Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-11-27

they nave been too large in membership
In commission governed cities the repre-
sentative body l. usually composed III ty
members. and this small body has beer
found IN practice 10 be a rcprc-cntativ'
a~ were the larger councils which thcv re-
placed. IL not indeed more 80. For elite.
of more than a quarter of Il million pnpu
%lation a gradually increasing council nigh
prove desirable. provided il still remain
distinctly smaller than any of the council-
now usually found in our largest ciiie~
Perhaps fifteen To twenty-five might be r.
jgarded a. including the uppermost limit
no matter how large the city. lndlvidu9'
responsibility Of representatives increases
inyrr~clv with the lie Of the representa-
tive body. The smaller the body the
greater individual responsibility.
The !. r. and r.
"Fourthly. We find IN element Of pupu
bar control present in commission charters
which was and i almost wholly lacking IL
charters a. the old form. Reference il
here had to the modern devices known n
the initiative. referendum and recail. The
first gives the voters ! chance to compel
the enactment If legislation they may de-
sire, even against the wish Of the council
or commission. The second enables the
voters To reject undesirable legislation
which the representative body may wish
To impose upon them. The third enablc~
the VOTERS To put out Of office 4 reprc~en-
%tativc before the end of his term III hc
proves unworthy of his Office. These
measures are intended in commission cities
MI weapons If defense To Offset the con
ccntration Of large powers IN the hands oi
"a relatively small body of men. but viewed
IN thicr proper light they would prove Just
a~ valuable under the old form If govern
mcnt. indeed probably more 80. These de
vices of popular control have been import
ri into this country from Switzerland in
response to a growing recognition Of the
fact that our ~o-callcd representative gov
eminent was not truly representative. and
I was thought that these devices would
help To- make il -. The true hight IN which
TO regard them i. therefore. that Of
emergency measures I'd he invoked M cv-
traurdinarv occasions onlv and not on Ill,
slightest provocation. For that reason th,
percentages of voters signatures required
~ 4 petition ~ bring them into play ought
7" ~ high enough to- insure that these
weapons will be used IN thi, way only Ex-
%rericncr would seem To show that Il re-
unircmcnt NJ ~ per cent IT the registered
voters would insure that the weapon
would not be lightly used. Most commi.-
sion charters are defective in that they
make this requirement too low.
Defects in Commission Plan.
: far we have been considering the
desirable features usually found in com
mission city charters. We must now sake
up a consideration of some OF the short
coming~ NJ this new plan. Of course it will
not ~ possible to enter here upon \ con
~idcration of all the improvements in gov
eminent which municipal science has
shown /" DO desirable III every city. ~
matter what IT. form Of government. such
Tor instance "a, improved accounting. rec
"rd~ and budget procedure. evil @eryirr
m"r'f rr"'i- ini-. preferential ballot and
-'ir"u'rl~ covering bond issues and The
cr"niin. nf nuhl.r uiilitv franchises. II
m sufficient 4" point uut here that com
mission governed citir- have not III Y rule
shown any marked Improvement in these
directions over the old form If city GOV
eminent.
But not every feature w commission
government can be- regarded ia the -rwr
favorable light n~ those iu-i considered
There are ~ least two points IN ~ noted
IN which commission government i di-
timely defective. The first one i, Ia be-
found ~ the manner NJ choosing the head
NJ administrative departments. Commis-
~ioner> are elected ~ representatives of
the people and at the same time IA, dirrr
tors of administrative departments. Now.
popular election IL Of course the onI, way
IN which representatives. that i men
charged with the duty of determining lru
I~iative policies. can b. chosen IN Il pnpu-
lar government. But the fallacv of nj
tempting To- choose men for positions that
require professional training. skill aud IN
perlcncc. by popular vote l. one ot The lr>-
sons that even the last century was he
ginning ~ learn. Such position, can M
tiled properly III only one way. namely.
by appointment. and IN going back To The
system Of %clecting administrative officers
commission government took \ distinct
step backward a. compared with the best
and The growing practice of the previou,
period n municipal development.
"it may. NJ course. ~ answered that
tins defect iu commission government
could BE- cured by considering the commits