The Pensacola journal., 1913-02-20

| py some miSchance, violate any pro-
vision Of the law.
1. No person but qualified voter
shall sign any petition.
2. No person shall sign the name
of another.
s. No person shall sign more than
one separate instrument.
Notice too. that this section adds
another qualification for the voter. who
signs the petition for the initiative
and referendum, and provides that the
signer of a recall petition must have
been a qualified voter at the last gen.
eral election.
| Now get the full significance of this.
| It means that the man who signs pc
| tition for the recall must. in order to
comply with tho provision of both
sections II and 13, be a qualified voter
a. the time he signs the petition ana
he must have been a qualified voter
also at the time (Which may have been
two or three years before) the last
municipal election was held. See the
| difficulties that are in the way of ex-
ercising the great privilege of the re-
call, and initiative and the referendum.
| It would take a Philadelphia lawyer
to dig out and determine the neces-
sary qualifications of signers of petit
| tions, and I don't doubt that the clerk
| of the circuit court can, under the
| charter, as it now stands, and is pro-
posed, take any petition and strike half
| the names off because of disqualified
! ton.
Under this charter, in order to prop
and the referendum, the voters of Pen
sacola would be required to secure the
services of a board of expert lawyers
| and pay them for their services, to
properly direct them in the exercise
| of those three special so-called reser-
Nstions of power, and would have to
have a big bank account in order to
| finance the cost of placing petition
before the commissioners-and see the
scare to the voter that's thrown in
| if any signer to a petition, should vio-
| late the law in any one of the three
particulars mentioned, he becomes a
criminal.
| Sec. 10. Requires detailed monthly
reports by commissioners of receipts
and expenses, to be published, also
annual examination of city books and
accounts, and publish results of the
examination in pamphlet form, etc.
| The governor is authorized to have
examination and audit Of city's books
| at any time, by the state examiner Of
public accounts, and same to be pub
| Iished, or upon petition Of fifty quail
fed voters, to the governor, he shall
| have same done.
Sec. 20. I have already discussed
provisions for fees to be paid the clerk
for petitions and keeping records Of
| petitions.
/ Sec. 21. Gives the power to the
commissioners to enforce the attend
ance Of witnesses, etc, and the au-
! thority to administer oaths to persons
before them.
| Sec. 22 Provides that in the event
the appropriation has already been
made by the aldermanic government
/ when the commissioners come in, and
! IS not sufficient for the commission
( government, they may make further
| appropriation to meet the additional
expense Of commission government.
| Sec. 2S. Gives the power to heads of
/ police, fire and other departments to
! suspend or discharge subordinates,
and requires report to the commits
sioner of the special department, and
he is given power to affirm or revoke
I the action. The employe has fifteen
| days to appeal to the full board.
| Here is seen the full operation and
! swing and power of commission gov
ernment. The commissioners select
/ heads of the departments, and when
! any subordinate shall, for any r son,
show himself opposed to the powers in
| control, by signing petition-for in
stance, for the initiative, for the recall,
or for the referendum, he finds him.
self at once in disfavor and subject to
| removal.
This displeasure might be extended
! further and the employees friend and
| kindred may, by signing petitions,
| bring the employe under the displeas-
ure of the commissioners. Thus again,
we see added difficulty to get signers
10 petitions for the initiative, the re-
| call and the referendum.
| There will be just as many men en-
pIoyed under a commission form of
government, and more too, to carry on
! the work of the police, the fire, the
health, and ther departments of the
| city as now, and make these employees
subject to the despotic will and rule
| Of three men, or two men, as in re-
ality the case will be, and you have
accomplished a system that will be
next to impossible to overcome.
The further we get along in our
examination of this charter, the more
remote is the possibility of the exer-
else of the initiative, the referendum
and the recall, the so-cailed powers
reserved to the people. These three
things that, if properly operated,
would mean very much of check upon
such form of government but in
this charter have only q hollow name
and are a sop thrown to the voter,
which has no substance and no pos
sbiIity of realization.
Sec. "a. Provides for a recorders
court, as now prescribed.
Sec. 25. No order renting and
fines imposed by the recorder shall
become effective unless it shall have
been signed by two commissioners of
| the city in regular session.
Here again is seen the power that
is given to the commissioners. The
! recorders hands are to be tied by two
commissioners and the ordinance of
the city can be tied up completely by
their own sweet will