Johns Hopkins University - Hullabaloo Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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City Government in the Twentieth Century . . BY . . HON. ELGIN R. L. GOULD. Ph. D., '86, Chamberlain of New York City. ITY Government is of the highest importance, and yet it is that one element in our governmental sys- tem with which we have not succeeded in dealing satisfactorily. In fact, American city government has been pronounced by no less an authority than James Bryce, the English publicist, who spent years in investigating American institutions, as our weak spot. He is undoubtedly correct. While we have learned how to manage national affairs, and while we have had measurable success with our state governments, American City government has been, relatively speaking, a singular failure. This is a matter of great public concern. The importance of city government lies in the fact that it deals with interests vital and direct to every individual. Whether streets are kept clean in front of our houses, whether our public schools are successfully managed, whether our water supply is adequate and in proper condition, are matters of much keener public interest than whether the Panama Canal Bill Shall pass at Wash- ington, or whether some measure affecting the state as a whole shall be passed or defeated at the state capitol. Some of the dangers involved in ill-administered city government are of supreme social moment. For example, an incompetent health department means not merely sickness, misery and death, but it involves a great loss of productive power. Herding in slums, if unchecked, promotes immorality and pauperism. The rum traffic utilized for purposes of political exploitation overleaps 2111 bounds of ordinary social harm. Blackmail and non- enforcement of law generate disregard for law, while disregard for law speedily generates anarchy. The political control of public education pillages Children of opportunities they can never regain, while neglect of facilities for recreation and social improvement, such as smallparks,pub1ic baths, libraries and museums, distinguishes the crude from the well-ordered civilized city. Another fact which makes city government of great import is the phenomenal growth of urban population, which in a century has increased from one-twentieth to one-third of. all the people in the country. There were six cities I7

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a century ago which had each a population of more than eight thousand. At the present time there are several hundred. Cities are growing in number and population at an exceedingly rapid rate, hence in the future the morale of city governments will more and more determine the trend of state and national government. What are the theories of city government as held by the country generally? First of all let us notice a rather interesting lack of theory, or, perhaps I should say, a lack of uniformity in plan. A few years ago the charters of 34 cities in New York state had practically only one principle in common, viz., that they provided for a mayor and city council. i To this striking lack of uniformity in theory and system we may add a lack of business method in regulating City expenditures. Very often little distinction is made between the necessary and the desirable, or attention given to proper adjustment between future and present needs. The most common theory of city government in this country is that it is political government, and our fore- fathers accordingly devised for us a system of checks and balances moulding it on national and state government. For instance, the mayor, the supreme executive authority, is comparable with the president at Washington, the city council with congress, and the city judges with the federal judiciary. A further consequence has been that almost uniformly we have allowed municipal elections to turn upon matters of federal or state policy. Our friends the bosses, who have been, in the main, in control of city affairs, have been interested, as we can well understand, to make their constituents feel that unless people were Hregular,H as they have been pleased to call it, unless they considered their first duty in voting a city ticket was to remember their affiliation to this or that national party, unfortunate results would ensue in relation to the presidency, or congress, or governorship. As a further consequence there has been developed a widespread conspiracy to make independent nominations and voting expensive and difficult. And another result is that Hgood citizens tI put those words in quotation marksi, have been very generally hoodwinked by specious appeals to partisan feeling. Men of this type grumble about extravagance, they loathe corruption, they bluster and storm, but on the day of election, go to the polling- booths and quietlyejust for this time, as they say-deposit their ballots for the regular ticket. Such conduct re- minds me of the negro girl who tried very hard to get religion. She averred that she had been trying for some years, that she had attended all kinds of meetings, had gone frequently to the mourners bench, shouted, swayed and fallen prostrate, but all to no effect. Finally she reported to her mistress : uI tell you Miss Liza, I guess tain't no use, for it seems I can't lose my mind. HGood citizens find it the hardest thing in the world to lose their partisanship, when voting is to be done, no matter how clear the importance of doing it. The political theory of city government has resulted in making the city a subordinate unit largely under the con- rol of the state legislature. Such control is often exercised to the detriment of a municipality. In any event the denial of home rule, especially to a large metropolitan centre, cannot fail to generate a lack of civic pride and a 18