New Britain herald., 1916-06-10
Class Grafton.
Edward Bellamy Ginsbers

A generation ago the average citi- zen was quite indifferent to the inn portance of municipal government. To him it was nothing short of a hor- ribly involved Charybdis, devouring at certain intervals in the form of taxes, everything that 1t could pos sibly get to satisfy the political greed of some selfish group of men who controlled the municipal machinery. He had the deeply rooted impression that the government was being run not in his interests and the interests of the commonwealth, but that it was the personal property of the political ring who had gained power through corruptness and false promises. And indeed, this impression was not without just cause. The records of inefficiency and corruptness which many of our cities had, are quite in comparable. In the midst of this great democracy of ours, built on the basic principle that all men are cre- ated equal and are endowed by their Maker with the inalienable rights of lfe liberty, and the pursuit of hap piness, we were confronted by a net . work of hopelessly misgOverned and n1ismanaged municipalities which em- bodied the very essence of a political aristocracy. The people, it Is true, were dissatisfied and a few complaints were heard, but still the old method continued with no signs of the much needed improvement.
 But this could not go on forever. Stung into activity by the repeated ex- posures of inefficiency, the people be- gan to demand a change; and with the growing demand came the reali- zation that this demand must be met. Then came the climax. The great flood in Dayton showed the utter in ability of the present system to cope with the serious problems of city. Old ideals and traditions were cast aside. A new lesson in municipal government had been learned and when finally permanent order was es- tablished, Dayton had given the coun- try new form of government-the City Manager Plan-the newest idea in an age of new ideas. At last the true status of municipal government was recognized Municipal govern- ment is a business and can be admin istered we'll only when administered on business principles. Thls Tn word is the sole basis upon which the city manager plan is founded.
 The city manager plan may be said to have two main purposes. First, to make the municipal government more a government directly represent ing the people; second, to lnstill eff ciency into the administration of mu- nicipal business.
 Under the system of mayor and council, the ultimate test of the can didate's fitness is his political affilia- ton. His honesty, integrity and ac- ceptibility to the people are of prac- tically minor importance, if he is fa- vorable to the local political organiza- tiOn. But when he is elected the test is that of efficient performance of duty. Is it any wonder, then, that the right men so seldom were put into the right office? But the city man ager plan changes this entirely. Men are in office only because they are fit for that office and for no other reason.
 To accomplish this, several reforms have been introduced into cities gov erned under this plan. By means of the short ballot, the initiative the referendum, the recall, the abolition of wards and the designation of party lines, really representative government is brought nearer than ever before to realization
 The short ballot is the new instHu- ment placed in the hands of the cleo torate to exercise their power. Through it's use only a few offices are filled at one time. In cities that have adopted the city manager plan, these offices are the commission of five or six. Too often under the old system of the long technical ballot with so many of the different offices enum- erated upon 1t, the voters either not having the time or the ambition to examine the candidates carefully, were accustomed to vote for the whole ticket of one party or other on general party principles. The short ballot has no party designations and a man