Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-23

! The same crowd who got up this
/ charter got up a movement last year
| to dispose Of Lakewood by placing an
! incumbranCe of 100000 upon it, with
/ the conditions that a bond issue
| should be placed before the city could
| redeem it. That meant the losing OF
| that property to the city of Atlanta.
| The people overwhelmingly TepUdiat-
| ed that transaction last year Tn
| daUnted by the reputation of last
| fall Of their scheme to dispose of that
| property. they have steaIiily placed
| II in the present charter, giving the
| Mayor and General Council the right
| to sell, exchange or lease As 1t would
! be illegal to lease for term Of 1--WE
/ years, as they could not bind future
| councils, their evident intention is to
| sell that property or exchange ii. That
| is most valuable piece If property
| to the city Of Atlanta, and l can not
| believe that the people will favor such
disposition of it.
l Takes Authority From Voters.
/ The General Manager of the Water
| works is elected by the people under
/ the present charter The public come
! in daily contact with the business of
! that office. and they have expressed
| it at the ballot box that they desire
| to have something to say as to whom
/ they shall transact their business
with. The provisions of the proposed
/ charter place that officer under d
! board and entirely remove him from
/ the people.
The chief Of Construction, the m Dst
/ important business in the city, is also
placed under a board, that board to he
] elected by Council, and the people
/ have an opportunity to vote for Coun-
! Gil, so 1t is easy for any person to
/ judge for himself as to what effect or
/ weight he would have in that depart
ment when it is SO far removed from
! him.
! ! wish again to emphasize that sec
/ ton Of the proposed charter which
/ deals with the fee system Under sec
/ ton 479 of the present charter the
/ Mayor and General Council has pow
/ er and authority to establish a zoe
/ bill for the officers Of said city Sec
/ ton 499 of the proposed charter con-
/ tains precisely the same words Of sec
/ ton 479 of the present charter, except
! that the words for the officers OF
said city have been omitted There
/ can be but one meaning to this, and
/ that Is that they have eliminated en-
tirely the establishment of fee officers
! in order that they can establish a fee
/ system to apply to each service the
/ city does for the citizens, and under
/ that section as ii reads II is within
/ the power of the General Council t.
/ establish a fee bill for services rem
dered to the people that would even
surpass the ad valorem tax. Il is
| entirely too much power to give to
any set Of people who will meet in
/ back room caucus for the purpose O.
| getting up such a document.
! Product of Back Room Caucus.
! The history OF this charter move
ment this year ought to be very VIVID
in the minds Of every citizen. They
have been slapped in the face by the
General Council at every turn they
have presented themselvl- to the
Council in the interest of charter re-
form; notably the mass meeting t
the Kimball House, the mass meeting
at the Auditorium, and the postal caro-
vote of over $500 people demanding
that all charters be submitted to them
20 be voted upon. You were finally
met with the statement on the Coun-
Gil room floor that they would not
trust the people; th.,t the people did
not know what they wanted, and that
they. the Council, would give them
what they pleased, flnallv resulting IN
the peoples charter being thrown In
. the wastebasket and the back room
+ caucus charter being substituted
. llltl tAbl II appears ~ lllt NlAebA IL lS
! a display of a great deal Of gall for
/ that body of men to ask the people &c
. indorse such actions a that and ap-
{ prove of their work.
1 Let me again implore the people Of
! this city not to go to sleep over this
matter-it is Of too vital importance
| to them and to the future of this
! city and her grOwth-but to go out
! tomorrow and bury Z, is charter in
an avalanche Of votes, and by that
action forever put your imprint Of
| disapproval upon such secret work.
Respectfully,
JAMES G.. WOODWARD, Mayor.
Committee Explains 1t.
I The so-Called Citizens Committee
issued the following statement:
To the Editor Of The Georgian:
There has been so much misrepTe
sentation as to the contents and
meaning of the proposed revised
charter that we ask you to print this
in the nature Of a correction.
This would scarcely be necessary
under ordinary circumstances, but on
account of the fact that the criticisms
Of the charter have come from the
Mayor of our city, whose position
Z necessarily commands more or less
attention, according to the point Of
/ view. we thought il might be well to
. lay the exact facts before the voters
/ of the city.
/ 1t should be clearly understood that
/ the exact issue before the people in
this matter is between the existing
charter OF the city and the proposed
/ revised charter. If the proposed re
vised charter is in no respects an i'm
/ urovement over the existing charter,
. then the revised charter should not be
adopted.
/ Old Charter Copied.
I But if it is an Improvement over
! the existing charter. then it should be
adopted, without regard to what
views people might entertain on the
general subject of forms Of govern
ment
Mr. Woodward criticises the pro-
vision Of the revised charter on the
subject of the management of the
Lakewood property. This criticism is
entirely unjustified for the reason
that the revised charter has in it the
exact provisions. word for word and
letter for letter that are contained in
/ the existing charter.
I These provisions were inserted in
/ the existing charter by an act of the
General Assembly of 1901, page 80.
/ and are retained without change.
These provisions have been in the