The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-05-17

The results of the inquiry conducted
IN Europe by Frank Putnam, special
commissioner of Houston, Texas, who
spent six months studying the munich
palfties Of England n Germany, have
been embodied by him in a report
which has been published by the city
of Houston for the benefit of other
American cities which may have be-
come convinced there are a few things
still to be earned by the experiences
of the older cities of the old world.
HouSton's need Of looking around a
bit before making up it's mind that it
was the finest town on earth is well
Illustrated by Mr.. Putnam, who makes
this frank declaration at the start:
"ObServing that Houston had q nun
dred churches, very few sewers, less
than half the necessary city water
service required, a scant one-eighth of
the needed pavement, and only a small
percentage of scattering sidewalks. I
gained the impression that while the
people of Houston were admirably
equipped for living in heaven, they
were rather poorly equipped for liv-
ing in Houston"
A Harbor Once a Cow Pasture.
Houston expects some day to be a
great harbor city, and so Mr.. Putnam
gave special attention to Hamburg,
where he learned the lesson that the
way to make a harbor is to dig it.
Hamburg is seventy miles inland
twenty miles further inland than Hous-
ton-and it's great harbor, where float
the biggest transatlantic liners, is
scoOped out of a meadow where cat
tie one grazed. But Hamburg didn't
pause at trifies. 1t has spent $780,
600, 900 to bring the worlds
to it's docks. Houston can be a great
port whenever it makes up it's mind
to do that.
The cities of Germany, Mr.. Putnam
found, are on business principles
and not by oratory. Naturally they
own and operate nearly all public
utilities, including street railways. To
conduct these public enterprises thrift
lily and on solid business lines they
employ men of acknowledged capacity
instead of noisy politicians. Mr.. Put
nam says:
II find that the German city coun-
Gil employs a mayor, who a be best
described as a general manager sub
ject to the control of the council, act
ing as a board of directors for the
| people, and that under civil service
organization the mayo and city coun-
Gil employ all other city officials, from
top to bottom.
MayoraIty a Profession in Europe.
Mayors of German cities are en-
ployed precisely as presidents and gen.
eral managers of American railway
companies are employed. namely, upon
proved ability to perform the work.
German cities often compete for the
services of men who have won high re-
pute as mayors and in such cases the
city which succeeds in hiring the man
usually ties him up with a life contract
to prevent some other city taking him
away with an offer of higher salary,
Cities which take that sort of view
of the obligations of public service are
not likely to trifie with those problems
which in American cities have assumed
such threatening proportions, and so
Mr.. Putnam found that when a private
M in a German city refused to con-
form to the housing laws the munich
pality took his property away from
him.
"These cities are making a stout eff
fort to abolish crime and disease breed
ing slums both by enacting laws which
require private owners of slum tene-
ments to remodel them in conformity
with sanitary science, and, when this
ings and replacing them with munich
pally owned tenements, which are rent
ed at cost, plus interest"
Municipal ownership, both in Ger
many and England, not only is a set
tied policy as regards water, light and
transportation, but Mr.. Putnam found