New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-26
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The home rule article Of the proposed
constitution for the first time gives to this
city substantially complete power 10 regulate
for itself and in its own way its primary local
concerns. The article FOR the first time. in
relation TO charter amendments which go to
the fundamentals Of our city government,
gives the city the right to state authorita-
lively what it wants and the right 10 intia-
tive action thereon, which shall be final un-
less the Legislature within fixed short time
expressly disapproves the precise thing sub
mtted, with no power in the Legislature to
vary or manipulate the city's demand and
with no power in the Legislature OF initia-
ton in matters Of this kind unless applicable
to all of the ffty-seven cities Of the state
alike, without classification or distinction.
Finally, in relation to the adoption Of new
city charters, the article proposed for the
first time recognizes that the people OF the
city have the right TO speak and be heard
upon the organic law of the municipal gov
eminent under which they must live.
The three features which have mentioned
grant W NHlS CITY lic tooNhSt VI HOHic N4S'
subject only to limitation which even the
most exacting advocates of city autonomy
must recognize as proper-namely, the linf-
alton which comes from the necessary su
premacy of the State Legislature over those
subjects which require uniformity of regu-
ation or policy throughout the state. ANY
grant beyond that limitation would mean for
the city not merely home rule, but secession
from the state.
Under the grant of power to regulate its
own local affairs, the city alone, for example
could determine in accordance with proper
economy IN administration where It's law. IRE.
tax and water supply departments should
maintain branch Offices, and such determine
ton would replace the present legislative
mandate from Albany as to where each OF
the departments mentioned must have a
branch office Under the existing constitu-
ton the state Legislature has had the right
20 prescribe that the duty of steam boiler
inspection shall be performed by the Police
Department. II is generally agreed that
that duty should be performed by some other
branch of the government, and under the new
article the assignment Of that function would
be entirely within the power of the city itself
and beyond that of the Legislature. Again,
the city, and not the state Legislature. as
now, would determine whether there should
be sixteen or fewer or more inspectors of
light and ventilation in the New Building
Bureau of the Tenement House Department,
what the minimum salaries Of matrons in
the Department of Correction should be, how
the Department Of Street Cleaning should be
organized and what the ranks, titles and
duties of its employees should be. Likewise,
in contrast TO present conditions, the city
alone would regulate the matter OF vaca-
tions OF city employees and the Legislature
would be precluded from enactng again sucn.
legislation as that enacted in 1912, by which
all the doormen in the Police Department
numbering 100, were at one stroke made
patrolmen, with incidental increases of sal
aries to that of patrolmen, without being
subjected TO the possible embarrassment OF
the usual civil service examination.
In this connection, too, il should be noted
that the proposed amendment for the first
time gives to the city control over the com
pensation Of county employees, such as would
mark the termination of an unquestoned
abuse, the repeated and wholesale perpetra-
ton Of which the city has under the presen.
constitution been powerless TO prevent. No
longer could s35O,O0O be added to the city's
annual payroll at single session OF the
state Legislature, as in 1911. No longer
could legislative enactment at Albany re-
quire annual expenditures for lucrative sal
aries for counsel TO the county clerks and
for retinue Of counsel and assistant .coun-
sci TO the sheriffs. The day would be gone
when the gentlemen from upstate could, as
now, command this city to appropriate an
nually 100000 to the commissioners Of rec
ords in New York and Kings counties in un-