Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-09-10

city. Milwaukee has organized a
Bureau of Economy and Efficienc,.
1t sent to the state university for
Professor John r. Commons o,bo
organized a municipal CLEARING
house of experts. When the citv
wants advice on a paving heath
engineering or harbor problem tbs
bureau makes a study of the sub
1ect with the cooperation of the
best experts that can be found in
the country, and reports its find.
ings to the city. Such studies have
been made on garbage disposal. the
incineration plant, on harbor. on
health and hygiene, on pure milk
as well as on a variety Of other
subjects. Standards of cost have
been established and departmental
efficiency secured by letting in the
light.
Expert Ability Available.
We have the same expert ability
that Germany and England COM
mand. But it is excluded from city
politics. And as long as questions
of policy or partisanship are de-
termined at the polls we can not
hope to displace the political mayor
by the trained official. The Mil
waukee plan for a permanent bu-
reau of experts offers a means Of
securing that which our cities have
heretofore lacked.
But the reform that has done
most to simplify our municipal ma
chinery is the commission plan OF
city government 1t is a short cut
to efficient. to responsible admin
istration. 1t sweeps away the COM
pexity of the long ballot and tbs
confused charter, and enables the
public to locate responsibility. It
reduces the number of elective Of
ficials to three or five. Through the
initiative, referendum and recall. IL
destroys the power of the boss and
the privileged interests behind tbs
boss The commission plan NAV
not be the final form that city gov
eminent will assume, but 1t will
enable our cities to establish them
selves in the confidence of the peo-
pie, and that is what we most need
just now. It was impossible to de-
velep city sense so long as the
city was distrusted, SO long as the
public felt it should be shorn of
power and limited In it's activi-
ties. A healthy municipal life could
not exist under this distrust.
This gives but an idea Of Mr..
Howe's delightful article.
Rule Applied to Atlanta.
Now. if we had any experts in
Atlanta, selected by taxpayers TO
say what should go with their
money, does anybody think they
would have discarded our garbage
plant for which we had just paid
$4,000 for one that cost over $780,
600? No. An expert told me he
would have recommended that our
plant run day and night Ut has
only run by day. and that well to-
do people be required to consume
their own garbage The up-to-date
plan is very simple-a little gas
arrangement in the kitchen which
eats up anything from a dead dog
to its own ashes. When we get
our 100000 crematory, it will take
100000 for an outfit to haul the
garbage, which must now be
brought from Brookwood and
Westview and Kirkwood and the
end of Marietta street-my! Talk
about congestion When this cara
van takes the streets people will
all have to sell their automobiles!
Let's turn over a new leaf right
now Let's get clean, live, sue
cessful, up date business man
for our burgomaster And then let's
away with our little old antiquated
charter, and our little old anti
quated methods. Let the city take
in the whole of Fulton county and
compel every landlord to furnish
decent housing for his tenants.
black or white. No wonder we rank
third in the typhoid cities Of
America when we think Of the
thousands of human beings in this
city herded like cattle. When we
know that the servant in the
house comes to us from these loath-
some dens, shall we not in the
name of humanity demand
change?
The city of Trenton, n. J.. has
tried the commission form Of
government for one year Although
heavily handicapped by debt
nearly as large as Atlanta's viii
be next year left by the outgoing
administration, they announce
that they have already saved up-