Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-11-27
MONDAY EVENING, NOV. 81
MUNICIPAL EXPERIMENTS

Wv that the solicitor of that city,
a lawyer who has been respon-
sible for many OF the jimcrack expert
ments in third-class city legislation,
has drafted some twenty amendments
to the Clark act under which Harris
burg and other cities are now op-
Grating. He now proposes, among other
things, that the city commissioners
shall have four years instead of two
that the mayor shall be eligible to sue
ceed himself and that the terms of
the city clerk, city solicitor and city
engineer shall be heightened to four
years.
There can be no doubt that the
Clark act, which imposed the present
commission form of government upon
Harrisburg, is susceptible of important
amendment, but it becomes a grave
question whether the people of this
and other third-class cities want the
term of the commissioners extended to
four years. There is no use pretending
otherwise when it is generally believed
that the present scheme of government
is unsatisfactory. While some good
things have been accomplished through
the commission plan, we of Harris
- burg know that it has been far from
ideal. In short, so much incompetency
has been shown in certain directions
that the people will not likely grow
enthusiastic over a proposed extension
of the terms of the various commits
sioners.
The whole subject of commission
government brings us back to the
great need of a larger measure of home
rule. If New Castle and other small
cities want to experiment in order to
overcome deficiencies of other years..
let the Clark act be so amended as to
give them the right to play with gov
ernment in any way they see fit, so
long as they do not encroach upon the
fundamental instrument or interfere
with those matters which affect all
cities alike.
Governor Brumbaugh is absolutely
right in his contention that Pennsyl-
vania cities should be given an oppor-
tunity to work out their own salvation.
He will be doing the Commonwealth
great public service should he urge
upon the Legislature the adoption of
home-rule amendment to the Clark
act which will free Harrisburg of the
restrictions imposed by that undigested
and crude scheme of government.
Harrisburg will never favor a four
year term for any city commissioner.
If he be an efficient and capable pub
lie official, the taxpayers will not hesi-
tate to continue him in office so long
as he will consent to serve; but should
he prove inefficient and without ad-
ministrative capacity. as is the case in
Harrisburg in certain quarters, then it
should be possible for the people to
amputate him from the public service
without unreasonable delay.
More and more thoughtful men who
are giving attention to municipal con-
diuons are coming to the conclusion
that the commission government may
be all right, providing the commits
sioners serve without pay and solely
because of their interest in the COM
munity, but when the salary attached
to the service becomes the chief object
of those who seek these places it is
high time that the whole scheme
should give way to something more
representative and satisfactory in its
form. So long as the commissioners
are also legislators, the commission
scheme is certain to prove unsatis-
factory. There is entirely too much
my department" in the attitude of
the average commissioner for the good
of the municipality as a whole.