The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-01-17
OF COMMERCE NOTES
''mmissIon Form of Government for
Sumtcr--Plan Outlined and Dis
CuSSed.

|
Sumtcr--PIan Outlined and Dis
| cusSed.
That sooner or later the question
e the establishment of the Commits
sion Form Of Government in Sumter
VIII be presented to our voters is GER
| tan. At the general meeting of the
members Of the Chamber of Com
merce in December this question was
,aken up but there was no discussion
al that time. \ special committee
WAS appointed to draw up an act and
| ms committee met at the office of
Sir. l.. D. Jennings on last Friday
night. At the meeting the question
was thoroughly discussed and the
committee was unanimous for the
| plan which was outlined in the Item
| Saturday and in the State Nor day.
The committee will meet again on
| Tuesday night az o'clock at the
same place and would be glad to re-
| ceive any suggestions or criticisms on
| this plan in the meantime.
There are now about 16O cities in
| the United States which have adopted
this form and it has been in oper-
| alton about ten years in Galveston
| and for shorter periods elsewhere.
| The name commission form" is un-
| fortunate inasmuch as it is often con-
fused with the various commissions
which have sprung up under the state
governments and with which it has
no points Of comparison whatsoever.
After the Galveston flood, at the re-
quest of the citizens Of that city, the
Governor of Texas appointed a COM
| mission to look after the affairs. La
| ter this form was adoptad NV Cal
weston and the commits .uer- la ted.
The name still clings ru- )rm
but Is misleading. In III. r.f.r.., of
| the cities which have tn ..narrission
government, the 'Des NJ .aa. an"
~ duopteu, mOdlned, however. [.
| suit local conditions. VIM. ls- or
eral plan Of having a oo,u.ai--.o1. he
been generally adopted /. sho... h
| understood that ther n3.s peen
| many notifications ar alt-l.-t,ns.
This, perhaps is one 9s g.. .t-)ng
points in its favor for l.caI o.-ii ons
should always be consiC Iat tr.
| AS generally unders ooG. the Ian
| contemplates having a .r1rpls.. . Of
from three to seven mer .era - ;. ..ich
the mayor is a member with no great
er powers than the others. These
commissioners are elected by the city
as whole and for longer terms of Of
| flee than is usually the case with the
Old council. Their terms of office
do not all expire at the same period,
| thus insuring to the city a continuous
council and the experience of those
who hold over. The smaller cities
| have generally adopted the plan Of
| having but three commissioners, a
mayor and two councilmen. These
commissioners have been paid good
| salaries and have been expected to
devote part Of their time to the
work OF their departments. In many
| respects this plan has met with sew
| eral objections. Any man who is re-
| quired TO devote one-half of each day
to the city and the other half to his
business, can not be expected to per-
form either task particularly we'll.
| The salary, also, is not large enough to
attract the best talent of the city and
| is often an inducement to mere poll
| ticians. In practically all commission
; governed cities, the entire govern
! ment has been placed in the hands of
| this body and all other commissions
and boards with the exception Of the
| school board, have been abolished
They have the appointment Of all
| minor officials and they alone are re-
spOnsible to the city for good govern
| ment. Heretofore the city government
| has been so complicated that any cit
| iZen having "A complaint has had con-
| siderable difficulty in ascertaining
who is responsible. Under the COM
mission form ward lines have been
wiped out. a few men have been made
/ responsible for good government and
| Il business-like administration has
been established which has resulted
! in the saving of thousands and a
/ ments.
In Staunton, Va, a city Of about
the size of sumter and in Newport, II.
l., the councils became so disguised