The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-02-14
OF THE Pc E. BY THE
BOSS, FOR THE FACTION


tsrs q - such a. ths General An6osn-
sembiy may deem boat, the abseluts
rsvNrse OF hom4 rule.
An Eeoent1aI FEATURE. n
Under the commission fOem o.
charter, an essential feature u the
concentration Of all authority and re-
sponsibility In the hands Of the COM
nftegtoners. This necessarily includes
the power Of appointing all OF their
administrative subordinates, the COM
missoners alone be elected BY popu-
lar vote.
amendment that no matter what
form Of charter may be granted the
cities by the Legislature, all the les
lar vote, readers 1t impossible under
IL terms, that any city should have
commission government In fact a.
well as in form. This feature OF
the commission plan ID emphasized
by all political economists who have
digested the commission charters.
II further object to the pending
amendment en- the ground that u y
class legislation, and therefore us.
constitutional. Class IegislAtiou, ~
it, name implies. ID any act which
benefits class at the expense q thu
public. The smaller the class - BINS.
fted, the more annphAtfcAlly does tn
act violate that spirit Of equality
immortal bill Of rights All Just laws
ure based on this equality.
(. Device Fer GooWeMy.
1.-THE best Interests Of the l1e.0o0
inha hitants OF our aixteau cities de-
rnAnd that they should have To- com.
mission form Of government which
10 merely . device for subsftfutlAg bae.
iness economy and efficiency Tor pClit-
Teal uAl-adfninistration. and thin y
e1ectsd by giving the comnnteo3oner1
power to appoint all their Adm1n31tra-
tive subordinates FROM aecArtnl9ad
fitness. Tho popular election of tho
for their election, which carries with
It political control.
THE demand OF the fee ofncers that
they shall be elected by popular votA
ID fully compiled with In the pending
amendment. The question before the
Legislature now II. then shall the spe-
cial interests OF the one hundred to-
officers in these sixteen cities be con-
sidered rather than the public well
fare Of their $4,000 fellow citizens, or
to state the proportion b one fec Of
ficehoider Of greater Importance that
four thousand two hundred citizens In
private life, or mathematically, Il one
greater than four thousand two hum
dred? II the Legislature can answer
all these questions with an emphatic
yes--the pending amendment should
be passed. II not 1t sh0uld be killed.
Dangerous esaturs.
"a peculiarly dangerous feature OF
the pending amendment ID that. II the
Legislature should grant a charter
with concentrated powers not includ-
ing those weapons against special in-
tefests, Initiative. referendum and re-
call, we might see In the cities OF
Virginia an elective despottsm more
complete than has ever vet enthrailed
an American municipality.
I'VE are even now accustomed to
the spectacle Of deserving candidates
fading away at the withholding OF the
approving nod Of the boss, and nf the
e.ection OF other candidates in spite
Of the fact that they have insulted the
electorate by refusing to state their
platform. or their views o. intentions
in regard to momentous questions on
which they are to leSf1late. and this
because they have the approval OF
those in political control Of the city.
Democracy used to BE- defined ~
a government of the people. by the
people and for the people. II this
pending amendment be ratified, we
will have the sorry exhibition of vir-
ginia municipalities. not ct this type
Of Democracy. but Of q vastly dtneS-
ent kind government OF the people,
by the boss for the faction--May God
spare our Commonwealth this ignoble
fate"