The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-08-11

even suggest, the employment of any
one Of the dismissal of any one, I'M
less the manager sees fit to make
such employment or dismissal on his
own look. No employees are on the
payroll because they belong to any
Party or to any boss, nor because of
the fact that they are old and unable
to work elsewhere. None are there
to pay any POLITICAL debts or any
other debts. All people employed are
employed as they are in the business
of any well managed institution for
their ability to do the work to which
they are assigned and for which they
are employed. The result is an or
ganiZation that is free and untram
meled from any political regime and
over which nobody has any particu-
lar whip or control. The heads of
departments are free to give their
entire and undivided attention to the
accomplishment of the work in their
division. The result is that they take
a keen interest in their work and
understand that their tenure of office
depends upon results, and not upon
election, that enterprise on their part
aud growth in the work will be re-
wardeI and that it is efficiency and
service that wins and that is want
cd
Third.-City government in Wichita
prior to five years ago when the man
ager type was adopted, was not cor
rupt. The change was not made be-
cause of graft or criminal conduct
The city has been growing rapidly
and is progressive city peopled by
progressive inhabitants. The old form
of government. satisfied with things
as they were. and satisfied to lei
well enough alone, following the plan
of not going out to hunt trouble by
initiating new propositions, and new
enterprises. had become unsatisfac
| tory and out of date so far as the
! city and its citizens were concerned
! New pavements were needed in the
extended areas where new develop
men occurred and new dwellings and
| industrial enterprises were building
| Extensions of water mains, construc
| ton of sewers, expansion of electric
| power and light service, were all
needed, and no element in the old
forms of government appeared to
! have the enterprise or courage to
proceed to solve the problem. Streets
were indifferently cleaned by individ-
uals employed as political appointees
with poor service at large expense
Little or nothing was done with the
development of considerable park
areas already owned by the city and
no effort was made nor any sufficient
courage existed to acquire necessary
additional areas specially adapted for
city park use and future development
! No adequate organization of health
department or health work had been
undertaken, and sanitary conditions
were not such as should characterize
a city of this class. The fire depart
ment. in men and equipment, was in
sufficient, and being criticized by the
/ Underwriters organization with threat
ened increase of insurance rates. The
police department was insufficiently
raid and insufficiently manned Traf-
fic regulations We're scarcely under
taken at all. and when attempted. done
in an Indifferent and unsatisfactory
! manner. City bonds which matured
were refunded and continued unpaid
instead of proper provisions being
made to redeem the bonds promptly
as they matured. Money had been
rpovded by a vote of the people for
the purpose of building a large main
seer. relieving a congestion of sew
age that accumulated at the packing
houses and stock yards and other in
dustrial plants. as we'll also as for
the service of a considerable area
of the city not previously severed
In like manner. funds were available
for the purpose of constructing an
extension of the Exposition Buildings
used for the International Wheat
Show and Exposition conducted an
nually in this city. The administra
ton had been unable to agree as
to a proper method of construction
or disposition of these projects, and
the whole thing was drifting with
the State Board of Health threaten
ing proceedings because of the unsan-
itary conditions in the industrial quar-
ter The appeal. therefore, went out
from the business organizations and
citizens generally for some sort of
active enterprising business type Of
administration. The city became in
terested in manager government and
of Commerce and Civic Clubs, law
was passed by the legislature, au-
thorizing such a form of government,
an election was held on the question
OF adopting the manager form of gov
eminent, at which election it was car
ried about two to one, and the mana
ger form of commission was chosen
at the succeeding election.
The new government took all of
the above deficiencies and problems
into active consideration, and solved
one after the other, every single prob
lem presented in the above outline,
and many others. On the main big
sewer, bids were received from con
tractors living from Illinois to Tex
as, and the lowest bid received for
the sewer was about $310,000.00. The
City Engineer and City Manager went
into the question OF construction with
great care, and rendered a report
that the sewer ought to be built for
about 1925, 10000 After verification