The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-05-09
S. BURTON HEATH
NEA Staff COrrespOndent

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This city, which until recently had
an unenviable reputation as one of
the worst governed communities in
the United States, is demonstrate
ing that civic reform can be pre-
served without even a benevolent
dictatorship.
Mayor John B. Gage, who took
office in 1910, when the notorious
Pendergast machine finally sue
cumbed to the cancer of graft, has
just begun his third term. With
him was installed a new city coun-
Gil of eight members and, for the
second successive term, that coun-
Gil has only one representative of
the remains of the Pendergast or
ganization.
In any objective quarter that you
care to inquire, you will be told
that the Gage or reform admin
istration is doing a splendid job of
honest, e f i i e n t government.
Moreover, that administration is
not centered upon one flamboyant
leader as is, for example, the La
Guardia reform administration in
New York.
WORKS WITH COUNCIL
1t is the traditional history of
reform that it's successes depend
upon the appearance of leader
who along with honesty, courage
and efficiency, possesses a strong
crowd appeal by which-if reform
is to continue-the leader can pull
his assistants into office on his
coat tails.
The Gage administration has
carefully avoided such policy
Instead of subordinating the coun-
Gil, the mayor has worked with it.
Instead of imposing his beneficient
will upon the city, he has sought
to improve constantly the machin-
cry by which the people can ex-
press their own democratic will
Some Of his supporters worried
about that, and, thinking to fight
fire with fire, began cautious at
tempt to build up a reform ma
chine. First important signs OF
this appeared in the parks depart
ment. 1t was squelched quickly
when Auditor Thomas J. Patter
Investigated, two or three persons
; found themselves out of jobs, anc
the council-whose members hac
started the movement - was in.
duced to adopt a Little Hatch
Act'' that put all city employees
out of politics for good.
CITY NOW SOLVENT
The merit system was. a com
plete dead letter in Kansas City
when Tom Pendergast started fol-
the federal penitentiary. Now be-
tween 9 and SO per cent of city
employees are in the classified civ
il service. The city was, in fact
if not technically, bankrupt. Now
it's bonds are rated by financial
houses as entitled to "a high grade
classification.
Real estate assessments for tax
purposes, which had been used to
reward the faithful and to punish
the politically uncautious, have
been reduced by $29,5OoO0o, Or
more than five per cent overall.
Under the Pendergast regime,
the city raised the constitutional
maximum of taxes-10 mills on the
dollar to pay for operations-plus
the cost of debt service. This rate,
levied on the inflated valuations,
was not enough. Regularly, as the
end of the year approached, the
city would find itself short of mon
ey and would cut salaries and even
refrain from paying Q m e en-
ployees. More than S6,000,00 Of
back salary claims were involved
in suits still in process Of adjudi-
cation.
Now, taxing only nine mills on
the dollar (plus debt service needs
and levying on a smaller base, the
city pays its bills on time and pro-
vides for the debt services.
Meanwhile. it has been neces'
sary to raise wages in the poorer
paid classifications because of the
war. But this has been offset, ano
more, by a large reduction in per
sonnet. The Gage administration
in its first six months got rid Of
about half of the 400 persons il
found on the payrolls, and replac-
ed only enough to bring the total
back to around 5000.
4 In telling about what has beer
done it is refreshing to one who
has listened to many reformers tc
! hear Mayor Gage say 1--WE die
: this'' and 1--WE did that and "the