Evening journal., 1911-06-24

charter for Wilmington before the
Wilmington Civic Association, on |
Monday night. Caleb F. Burchenal |
said:
MIR. President and members OF the /
Wilmington Civic Association:
THE question before us admits
without argument that we need a
change in our present city charter.
and the only argument for our con-
sideration is whether that change
should be made by amending our
present charter or by making an en-
tirely new draft of a charter
1T must be admitted that It will be
easier for the Charter Commission to
draft a new instrument rather than to
fit amendments into the present char
ter. It would be necessary 10 make
sure that the added amendments do
not conflict or else change the mean
ing in ways not intended A new
draft will save time and whatever
there is in the old charter which is
good can he saved in the new. II will
make a cleaner and clearer piece OF
work TO draft a new charter through
out
but even admitting that the
Charter Commission could add
amendments which would eradicate
all undesirable features IN our pres
ent charter and add whatever Of mod
ern municipal thought is desired. still
It would require necessarily many
amendments to bring about the de-
sired changes These amendments
would increase the difficulty of de-
termining Just what kind of city gov
ernment we have When in search of
the law one would be forced TO read
not only the charter but also the
various amendments lest some part OF
the charter might be changed by these
amendments We codifed our State
statutes in 1898, and now Mr.. Ward
our president. is a member of another
Code Commission IN order 10 bring all
the State laws within the bindings Of
one book for the purpose Of making
It easier to ascertain the law on any
subject The present charter was
enacted in 1883 and new charter
would condense and clarity all char
ter questions as the codihcation Of our
laws does. We would know exactly
the form Of city government without
reading many pages Of amendments
while new amendments would but
add to the dificulty Of finding the law
and hide the real charter in the maze
Of amendments.
"The present charter with amend
ments covers nearly 562 pages and to
amend it further VIII but add 70 the
/ bulkiness OF the charter and also TO
/ the task of reading the same. For
! the sake of those who must read and
study the charter we urge for a new
instrument.
/ Should Read Charter.
Every citizen OF Wilmington ought
to read the charter Of his city, as
every school child is required TO
study the Constitution of the State
Of Delaware and the Constitution Of
the United States. in order that he
may know the duties Of officials and
thereby pass judgment upon the fact
whether officials are living up to their
duties
But this new charter OF old char
ter amended is to be accepted or re-
/ iected at an election next June, and
in order to do this intelligently every
voter must read and study the whole
amendments and all-and a bulky
charter will make it difficult TO get
from the people an intelligent vote
To that end it is essential 70 have 0
short charter
"The law also provides that after
Il the Charter Commission makes its re-
] port, the Mayor shall cause 10000
copies Of the new charter or scheme
of government to be printed for dis
! tribution If the charter is amended
! then il will be necessary 70 print the
/ 5e2 pages Of the old together with the
amendments and il will be much more
expensive TO print the bulky, amend
ed charter rather than new charter.
"The proposed charter of Newark,
New Jersey. covers only thirty pages
and is comprehended easily by tha
average citizen. Nearly all Of the
modern charters are shorter in form
than our present charter. and the ad-
ditional amendments which the pesen,
Charter Commission Is urged to add
by our opponents will increase cur
charter out of all proportions. A
shorter charter can only be made
through a new instrument in which
the powers of the city government are
| condensed.
City a Big Corporation.
i Our city is corporation titdleu
by the legislature. and its problems
are business problems and the man
agement of city works The new char.
ter should, therefore. follow the or
ganization of corporations and provide
for the merit system. Our municipal
corporation spends over million dol.
lars every year and the charter should
provide for the selection Of capable
men and should make the Spoils Sys.
TEN an impossibility in our city gov
ernment. The Pennsylvania railroad
does not change every engineer anc
station master every time II elects {
new man as president Of the company
Such a proceeding would be disastrous
to the best management Of the com
|, pany. And in this municipal corpora
tion there is no reason why any Q th'
Ia Il. ta.I1