Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-09-24
CHARTER CHANGERS
REJECT PLAN FOR
ONE-MAN POWER

tan charging the Mayors powers by
giving him unlimited right Of suspen-
sion and removal over every official in
the city government. During one of
the rare lulls. City Attorney Pollard
took the floor
CITY ATTORNEY POLLARD
Is NO LONGER NEUTRAL
Mr.. Christian" began the CITY At
torney. Il wan, to retreat from the
position of absolute neutrality that 1
outlined for myself at Tuesday nights
meeting. have such decided views as
10 what is the best form of government
for this city that cannot refrain from
giving tncin expression here where I
md so much doubt and difference of
opinion.
81 have heard Mr. Pollock propose
that the Administrative Board be
elected By the Council; that they be
elected from a list Of nominees sub
mittcd by the Mayor. and that the
Mayor himself shall sit as part OF the
board. vote with II and DC Its chairman.
all the time, however. retaining his
character as the chief executive Of the
city clothed under the Constitution
with the power TO suspend and for
malfcasaIce, TO remove any official OF
The government.
VIOLATES FUSDt MENTAL
PRINCIPLES or INVENT
"A more monstrous plan than that
could not be proposed 1t is a funda
mental principle of government that
a man who sits and votes with a body
should not have tho power Of remov-
ing any member OF such body. 1t is
monstrous TO give one member of n
body the right to remove his co-ordi :
nate officers. Yet that is Just the
position in which the Mayor would be
were he member of the Administra-
tive Board. as Mfr. Pollock proposes.
Such n plan should never be considered.
Consider the position of an Admins
trative Board SO composed Suppose
that such n board was guilty of qucs-
tionahle administration and one or
more OF it's members stood for re-elac-
ton Won't they shift the responsible
ity for the questicnab BILE administration
10 the Mayor? Won't they be in a po-
sition to say: The Mayor himself sat
with us and voted with us. The Mayor
had the right 10 remove us II we failed
to do our duty, but he did not do So?
Where would the responsibility lie?
Put your Mayor in tho position Mr..
Pollock suggests. and you will destroy
the responsibility of the Administrative
Board to the people and when you have
zone that you will have undone the
great reform which you accomplished
when YOU created this board.
BOARD HAS PROVED
BETTER THAN Predecessor
There has just been presented to us
a statement proving beyond reasonable
doubt that we have in the Administra-
tive Board an institution of the high
est efficiency. Can YOU doubt, after
hearing 1t, that it has been Efficient
that II is not vast Improvement over
any system OF administration that we
have ever had?
But we have in our midst some
who are not satisfied. There come to
us idealists and Missionaries who ask
us TO uproot our government and throw
1t away and try a now form. Do they
come here with the fullness of personal
knowledge and experience and urge us
to make a trial OF something that has
been tried and found successful else
where?"
NO" cried Mr.. Pollard. betraying
every evidence Of intense feeling.
They scome to us, not as rcformers,
but as experimenters. They want to
experiment on us and find out in that
way II their plan is any good. They
want tho city of Richmond to lie down
on the operating table and have It's
political appendix removed.
MUNICIPAL SURGEONS
DEMANDING AN EXPERIMENT
who are these municipal surgeons?
Did your Chamber of Commerce hold
a mass meeting and demand n change