The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1913-02-04

service. Under the government a.
proposed the mayor would be the
whole thing, because he would be the
only man paid salary and all woul'
depend upon him. He said the pro-
posed government would increase the
number of officials instead of de-
crease them and would result in
greater expenditures of money.
James II. Mathers made an impas
stoned speech favoring the amend
ments. He said he wrote them. Also
said he was not candidate for any
office in the gift of the people. More
than one half of the citizens of the
town signed the petitions and he
predicted the amendments would
carry. He said the amendments
meant the rule of the people" which
was according to the republican form
of government. He denounced the
commission form as undemocratic. He
said Ardmore ought to build a
splendid city, there is no politics in
the amendments, he said there was
greater politics in having four men
appoint $50 officers than to have
the people elect these officers. He
said the commission form of gov
eminent was based upon the doctrines
of Alexander Hamilton. He said this
city would return to the faith of its
fathers and go back to the aldermanic
form. Mr.. Mathers made the state
ment that every city which had
adopted it had later repudiated it. Mr..
Spragins asked what cities had repu-
dated it. Mr.. Mathers asked him to
read the records of Enid, Chickasha
and McAlester. DR.. Weith then asked
the question what town had abol-
ished the commission form. To this
question Mr.. Mathers replied that
the friends of the commission form
had called the meeting, that they had
stacked the meeting but that they
could not stack the ballot box. Tho
questions and answers created quite
a bit of amusement.
Mayor Dawson stated that 26S cities
had adopted the commission form of
government. Out of this number not
one had ever abolished it. He said
the proposed amendments called for
the election of all officials except
the auditor, clerk and physician. In
speaking of the popular election of
the fire chief, the mayor said the law
prescribes that no person can serve
as chief until he has been in the
fire service for three years, and for
feits his office as soon as he NEEDLES
in politics. The chief in order to
get elected must take hand in pol
itics and then he would be debarred
from serving under the proposed
form. Mr.. Mathers wanted to know
if the charter would not suspend the
statutes. The mayor said the original
charter did but that amendments
would not. The mayor stated under
the amendments the police chief
would be supreme in his own office
He could hire six men or sixteen men
and no one had any power whatever
to place any check upon the office.
The same thing he said was true
about the tax assessor, the water su-
perintendent, the fire chief, etc.
DR.. Weith said be hated to see the
town take a step backward. He said
the success of the commission form
in all cities had been so conspicuous
that cities would not go back to the
old form. He wants to see real
commission form put to the test first
and would like to see three men in
stead of five placed at the head OF
the government.
|. r. Mason stated that he was
thoroughly convinced that the amend
ments should not carry, that Mayor
Dawson's speech had convinced him
that the amendments would not ac-
complish what the people desire. He