The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-27

tends toward me-. he.ith. happiness
and domestic comfort and our pubic
snairs In gener.l h wrapped ND IN it
TIVE prt~e nstiss-
-Wheeltng's representative men
the hunicipal League have received
hard knocks. accusations galore. IN
Guiding that ne are for m against
capital and labor. the LIQUOR Interests
and against f. the politicians. all Of
which are untrue Yet the prime mo-
tive In the minds Of all of US r. 10 DO
something for the city. All that ne
pie Of Wheeling TO the conditions
which obtain here. personally be-
lieve. as my colleagues do. the munich
pality should be conducted by our cit
liens. We don't want party politics
In municipal Affairs. We are for the
means OF administration, so that our
an administration"
The chairman then introduced tks
speaker OF the evening. John MD
Vicar. OF Des Moines. az the Preside4
Of the National League.
Mr. macNtcara Aooreee.
Outlining the causes that lead 10 the
adoption of the commission form OF
government I'm Des Moines. Mr.. Mac
Vicar said that the State legislatures
were to blame for the SHORTCOMINGS
of municipalities. as so ably described
by a learned writer. an Englishman.
sore IS years ago He defined the
Legislature as men who had prevented
L. -0-EN- - 49, AAs
thing by the people The energies OF
the government had been expended In
accomplishing great things. ye, the
nation had been badly governed. City
government should be a business insti-
tuition. II had its social. political and
economic sides. Germany had over
come many problems. yet the prob
lens here were different. There could
be no good municipal government I'M
less efficiency was combined with de-
mocracy.
Century OF Democracy.
The people learning TO govern can
do so through the referendum. as in
Des Moines. This Is a century Of de-
mocracy although II is only IL years
old. London had 200 bodies, and even
there the people are asking for one
governing body. In Washington. ID.
c., although there was a committee OF
three. yet congress was the real
power. and in New York public senti-
ment is getting stronger than Tam
many. The Bureau Of Municipal Re-
search. which is supported by volun-
tary contributions, uses expert ac-
countants TO examine into the bust
ness OF each municipal department.
and inefficiency means dismissal, as
In the case Of Supt. Ahren.
Mr.. McVicar showed that in Des
Moines party lines had been elimi-
mated; the referendum and recall had
been operative with the initiative. the
shorter ballot had obtained; and that
the ~unification OF the city had erect
ed a m civic spirit. He defined what
should be a good charter. and why a
number were bad. Some 200 cities,
and 200 additional had drwn up char
ters. but all shoul be based on the ex-
%perience of cities that had passed
through the commission form OF gov
eminent. The results from graft in
quiries lead TO the payment OF the
commissioners. Men should be paid
IL they are to serve you without the
temptations which ~assailed the former
administration.
Results obtained in Des MoInes
comprised a new spirit OF citizenship:
the dispatch OF business. anc the fact
that the city gets more for less
money. MY message to the people
OF Wheeling" he concluded in part,
"Is that the commission form Of row.
eminent has given IS new and I'm
proved departments. given us a new
civic pride. and that 80 per lent II
our people are in favor OF IT," In an
swer TO a question from a gentleman
in the audience, he showed that tax
alton had been lower as compared
with the extravaganza of the old
regime.
Commissioner p. ]. McArdle. OF
Pittsburgh. said in part that .as the
commission form OF government was
only a year old in his city he could not
tell how IL would result, as all that
the charter called for had been denied
them by the state legislature. He
showed that the graft exposure was
the means which creaed public senti-
ment against the old regime. The Big
Six in the old councils really con-
trolled, and IL pea that they got
~ bAbbNoN AAlOuuA VI Nut money LndL
was passed among them. The people
demanded
70 be paid men. the initiative. refer
endum and recall. a n~on-partisan bal
lot and the elimination OF the pri-
mary. but the state legislature only
gave them the council.
No radical changes had been made
by the commission OF nine. ButHhe
commission has established asS.en-
did confidence In the legislaave de-
partment. and the people havA tal9n
on a new spirit. Routine business L.
better taken care OF. and with dis
patch. Under the old regime there
was no responsibility. Heads OF de-
partments formerly had 20 lobby b.
fore they could get men and material
But now In our contract for lighting
alone We will make enough 90 pay an
the salaries % the nine councilmen-
Our contract on garbage and rub
bish removals is on a similar plane
Tn conclusion Mr. McArdie gummar-
iEed the works o. party politics. and
how their are fnrffuof %