Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-02-03
Petitions Circulating
To Change the Form

here have been some TatAe" aid
unlor Of late concerning ths. 70.
vival OF = T~~',ltiou for the recall #
the city officials, buI The Sain7da,
News can find no fat tina: confirm.
these reports
There IS a petition 1T circulation.
however, asking the city commis .On-
ers TO submit again The Question Of
organizing under the genera! laws Of
the state and it is Nke@y tina; the
circulation Of This petition has been
COMPOUNDED with III effort for the
recall OF the officers
The same question was sub~it'ed
a year $50 and The proposition 20
change 10 the alde-manjg sorm undev
the general law }aat 10 30 back to
the old charter government ou,
rather 10 organize under the stale law
governing muuicipalilies}. bu' !, was
decided by 2o9 10 son majority TO re-
tain The commission form.
II liz the belief of those who are HOW
circulating the petition for a second
vote upon the question that there are
O E greater number Of people who
are rot satisfied with the commission
form than there were q year ago,
Tne movement is not against the
city commission as such, nor against
the commissioners, so far as The Sat
urIay News IS able 10 discover, nor
does the license question appear to
enter into II in any way.
The commission form Of government
is experimental in its stage. Ii was
adopted hat a comparatively few
wears ago. Many cities have tried il,
and some have returned TO the alder
manic form, as is the case of Vermil-
zson, South Daateta, which recently
exchanged the commission form for
aha elder system Of alder1nanic GOV
RrnTnent. A few other cities have
likewise returned TO the aldermanic
form. but some other municipalities.
like wfaiATtuwn last year. have voted
retain the commission government,
while the majority of them which
nave tried it have not yet voted IN
the question of returning to the for
rnfe system.
Aberdeen. last Tuesday, by a small
majority out of a total vote, voted TO
retain the commission form of gov
ernulent But at Aberdeen the cues
tion hinged quite largely on the IL
cense matter between the VETS and
the ''drys.. The "wets'' are report
ed to have lined up yuite generally
for the abolition of the commission
form. The Aberdeen contest, there
fore, cannot be said to represent a
consideration OF the question upon its
merits, the matter Of saloon or no sa.
Ion receiving the uppermnst atten
ton.
While as we have said, a brief in
vestigation revealed no disposition on
the part Of those who advocate a
change to the aldermanic form to per
nit either the license question or the
present commission government to
enter into the controversy that will
follow the filing of a petition for the
submission of a vote, it is true, never
'fheless. that a vote to abolish the
commission form of government
would result in doing away with the
official position OF the present com
missioners. who. In order to be re.
tanned on the council, would have to
so before their respective wards as
candidates for aldermen, or. in case
4of the mayor, before the whole city.
No mixing Is given as to the prob
able time the petition will be formal
~ presented, providing ii secures d
sufficient number Of signatures to call
for i Yote.