The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-21
BIRMINGHAM BEST GOVERNED CITY IN SOUTH, SAYS SETTLE. Expert Familiar With Other
 Southern Cities Comments
 the Commissioners LACK OF POLITICS MAIN FEATURE Finances We'll Managed Without Graft-The Commissioners Have Reached Almost Highest Point in Efficiency, He Says

Tn my detailed experience with the 10 largest cities of the south, and many of the north, have never found a better governed city than Birmingham and in very few cases as good" said T. S. Set tie, field secretary of the Playground and Recreation Association of America yes terday
 MT. Settle is well known in Birming- ham, having his southern headquarters here and having lived here several months at the time the Birmingham playgrounds were organized through his direction. Fos the past year or two the most of his time has been spent in other southern cities, but he frequently gets back to Birmingham
 At the request of an Age-Herald re- porter MT. Settle went into detail in re. gard to his statement about Birming- hams government. Incidentally, it might be stated that MT. Settles remarks are to be considered as those of an expert for by the very nature of his work ht comes in contact with the "inside' work. ings of every city in which he organizes playgrounds and parks and he has now organized practically all of the larger towns of the south and southwest.
 Best Governed City in South
 Since you ask me for details" he stated, T will give them, although YOU must realize that I feel some hestanc, on account of the fact that I do moi want to antagonize any other of tn, many cities I work with. The truth i, the truth, however. and perhaps ther, n tn. k- lx- consider Birmingham the best gov erned city in the south'
 The first point to be mentioned is you non-partisan government. Municipal gov ernment has nothing whatever to do witt state or national government and it i no place for politics. In other cities
 come in contact with one of the greates obstacles I encounter, the inevitable pres ence of politics in almost everything tha IS done. Here, your candidates run fo commissioner on independent tickets an, the questions of democrats, republican or any other party does not enter int, 1t. The opposite is true of other citie which have both the commission and tn aldermanic systems. l have recently ha, experience in a commissioned governe, city where the election was decided a party prmaries between the two politica parties while here you have no primary T have come in close, personal con tact with the men who make up thes various governments, and I must sa | that the personnel of Birmingham's com mission is the highest 1 have encoun tered. By that I mean that they ar bigger men,; that they are men wit broader more enlightened views of gov | ernment and especially of social servic as a part of government. I venture tha there Is not a municipal government f
 the world where men of higher moral an intellectual calibre are to be found a
 the head of it. That sounds extravagan but I really believe it.
 No Politics. in Administration
 Then there is no inkling of polite 1 in the administration of the government Just as there Is none in the elections Ine main trouble I have to encounte when organizing playground and recrea ton departments in cities is to keep tn department from becoming a poltica football Tor the party in power. Ther was not even suggestion of it here I was connected with the recommenda tion and appointment of the various of | ficials and supervisors of all the Bir
 mingham playgrounds and not once whel
 any mans name was mentioned did an, of the commissioners ask what party h l belonged to, how he had voted and. S
 forth. The only question they asked was Is he efficient" and if the answer wa yes the man was appointed. To peopl who have general knowledge of mu
 nicipai governments that condition is trul remarkable.
 1 Another feature is the accessibility 0 | th4 members of the commission. The are always there at the offices and al
 ways ready to see any citizen on an topic. It is not so other places, wher l the mayor or commissioners spend bu an hour or two a day at their office.
 the rest in attending to private business
 and then, if you get to see them, yo
 have to pass through line of red tap, Any day in the commission offices a the city hall here people of all classe. | colors. ages, conditions and sexes ar
 to be seen awaiting their turn to inter
 view one of the three heads of the gov
 ernWent. That again is statement tn unusualness of which can be appreciate
 best by those who have a knowledg
 of general conditions in present day mt
 nicipal governments. In Birmingham yo
 have an approachable government, whic l in every sense, it seems to me, is government for and by the people.
 Lastly, I'll say that I know of n l city getting as much service for tt
 money expended by the government a Birmingham. Efficiency seems to hay
 reached almost the highest point. Ther
 seems to be not only no foolish expend lures but there Is no graft, as far 8 have been able to see, and from m
 contact with all of the departments ( a government after having organize -