The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-12-01
BOSSISM HAS Been ELIMINATED
Community Not Disturbed
by Wrangling in the City
Hall.
Street improvements Cost 90 10 40
Per Cent Less Than Heretofore.
Contractors Ring is Brokcn-Var-
ious Departments Placed on Busi-
ness Footing.

months experience with the COM
mission form Of government in Soo-
kane. which is under the control Of
the people through the preferential
election system, the initiative and
referendum and the recall. has
proved highly successful. Direct Of
fciency has replaced irrespons!1ility
and incompetency party bossism has
been eliminated, the laws are en-
forced, the Taxpayers are obtaining
| 100 cents worth Of work for a dol
| lar, municipal Improvement bonds
command high premiums and the
citys credit is gilt edge in the finan-
cial centers throughout the country.
| Charles NJ Fassctt. commissioners
| of public utilities, speaking for the
commission, says the people, as q
| rule, are satisfied with the change
and that 1t is doubtful if even those
who were most active against the
present charter would vote to return
to the old system There are some.
of course, who honestly believe tho
old form is better, he added. but the
chief opposition TO the adoption OF
the charter and its continuance
comes from those whose private self
ish interests are being interfered with
by the beneficial change in admin
istration introduced by the present
government.
Enumerating the chief points OF
advantage of the commission form of
government over the party system,
Mr. lFassett says:
For the first time i'm Its history
| the community is not disturbed by
| political wrangling at the city hall
| our commissioner often do not agree
on various measures. but differences
are soon healed and there Is harmony
and good feeling between them.
Each commissioner has charge,
, under the authority of the whole
body, OF his departments and the tax
payer knows to whom to apply for
! his needs. The result Is that bust
ness is dispatched in hours and days
where 1t formerly required weeks and
months.
street and other improvements
are made for from 90 to 40 per cent
less than i'm recent years, without re-
| ducing the city wage scale or decreas-
| ing our standards of quality The
/
OF our work goes to those who have
done the best work in the past. For
the first time in our history a con-
tractor has been fined for delaying
public work
"Our tax levy will be the same as
last year. Notwithstanding a deficit of
about $4,000 left by the former gov
ornment and the settlement Of many
claims and complications neglected
for years.
''The various departments are being
managed with efficiency and common
sense The water department, which
has been permitted to run heavily In
debt, has been placed upon lbusi-
ness footing; free water has been cut
eff, the number of meters has been
doubled in seven months, wastes have
been stopped and an adequate supply
of water furnished for all purposes
during the hot months, where every
year heretofore there has been a
famine I'm certain districts
"Our streets are well paved and
kept clean and sewers are main
never so good; public service corpor-
atoms are thNouid6tu anu 'hAol''At
when necessary, to give good serv-
ice; back franchise taxes are col
lected and the affairs OF the city gem
orally are conducted along modern
business lines.
"The preferential sytsem of voting,
the short ballot and the election Of
commissioners at large, who select
one of their number as mayor, are
other features which have strong ar
guments in their favor. Hereafter
not more than three commissioners
will be chosen at any election, giving
the voter no excuse for ignorance of
the men or their duties. We require
a non-partisan affidavit and restrict
the use of money for election pur-
poses to $3.50 for any candidate
"By our system of voting the re-
suits of the electaion express the VIII
of the majority much more closely
than could be obtained by caucus,
convention and ward representatio
on the whole we believe Spokar-
has the most advanced and charac-
teristic commission charter yet adop-
ted by any city in this or other coun-
tries"