The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-06
THE SINGLE MANAGER.

! Tho commission form of municipal
government began in Galveston, Texas,
when the great disaster by tidal
| wave swept that city practically out
of existence. The old form of city
government was found to be unavail~
able in the new and critical condition
in which the city found itself. There
fore, the people vested in a commits
sion of five full power TO take charge
and TO do everything necessary even
IN an arbitrary and despotic way. In
order TO get results. The commission
did get results, and its work was so
fully approved that the idea of a COM
mission form of municipal government
spread widely through the country.
Another disaster to another city has
given impetus to a yet more advanced
form of municipal government. The
city of Dayton, Ohio, with population
Of 1867 by the census of 1900, was
almost ruined in the great floods in
Ohio of the early spring. Here, again,
something altogether outside Of the or
dinary municipal activities had to be
provided for. The city met the crisis
by putting its affairs into the hands Of
| a single manager, when the city and
its old government had been practi.
cally wiped out by the flood. The man
ager did so well, has brought the city
so cleanly and swiftly to renovation,
that the people there now propose 10
continue, even in ordinary times. the
business administration put into effect
by this single manager during the
worked so well in time of stress and
confusion that it is hoped and expected
that it will work equally we'll, safely,
and economically. in ordinary times.
The city Of Youngstown, Ohio, also
food sufferer, is making a fight for
the adoption Of the single manager
plan, and two small cities in North
Carolina have recently adopted the
plan Of one-man administration.
The basic idea in this. is to give one
man the full control Of all the admin
lstrative business of tho city. lust as
the affairs of corporations are man
aged by one individual, the function
Of tho city councils being merely that
of board Of directors. and TO levy
the taxes required to maintain the mu-
nicipal government
The Wisconsin Legislature has be-
fore it a bill TO enable any city gov
ernment or commission to employ an
expert manager to conduct the admin
lstrative affairs Of the city.
There is no doubt Of the vital
strength Of this proposition. and we
expect to see it become the rule in pro.
gresslve, enlightened American cities
within a very few years.
The lesson of commission govern.
ments. so far as we have observed it.,
is precisely the same as we see in Salt
Lake under the commission form. In
all cases each commissioner of a citv
department struggles to get all the
money be can for his department, and
often one will get a great deal more
than he needs, to the injury Of the pub
lice service and to the crippling of
otner departments; this is the most
common trend Of the commission form
Of government. Another manifestation
of it is where three will combine
against two. and practically deprive
the two Of any part in the government
of the city. In such cases. although
there is nominally commission of five
III effect there is commission of but
three, and often there is waste and
contention.
The true business for city is to have
one business administrator for all its
affairs and expenditures and hold him
responsible for the handling of the
public money to the best effect, and
for anything that may go wrong in the
administrative or executive affairs of
the city