Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-10-21


Seeing nothing of late in the
Herald of the proposed change of the
form of city government, | would like
to know if this matter is to be per-
mitted to drop into the discard?
"READER.'
The answer to the question of
Reader" is up to the citizenship of
Aberdeen, of which he is member
The Herald will assist in any move
ment tending toward the progress OF
Aberdeen, and it knows of nothing
that 7ould accelerate that progress
more than a modern, progressive and
responsible form of government. 1t
realizes that the present form has
broken down. 1t has utterly failed,
but it is difficult to point out the par
ticular spots which have proved de-
fective. A change is imperative if
Aberdeen is to keep abreast of other
cities in economy of expenditures and
efficiency of accomplishments.
Commission Plan Is Improvement
The commissioni form of city gov
ernment is no longer an experiment
1t is in successful operation in 2S9
cities, in SO states. having a combin
ed population of 7,0S6.225. The AL
len law. which is available to Aber.
deem, has demonstrated it's superior
ity over the old system in the cities
of Centralia, Chehalis, Hoquiam.
North Yakima and Walla Walla and
1t only requires the demand OF the
citizens of the city to secure the bene-
fits offered by this system.
Regarding the commission system.
we quote at length the experiences
of other cities, taken from THE
Story of the Short Ballot in Cities"
issued by the National Short Ballot
Organization, New York, of which
Woodrow Wilson is president and
member of the advisory board
ut is no easy matter to prove con-
clusively and in true scientific fash
ion that one city is better governed
than another Nevertheless, despite
the difficulty of making comparisons,
there is nothing more certain than
the fact that whether. the commission
form of government is the ideal form
or not, it is better than the forms
of government which preceded it in
the various cities.
"Never in our political history has
any phenomenon of this nature been
examined with such minuteness or by
SO many investigators. In Galveston,
Dallas and Des Moines it has been
necessary to publish pamphlets as an
answer to inquiries. The officials of
governed cities have been
with questions by mail to
such an extent that it has frequent.
ly been impossible for them to an
swer the correspondence. Delega.
ton after delegation has visited these
cities and has made the rounds OF
city offices, newspaper rooms, civic
and political clubs, as
we'll as interviewed the business men,
to ascertain the truth. Many of these
delegations were predisposed against
the new plan and were intent on find
ing flaws in it that would justify
their taking home hostile report.
writer's have made eXhaus-
tive inquiries and such organizations
as the National Municipal League
have kept watch very carefully. While
the Boston finance commission was
planning the new Boston charter,
President Eliot of Harvard made
tour Of the commission governed cit
les, or short ballot Cities" as he pre-
fers to call them, and returned to
Boston so enthusiastic that he was
able to win over the town to an ac-
ceptance of some of the fundamental
features of the plan. Another elab-
crate inquiry was made by commit
tee Of the state legislature of Him
ois, from which everybody expected
a hostile report. The committee,
however, reported strongly in favor
of the plan, stating that everywhere
they found that it had won the ap-
proval of the people who lived under
it.