Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-06
EDITOR
THE BUSINESS WAY.

Proof upon proof piles up that modern american
cities are coming 10 the shortballot" form Of gov
ernment--a point made strongly at the public hear
ing on the proposed city charter for Honolulu.
Latest in this line is an eloquent and vigorous arti-
Gle i'm the current Review of Reviews. by Fl. s. Gil
bertson. Writing on Running States and COun-
ties on Business Lines he says 49,
More than ten million American citizens resi-
dent in four hundred-odd municipalities distributed
over fortyone states living under form Of gov
which for ten years has been providing
workable formula for breaking up political ma
chimes and installing independent public opinion in
the seat of power What is coming out Of this
Ierience specifically for the cities involved need
hardly be rehearsed. The point is that. beginning
with the first application of principle of gov
lernment in the rather crude organization known as
the commission plan, American political thought
has been taking bold and unprecedented liberties
with the cherished theories of the Fathers And
signs are not lacking that commission government
las dynamic idea, not as q rigid formula) is to
| be the thin end of wedge which is to broaden its
own meaning and force its way upward into the
large civic divisions ~ -.
Thus, at Dayton three years ago, commission gov.
eminent took on deeper significance and direct
Popular control but toward the enforcement of that
control through efficient administration In the is
sue of this magazine for June 1914 Mr. L. d. Epson
described the operation of the new charter of that
city. This instrument preserved the features Of
commission government which involved the short
ballot and concentration of municipal powers in the
hands OF single eleetice body. 1t abandoned how
aver the practise Of undertaking to secure heads of
departments by the elective process Furthermore,
II enuneiated the idea Ia thoroughly radical one in
this country that the chief executive of the city
should be treated as arm or instrument of the
governing body and be chosen by it with sole refer.
ence TO hisiprofessional qualifications
sThe charter was a death blow to the votegetting.
lgoodfeliow' tradition 1t went even farther than
commission government in the way of simplifying
election issues it paved the way for the expert in
city administration s0n the strength of it's new
chartef the city fathers stunned the local politicians
BY going outside the limits of Dayton for their first
manager. They thereby undermined the greatest
stronghold of the old order, the popular political
habit which conceives of local Office as local in.
dustry rather than as public trust. They also
struck harmonious chord in the hearts of indepen-
lent citizens everywhere.
Commission government embodies in a speeializ.
ID form the short ballot Several years ago definite
propaganda started to explain this principle to
the American people. From the beginning it was
tied up for tactical purposes, to the movement
which had already begun tosweep through the cities
with snch effect that is safe say that this prnci
pie has met with the passive approval of nearly
every really influential public figure in the country
including educators, EDITORS party leaders and pub
lie executives In 1915, fourteen governors urged
upon their legislatures the enactment of shortballot
laws as applied to the state government
Il