The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-04
INTERESTING RESUME
Continued From Page One.

Continued From Page One.
profit of the bosses. Such power
blunts and such authority dulls the
perceptions. Most Of the evils in city
government can be traced back to this
initial source-ward politics.
Commission form of government
source of municipal evils. It has i'm
proved the brand of politics which nee
essarily enters into any system of
government.
How II Works,
The commissioners are elected by
the city as a whole; and then il any
man proves to be inefficient or corrupt;
or If the commissioners do not repre-
sent, the wishes of. the people there is
a remedy, through the initiative, ref
erendum and recall: so that issues of
great importance no longer rest, to-
tally, in the hands of the commission
ers themselves. 1t is the business of
each commissioner to control and di-
rect the work of his department, sub
iect to the approval of the commits
sion. Thus the responsibility is di-
rectly placed and no one official need
bear the blame of the shortcomings of
another, though the board of commits
~sioners Is responsible for the results as
a whole.
Too Late to Plead Ignorance of Law.
The time has passed when any man,
who desires to be informed, a hon
estly say that he is opposed to the
commission form of government being
adopted, at this particular time, for
the reason that he does not under
stand what the law is. The substance
of the proposed charter has been X
planned by the press and by speakers;
and If it is not understood now it new
'er will be.
The matter has been considered as
carefully as it could be by three state
legislatures.
Governor Hanna's bill was enacted
in 1907 and a new and more complete
charter was adopted in 1911. Then
after two years experience under this
charter by several cities in this state,
1T has been amended and improved by
the last legislature. So it appears
this subject as three legislatures could
produce; and the only way to find out
whether the law lee further amend
ments is to put ii in operation, set the
machinery going. If you please-and
see il a rivet needs to be hammered
down here, or a cog filed there. If so,
then do it when the legislature meets
machine, isn't it? Set the thing go
ing and see where ii needs to be oiled,
or filed, or hammered. Tighten up a
nut here and a bolt there. Try it out
and adjust its bearings.
How Commission Plan Has Worked.
Besides all this we have samples of
! similar governmental machines or
! charters that have been operated sue
cessfully and to the satisfaction of so
per cent of the people in more than 200
| other cities. These different charters
are as near like our charter as the diff
| ferent legislatures of different states
are likely to enact.
What Other People Think About II.
~ decent respect for the opinions
of mankind" was one of the motives
stated by the people Of the American
colonies in the great Declaration of
American Independence.
There is probably not another man
in the United States who Is N bet
ter posted on the results secured by
THE commission form of government
for cities, thar is John Macvicar, who
is secretary of the National League of
Municipalities, and who resides in Des
Moines, la. Not only has he seen the
commission form of government work
ed out in his own city, but he has been,
by virtue of his Office. in touch with
most, if not all. of the cities where
this plan has been adopted. 1 had a