The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-01-06
COMMISSION FORM
OF GOVERNMENT

Did you ever notice that not
many business men ever 60 into
city politics?
Did you ever notice, in the gov.
eminent of the average city, that
business methods are about the last
thing thought of, and did you ever
think that there might be some
connection between that and the
fact that capable business men with
valuable business experience don't
20 into city politics?
There is a very close connection
between those things, and the fact
is that it is the hardest kind of job,
in the average large city, to get
business men, the kind who ought
to fill most of the places, to become
candidates for mayor or alderman.
Why?
Too much politics. The business
man is afraid of politics, and is
more than glad to leave it to the
professional party politician, even
though he knows that. politicians
aren't competent to handle large
public affairs, and that he isn't get.
ting the kind of government out of
them that he ought to have. Bad
government hurts business. Good
government helps business. Bad
government means high taxes, waste,
extravaganza, corruption, and poor
service at heavy cost. Good govern
ment means economy, business
methods in public affairs low taxes
aud full return in public service
for the tax mo1ey spent.
True though this all is, it isn't
strong enough to induce the bust
ness men to take hold of public
affairs, because they are afraid of
politics. If a business man becomes
candidate for mayor, he must run
as Republican or as a Democrat,
and he knows right at the start that
that puts lot of citizens against
him because his partisan label is diff
ferent from theirs they are going to-
call him horsethief, charge that
he puts sand in his sugar, weighs
the holes in his cheese and robs the
widow and orphan. No wonder he
balks.
There is exactly where the COM
mission form of city government
comes in.
At one blow it knocks politics out
of the box. 1t absolutely forbids
any man to run for city Office as a
Republican or a Democrat. 1t re.
fuses to put his party label on the
ballot even if he wants it there. 1t
throws politics out of the field alto.
gether, and settles the whole bust
ness down on the sensible basis of
fitness. No man who is the right
kind of a mans afraid to 60 into
a contest where personal fitness
alone is the issue; and that's the
precise and exact and sole issue in
elections under the commission form
of government.
Then business men with leve
heads and sound experience need nc
longer fear to 60 into city politics
because It won't be politics an,
more-just city business.
That's the way it has worked GU
in the cities where it has been tried
For instance, take Leavenworth
Leavenworth was a blind pig towr
in prohibition Kansas, and you can
imagine what kind of a government
it had. Its chief revenue was from
blind pig fines, imposed monthly
Then the state put the blind pig.
out of business and Leavenworth
financially, was all but annihilated
1t adopted the commission form O.
government and elected hardware
merchant. soap manufacturer, ;
lumber merchant, a furniture manu-
facturer and big drayman as com
misSioners. With the loss of $50,
900 in revenue from the blind pigs
these hard.headed business mel
kept the city going, paid of $4,000
in bonds and reduced the tax lev,
$4,000 year on top of that. Tha
was merely applying business meth
DDS to business that had been rul
into the ground by politics.-Dulutl
Herald.
: !.