Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-21
Politicians Keep Control.

II IS evident upon tne lace OF II tHdl
this is not a process Of selection or cleo
ton either on the part of the people
1t is a process Of appointment at the
hands of the political manager. 1t has
become an axiom among those who un-
derstand practical politics that II you
give the people something to do which
they cannot do you virtually take II
away from them. 1t is as impossible
for the people to select a miscellany of
officers to serve them in posts big and
little as 1t would be for the head OF q
great business to select the whole body
of his employees down to the boy who
sweeps out the office. The only way in
which he can make his business effective
Is to put these matters In the hands or
responsible superintendent whom he
must hold answerable for anything that
goes wrong and for the inemc1ency OF
their subordinates.
THE second thing manifest In the new
form of government is that il abandons
the idea with which we SO long deceived
ourselves, that city government Is
practically q state government in small
which must have its carefully separated
executive and legislative branches. OF
course, there Is an analogy between the
power of a city council to pass ordi-
nances and the power of state legisla-
ture to pass statutes. but the ordnance
making power is rather regulatiye, not
legislative, and the city is a great adj
ministrative organization, not miniature
copy of the government of state.
content with drawing careful lines be-
tween executive and legislative action in
our city governments.
IF We are, as now seems probable, 10
follow along the lines upon which we
have started in the matter of our city
ing to benefit ourselves greatly by Civ
ing up our ancient ingenious art of Great
ing ambushes and jungles in which our
politicians can play hide and seek with
us. The thing which the astute politician
should most desire is that authority
should be as much subdivided as possible.
that each officer should have a function
SO obscure that nobody could have the
time or the curiosity TO watch him. that
there should be no system of central con-
troll. that officer should be subordi-
mated TO any other officer. and that above
all there should be independent elections
to the several places to be filled. This de-
lightful confusion constitutes the most
and continuance and private combination
imaginable.
Commemorative Authority Best.
1T cannot be an accident that the best
governed cities in the world are those in
which there is a short ballot, concen-
trated authority. and, by consequence.
expert service, for expert service is bound
to come in America, as elsewhere, by
reason OF this concentration of authority
and simplfication of political methods.
There is no reason why our cities should
not have a practical permanent corps OF
expert officials. In one or two instances
the commission form of government has
assumed this form: Instead of putting
actual administration of the government
in the hands of a commission of five each
one of whom should have charge of a dis
tinct department of the city government,
il has in one or two American cities been
arranged that the commissioners should
be merely the guiding and consultative
body.
Should this form of commission gov
eminent be generally adopted It would
undoubtedly result in the growth of q
professional class very much to be de-
street.-The development of body of men
whose business il would be to understand
the various departments OF city govern
ment and to take charge of them. Our
bureaus of municipal research are pro-
ducing men who might easily be trained
for such purposes. and il is not beyond
hoping for that We may be within sight
OF the time when We shall be able to
conduct our cities with real business eff
cheney at the hands of experts.
The indispensable conditions OF sue
cess in city government. as in all gov
ernment. are, first. publicity; and. sec
ond. alert public opinion guided in some
definite way by those who really under
stand the business in hand. Government
is of necessity in many Of its parts a
shall not be saved merely by having ex-
perts. We shall be safe only when we
have experts who are also capable OF be-
ing leaders"