The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-22
CITIZENSHIP

Not many days ago, Detective William ]. Burns, before
a group of civic and social workers, was telling of the cap
ture of the grafters in the Detroit city council. In the
course of events, the president of the city council had been
caught, red-handed, in taking a bride of a thousand dollars
and, later, he had made a complete confession OF all his
crooked activities as a member OF the Detroit city govern
ment. All Of this became a matter Of general public
knowledge. But, Notwithstanding all this, the man stood
for reelection in his ward and won out by a good majority.
Mr.. Burns used this situation to illustrate the point that
the quality of American citizenship often seems hopeless.
He gave it as his belief that the main trouble with Ameri-
can politics is the indifference, or worse, OF the average
voter.
With this view we are not in accord. We dissent from
the opinion even of so great a man and SO keen an observer
as Mr.. Burns. Detroit is under the old-fashioned form OF
city government and, on the ticket, the name OF the graft
ing councilman was mixed up with the names of a lot of
other candidates, too numerous to be scrutinized carefully
by the voter and too obscure to be recognized by the aver
age man who took the ballot into his booth for marking.
Furthermore, that ballot contained a too-convenient ar
rangement by which the voter with a couple Of strokes Of
his pencil could vote int, office a whole column of party
candidates, grafters and all. 1t is not improbable that the
grating councilman was dragged back into office upon the
coat tails Of better men, in whose company he had been
placed by the l~ong-ballot system.
This opinion was evidently shared by the grand jury
which Investigated the Detroit frauds and which placed in
its report to the court the constructive suggestion that the
remedy for existing evils in the city government lay in
the adoption of the commission form Of government for
the city; that it would be simplied and, by its very simple
ity would guard against graft and leaks. 1t has been the
experience of cities and Of counties and of states which
have tried the short ballot that it makes citizenship more
effective.
Missoula's experience, we believe, has borne out this
statement. The %simplified ballot has removed all possible
source of confusion in the election. The commission gov
eminent has fixed definitely the responsibility for every
official act. 1t has brought the administration of the at.
fairs Of the city into orderly, businesslike form and has
reduced the expense of maintaining the city to the extent
that the salaries which are paid to the commissioners have
proved a good investment.
In concrete illustration, take this comparison between
the budgets of Billings and Missoula for the coming year
the Billings budget carries $78y3So; that Of Missoula is
SIS, 100. We know of no stronger Endorsement for the
commission form of government and of the Missoua COM
missioners than this. The short ballot and the responsible
government save money. Billings is under the old system
of city government and Missoula's commission form is just
getting we'll organized.