The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-11-02
LIVE WIRE SPARKS

8lIunlrmlnlIrHllIlllul
THAT TOWNSHIP ORGAN
e.. IZATION EDITORIAL
If there is anything the editor of
the Couricr-Reporaer ard the editor
of the Live Wire Sparks agree upon,
it is not Township Organization. The
editorial appearing in last weeks is
sue is based on theory and does not
take into consideration the actual re-
suits obtained in the counties of this
state where it has been given a trial.
But let us look into the arguments
further.
"The tendency of efficient govern
ment is toward centralization." Quite
true, so long IS the Genital heads are
honest, capable and efficient, but how
many county commissioners of Ben
ton county since it's organization have
fully measured up to this standard ?
How many of the would-be candidates
for this office have measured up to it ?
As long as some candidates are will
ing to buy political support by par
ceiling out road funds here and by
threatening to cut off roads funds
there, what chance has this ideal can
didate of election? The past exper-
fence in Benton county proves that the
chances under our present system are
pretty slim.
"The tendency is toward the COM
mission form (of government)." The
tendency HAS been toward the COM
mission form, but the reaction has set
in strongly. Witness the neighbor-
ing city of Portland where the COM
mission form has proved conspicu-
GUS failure. Without bestowing any
additional benefits, they have sue
ceeded in raising the taxes from 10 to
25 per cent. The trouble lies in the
fact that not one man in ten thous-
and is big enough to oversee so much
work. The tendency is to try to do
too much personally and to lose grasp
of the situation as whole. The man
with enough generaIship to make a
success of a business as varied and
large as that of county commissioner
is seldom found in politics, and unless
the man be honest, capable and eff
ficient, Capitalization is failure. Five
years ago a large number of cities
rushed into commission form of gov
eminent, ideal in theory and but lit
tie tried, but today the rush is over,
for the ideal did not materialize in
practice. In private corporations
where promotion is made solely upon
merit, Capitalization works, but where
the leaders are chosen for their abil-
ity as vote getters, it must be re-
stricted.
"It would be practically impossible"
we read, "to subdivide the county into
towns unless some of the towns would
be deprived of the railroad taxes"
Benton county has four railroads
the S., p. & S., the N. p, the O-W. r.
& NJ, and the c., M. & st. p, two
of which cut it thru the middle and
the other two run along the north
and south county lines, and there is
no reason why the towns could not
be so laid out that each receives a
shart of the railroad taxes, the Cour-
ier-Reporter's statement to the con-
trary Notwithstanding. This has al
ways been held up as the bugaboo to
the hill ranchers, tho the law states
that Whenever it shall be most con-
venient for the inhabitants of two or
more congressional townships or por-
tions thereof, adjoining each other,
that they be formed into one organized
township, the county commissioners
may organize a township out of such
congressional townships or portions
thereof" Furthermore, it will be ne
cessary to attach some of the thinly
settled territory to the valley town.
ships because of the provision in the
law requiring 25 voters to each or
ganized town, and the railways ira
verse the county in such way as to
make the division of Benton county
easy-ideal.
The difficulty in getting capable
men to serve as county commissioners
the CIR. admits, for the capable men
realize that with such vast expanse
of territory to oversee, it is impossible
to do the work adequately with the
funds available, and that they would
be assuming not only thankless job,
but one productive of complaints from
all districts. Four dollars day isn't
going to tempt any good man to I'M
dertake the responsibilities of the of
flee, nor is So per day going to deter
any good citizen from giving a little
time for the betterment of the COM
munity. In the one case the $4.00 man
is hired to transact the business of the
county, and the pay is too small to Sc
cure good man for so large a Job.
In the other case the $500 man merely
has to look after few details of his
own and his neighbors, and the pay
will hire man to take his place on
the farm while he gives the necessary
time to looking after the details. No
the good man as a rule won't go into
a mud singing political fight for a
thankless $500 a day job, but actual
experience has shown that the best
men in the township will willingly
give their time to help conduct their
own business.
The matter of expense is touched
upon. David Monroe, of the Monroe
Cattle company can show how Town
ship Organization is saving the tax
payers of Spokane county $1OO, 100000
annually. Spokane county has been
under township organization since
1909. The county auditors recent
report shows that the 600, township
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