The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-26
CITIZENS TALK OE, MANAGER INSTEAD
 0F COMMISSIONERS
Want Capitalization of Au- thority and Responsibility.
 Would Have Advisory
 Board of Three or Five

People of Birmingham, certainly thinat well of tho city manager plan of guvern- mcnt. A number of citizens were ap- preached yesterday and asked as to their preferences as between three and hvs commissioners. Nearly every one an- swered by extollIng the virtues of tho city manager plan of government.
 They wanted a centralization of author- ity and responsibility; they realized that something was wrong. but believed that the best way to change 1t was by install Ing one man at the head of tho municipal government with board of five advisors. They wanted n man who had made good In the business world and they were par ticularly emphatic in declaring that they did not want a man who trimmed his sails to every wind-in other words, a poll tician.
 Among the expressions secured yester- day were the following:
 Wants Expert
 Coleman Blach: "To begin with I can- not find fault with the present commls- sion. Everyone must remember that Bir- mingham has been placed in a peculiar condition on account of its rapid growth No city in the United States that I know of with the possible exception of Los Angeles has had the problem of abnor- maj, growth to deal with as much as Bir- mingham.
 "If the people could select the city manager plan for Birmingham. I am in favor of getting an expert who has proved his competence in the past Get a competent man who has no political as- prations. but Is an expert in the manage ment of municipal affairs. He does not have to be from Birmingham; it matters not where he comes from, nor what his politics and creed might be. We want a manager that will be capable and if he fails let the advisory board fire him im- mediately. It does not matter whether nine men on the advisory board. 90 long as they are real business men working for the betterment of the city and not themselves. Anyone knows that any im- provement in a city directly benents every member of the community. am not in favor of a cheap man for the job of city manager. Get a good ono and pay him well. It might be . good Idea to limit the amount of money to be paid him up to q certain amount. If the man is competent he could easily bs worth as much a $25 900 year for his services. man,
 
 the citys finances and affAirs can easily save that amount of money for the city each month.
 1T shall never forget the tims I flrst looked at Birmingham. It was . num- Der of years ago. The streets wUro torn up and they wsre about to put in sswers for the city. The pipe was just 10 inohss in diameter. I stopped looked and pom dered for a minute. then said to myself, What an extravagancs: this town win outgrow those Improvements in less than 1b years And 1t did. At the present time the city of Birrningh ham 10 in . bad condition. The man who 10 elected as commissioner. in the event the people decide to let things stay as they are. Is almost certain to meet with defeat later. He will go into office with the city depleted of funds. an inadequate police de- pertinent. recent cut in the fire depart ment. and the school problem on his hands. What can he do? One of two things-fsil miserably or possibly keep things going as they have been. We need good schools. comupetent teachers. ample facilities and plenty of room for the children There should be no politics
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