Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-11-11
CLEVELAND Is AWAKE

NTllEN the city manager system. adopted
w by Cleveland this week is~put into
effect at the expiration of the term of the
new Mayor. the country will have an op-
portunity to learn how the application of
business methods to municipal government
will work in n city Of 100000 population.
1t has been argued that the city manager
plan will do very we'll for comparatively
small communities like Dayton. but that It
would break down of its own weight or
weakness in city with anything like
1000, 600 population.
But there is no reason that II should
The principle on which it is based works
in big corporations as we'll as in little ones.
This is, because the large corporations en-
poy men big enough for the Job.
1t is simply the application to municipal
government OF the methods of large business
corporations. A group Of commissioners is
elected, which corresponds to the board Of
directors. The commissioners have presi-
dent, called Mayor, and they elect a man
ager to run the business Of the city as a
board of directors elects n general manager
or superintendent for it's business. The city
manager appoints the heads Of departments
under him, and they are responsible to him
for the efficient conduct of business. II he
fails he can be removed by the men who
appointed him. II he succeeds he can be
kept in Office indefinitely.
The plan was introduced in Dayton after
several years of agitation. The city was
badly governed. A Democratic Mayor would
be handicapped by Republican Council or
q Democratic Council would tie the hands
Of a Republican Mayor. The public officials
played politics and used the offices as pawns
in their game. They did not care whether
the people were served or not.
Way back in 1896 John II. Patterson. the
head of the biggest business corporation in
the city, urged that the municipal affairs
be placed upon n strict business basis and
directed, not by partisans. either Repub-
lican or Democratic. but by men who arc
skilled in business management and social
science. who would treat our peoples money
rs trust fund to bc expended wisely and
economically without waste and for the
benefit of all the citizens 1t was not until
1913. however. that the other business men
Of the community were convinced that he
was right
An amendment to the State Constitution
had granted to the cities Of the State the
right to frame their own charters. Dayton
took advantage of this permission and elected
a Charter Commission pledged TO draft q
charter which should organize the city gov
Crnment as a private business Is organized.
"a" p0ltclahs opposed the plan and sought
TO defeat the candidates pledged to the city
manager system. But they failed, because
the business interests Of the city were
virtua! unit in support of it and because
they educated the p"opl" to support them by
exhibiting the extravaganza and ineficiency
OF the old political system of running affairs.
1T Will he two or three years before the
new system is put into effect in Cleveland,
but the decision Of city of its size to turn
its back on the old political methods of city
government and to make a serious attempt
to govern itself in accordance with sound
business principles will have great moral
effect upon the advocates of bettcrment in
all other large cities.