Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-06-29
COMMISSION
GOVERN MENT
Would 1t Improve Conditions
in Perth Amboy?
EDITOR EVENING NEWS

What Is Commission Government!
1t is a government by a smaller num-
Der of men, usually five, who are
called Commissioners" and each Of
whom has complete charge of a GER
tain part of the city's affairs. These
men, instead of being elected by sep
arate wards, as u aldermen are
now chosen, would be taken from
the city at large, as our Mayer and
Alderman-at-large are now elected.
Although many of the cities of
Europe have long had a form OF gov
eminent not unlike the commission
! plan, 1t was not introduced into this
country until the Galveston tidal
wave abou ten years ago. This dis
aster. which left death and desola-
ton in it's path, threw the affairs OF
the city into such hopeless confusion
that the existing government was
powerless. The suggestion was made
that five men be appointed to bring
order out of chaos. 1t so happened
that five excellent men were chosen,
each having the complete manage
ment and control of a department OF
the city government. Galveston,
since that time, has had an excellent
government.
The interesting and often exciting
question for the people of this state
to decide is whether or not they shall
adopt this scheme which was car
ried into Galveston on the crest of a
tidal wave, and which has continued
to spread, on the crest Of a more
fgurative but not less powerful wave
of public opinion, over a large part
of the nation.
The whole basis of this reform
movement is concentration of re-
sponsibiIity. Each commissioner has
charge of a department. Mr.. A has
charge of the fire department. Mr..
B. is at the head of the department
of streets and sewers. Mr.. G con-
trolls the water supply. If the hose
bursts at a large fire the people can
hold Mr.. A responsible. If the paw
ing is poor, Mr.. B will be asked to
explain. If the water tastes like
sewage, Mr.. c must either improve
it or be defeated at the next election,
if not Immediately recalled" Not
one of these men can lay the blame
on any other person.
In our national government there
is no such concentration of respon-
sibility. If you ask a congressman
why a certain bad law was passed he
will tell you that the Senate passed 1t
and the President signed It. If you
blame the President he will tell you
that it Is very difficult to veto a bill
passed by the direct representatives
of the people. If you bring a sena-
tor to task for it he will tell you that
the members of the House are your
direct representatives, and you
should blame them. Each depart
ment shifts the responsibility to an
other department. You cannot put
your finger on any guilty party and
accuse him of being alone RESPONSE
BILE.
This same difficulty appears in
some of large cities. With fifty
or sixty aldermen and numerous
boards, 1t is not easy to hold n per-
wTUng. ~
But 1t is clear that this difficulty
does not exist in our city. RESPONSE
bility is completely and perfectly CEN
tered upon our board of six alder
men. Each alderman heads an i'm
portant committee. One is In charge
of the fire department. If the hose
bursts, why not lay the blame on
him? He cannot shift the RESPONSE
bility. He cannot say he did not
know the hose was weak. He should
have known It. If he does not do
better work, throw him overheard
at the next election and put in a man
you can trust. How could 1t be bet
ter done under the commission plan?
If the concrete laid for the pavement
on your street is poor, hold the
board Of aldermen responsible.
They awarded the contract. Get af-
ter the chairman Of the committee
on streets and sewers. If he Is not
a fit man for the position. put him
out also and vote for a good man the
next time. Certainly 1t is easy in
our city to center responsibility.
The people of Perth Amboy now
have commission government. There
Is one commissioner from each ward
and n commissioner elected at
large. These seven commissioners
run the affairs of the city. If good
men are elected (and the writer fails
to see why the commission system
would cause better men to be elect
ed the business of the city will be
well conducted.
After all, more depends on the
Kind Of men elected than on the form
of government. We need a better
government, not a different kind of
government. AS long as we do not
hold excise commissioners to their
pledges, as long as we elect IN
worthy officials, so long must we
nave poor government, no matter
what its form may be.
It Is sometimes said that we
should adopt commission government
because the politicians oppose It.
Would we vote for absolute mon
archy because the politicians opposed
It? 1t 1s natural that those in Of
nee. especially If they are not the
best citizens, should tremble at the
thought of losing their Jobs. But In
my mind the unfortunate thing Is
that the people will elect men to Of
fee who are not efficient. 1t is not
encouraging to think that those
whom We elect are Of such a low
grade that we must naturally favor
what they oppose. Speaking Of con-
centratlon Of responsibility, whom
shall We blame for the election of
unworthy officials?
The voters are the ultimate
source of power. Before our govern
ment can be improved the voters
must take an intelligent interest In
affairs Of public interest. No sudden
reforms or panaceas Of the patent