The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-19

letter which neither you nor MT. Glass. nor anyone else that I know of, has challenged. and that is that three req sonably efficient men, working not over eight hours day, can easily do the work which their positions exact of the commissioners of the city of Br- mingham Do you believe that tho commissioners of the city of Brming- ham are overwor< ed? And if three men should be easily capable of doing the work which devolves upon the commits sioners. is there any good reason Tor increasing the number of commission CTS to five? If you have five commis- sioners to do the work which three can do. won't you have more politics than we are now having, instead Of less?
 Office Less Attractive
 T strongly believe that with the pro- posed increase in tho number of com missioners and decrease in the amount Of their salaries that the office will become so much less attractive. both from the standpoint of honor and of compensation, that 1t will become more difficult than 1t is now to get satisfactory men to of- fer for the positions. Passing from the question of the number of mlssioners to the question of the amount of their salaries l would say that. while 1t Is true that the best men in public service devote themselves to public service for other than pecuniary reasons, yet the cap able man who is considering public service is ordinarily compelled to consider the question of compensation. High salaries do not insure the securing of good men in public office Inadequate salaries greatly increase the probability that pub lie officials will be incompetent and inef- fcent The cost of living today is far greater than 1t was when Morgan and f,,f fla fa ha pensation paid to public servants must bear some fair relation to the compen- sation which men fit for the public work in question would be capable of earn ing in the avenues of private employment.
 T don't care to extend this letter by discussing the change which your bill proposes in selecting the members of the board of education. Certainly you can make whatever changes appear to be de- sirable in the composition of the board of education without increasing the num- Der of the commissioners of the city of Birmingham or diminishing their compen- sation. The propositions have no natural bearing on or connection with each other.
 Tn the beginning of your letter you use the following language:
 "'I wish to say on my part the intro duction and fight for this bill is in re- sponse to what deem sound public sen- timent for a change in the present form of government in two fundamental prin- ciples.'
 ."The two principles referred to are the increase in the number of the commis- sioners and the decrease in their sal aries. In the conclusion of your let ter you criticize with good deal of sar- casm the referendum election on your bill which has been called by the board of commissioners I am delighted. to know, my dear senator. that the fight which you are making in behalf of your bill is fin response to what you deem to be a sound public sentiment.
 T cannot forget that when I was
 endeavoring to pass bill providing a
 commission form of government for
 the city of Birmingham, you were so
 insistent on three changes in the bill
 which I proposed that yous.with some of my other colleagues, spent days in
 . personal canvass of members of the