Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-01-11

Ing this and other financial changes In
m >re detail in my message accompany
ing the budget.
Extended Home Rule and Local option.
Last year the legislature greatly ex-
tended the power of home rule in the
municipalities of u state n thus
relieved future legislatures of much
detail labor. At the same time, as a
result of providing this broader juris-
diction in lawmaking to municipalities,
a mass of statutes thereby rendered
useless were repealed. There should
be further legislation along these iden-
teal lines this year. New Jersey mu-
inequalities are capable of the fullest
measure of home rule, and it is sheer
waste of time and energy to oblige
municipalities, which term includes
counties as well, to apply to the legis-
lature every time it Is desired to take
action which the municipalities are en-
tirely capable of taking on their W
initiative and which is in harmony
with constitutional principles. In adj
dition, the home rule principle must be
extended to the excise question in or
der that municipalities which are in
trusted with self government in other
matters may also be intrusted with
self government in the matter of liquor
licenses, and, following the Republican
party's pledge to the people, | urge the
passage of a four square local option
bill. 1t will be wise in this connection
to give careful consideration to regu-
lation in the matter of excise privi-
leges as well. In this way where a
municipality votes under the home rule
principle for excise some further con-
troll could likewise be secured.
Municipal Government-city Manager
Plan.
Closely associated with home rule
legislation Is the subject of municipal
government generally. New Jersey has
a commission government act, and this
has been adopted by a number of cities
which have found the new form of gov
eminent a vast improvement over the
old councilmanic or representative
form. The only criticism l near does
not counsel going back to the old form,
but rather extending the commission
principle. For instance, it is contend
ed, first, that the very small commits
sion, made necessary by the fact that
individual members of the governing
body act as heads Of departments,
gives the city often a smaller board.
than is necessary to secure representa-
tion of all of the elements of the city,
and secondly, that the commission
plan, providing no adequate executive
because of the fact that every commits
sioner is supreme in his own depart
ment, interdepartmental conflicts are
likely to arise, especially owe appro-
priations, the interests of the city as a
whole often suffering because each de-
partment is pulling for itself. The
remedy suggested in connection with
this criticism is the so called city nan
ager plan, whereby the commission it
self, which in that case need not be
limited to three or five members, in
stead of distributing its power among
It's own members for administrative
purposes, acts only in a legislative ca
pacity and controls administration
through a single appointive executive
city manager-who in turn controls
the various departments of the city
government. OF course no such state
wide legislation would be necessary if
home rule legislation were sufficiently
flexible to permit cities to have the
city manager plan by special home rule
charters, as in the case of California,
Colorado and Arizona. However, l am
ha,,O ,nf1Nt;n. 10 The at.hina+ 80 ..-;Al.
any special recommendation, but mere
ly with the idea that it may be found
desirable for this matter to have our
mutual attention. Laws permitting the
adoption of the city manager form are
in operation now in Massachusetts,
Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Idaho, Mon
tana, South Dakota and North Caro-
lima. 1t is not a mere experiment in
theory, and l am heartily in favor of
permitting cities TO adopt any form of
government which meets local condi-
lions and local wishes. Self govern
ment is the secret of good government.
Necessity for Rural Police.
For years in this state the issue of
a state directed and controlled police
system has been a football of politics.
No doubt this has peer due largely to
the popular impression, gained years
ago., that a state ~constabulary, SO call
ed, could mean nothing else but an
organization instituted by the govern
ment for the purpose OF b%ulldozing
and roughriding labor in it's contro-
versies with capital. There never vas
a time in the history of the state when
rural police protection was more i'm
peratively necessary than it is today,
and 1t seems to ms that 1t is u duty
to face this question c~ourageously, re-
CARELESS of the consequences of popu-
lar misunderstanding, and to invite
citizens to look upon the subject, not