New Ulm review., 1913-11-05

Will lead TO the abuse OF that power
That is exactly what happened ii
San Franciseo and Sacramento undel
]. . system identical with that propos
! ed BY the affirmative. Ask the Com
mission Of some city where the plar
has been given fair trial how 1t ],
working. In most cases it will worl
out 10 the entire satisfaction Of thu
4 Commission but ask some Of the pool
people whom the laws really affect
and theirs will be an entirely differ.
ent story.
/ The present system has worked
well here and New Ulm is about the
average city. Compare our tax rate
with that Of Mankato under the
Commission. The tax rate for muni-
cipal and school purposes in Mankato
lis $50 mills and in New Ulm 6.65
mills. Cost Of municipal government
per $4,000 true valuation in Man
kato, $l13. In New Ulm, $10l.
The plan proposed by the affirma-
tive is too expensive. You must have
well paid experts or your plan will
be failure. An intelligent and
capable man does not care to devote
his time to an occupation which
brings him only small salary. The
city would no longer be run by men
who would do it as a patriotic, pub
lie service but by those who did it for
the money. The Commissioners too
would want to retain their offices
then for the money in them. Gal
weston pays her mayor $4,000 per
year and each commissioner $1,000.
Des Moines pays her mayor $500
and her commissioners $4,000 each.
In contrast with these figures, we
pay our mayor $1OO per year. Be-
sides, there is not enough city busi-
ness here to keep three to five ex-
perts busy earning fair salary.
Does it seem reasonable that we
should discard tried and satisfac-
tory plan for new and radical ex-
pertinent? a plan which is undoubt-
edly far more expensive? The COM
mission system might easily lead to
since there is no reason
why all of the commissioners might |
not come from practically the same
section of the city, the wealthy, in
auential section and would naturally !
be more interested in working for
the development of their own sec
lion. Such condition would be i'm
possible under our present ward sys-
;em. And because all powers are
rested in small body there would
oe continual log-rolling, that is, a
member voting for the pet measure
# his fellow commissioner on con-
lition that the latter will in turn vote
OF the pet measure of the former.
'In Sacramento, where they aban-
loned the Commission after Is years
f misgovernment, the department
eads had gotten together and voted
or many unnecessary improvements"
avs l.. J. Ingraham. "In San Fran
isco the commissioners put thru un-
ecessary improvements and assessed !
he people entirely out of their prop !
rty,' says judge of that city. :
We of the negative have so far :
roved to you that the commission
orm of government is unnecessary '
nd undesirable. My colleague will :
ontinue the discussion and prove to !;
on that because other cities have
1opted it is no reason that New ,
I'm should do so. r.
Miss Eibner argued for the atfirmn-
We as follows: I'll
My colleague has now proven to n
,u that the commission form of
'vernment gives responsibility, that g
does away with useless boards and S
'mmittees, and that it secures ad-
efficiency. l will now o
owe to you first that a commission tl
I'm of government is superior from e
legislative standpoint, for the same q
en- legislate that administer. This 7!
very clear for man who makes u
ws knows better how to enforce G
ese laws than does a mere legisla-
r. For example, if commissioners 9
ISIS speed laws they will take pride b
enforcing these laws, while under p
e present system such ordinances u
e merely hypothetical, being hardly !,
er enforced. Then also each COM u
issioner is intimately acquainted G
ith, the needs of his department. y
nee he is continually working in u
certain department he will become II
ore thoroughly acquainted with it $
I'd thereby know what is needed and n
hat is not needed to make his work II
ccessful. Through this he will be- G
me an expert in that line of work. O.
or example, the man at the head of $;
e Department of Public Safety will u
come an expert in his sphere of y
tivity as times goes on and thus a
cure greater efficiency. Tie COM
issioners can easily be held account a
lie for every legislative act pacsed y
nee there are so few commissioners,
an act is passed that is against the e
i'll of the people they can easily
termine who can be held account S;
lie for the act and this person can g
taken from Office by the recall o
e recall gives to the people the ',
ghtful power to discharge any in u
dishonest or unfaithful
rvant at any time as an individual =
nployer has the right to do.
In the second place the commission
rm is more democratic. By demo-
attic / mean democratic in broad s
nse in the fact that we recognize
e people as the source of power
I'd regard the public official as
cir representatives, pledged to car
out their will. The commissioners =