Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-10-13
Notes From
Wildwood City Hall
BY A. F. LEIBY


On Tuesday afternoon, october Sd.
the first meeting of the Wildwood City
Commissioners in the golden month OF
October was convened at the usual
hour, per Eastern Standard Time, as
recorded by the city, clock. This return
to normally was decided upon at a
previous meeting of the Commission
ers, and their action in this respect
must be very gratifying to the conser-
vatiVe elements of our population to
whom that other dubious kind of time
proved so puzzling and confusing. The
prediction is freely heard from various
sources that this misnomer-this pre-
tended daylight saving agencyzis
gone forever and a day; and that no
more, it is to be hoped, in this re-
public, shall there be any juggling
with the standard wheels of time.
what was good enough for Washing
ton should be good enough for u.s."
When the roll was called at city
hall on the day and date aforesaid,
only two commissioners answered to
their names, the minister of finance
and the director of streets-the Mayor
being absent-''out of town." it was
stated.
Under a commission form of govern
ment a great deal of power and au-
thority is centered in the hands of a
few men. In ancient Roman days a
form of government such as now exists
in wildwood, would have been styled
a triumvirate. When a triumvirate
works in absolute harmony and with a
unity of purpose, the effects are tanta-
mount to the exercise of a single will
or the equivalent of a one-man power.
A former commissioner once resented
this tendency to concentration. In do
ing so he compared the Board of Com
missioners to a team of horses-want-
ed it to be known at the same time
that the Board was not a one-horse
team, but a three-horse team. The ten
dency toward Capitalization in local
government may have some advan-
tages, but it cannot be denied, on
the other hand, that IN excess of this
kind of dope might increase the bur-
dens of the sturdy taxpayers instead
of easing them, which latter accom-
plishment should ever be the aim OF
the ideal public servant.
Whether the two commissioners at
the meeting referred to felt like a team
of horses, pulling for the economic in
terests of their constituents, or
whether they may have fancied them
selves as occupying the position of
dual monarchs is not known.
October this year was ushered in
with more dazzling splendor than
usual. So pronounced was the warmth
of the long series of s%unshiny, sum-
merry days in early autumn that the
record was found to be broken. In
seeking a parallel it was necessary to
bark back for half a century or more.
The mellowness of these fine October
days was reflected to some extent in
the Commissioners room on the date
of their first session in the 10th month
and the 40th regular meeting of this
fast fading year. The reading of
monthly reports for the preceding
lunar period occupied the attention
of the Commissioners for a portion of
the time. The building inspectors re-
port showed that he had issued 81
permits in September, collecting fees
for this service in the sum of $145.
The approximate estimated cost of
construction covered by these building
permits was $66,732, and for heating
plants $725.
The city clerks report concerning
the receipts in that Office for Septem-
Der might be dominated as being fat:
Mercantile tax receipts :. $892.5O
Builders licenses $1,000. 10000
Dog licenses .......... .S8
Street permits .......... 5000
Municipal court fines -. 10000
Rent-Sea Shell Encamp-
ment 5000
License plate for ~ex-soldier .25
Total receipts .$1,193.63
The plumbing inspector examined
and passed upon plans for 16 different
operations, the charges for which SER
vice aggregated $38.25. Certificates to
the number of 25 were made out by the
city electrician and 20 permits regis
tered. He collected in fees $76.25.
In September Tax Collector Camp
bell made SO scratches and collected for
his services the sun of $80.75. The
names of the individuals and firms for
whom searches were made follow:
For James A. L. Harris, 3.
For Robert Bright, g..
For John Bright, G..
For William H. Bright, 8.
For oliver Bright, 1.
For William E. Zeller, 8.
For Mark r. Sooy, /.
For Llewellyn Hildreth, 1.
For w. S. Darnell, l..
For Jonathan Hand, 1.
For E. M. Johnson, 2.