The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-24
THE PROBLEM OF GOVERNMENT

1T the time and energy devoted to dis cusslons of change in Birmingham S form ot government shall result in the development of larger public interest Tn the administration of the municipal affairs, good will result. The absence of proper interest in the proper manage ment of the city's affairs is the chief reason for the continuation of the oppo- site condition. The history of municipal governments the country over demon strates this. It is condition confined to no particular city, and has no special bearing upon any particular plan of government in operation. The public in- terest in the public affairs is a pre- requisite of success in the administra- tlon of any city government under any plan of procedure.
 Thus, if the attention devoted to Bir- mingham's form of government were ap- piled to constructive means for so inter. esting the people in the administration of their affairs as to bring out men and women of business capacity, experience and character to qualify for public of flee, worthwhile results might be ex- pected. Birmingham has operated un. der the aldermanic system without sue. cess. It has operated under commission government, both with three and five members of the body, with unsatisfactory results. Why? Neither plan of govern. ment was directly at fault The compara- tive failures were not caused by the sys- tems of government, but from the ab- sence of that public interest in public af- fairs which is essential. There are suc- cessfully managed municipalities in this country under all of the established forms of municipal government. Like wise, there are badly managed municipal governments under all of them.
 There is a strong tendency among progressive cities towards the general manager plan whereby centralization of responsibility and elimination of city politics are claimed as productive fea- lures. Such a plan properly established and operated has solved the problem for many cities. Yet, that plan, as every other, depends for it's success on whether the obstructive elements of city politics are reduced to a minimum. Hence, the question of it's success comes back to the original and basic proposition of whether the people shall take sufficient interest in their municipal affairs to see that capable administrative executives are chosen to perform the duties.
 One of the most important things for an electorate to consider is that city is a business corporation, and that it's citizens are the stockholders. This busi- ness can be furthered only by the elim- ination of city politics, which exercises its pernicious influence not only in the election of petty politicians, to conduct the community's largest and most impor- tant corporation, but in the manner in which those affairs are conducted after petty politicians are inducted into of flee.
 The city-politics parasite is doing more than any other factor or influence to ob- st1uct the progress and prosperity of the South's most productive industrial cen ter. No plan at present being offered , eliminates this evil. Periodical changes in the system of government, without de termined and effective means to get rid of this evil, offer no prospects of relief for Birmingham's municipal conditions
 Evolve a plan for putting the right sort of administrative executives in of flee, and the form is of secondary i'm portance. In the last analysis the re- sponsibility rests upon the citizens. They can have business-like management o1 their public affairs, or they can con tinue to bear the burdens of waste, in competency, and all the other evils ot inefficiency at the hands of executives whose chief interest in the city govern nent is the patronage it provides.