Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-13
COMMISSION FORM
OF GOVERNMENT
IS IN 81 CITIES
Municipal Prohibition Prevails
| in Fifteen of These Towns;
Some Have Policewomen

WASHINGTON, IL. T., Jan. lJ.-Ine
commission form of government is in
effect in 81 of the 204 cities of over
10000 inhabitants. Civil service regu-
; lations are applied to the appointment
of policemen in 1872 such cities, includ-
| ing all those of more than 500, 900
inhabitants; Policewomen. are en-
| ployed in &c cities. Municipal pro-
! hibition prevails in 10 cities. state pro-
! hibition in II, and county and parish
prohibition in 3. In 10 cities certain
saloons are licensed to sell malt liquors
only. These are a few of the sig
nifcant and interesting facts which
will be brought out in a report under
J the title of General Statistics of Cities.
| 1915, to be issued in the near future
! by Director sam. l.. Rogers. of the Bu-
| Teau of the Census, Department of
| Commerce, and compiled under the
| direction of Starke NJ. Grogan, chief
| statistician for statistics of cities.
Commission Form
| The commission form of govern
rnent now prevails in no fewer than 81
| of the 20i cities estimated to have
| 10000 inhabitants or more in 1915.
These cities are scattered throughout
| % states, in addition to the District of
] Columbia ranging from Massachusetts
| to Washington and from South Caro-
| lima 10 California. Five of them are in
| New England, % in other northern
| states east of the Mississippi, 10 in
! northern states between the Mississ-
| ippi and the Pacific coast states. 8 in
| the Pacific coast states and "a in the
South.
| The largest city at present operating
| under the commission form of govern
| ment is New Orleans, whose popu-
! lation is estimated at about 5000;
| but Buffalo, with population of about
100000, has recently voted to inaugu-
| rate this system on January /, 1916.
| N n
with nearly $4,000 inhabitants. Port
land, Ore. with about 100000, and
! Denver, with about 100000.
In these cities the commissions
| range in size from three to seven mem
bers. Those in st. Paul and Omaha
| have seven members each; those in
San Diego, Cal, and Fort Worth.
! Texas, six each, and that in Hunting
! ton, w. Va, four. All the other COM
| missions are composed of either three
or five. The salaries paid municipal
! commissioners range from $500 year
| in jackson, Mich, and Springfield,
Ohio, TO $1,000 a year in Birming
ham, Ala, and their terms of office
vary from one to four years.
Dayton, Ohio, has a commission of
| five members, which decides matters
of general policy. and "city man
ager" appointed by the commission,
who looks after the administrative
work. The presiding officer of the
commission receives Sl,S0O per an
mum, the other members $1,000, and
the city manager S12. 500.
The larger cities still cling TO the
older form of government by mayor
and council. In all. 123 cities of over
10000, including all having more than
100000 inhabitants, are governed in
this manner. The mayors salaries
range from 500 per annum in Flint,
Mich, to $4,000 i'll New York city,
f,I lAf, gNF
four years.
Police Departments
total of 51,04j police officials. pa
trolmen, detectives and civilian en-
ployes are engaged in the work of
maintaining peace and order in the
2O4 cities. Of this total 1886 are
officers exclusive of detectives. "a, ,32O
are patrolmen, 3,303 are detectives and
3,0l5 are civilian employees. OF the
patrolmen. 1924 are unmounted and
1904 are mounted on horses. 70S on
motorcycles and 514 on bicycles. Park
policemen number 24S, and policemen
detailed at municipal buildings and
courts, $50.
New York has 526 mounted police |
men, Philadelphia AS and Chicago
1S6. No other city has as many as
100. In New York city 1876 of the |
mounted police ride bicycles, but Chi
caso and Philadelphia rely entirely /!
upon the horse and the motorcycle. |
Washington, ID. c., has 6l bicycle po- !
licemen-far more than any other city |
except New York; and its total num- |
bcr of mounted policemen, 101, is |
greater than that of any other city !
except New York, Chicago and Phila- |
delphia.
The highest paid patrolmen are
those OF San Francisco, who are un- |
graded and receive s1.464 per annum |
and the lowest notwithstanding !
those in the lower grades in a few |
cities--are in Williamsport. Pa. where |
patrolmen are ungraded and receive |
SI56 per annum.
The longest term of service neces-
sary 10 attain the highest grade is
found in Savannah, Ga. In this city
the patrolman serves five years at
$780, five at $3.50 and five more at
S1,202, and thereafter receives 81, ,OSO.
In Terre Haute, Ind, and Charleston,
5. c., the maximum rates of pay
Sl,OSO and S1,020, respectively. are !
reached after ten years of service. I
Among cities of 100000 or more the
longest term of service necessary to at
tain the highest grade is found in
Washington, d. c., where, after three
years of service at $500 and FIVE more
at S1,S0S. the patrolman finally re-
ceives $1,000 per annum.
The most common length of daily
shift or tour" is eight hours. but in
SOlHt CLUES II is T..
In IL cities there are two daily tours
of twelve hours each. In all but 0 of |
the cities the night force is equal to or
greater than the day force. In 10 |
cities there are short periods during |
the day in which no patrolmen are on
duty. In several cases these gaps be-
tween tours are two hours in length,
and in one case--Quincy, Mass.-there
are no patrolmen on their beats or
posts between a m. and S.45 a. IN.
In the 204 cities to which the report
relates the equipment of the police de-
partments includes 6S5 station houses;
1851 signal boxes: 293 vehicles for
use of officials, nearly three -fourths of
which CID are motor driven; $50
patrol wagons, two-thirds of which
(373) are motor driven; "A ambu-
lances, two-thirds of which (49) are
motor driven; $3.50 horses; S95 mo-
torcycles; t,007 bicycles, and Ga boats.
Sin 1874 cities no bicycles are in use,
in IS cities no horses, in "a cities
neither horses nor bicycles. and in 10