Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1912-02-09

electric power that drives our heavy modern
street cars may be the same as propelled our
old four wheelers. The amount of power may
be the same but the results are different be-
cause we work with improved machinery. We
get more work done for the same expenditure
OF energy but the power itself is more
was when the old, inefficient machinery was
| in use.
Summary.
Let me summarize @is-t haze sa:d as to
these fallacies which we know exist in our
government--and especially in our city gov
eminent. They are beliefs which are worn
out or never had any basis in fact.
| l. Short terms are bad they sacrifice ex-
perience and discourage the official from be.
| coming expert. The next turn of the politi-
cal wheel may push him out of Office. There
! is every incentive to neglect the public work
and devote energy to keeping political fences
2. The increase in Offices filled by pop
ular election does not increase popular
/ troll The greater the number of Offices the
/ less the power of each, the less the RESPONSE
| biIity of each, the less the popular interest
and the less the popular control. II is harder
to catch thief in a crowd than In an open
field 1t is harder to fix responsibility when
there are q large number Of officers than
when there are but few.
g. 1t is not true that few elective posi-.
| tions mean autocratic government When
those VINO exercise powers are few they are
responsible not irresponsible.
Longer terms with the attendant fxity of
policy decrease in the number of elective of
fices, to make the offices worth while and re-
sponsibiity conferred in few men, these are
things which all Of us want in govern
ment--at least we want them when we sue
coed in breaking ourselves away from the
traditions and catch phrases which at times
nave threatened to become sort of political
religion for the United States.
Municipal Reform Problem Of Machinery.
1t is matter of expediency only how we
secure these standards, what the form of gov
ernm,ntal machine that makes them possible
may I've. Commission government may be the
best means in one city, another may choose
to cut down the nnmber OF aldermen and
centrahze power in the mayor under home
rule charter legislation. Each may reach the
same standard OF efficiency. New York City
has beel gradually pairing away the power of
her city council till it's functions are but the
shadow o. what they were; Chicago proceeds
in the opposite direction by increasing the
power OF TIE council and putting forth de-
termined effort to make it truly representa-
tive. Each has made great advance toward
good government The form Of government
is less important than the substance, each
city must decide Tor itself what form most
nearly suits its needs.
Commission Government
City government by coIGmission. many
people would have us believe, is the best
means to secure these standards. 1t has
shown remarkable results under widely vary
ing conditions. What are its advantages and
/. "A Business Basis OF all the argu
ments proposed the favorite one is that com
mission government puts the city on bust
ness basis 1t is an organization for eff
feiency where responsibility for each munich
pal function is definitely fixed in some one
officer Business is done with despatch
There is no exasperating red tape to be UNI
wound. Since the RESPONSE bility Is in q small
body-in Wisconsin composed Of three men,
meetings can be called easily no time is
wasted in debate, but the crisp return
mail methods OF private business corpo
ration are applied to the public affairs with
the result that dollar buys for the public
the value of one hundred cents.
The despatch possible with this centralized
responsibility is eontrasted with the dilatory
methods familiar in our council governed
cities Take for example a complaint that
the streets are not properly swept and
sprinked as required by ordinance The
complicated life history of such a protest
few realize unless they have seen service on
city council have tried to induce a city
council to act upon such question
2. Centralized Responsibility. The second
important Improvement which the friends Of
commission government promise us is that the
system would eentralize responsibility as well
IS make more expeditions the handling Of
public work, The example | have Just given
shows not only the dilatory way in whien our
work is handled it also illustrates system
in which is responsible because each
can shift the blame ON some else. 1t is
an illustration of the old saying that what
is everybody's business is nobody's bust
ness The responsibility rests first of al
in the mayor and council.f Council shifts
it to a committee, the committee to one Of
the city departments, the department to am
official. Each shifts the responsibility TO am
other. No one person can be called to ac-i
count il is the same old vicious circle which
Thomas Mast pictured in his famous cartoon
which pictured the politicians when asked
who responsible for bad conditions each
pointing over his shoulder and declaring,
Its Him. -
To my mind this is the strongest argu
ment in favor of the whole movement The
old story of the bundle of sticks is in point,l
So long as they are bound together they ard
strong they cannot easily be broken huta
when they are separated child can break
them orc by one till not single whole stick
remains. 1t is the same with the power Of
the city government. When it is in few
hands it is strong; when it is dispersed
among a large number of elective officers and
| appointive boards not bound together by
| obedience to common unified authority, it is
/ weak; each part breaks down with the re-
suit that what In sum was powerful for good,
in particles is powerless.
! No one would run his business as our
| public business is Everyone knows
! that a large committee is great encourage
ment to debate but encouragement to ac-
| tion. 1t was man who had some ex-
perience in life who said, Get dozen
| clever men to decide question and they
make themselves fools for they are keener
to argue than to decide. " A large council
| who with the ma--or is responsible for the
! city government iS--UuSt pe--rtspuHSlbte'
! But il l can put my hind on some man
| and say to him, Here, this is your work, =
1 and il he cannot say, ''No, that must be
| considered - or First Mr.. A must give
| his consent" that is responsibility.
| If you and l were running large mer-
! camille establishment we would never think
| of putting at its head large board OF d.
! rectors, whose authority must be gotten Tor
! every act done We would get small hoard
or better yet ii we didn't run the business
/ ourselves we would get manager Then
/ il the floors were not swept or il accounts
were not efficiently maraged. could say
| with certainty, this man is not driving this
! business. we must make change. II we
had only our large board of directors we
might be well convinced that something was
wrong but we would not know whom to dis
charge
8. Expert Service. The third great ad
vantage OF commission government is that u