The Mena weekly star., 1913-05-08

day to be governor Of Arkansas
 Governor Hodges has proposed that
 commission form of government
 be established in KnaSas, that a l limited number of commissioners
 be elected who shall be in session continuously. looking after the af- fairs of the state. No one seems to think that Arkansas Is ready for such an innovation. but they are ! just wondering how it would work. ! They are convinced that present
 governmental methods are largely experimental, certainly more or| | less chaotic. and are ready to adopt any other method that promises more satisfactory results. As well one experiment as another. It Is, they say. an application of the old adage about the cooks being so nu- merous that they ruin the boull- lion.
 For this reason the people of the state are watching with the liyci- est interest the commission eXperi-
 ments now in progress at Ft Smith and Pine Bluff. The Ft. Smith commission most nearhS approach ! es the Des Moines model. which commission advocates look upon as ideal. 4 centraIiZation of power and direct fixing of responsibility are the immediate effects of the new form. running a city on busl- | ness principles. with responsible department heads, rather than in Viting every stockhOlder 10 partici- pate in its management. And an other stock argument that has been used to advantage is. Tt is easier to watch five men than 1t is 25.'
 Should the next two years prove the wisdom of the new form of municipal government, it is prob
 able that the style will spread, and that Little Rock itself, where there are some advocates of the system
 whose views almost approach fla naticiSm, will be ready for the ex-
 pertinent
 The inadequacy of revenue to meet growing demands for i'm provements and public utilities has become one of the most important
 features of municipal management And the half dozen large cities of
 the state will feel it more strongly than ever in I9i4. The prohibition law enacted by the legislature,
 which will undoubtedly have the effect of forbidding the issuance of
 a saloon license in the state. un- less some undiscovered way can be
 found by the saloon men to cir cumvent it. will make heavy in roads upon the revenue of Little Rock. Hot Springs. Ft. Smith. Pine Bluff and a few other places. Little | Rock will lose about SS0.00O a year from this source. but the admin 1 iStration, which is essentially pro hibition in principle. believes that l some way can be provided to take l care of the deficit.
 Whether a commission with leg islative as well as executive power ! could solve vtheSe problems better l than a mayor and city council is a | matter of conjecture. and there are many who will never be satisfied | until it has been tried. It has | worked all right in other cities they say: then should it not work i all right in Little Rock9n
 GubernatoriaI Campaign. i
 The subernatorial campaign, the first of the kind in the history of the state, started this week. Judge Hays opening last Monday at Fay etteville. and Col. Brundidge opened | Thursday in Faulkner county at Conway. Each was given a most cordial reception. Other points visited this week by Judge Hays are Rogers. BentonVille. Eureka Springs. BerryVille, Green Forest. Harrison. Bergman. Melville. Cotter and | Mountain Home. This is all in a | part of the state in which Judge | Hays Is not known. Other places visited this week by Col. Brundidge are Morrilton. Clarksville. Russell vile and Ozark. Col. Brundidge is known at all these places-in fact. so thoroughly has he canvassed the state that it would be difficult to select section where he Is not | we'll known. Col. Brundidge has in yited Judge Hays to meet him at i any of his appointments, but Judge Hays has declined. saying that there l are no issues between them 90 vi tally affecting the welfare of the ] public that it is necessary or even l eXpedient to resort to the old time l method of joint discussions. IL is | hoped, however, that they may i hold a few joint debates before the 1 close of the campaign on June 2i. |
 We'll win easy" is the attitude | of both the Brundidge and the | Hays headquarters in Little Rock. l whence the state Is being flooded ! with literature and personal letters. 1 Former Speaker R. F. Miiwee Is Tn | charge of the Searcy statesman's ] headquarters, and is a natural op- tImiSt. Hon. M. F. Dickinson of l ParagOuld is chief engineer of the l Hays bandwagon. and he says there ] is no question Of the success of the l Camden iurist. Which leaves it ID to the voters.
 I have just received a fine line of !