Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-26
LET EVERY CITY BE
MASTER IN ITS OWN HOUSE
Mayor Moore's Endorsement Of the Home
Rule Plan Of the League Of Third
Glass cities Brings Us Nearer
the Goal

the necessary laws.
Mayor Moore. who stopped in York on his
vacation tour. congratulated the league on
it's action and impressed upon it the i'm
| portance of co operation among the cities
of all the different classes to the end that
they may acquire fuller control of their local
affairs.
Pennsylvania has a long way to go before
il arrives at the advanced position taken by
Ohio and Michigan and some other states.
In Michigan the people have so amended
their constitution as to permit all cities to
draft their own charters. Within the limits
fixed by the laws passed under the constitu-
tioual amendment the cities have absolute
discretion in the settlement of their do
nestle problems. Not only may they draft
their own charters and amend them from
time to time. but they may bond themselves
to buy street railways il the voters approve.
Or they may build street car lines for them
selves and extend them outside of the city
boundaries to serve the suburbs They have
control of their building laws and their park
development and of every other detail of
local government.
This plan has relieved the Legislature
frc m the task of lcgisating for the cities and
has enabled it to give its attention to gen
eral laws for the whole state.
,. -, -, ,L r,o, :, chic stoto
.ba b,,s;noss. nf rho Iost General Assembly
Ill 90, horo hoo, bIocked nv Tho long dis
,,,o',io, go. ,ha ro,.;sod cborter for Philo
,.,.L;n ,rLo io.;sI,tors from, tho roc, of rho
state were irritated because of the delay In
the passage of bills in which they were di-
rectly interested. Few of them cared any
thing about the city charter. They only
hoped that the Philadelphia legislators could
80 ~ T. ND cor II out ~ rho wav
,not,o- nf f.ct tho charter was
f-ar,od hr rho local legislators in the sense
40. tLar ,ooon,oJ 40 the;r own rho work
- .,o mrofciaI chortor commission The
,.Lsua s;r,,rI, oarocd % What rho mon from
,h;. c;tv b.J decided unop. II would have
sarod t;ue and money for thc state IL the
s.o,.;. o,J adon,ion ~ N, Charlton Ind
49,, Inf. on,;-olr - tho ,eon,e Of this CITY.
.; - ,,o Canaan, ,s.o,,b,r
~ =. -, onJ u.i,bor, ,h. n,ssooo of n
~, - nottx buIs arocting This civ hills
,st;oh o,,nht ra,.r % occunv rho time of rho
,oc;slotorS NJ m. rest Of the s,otc There
ors n SCORE o- moro Of such bills which be.
came laws in n recent volume Of statutes.
For instance we went to Harrisburg to
get the authority of the General Assembly
to permit the erection of fire proof garages
cne story high and not more than sixteen By
twenty feet. inside measure, on the rear of
feet wide. These petty details are in the act
We ought to have authority to make our
own building regulations without appeal to
the state. We are the only people who have
any vital interest in the subject, and we
ought to have the final say on it.
Again we asked the Legislature to per
nit US to establish a zoning system under
which the size and use of buildings in differ
ent parts Of the city might be regulated,
and under which the Park Commission could
determine the character of buildings to be
erected within 200 feet of any park, park
way. boulevard or playground
Such regulations belong properly to the
CITY. II ought not to have been necessary
to go to Harrisburg TO get authority to make
them. Under the home rule system a blanket
grant of power would cover all such matters.
Still again il was thought necessary to
ask the General Assembly for permission to
pay the city employees semimonthy, as
though the rest of the state cared whether
,nd t,rthor mo had to osl. re,miseion nj
.. -;,., f,a Co. a,.,.
Wv ,.,.., .'.,,iatia, ,ie-
'n'p'"'es' ""u " .ot 10y Ia,t, 1a sI.
WIN" We , 49,,
purP''e' -" " ~
eN's''ns pam
All these DiI!S ana many 81, similar ones were
drafted IN fnl'h"eIPhu' lne "enera' AS
semoly agreed 10 'heh' because our repre-,
SentatiVeS aSkeu IT, out 'neir "c.loh a''ountea
to nothing more thah ruooer 'Stn"'p'hg Mha'
we had decided On IN the "fst p'uce, Ahere
was no pre'ehse 'hA' Tue S'"'e hau 10 rA-
errise supervision over "nat we uiu' hut
we had 10 appear 10 lne state oechust' lot
S"o'n' sreu' az! '""Iot w .r"S'en ~
nunase '.S oM" ""n'lH C' INV mus. pe nsP' ~
Ieaulng strings uy Tue "en'tni f HH"einos'
u u aoou' I''ne 'nat 'un slo"n Hntn
ceased TO pre'ehu tnat ,"ef' i' ""s'H'ns III
Su.m ~, r'ui'u'ouS p"ppsIoJN, n,HoIAi.,, -..
The citizens OF rn''"oelph,a' ana OF every