Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-13

The decision Of Cleveland to abolish
the city manager plan and restore old
conditions is believed by the public to
have been due to failure to eliminate
the machine politics that existed pre-
, vious to its adoption nearly ten years
ago. The position of Cleveland as
the largest city in the country that
had adopted the system arcuses the in
terest of other communities. 1t Is
argued that the system Is successfully
operating in many other bat smaller
Theory fails In the disbursement
of selfishness, says the Omaha World
Herald "The voters, in the end, can't
evade their responsibility. They set the
kind of government they deserve. most
of the time" The Baltimore sun holds
that 1.-The revolt in Cleveland is further
demonstration that there u no royal
road to good government, and that only
untiring vigilance and enlightened use
of the ballot viii protect municipality
from the evils of political rule under
any system" The Scranton Times Is
convinced that "a city manager plan or
any kind Of plan of government
operation is good only so long as able
men are. elected and the public con-
soon as the public becomes Indifferent,
the spokesman grabs his chance" The
Sioux Falls Argus-Leader agrees that
voters can't dodge their responsibility
through any system or scheme" for lit
Is up to them to pass intelligent judy
ment upon the men who seek Office"
1.-THE overthrow is not of the slightest
significance" declares the Providence
Journal, "as demonstration Of defects
Niv1kn
that there are more than 400 Amcri-
can cities which are operating under
the Council-manager plan," and that
"the best system of organization Is
likely to be pulled sadly out of shape
by the weaknesses to which human ma
ture is subject The Allentown Morn
ing Call contends that 'the political
organizations, as matter of political
principle, disliked the system, as 1t did
not provide the control and the SpoilS
that a pure political system offers"
1.-THE operation of the manager sys-
tenn at Cleveland" AYERS the Dayton
Daily News, was bedeviled from the
first by the manipulation of the bosses.
They operated in the Council. They ex-
torted concessions from the manager.
The supporters Of the new form Of gov
eminent took nc trouble to help 1t
against these enemies. At Cincinnati
ha-d-hitting Organization of citizens
served as interference for the city
against the plun2es of the old machine.
Nothing Of the Kind was done at Cleve-
land Now Cleveland, in the disheart-
ened mood which characterized much
of the voting, bitches the system. The
spoilsmen first oiscredited, then de-
stroyed 1t. For lack of eternal vigilance
on the part Of the common citizen to
match the eternal vigilance of the
spoilsmen Cleveland has fallen back"
That the city manager regime failed
to eliminate control by political bosses is
the conclusion of the Minneapolis Star,
the Buffalo Evening News, the Louis
vile Courier Journal and the Morgan
town Dominion News. The Cleveland
Press states that "betv IN a city man
ager plan operated on spells basis and
same basis there is little to choose"
The South Bend Tribune offers the
Judgment: 1.-THE abolitionists contend
ed that political machines had manipu-
lated the city management That was
a powerful argument, for adoption Of
the system in Cleveland and else
where had been primarily for the pur-
pose of eliminating machine politics. !"
There has been more politics IN
Cleveland, and of a worse kind, during
the last year than perhaps ever before"
says the Bloomington Paragraph, while
the Escanaba Daily Press diagnoses the
situation as having been an instance in
which "a rival gang of politicians went
into. Office" The Toledo\ Blade makes
the explanation: "One serious objection
perhaps the most serious--to the
operation of the manager plan in
Cleveland is the proportional represen-
tation system of electing the Council
men, who elect the manager. The voter
doesn't know Whether his ballot counts
for the candidate of his first choice or
for another
Declaring that return to plan aban-
doned In the interest of economy and
better administration will be Closely
watched throughout the STATE" the