The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1916-09-07
COMMISSIONS
SUMMARIZED

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SUMMARIZED
DEAR EDITOR:
wish to present a brief review
of the arguments in favor of COM
mission government.
WHAT DOES COMMISSION
GOVERNMENT MEAN?
1t means that we will have three
men elected from the town at large
for term of four years each. We
will hold all elections in May and
give the men we elect something for
what they do.
Councilmen and all other officials
must go. The school board remains
as it is. The law compels the COM
mission, however, to appoint a city
clerk, and it also compeIs them to
have a yearly audit of their books.
All this talk you hear about the
city taking over the fire companies
is pure rot. The lie is always the
last resort of the man without an
argument. Remember, nothing will
be changed except the machinery of
the government.
THE MEN.
Isn't it much easier to get three
good men than it is to get nine?
There will no longer be any ward
lines and every voter will have vote
on every man who takes office. That
means the men we elect will have to
be town size rather than ward size.
Uuder commission government our
men will have more duties to per-
form and that will give US better
equipped men.
CONTROL OVER THE MEN WE ELECT.
What does voter amount to under
the present system ? He votes one
day every year and he is politically
dead the other 1854. He can super
wise the conduct of the men from his
own ward one day every three years.
After election day his servant be-
comes his boss. Never for single
moment has he word to say about
the conduct of the six men from the
the other two wards. And these
six men can do as they please with
that same mans money.
The third ward contains almost as
many voters as the other two COM
bined and it has only three repre-
sentatives. That means a man in
the first and second wards has twice
as much say in the town government
as man in the third ward. Is that
fair?
Again, as it is now it is possible
for one ward to run the whole town.
Five men control the nine and three
control the five. A council meeting
nine times out of ten is just form.
Everything is decided in the party
caucus beforehand.
The initiative, referendum, and re-
call go with commission government.
They go with it because they go with
every business. The business man
starts and initiates what he pleases
that's the initiative. Nothing is
done unless it is referred to him for
his approval that's the referendum.
If any of his men give dissatisfaction
any day in the year or any hour of
the day he discharges him that's
the recall.
u nder commission government
then we will be like the business man.
We can get what WE want in the
way of government and we won't
have to take what it pleases a few
to give us. Nothing can be done
that we don't approve of. Like the
business man we will be boss of
every man 1865 days every year in
stead of one day every three years.
1t won't matter so much then
whether we vote election day or not
for we will have a vote the next day
to put out the man who was put in
the day before. Under commission
government the control of the peo-
pie is absolute. Power will be taken
from the hands of few and placed
in the hands of the many where it
belongs.
With ward lines abolished it will
be no longer possible for few to
control the many. Every voter will