The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-01
CHARTER CHANGES
NOW CO TO MAYOR
Board of Aldermen Unanfm ouHly Com
cur In Resolution ns Adopted by
Common Council.
POWERS SOUNDS WARNING
Meeting, However. IN Harmonious mnd
NO Opposition DevelOps--Cost of
Operation Under New Conditions
Chief Object of Interest.

Operation Under New Conditions
Chief Object of interest.
Without a dissenting vote. and fol-
lowing n tweet of warning by Alder
man Joseph L. Powers, the board OF
aldermen last night ~concurred in the
report of the charter hanSe COM
mittee, as adopted by common coun-
ell. and as soon as City Clerk Mellow
ell can prepare the official draft the
paper will be forwarded to Mayor Ain
slie.
The meeting was most harmonious,
An air Of confidence spread through
out the chamber long before the meet
ing was called to order. Interested
councllmen aud the ever-faithfui
south Side contingent, were on hand
prepared TO see the adoption of the
paper become a part OF history.
Members of the board indicated
early in the evening that they did
not care TO have the report read. AL
derman Nielsen and Alderman Powers
displayed some symptoms of induisit-
~iFeness. and wanted to know what IL
would cost the city to conduct its
affairs under the proposed charter.
No one Gould advise them upon this,
and Alderman Christian suggested
that no one could answer the aues-
tion. as experience alone would show
what the cost would be.
Dispense With Reading.
Alderman Grundy, as every one set
tied back in his seat suggested that
the reading of the reDort be dispensed
with. Alderman Powers wanted 10
know how long it would take to read
the paper. and was informed by the
clerk that a matter of three hours
might be consumed In the reading, If
no n interrupted.
Alderman MITCHELL without prertmi-
nary notice. arose suddenly. and moved
that the paper be concurred In lust
as It came from common council. This
motion caused the members In
st~raishten Up, and the gallery craned
it's neck.
Before we go into that" said Mr..
Powers. y would like to know from
any one, What the city expects to
save by this Wholesale change in it's
form OF government. / can see where
there will be a saving in the abolition
Of the administrative board. probably
of about S30.o 900. but what is it going
to cost to replace the board with others
VINO are 10 DO the WORK set u In this
paperT"
Mr.. Powers paused for a reply. Az
ter an awkward silence OF about one
minute. Mr.. Christian arose. and re-
marked that II would probably be a
difficult task for any one to attempt
to state what the change would cost
the city.
Future viii Tell.
That will come with future events
he said: Experience Will determine
the cost"
He tAen took occasion to second the
motion ofTared by Mr.. Mitchell. aging
that the reading of the p would
prove a useless and Unnecessary task.
as every man on the floor had read
the document and understood It's pur-
port.
MIR. Powers pointed out hat In the
section creating the department. of
welfare. the power of appointment
had not been delegated to tho director
of that department. while It had been
given the other heads,
Il think the head of this depart
ment should have similar bowers az
those delegated to the others COM
mented Mr.. Powers.
There is another section explain
ed Mr.. Fuller. which takes care Of
this in a general way. The fact that
In this particular there Is no specific
mention amounts to nothing, as the
ordinance as a whole takes care of the
situation"
City Attorney Pollard further cx-
planned that the department was fully
taken car OF under the general head
ing, and Mr.. Powers resumed his seat.
to arise again with the query a. to
why the section in the present charter
- ~nfANn~a- to HNnzNan {r @hH Iyz-
charge OF their duties being exempt
from military service had been omit
ted altogether.
The general law takes care of
said City Attorney Pollard.
oh" grunted Mr.. Powers.
Fuller Replies to Nielsen.
Can anybody inform me as to how
the city will save in the opera
ton OF this charter?"
There will be a great saving" re-
piled Mr.. Fuller. IF the right men are
to the various heads. The
an1ount OF the saving will denend en-
tirely upon these men. If the mayor
names the right men. there will be
cooperation and efficiencv Capable
men, with technical knowledge. will
be able { o ave anywhere from $780,
600 to 100000 a year. Il the mayor
does not appoint capable men. ! have
no doubt that council will refuse to
confirm them"
Why are not the salaries OF the
men who are to handle the city's bust
ness fixed asked Mr.. Powers.
That Is a legislative function" re-
piled Mr.. Fuller, and the salaries will
be fixed by council
Mr.. Workman explained tina he
would not ask hat the report be read
If he were informed by the city attor-
ney that the Southside hat been ac-
all IT had sought. The replies
he received from both the city attor-
ney and the city clerk convinced him
that nothing had been overlooked, and
Mr.. Christian had been told thai
the city attorney would go over the
report before IL is sent to the legisia-
ture and see that the sense of the
council is maintained strictly in ac-
cordance with its intention. all ppo
sition to immediate roll call on con-
apparently faded away.
Still Mr.. Powers had his doubts.
This is a very important matter
we are rushing through here" said
the Madison ward alderman. II want
to explain my vote. / am going to
vote for concurrence. but only be-