The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3331, 25 September 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1911.

Municipal “Reform” in the United States.

Just at present the system of local government by means of commissioners, instead of by councillors and aldermen, is arousing much attention in various parts of the United States. Tli)© commissioner form of government, it may not be generally known, lias been in force in the city of Washington since the early seventies. And to-day by general consent in America the Federal capital is reckoned the best governed city in the whole of that country! It substitutes for a mayor and band of aldermen a> commission of, say, live men elected by the people just as they would aldermen. Each of the five takes over the special supervision of some department of administration, such as the police, the lire department, or water supply. The commission ba.v-

ing -been elected, it chooses- a mayor, but he- is simply the chairman of the board with little more privilege than the right to call the commissioners to order wlioni they infringe the rule® of debate. Among the important cities to adopt the commissioner system of late years was Galveston-. Wrecked- both physically and financially by a great

tidal wave, there' lay before that unfortunate city the herculean task of reconstructing its l buildings and finances. To this end five commissioners were appointed in the first instance by the Governor of Texas, but subsequently it was decided that they should be elected, and the municipal responsibilities wore divided among them rn a very definite way. According to a recent article in the "Municipal Journal and Engineer,” as many as HI cities and towns in the United States have adopted the commission form of government, and the number is being added to every month. In abont ha the cities the hoard consists of five members, while three also is a common number.’ Five cities have four commissioners, but up to nine aie round in some of the larger centres. Hie general idea, is to focus popular attention before election, and concentrate responsibility afterward, in as small a number as possible. Another advantage of smallness of number is the probability of more prompt transaction of business. Still another is the possibility of paying salaries adequate to secure competent men. It is claimed that under the Galveston plan the beautification of cities has become practicable, and' that towns which wer© notoriously ugly under the old system have become handsome under the new method of government. In addition, the advocates of the commission scheme claim that tax rates lrave been reduced, and that Me has become in every way more livable. The essential element which accounts for the success thus far achieved is the conspicuous responsibility and hence accountability to the people—of all elected and salaried officials. The most apparent danger inherent in this form of government is the possibility that the great powers conferred upon these few officials may be used for selfish ends, and against the interests of the people, or at least in a grossly arbitrary way. To guard against this many States and cities have adopted the "recall,” by which an official can be removed from office by popular vote. The initiative has been adopted by still more and the referendum in all but a few of the Californian and Texas cities. We can quite believe that good results might be obtained under this system in large and settled centres. That it would work well in, say, the smaller towns of the colonies which are undertaking a variety of public services by no means follows. The chief obstacle to its success under such conditions would undoubtedly be the difficulty in securing the sendees of "commissioners” with the necessary expert knowledge to supervise the various departments. It may also be of interest to mention' that the most important reform attributed to the system is the development «of - the civic spirit to a greater extent than' lias been proved the experience under the system of councillors and mayor.