The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1916-02-28

'Uuh.l
what the commission form ~ gov
ernment ~. what il means. an1 what
II has accomplished. VAS the theme
Of u sermon lecture ia the Broadway
Christian church last night. The adj
dress. u resume of which ~ here
given. points out the essentials uf the
plan. and nswe in advance many
of the objections raised against It.
Mr.. COOK has been quite a student of
the subject, aud Is enthusiastic IN his
belief that the commission plan, In
some form. would be the thing for
Albuquerque. lie said In part:
Tho first city was built by "A muir
derer. and the ev.r stirrna aDides with
zig still: and developments Ia recent
years. In cities like san Francisco.
Pittsburgh. Philadelphia and 81.
Louis have awakened the country 10
the danger of our cities. as they af-
fec, the politics OF the nation.
Within tho last twenty-five years
the Ride OF Immigration from the
country to the city has been one Of
the phenomena Of our rapid develop.
mcnt. a few facts viii serve to I'M
phasize thus. New York was founded
In about iGti, and after about i15
years Of history had gained a popula.
tion uf 81. OO0; during the next hfty
years IL gained ESQ. o0o; during the
following thirty years the increase
was sac. 600. and the period from
1869 to 1sa0. the Increase was s59,-
900. The gain during the las, short
period was twcnty-six times as large
49, ~. t.Ss Inn, ,..ln1 and tho ts.f AZ
of gain 20s times as great. ~ 1890
the United States rad Xix cities with "A
population Of 5000. or more; in 1850
IL had s3G such cities. ana In 1890.
5i5. In 1909 four PEI cent Of the
population lived in the city, In 1900
thirty three per cent \ few years
ago. a man died, who Vac the first
white child born In Chicago; there
were ave small frontier dwellings
Thea: az his death. and almos, within
his memory. q city had been cs'aD-
lishod w..h almost 5000, O00 people.
Toronto. Montreal London, Berlin,
81. Pctorsburrh. odessa. Cairo, BON =
bay. Toxic. psasa an show a most
remarkable growth duriag this Pc
rlod. This indicates that the problem
OF TIN. cities H. worldwide. Al the
present rat. Of Increase in the United
states. there will he 2l.0Oo. 600 more
people living In our cities in lsi0
than In the couatry. That means that
in another quarter Of u century, the
cities will dominate the nation, and a
republican form of eoNcrnm"nt viii
b" on triaL for lis life.
Along with this great growth have
come the evils Of our cities. such as
fraud. graft. bribery. aud the boss.
with their attendant evils. OCCASION
ally there has been an attempt at
reformation. put these have only re-
suited in temporary relief, and eOon
tn. old gang were again IN power.
With this condition. came the boss
In New York. Cincinnati. Philadelphia
arid Denver. wins made hs influence
felt in city aud state conventions. die
tating the nomination snd election of
candidates. Good men lost hope; re-
formers gave up and quit. Others saw
In the situation the OMNIBUS warning
that In a few years the cities would
dominate the land. so they KEPT M
the fight. aided by the newspaper
they have aroused the nation.
A, this juncturc a prominent
southern city. Galveston. through a
disaster which startled the nation.
seemed to have stumbled upon q plan
which bids fair to open a way for the
solution of our difficulties. This was
In 1900. In 1907. Des Moines took up
the plan, with certain additions. mod
ihcatiors and changes. AZ "A result. the
attention Of the nation has been di-
rected 10 Il. To date. about goo cities
ranging in population from 5000 Ia
200, 900 have adopted the plan These
cities are Ia be found In every section
hof the union. thus showing that the
plan IN workable everywhere. and
thereby answers many Of the sense
. less objections To H. With these facts
In mind. let us ask:
I. What y the commission plan Of
government
II IN simply the organization OF the
affairs OF the city in such "A manner
az TO. put the city's business In the
hands " n commissioner Cor commit
tee) elected for the entire city. and
who give their entire time to the
work. The management IL the sam'
MS a board OF directors meeting "a
discuss the best way To manage this
aNnlrs of their company. or bank. Al
present. the city Is divided into wards
with members uf the council elected
from each. ana "a mayor elected hS
the city at large. meeting twice a
month for an hour or two at "A time
After all IL said in favor OF h old
system, IL must he admitted h "A th'
most competent men are not alwayi
chosen for office, but usually the o1e'
who can poll the most votes. Hence
we need rot be surprised co. disnp'
pointed II the results are often un'
satisfactory.
Under the commission plal n MAI
must have come education and rbiiii,
Ia he AT the head OF a department
hence. n man with a worthy ambition
and jealous to make a record. TIT
salary Is usually such that competen
men viii aspire To the positions, u
the various departments. Dividlni
the affairs Of the city into depart
ments, secures three things, GU De
moe acy. tor. In the best sense. tn
' people rule. (2D Efficiency for bet
ter men are secured for office. g
Responsibility. for by reason ol III
recall feature. the commissioners arr
directly responsible to the voters, ant
failure In office Viii speedily be rep
rlmanded. II u citizen has "A ON
L- - I'll "a