnel of the commission since the beginning.
 Galveston's claim that it was the best governed city in the United States made Houston jealous. and aft CT few wears this city petitioned for similar government and was grant ed it. Dallas. Fl Paso, Denison, Waco and Austin have since then followed suit, leaving San Antonio, now the only important city in the state which has not adopted the plan.
 A few years after Galveston first be gan to attract attention some civic workers in Des Moines began to study the subject of popular government in fundamental fashion. They devised what has since become known as the 'Des Moines plan," which is simply the commission form of government, with certain interesting additions. known as the initiative, referendum. recall and nonpartisan primary By the terms of the initiative provision a certain number of people are permit ted to present petition to the com mission demanding the passage of a certain ordinance, and if the commis- sion sees fit to refuse the request the matter must be settled by popular vote. By the referendum provision cer- tain matters. particularly the granting or rrancnrses 10 pupTc ur1lITy c011, 1a yons. must be approved by popular Jote before they become law. By the l terms of the recall provision, the pres entation of petition containing q certain number of signatures may | force any member of the commission | to submit the question of his continu- ance in office to a new election i'm mediately. The nonpartisan primary is simply an eliminating election. All candidates are nominated by petition tho party labels), and the leading ten remain on the ballot for the final cleo 1 tion.
 The elimination of the party name, symbol and column from the ballot, is highly significant and characteris- tic feature of the commission form of government It excludes the political machines from a great strategic ad- vantage and leaves independent can didates on an exact equality with those proposed by the organizations. The ballot is simply a list of names with a square opposite each, and the voter is instructed to "vote for five ; Instead of having ticket ready made for him, each voter makes up his own ticket. The fact that only five men are to be selected makes this task sim pie, and there has been found to be no difficulty about it in practice. This Short Ballot, which the voter can vote without the guidance of political ex- perts, is the central and vital fea ture of the commission plan.
 The publicity attendant on the in stallation of the new government ill noo Aoiuoo Vova fho m0vamant new