The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-11
THE REAL AND ONLY ISSUE

THE REAL AND ONLY ISSUE
Getting down to brass tacks the question Of
charter changes before the board Of aldermen
f this:
shan the city Of Richmond or the state OF
Virginia define the power Of purely local boards
and departments
Whether the council or the administrative
board shall control the IRE, police and health
departments Of the city Is not now question
st Issue. Whether the administrative board is
capable Of better work; whether It has or has
not proven a success; whether It should have
more or less power. matters Of great inter
est but totally foreign TO the question at issue
The resolution recommended by the charter
changes committee and adopted unanimously by
the common council asks the legislature OF vir-
ginia so to amend the charter Of the city Of
Richmond that the council shall have power TO
transfer It's control OF the fire. police and health
departments TO the administrative board. 1t
does not provide that the transfer shall take
place The council controls those departments
by the act of the legislature which granted
charter to Richmond Whether 1t wishes to OK.
ercise that control not makes no difference
Whether the people of Richmond wish 1t to exer-
ciese that control or not makes no difference
hands ere te4-IA4- legislature Of Virginia
composed Of representatives from Bristol and
from Norfolk, from Brunswick and from Aexan.
dria. from Underwater. Piedmont and the Valley,
has declared that the council of the city OF
Richmond must control the police department
Of the city Of Richmond They. Of course know
nothing about what Is best and but little
more In all probability they are perfectly wil!-
ing to leave the decision Of the matter to the
Richmond city council That is what the com
mon council wants them TO do and that Is what
the board Of aldermen, by tie vote. has declin-
"a To ask them to do
DO We the people Of Richmond. through
our chosen city representatives., the members
Of the council, want the right to say whether
tie council or the administrative board shall
control our fire department which fights our
fires and the fires OF none other? We have not
that right. The delegate from Patrick county
has as much to 40 with 1t as the delegate from
Virginia.
Do We. want the power to say whether the
council or the administrative board shall ron.
troll our health department? We have not that
right
Do we want the power to say whether the
countil or the administrative board to control
our police department, which protects our citi
gems? We have not the right
Do we want local self government In matters
of purely local concern or do we want State
government Of matters Of no State concern
That 10 the question at issue. 1t is that and not
what we think about the as now purely aea.
demic question of which body of our repre-
sentatives shall exercise certain powers over
certain departments. That question may or may
not come up later. 1t any rate It does not en-.
ter here
The board OF aldermen is evenly divided on
this question. judging from the vote OF last
Tuesday night But did the board Of alder
men consider this question or another? Did it
aot In fact consider the question Of control and
not Of the right Of control? DID not its members
argue for and against councilmantc control OF
the FIRE and police and health departments rath-
or for and against the right Of self government
n the real issue had been recognized and vote
aiken upon it with no thought Of the Irrelevant
caters which wSre allowed to obtrude them.
elves would not the vote have been unanimous
.or the proposed amendment?