Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-06-02
DENVER is DONE
WITH COMMISSION
CONTINUED From First Pagel

lContlnued FROM First PageI
friends. He is a native of Pennsyl-
vania and is proud of the State. Den
Yer has learned to know the real
worth of Robert w. Speer during the
four years that the city has been ex-
perimenting with the commission gov
ernment, and, repudiating that form
of administration, the old mayoral sys-
tenn has been assumed with the re-elec-
ton of Mayor Speer. Having rebuked
him and listened to his vilifiers, the
citizens of the metropolis of the
Rockies are now glad to welcome him
back to the place of authority. And
this is the story from Denver:
The reversion from the commission
government demonstrated that the in
telligent voters decided that municipal
government is primarily a business
and an economic problem, not a po-
litical problem, to be handled by poll
ticians, dreamers and reformers.
There are many psychological rea-
sons that helped bring about the re-
version, but the economic problem was
the basic reason The test of four
years under the commission form has
shown a constant increase annually in
the cost of administration, with little
or no money going for permanent inn
provements.
"Headless" Commission
The "headless' commission form,
with five different departments, caused
too much divided authority and di-
vided interests. The lack of central
ization, with each department head
trying to get the most he could for his
department, was like five horses pull
ing in different directions or like the
stockholders of a company electing a
board of five directors and neglecting
to pick a chairman.
No department head showed much
regard for other departments and 1t
was a case of the devil take the hind
most" Nominally one OF the depart
ment heads was made mayor" by
courtesy. but his authority was prac-
wishes of the other department heads
and his duties were largely clerical
This division of authority or lack of
Capitalization made il almost impos-
sible to plan expenditures of city funds
along a general improvement line or
do any cohesive constructive work.
The commissioners of Denver were
simply a mediocre lot of men; they
were neither good nor bad, but indif-
ferent TO the welfare of the city as a
whole. Had there been some man of
strong personality and executive ability
filling the mayors" chair it is prob
able that Denver would have given the
commission form at least a few more
years trial. The commissioners
methods of expenditures made for ex-
travagance and there was lack of
initiative.
All of the city revenues went simply
for maintenace. with the cost Of main
tenance mounting up each year. The
adoption of state wide prohibition by
Colorado last January spelled an an
nual loss of about 100000 in saloon
fa
increase of that amount in taxation.
While not responsible for this loss of
revenue, the commission incidentally
received much unjustifiable blame for
the increased taxation.
ViIification Does Not Pay
For several years Denver has been
the melting pot for many govern
mental reforms. The city has largely
been controlled by a set of men who
paid little or no taxes and who earned
their livelihood as reformers, not by
the sweat of their brows. but by the
abuse they could heap on Denver Of
ficials and Denver property owners.
One Denver newspaper of the yellow
type has been foremost in that kind of
tactics and the recent election was
largely a rebuke to that newspaper 1t
waged a campaign of vilification
against Speer. charging him with
graft, ballot box stuff1ng and Grow
barism" during his former admins
trations. They predicted that If he
were returned to office 1t would result
in a saturnalia of crime, red light
districts, political corruption, graft and
'czarlike" form of government.
About four years ago the people OF
Denver administered what they felt
was a stinging rebuke to Mr.. SpeeI
and elected Henry Arnold to the po.
sition of mayor. Mr.. Arnold went into
office under the greatest wave of pop