Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1917-11-15
|C|TY MANAGER
MEANSPROGRES
Places Public Business in
Hands of Trained Man
Who DevOtes Entire
Time to Work

A movement Ii on foot to secure
for Baxter Springs the adoption Of
what Is known as the City-MAnager
Commission form Of city government.
The first step necessary to bring
this about is the preparation Of .
petition to be presented to the City
Council requesting that body to call
an election to give the electors Of the
city chance to vote on the question.
Ihe law requires that the petition
must be signed by at least Is per
cent of the number Of electors who
voted for mayor at the last election.
A committee has taken that matter
in hand and has already secured the
necessary signers. A few weeks ago
q similar petition was circulated and
presented to the council, but It was
not acted on because the petition did
not bear the signatures Of q suffi-
cient number of voters who were
properly registered. Before the pres
ent petition is presented it will be
seen that all signers are registered.
The Baxter Springs News, along
with a great many other believers in
measures, is taking an
active part in getting this City Mama
ger-C Commission proposition before
the people of Baxter Springs. We
are doing so, not because we have
against the mayor Of this
city or any member Of the present
city council. Far from it. Person
ally, we hold every member of the
city administration in high regard,
and under a more effective system Of
city government, like the city mana
ger plan has proven to be elsewhere,
the gentlemen now composing the
counci, would serve the city just a.
well as any body Of men the vCteES
might select.
Merely passing ordinances does not
govern a town. That is
why the city is at present in a more
filthy condition, if possible than It
was last spring when the council pas
sed the much talked about but never
enforced sanitary ordinance. That is
why the ordinance requiring people
to get rid of the weeds was not worth
as much as the paper upon which It
was drafted, because it was never en-
forced in q single instance. That u
why numerous other examples Of bad
might be cited Il need
be.
No ordinance is Of any account un-.
less il is enforced, and who under the
present system Of city government Is
going to enforce our ordinancesg
Who can you select for mayor, for in
stance, who will be willing to neglect
his private business and put In all his
time looking after the city's interest?
No one ever did it in the past, either
in Baxter Springs or any other town,
and no one will be found in the future
who will be so self-sacrificing.
And, let US urge, public business
will no more run itself than any 9TH
er business. Who would think OF
turning over his private business to
be run in a manner like the average
town is run.
A competent city manager, whose
entire time is given to the work, VIII
more than save his salary every year,
not to mention the satisfactiOn Il win
give the people to have all the little
and big needs of the city looked after.
II there is q bad spot in the side
walks the city manager win attend
to having it fixed and possibly avoid
a law suit or a payment Of damages
A city manager would see that the
weeds were kept down; that the pa
per and refuse was kept off our
streets; would get after people and
make them keep their back yards
clean, thereby guarding against de-
structive fires and epidemics due 10
flies.
A city manager would do lots Of
things that ought to be done, but are
not done now, and for that matter
never have been done; and under the
city manager plan we would soon
have q city that all Of us would en-
JOY and appreciate, and instead Of b.
ing an lawful example" we would b.
come a model town and our tame
would spread from coast b coast
This is no idle dream. Il b q fact
that already has besn dsmonstratod
In . uumIbsr of ctiss. NszA Wssk ~
NswS Win publish tAs s1Pssisnos e
towns undsr ths CITY, mgnagE plna
u V0vOsgG