The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1916-02-28
The Commission Form; " by 1t Is
4 Good Thing for Albuquerque

'HNf ~
physically. social, and economical,
n unit: II ought O. bc - In rs GOV
eminent The ad tutagcs which ma,
he mentioned ar, as follows: ,b \
man who is "Rood for our ward" viii
he good Tor the entire city. G., Oui
general lnleresSp are greater than
local ncighborhooI. or ward interests
t3) Public sentiment. II unified. sue
ceeds. " divided. fails. 90 II com.
polls the officer e. take "A larger view
Of his duties. 60 rhis j. best tor thu
officer and best Or the city. co Tho
recall feature. which the citizens
have, is conduci'e to after-clcctiou
virtues. ca The city, being thus rec.
ognized as n unit can act quickly In
an emergency.
t2) The conn ssion form ellmi-
mates partisan pr riudice In local az
fairs This may b. accomplished: tD
Py the headless ballot. t2) eliminat-
Ing the party caucus or convention;
CD any citizen can become "a candi-
date, N) therc IRE no appeals 10
vote her straight boys" go false
issues are Kept ouf 60 discussion II
the campaign turns from offensive
partisan personalities to the real good
~ the city. This alone IL n great
desldcratum.
C> The commission form is di-
rectly responsible 10 the people, Now
any business to b" efficient must be
organized on correct principles: cor.
rect principles imply a Division of tho
work. under responsible heads. This
cannot be successfully done under our
present system. FOR 1a) aldermen arc
poorly paid and cannot give much
time TO the city: 60 he must look af-
ter his private an ils and this mean
that very often Important city affairs
are neglected. Tho advantages from
the plan here are "a a division Of
the work into departments. with COM
petent heads; t2) certain work dele
gated 10 certain men fixes response
hility. and the people know where o.
place either blanc or credit: go n
shows the citizen where 10 look FOR
all or redress. as urcnEion dcmr nds:
90 the commission publishes n rec
ord of It's proceedings that the citize-
may he fully Informed
! The commission form j. n good
hing because Il Establishes the SUI
lA'iAA''a w Nv H'NFi's 'hif'W "
study revcals the fact that what is
needed To cure our lis is not less de-
moCracy hut NOR Of II. Tho com.
mission form nccomplishcs This nv
90 an organization SO simple that n
child car understand it: ,2l by the
initiative. referendum. and recall
This firmly places the people In con.
trol OF their own affairs as certainly
and securely ~ - man controls his
own business.
-. The commission form IL u good
thing because publicity Is guarantee
|by law. CRATER fear this. TIL
commission form guarantees q, thai
everything IL done In the opent tel
The minutes ~ every meeting ar,
publishei; go every ordnance. oi
whatever sort. IL published and scrui.
iny invited. and 90 detailed monthly
and yearly reports are required. I'm.
q~uestionably these things will result
IN good.
6. The comm ission form places al
commissioners and employe s on th'
merit system. This IL as II should be
II civil service is a good thing fol
| the state and nation II is a good thins
for the city. The ''spoils system
viii ultimately wreck our institutions
Z, The commission form contains
safeguards for and against public ser,
vice corporations. This IL an advant,
age t) to the public because thei
know they are not being robbed. o2I
10 the corporations for they are no
publicly advertised as n bunch %
thieves.
H. How does the commission plar
work?
The best answer 10 this t. found II
the cities hat have tried u. or al
most 900 cities now working undo
this plan, not one of them has ex
pressed "a desire 10 60 back To IN
old system. not n OF them has ha'
a graft exposure This II oVerwhelm
ing proof If it, worth. In Amcric;
we claim to be governed by the test
mony of competent Witnesses. II Thu
| principle was applied Ia this aues
| ton. victory would soon be nation
| wide.
". What are the results achieve,
by the plan?
"By their fruits ye shall know
them" Every city where the plai
has been tried reports u revival O
| public spiri, and an Improvement a
the result of the better condition
that prevail Witness San Diego. Dat
las, Houston. Galveston, Des Moines
Leayonworth. Cedar Rapids. and
host of Others.
In closing the speaker referred q
the fact hat the supreme court u
tn. United States had upheld tn
plan. and expressed the belief that
would, IN some form, ultimately b
generally and widely adopted by IN
cities in all parts OF the country. A
the close of the service. the meetin.
was thrown opcl To the audience, VIII
asked a number Of questions. tn
same being answered by Rev, Cook