The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-05

To5The Forum: In his interview in
yesterday mornings Courier News
Mayor sweet says:
Many misleading rumors have been
circulated regarding my attitude to-
ward the commission form OF govern
ment,''' and he cIaims to refute the
charge that he Is opposed to the. com
mission plan. .
About the only misleading rumor
that it would be possible to circulate
with respect to his attitude in this
matter, would be that Mayor Sweet is
at, this time for the commission .sys-
en- OF government for Fargo in any
form whatsoever. ~ ~
No one at all interested in securing
the commission system for Fargo has
at any time, since an election was
called for on that issue, had any doubt
as to where Mayor Sweet has stood,
nor where practically all Of the state
ments made or published respecting
alleged defects of our law originated;
especially as in several instances the
parties writing such articles have adj
mitted who suggested such criticisms.
Mayor, Sweet in this interview says:
81 am in favor of a commission sys-
tenn of city government that locates
the individual responsibility. The COM
mission system to be voted upon next
Monday does not do. So" ....
Mayor Sweet has repeatedly stated
that the form of city government
. which he now favors is in effect a one
man government, consisting Of FIVE
men, one of them to be elected as
mayor or president, such mayo or
president having actual charge of all
Of the business OF the city, having the
appointment Of all officials and en-
ployees, and having the veto power as
to all acts Of the balance of the COM
mission; making the other commits
SionerS In actual practice merely, an
advisory board to such official, Under
no theory would such government be
a commission form Of city govern
ment, as in q commission form, as the
same Is now in effect, under the laws
OF any of u states, the commission
as a whole are given charge Of and
conduct the ctty'B business. His idea
of a. one-man government is entirely
at variance with the fundamental idea
OF the commission system. Mayor
Sweet claims to be for a form of city
government that apparently none of
the numerous writers on the commits
sion system have heard Of, at least, I
am unable to n any reference to
such form Of government in the writ
ings on the subject which ! have been
able to procure. ....@
After stating tina the new charter
0SSS4AA4S " ~ OPAA4ACIA 10 AAA0CAlAANSB
intense, ambiguous in language and
vicious in effect" and it may be con-
ceded that the mayor is authority on
two Of h grounds Of this objection,
Mayor Sweet "a THE first vital
defect Is that of reducing the presi-
dent of the board to the level of the
other individual commissioners"
His purpose in making this claim
can only be to mislead the voters of
Fargo into thinking that the North
Dakota statutes have emasculated the
presidents powers. .a.,. a
The Dies Moines system is undoubt-
edly the commission plan best known
to the public, most thoroughly IN
sidered and recommended by authori-
ties IN city government, and gener-
ally adopted, and with minor changes,
in force in cities Of the United States
now operating under the commission
plan; and as answer to this claim of
the mayor I submit a synopsis of the
division of power as between the
president and the other commission
ers under both the Des Moines char
ter and under u laws.
Des Moines Plan.
The FIVE members are elected at
large and make UP what is known as
the city council. One OF them being
elected as, an known as, the mayor.
Such council by its vote puts one of
the members at the head of each of
the following divisions of the city's
business, and he is responsible for the
routine operations of such depart
ment:
The department of accounts and
finance; the department of public
safety (police and fire); the depart
ment Of streets and public improve
ments; the department Of parks and
public property. The mayor. ex %officio,
Is the head of the supervisory depart