The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-30

1 fly and responsibility absolutely fixed and machinery provided for prompt correction of any unsatisfactory con- | dition.
 Selection of the Administrative Head
 The administrative head of Bir- mingham has to direct the spending of several hundred thousand dollars a month; to supervise the efforts of hundreds of employees; and to care for millions of dollars of property. He should be a man of wide experi- 1 ence, proven ability, unquestioned integrity. and progressive ideas.
 Under the aldermanic and commis- | sion forms, the voters are limited in 1 their choice of this official to those few men who offer for the position. Capable men, well qualified for the | office, have usually been found un- willing to enter political fight for election, or financially unable to do so, or not possessed of the person. l ality, wide acquai.tance, or political | following necessary for election
 l Under. the manager-counen plan, the voters select through their cho- l sen representatives the man best l equipped to administer the business affairs of the city. The council scru- | tinize the. record and qualifications l of the applicants for the position. i They seek out the man they want. l They can offer him salary and po- sition that will appeal to the high est type of executive, competing for | the city with business intrests for l the services of the best men. Their l field for selection is wide, since they 1 have the opportunity to select from among those who would offer for mayor or commissioner and from the rest of the citizenry as well.
 Taking Politics Out of Government
 The mayor or commissioner is | always concerned with his political fortunes. He must pay his friends and punish his enemies. He must sup l port the schemes of his allies and dis 1 courage the projects of the opposi- tion. He claims the credit for every | thing good and passes the buck when i things don't go right.
 The manager has got to stay out of politics. His responsibility is ab- l solute In administrative ma tiers. He has no authority in matters of policy l or in legislation. He looks forward 1 to comparative permanence in office, l conditioned on his own efficiency, and he has the assurance of that continuity of personnel and policy | NH1Ot+%AN@A ture. Ills personal welfare demands that he eschew politics and devote his every energy to the successful conduct of the administration.
 Department Heads
 At the head of each of the five 1 departments as now constituted, the manager appoints a director Selec- ton is made on the basis of quali- fications for the duties of the posi- 1 tion. Like the manager, these de- partment heads are largely free from political influence. They can accept employment with the city as with a private enterprise, with the assur- ance that loyalty, efficiency, and in- dustry will bring advancement. They ! have wide freedom of action as long as their departments function properly These conditions tend to substitute trained and proven execu- l tiveS for amateurs and transients. | The situation of the department | heads is similar to that of the other employees. and the whole personnel of the administration does better work under better conditions as po- | litical considerations give way to consideration of results accomplished
 Careful investigation develops the fact that large majority of citizens III every city now having the city manager plan are pleased with It. Every institution for municipal re- 1 search advocates 1t. Most of the leading students of government in- dorse 1t. Most cities changing their charters adopt the manager plan or similar one. Sixty-one cities adopted 1t in 1921. Eight adopted il in the early months of 1922.
 The city manager-council plan is modelled similar to the general plan of municipal government which has proved best after generations of ex- perience in England, Germany, and other European countries. It has back of 1t tremendous weight of argu- ment and successful experience. It is by no means an experiment, but on the contrary, 1t is the successful result of numerous experiments