Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
CITY CHARTER Is A FAILURE
BECAUSE IT DIVIDES POWER
Time Has Come to Recognize It's Weak
ness and Plan for a Commission or a
City Manager with Central.
lied Authority

outrage from some of the proponents of the
revised Charter. 1t will be argued that the
city has not given it fair test; that COM
plicationS which could not be guarded against
have worked to it's disadvantage; that the
wrong personalities were chosen to carry
the Charter into effect and so forth to the
extent Of many excuses and apologies.
All of which may be true but it docs not
change the conclusion that the Charter itself
is weak in what ought to be its strongest
! feature.
This error is fundamental. and patching
and busheling are not going TO hide the de-
feet. The City Government, unless it is
to be permitted TO run on as 1t is at present
| must be clothed with an entirely new gar
ment cut on a radically different pattern
before it can function properly TO full cf-
fectiveness.
The great error Of the Charter is the fact
that it has not sharply drawn tho line OF
authority between the legislative and the
executive branches Of the Government.
The executive branch can be hamstrung
with ease by any naliciously inclined ma
jority in Council. That is the case now.
The executive branch can plan however
effectively and efficiently. only to have its
plans and purposes flung into the trash
basket Of partisan mischevousness.
There is too much counter checking power
vested in the legislative body. In their fear
of getting crooked or vena Mayor. the
Charter rcvisonists Ovcrdid it. apparently
forgetting that the shoe might be on the
other foot.
On the other hand. not enough mandatory
or supervisory power was given TO Council
to accomplish anything really constructive.
1t can hamstring. but it cannot actually
ignore the Mayor and put through. from the
| period of initiation to execution, any wor!:
! affected by the administrative functions
vested in the Mayor and beads of depart
ments.
So the best the city has is srcSaw OF
buck passing, a juggling Of nlibis between
the Mayors Office and the Council cham
! bcrs.
This is all wrong. and. despite the unfor.
tunate clash of personalities which has
occur every time the voters choose to put
! in office politicians who are not all Of one
| political faction. the fault lies in the weak
! ness Of the Charter. which spreads out gov
ernmental responsibilities too thin.
Since this is the case. the people Of Phia-
! delphia had better begin to think about a
way out. 1t is not too soon. although the
next session Of the Legislature will not begin
until January, 1923. We have an idea that
by that time the voters will be pretty we'll
wrought up about conditions at City Hall
| even though they appear apathetic and po-
! l!tcally sluggish now.
There can be only one satisfactory wav
! out.
The City Government cannot run eff
! ciently on half-and half basis.
1t cannot run efficiently so long as either
the executive or the legislative branch can
blame the other for failure TO accomplish
! things.
1t canno, run SO long a. it is splay-
footed.
Full responsibility for both legislative and
executive acts should be lodged in a compact
and centralized body upon which local opin.
| ion can be focused. Thar is thc only hope.
Whether this body snail be Il small com.
mission, with powers divided administra.
lively among its individual members, but
with each functional department repre-
sented equally in legislative decisions: or
whether it shall be in the form Of a Council
which shall select city manager who shall
have power to pick his own assistants with
out the intrusion Of civil service rules or
other interference, or whether it shall be
represented in the person Of Mayor who
shall also be a member and the presiding
officer of the legislative body is a matter
of detail.
It is the principle which is WAL Entire
authority to secure performance must 20
hand in hand with the duty Of performance.
Th" present Charter has shown that il
will not do tho things hoped for it. whether
because it was a compromise or because il
was tnkNred with too much in the Lcgis-
lsture after its first draft in the Charter
Committee. or because Il represented too
many attempts to harmonic new methods
with outworn ones. The history is not i'm =
portant. The fact of failure Is only to be
faced
Either Council or the Mayor should be
allowed 20 rule and should be held solely
responsible: but as it is now, Council is
constantly invading the field OF admins.
tration without permitting the official adj
ministrators TO produce the best that is in
them. and y"t without having the authority
completely TO take over the administrative
powers in order to get things done.
The issue is bigger than personalities.
If McSSrS. Moore, Cavcn. Hall. Wcglcin,
Gatfnoy and the others who arc constantly
| NJ Inryerknads unrn nut nf nllicn Lnrnnrrnu.