New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1912-03-30
LOCAL GOVERNMENT RE-
FORMS.


=. The commission plan of Govern
m51t has put itself in the front
r1nk. and. while political leaders
| aaa party organizations have
tlken rather seriously to the prop
| oi-tien. In fact. the sentiment
5 ms 10 be that the old form of
/ ~ and county governments has
! o-jivcd is usefulness. and that
local management should be vest
ed IN small body of men in whom
j full responsibility shall be placed.
The commission form embodies
the direct nomination of candi-
dates, and elm mates entirely the
] party convention and party en-
blem. Candidates for municipal
office are nominated at a primary
I where the number of candidates
! are limited only by their ability
! to secure petition signers. In or
1 der to be a candidate one has but
i to secure petition S gned by a
] comparatively small number of
t voters. He is then baIotted for at
the primary. The candidates re-
&c wing the highest and next
highest number of votes at this
pr mary election are declared the
candidates for mayor, and the
eight next highest among those
ball tied for become the candi
dates for cOUncilmen, four of
whom are to be elected. and. with
the mayor, constitute the entire
le9is ative and executive branch
es OF the city government. Where
ever Installed the system apears
to work satisfactorily. although
as yet none Of the larger cities
have tried the experiment, the |
Boston plan coming as near to the |
commission government system as |
now in vogue. Some OBJ |
lection is raised to the recall pro-
vis;pn, and particularly is that |
objection noticeable wherein It is !
made to apply to judicial officers.
LiileWise there VIII be objection
IN some. quarters to the initiative
proposition, but on the question
as a whole public sentiment is so
clearly set that If is now SWeepinp
the country.
Local governments are .tre-
mendous. burden The policy, of
the past has been to duplicate the
departments by recognizing both
a county and municipal govern
ment cover ng the same territory,
thus providing as many political
berths as possible. The day Of
court I % vs rnmentr except for|
furai communities, isl
al56lg past The people have JUST
dfsS0vered that the dual system
serves simply the purpose of get
ing for the county crew that
which the city crew might mad
vertently overlook. Municipal
corruption and waste, and from
these, naturally, ineffic .ency,
might be set down as the primary I
cause of the increasing public
sentiment in favor of a general
reform of elections and local gov
ernments. There is every reason
to believe, of course, that If the
Democratic Congress had not so
successfully inaugurated a policy
Of retrenchment in public expend-
ltures and progressiveness in leg
lslatlon, that these questions of
local government would give way |
IN the public mind to broader, but
not more important problems The /
Democratic party is taking such ,
good care of affairs at Washing
ton that the people are preparing
to clean house at home. The po- !
litical leader who failed to note :
the progress the people have been I
in the last few years, to- !
wards a cleaner and nicer system !
Df home government. had better !
wake before the storm hits him. :
The ptople believe they have not I
|