The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-15
MUNICIPAL RULE.

municipal government has received the
hearty endorsement Of the National
Municipal league. recently in annual
session at Toronto. it doesn't necessari-
ly follow that 1t would be wise for
cities generally to rush headlong into
a trial Of this system. The greatest
efficiency in municipal rule II most de-
sirable. And there is much in this
plan that is most admirable in theory.
the concentration in authority that it
provides, and the harmonizing that
would result in the conduct Of the vari-
GUS departments Of city government.
1t In q natural evolution In q way
Of the commission form Of government
for cities, which Of itself Is only in its
infancy. And 1t would appear that the
commission plan should be given a
moro thorough trial and put to longer
test before q change is made in an
extreme direction, no matter how
feasible and desirable it may seem in
theory. Then, too, 1t is being tried out
In four or five cities in the country. and
1t would be wise for other cities to
wait and observe how the experiment
WIZ no Au . aCt1CC OS4OAS 6AvAA8 SCA Az US
consideration to its adoption.
Although there is some discomfort. es-
pecially among the politicians Of the
old school. against the commission form
OF government little evidence can be
found that it is failing to deliver the
goods. that it IL not immeasurably SUI
perior to the old system Of city rule
H,Vr onH a council nf
unwieldly size. And those who are
finding fault with the commission plan
can certainly find nothing of satisfac-
ton in the city manager suggestion.
In fact the commission plan. under
intelligent administration. approximates
the ideal in the way Of municipal rule.
One Of the pet arguments against 1t is
that it has failed to reduce taxes and
that it is more expensive than the old
system. But this criticism will not
bear carefully scrutiny. In Topeka for
instance, the cost Of government by
commission has been no less than what
1t was under the old scheme. But it
hasn't been much more. And this lat
ter fact really emphasizes the fact that
the commission plan is of the economi-
cal variety. For it must be borne in
mind that the cost Of living as far as
a city is concerned has been increasing
Of late years. Salaries and wages of
employees are necessarily higher than
they were a few years ago. The cost
Of material for city work has Joined in
the procession Of higher prices. 1t Is
the rule, almost without an exception.
for tax rates to increase year after
year as states, counties and cities grow
in population and the qualifications of
are extended to meet the demands and
necessities Of the people. Notwith-
standing these facts, the cost of rum
ming Topeka's government under the
commission plan has not increased dur
ing the past few years materially over
the cost that was entailed under the
mayor-council system. at least, the
tax rate is about the same. This is an
excellent testimonial Of the economic
value Of commission rule. Then. too
the people of the city have been getting
much more for their money under the
commission system, as the progress in
the development Of public improvements
has been greater during the time that
the commission system has been in OPP
Grafton than in any other like period
of the city's history. The city mana
ger plan demands an expert in munich
pal rule to make it a success. And
there IL no visible supply of such ex-
perts in this country. practical experts,
not theoretical ones. The commission
plan will have a tendency to develop
such experts. and until there is goodly
number Of them available. 1t would
be folly for any great number Of cities
to undertake a one man system OF
government. regardless of its attrac-
tiveness.
Over and above all, though, the COM
mission system is entitled to a far more
extended trial than it has yet received
before it is cast on the scrap heap, be-
fore the commissioners are made fig
ureheads and all of their authority in
the conduct of city's business is
placed in the hands Of single individ-
ual. Making haste slowly is as good
a rule in the development Of municipal
rule as 1t Is in any other pursuit.