IN MEMORIAM. THE CUT MANAGER

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 42, 18 August 1925, Page 1

IN MEMORIAM.

THE CUT MANAGER

BONOVAN.—In fond and loving memory ol Arthur Ernest, law clerk, who died at 'Wellington on the 18th August, 1917, aged 25 years. So loved, so mourned. In the bloom of his life death claimed him, In the pride of his manhood days,; • None knew him but to love him, None mentioned his name but with praise. Inserted by his loving mother, brothers, and sisters. CASH RATES tor Birth,' Marrlag*. Death, and In Memorlam Notice), . " SIXPENCE per line. (Minimum charge, 23 fid. Six words to the line*. BIRTH, MARRIAGE, and DEATH NOTICES must be endorsed b; eoms responsible person to ensure their Insertion.

A MODERN PROFESSION

LATEST CIVIC DEVELOPMENT

Almost all the visitors who have recently returned from the United States come back impressed with the various civic and social developments taking place in. the large cities, such as community chests, playground''systems, public hygienic work, municipal music and art. It is especially interesting to note, after all we have heard that is derogatory to American city politics, that .it is precisely in that field that some of the most.striking changes are taking place. American city government has grown out of the old town meeting of the eighteenth century, which the citizens attended, and in which the affairs of the small town, for they were all small towns then, were di6cussed and yoted upon. Later, the voters used to elect a council or board of selectmen, as they woe called. At first the Mayor was chosen by the council from its own number, but afterwards he too came to be elected. In course of time, in order to bo faithful to the ideals of democracy, the voters themselves took over the.duty of selecting by vote all kinds of city officials, the town clerk, the city treasurer, the city surveyor, the building inspector, the health officer, and so on, writes Alice Henry in the "Melbourne "Argus." From the huge size of the voting paper, this wa« called the long ballot. While well intentioned enough such a method brought grave evils in its train. Party politics, national party politics, entered in to a degree never anticipated. Men were elected to administrative offices whose claims were purely political, and this partly because the public could have no other teste. The ordinary voter has no means of considering the qualifications of candidates for such professional and executive posts. Incidentally, he found himself on election day faced with the ta6k of handling a sheet of paper perhaps two feet long by eighteen inches wide, and crowded with names, mostly quite strange to him. As every political group_ felt itself bound in honour to put up its' candidate for every vacancy it became m.oro or less of a 'gamble who was elected. Needless to say this became tin intolerable nuisance, and the long ballot is being got rid of as fast as State. constitution* and city chatters and local government. Acts will permit. The first successful effort at improvement was what is known as the commission form of city government. It came into being first in Galveston. Texas, in 1901; when that southern city of some 40,000 inhabitants was. faced with ruin and bankruptcy, as, a result of the tidal wavo and disastrous flood of that year. Under, tho commission plan, as first adopted in Galveston. The voters elected a body of fivo men, ono of whom was. to lie' Mayor, while tho other four took upon themselves the functions of manag- ■ ing tho four divisions of.- city housekcßping, finance, water, and sewerage, public safety, and streets and privato properly. They were elected at large, ! and on" no party tickets. "While- each was head of his own department, the | five, sitting as n council, decided general •questions and .passed the needed city laws. This plan, or something similar to it, has boon '.ulopted'by ;i vast number of small towns, rind by many of quite respectable size. While a very great improvement, upon the olrl confusion and inefficiency, it was found to have defects of its own. Chiefly (his: If. the voters bad laid before* them a simplified bnllot they were still being asked to choose men to perform expert professional work. This the ordinary voter is unablo to do with much chance of success, while on the other hand the ' candidates from whom these were to be chosen were,, in all probability, mere political amateurs, well mcaninc. perhaps, but with litllej if any, training for their jobs. So thp covornment of municipalities by a board of commissioners is giving place to somethins? better. THE FIRST APPOINTMENT. This is the city manager plan, under' which a small council is • elected, and this council appoints a general manager, who is responsible to it. The council retains control of all questions of general policy, and makes all. city regnla-

policies, engages all subordinates, and exercises over their work the same sort ot oversight as falls to the managing <Hroctor of miv ordinary manufacturing ■ company, or large business house. ' -He on his part, bears the same relation to the ,eoncil as dues the managing director ot an industrial concern to his board of directors. Ho has, .however, a mucli bigger job, for so many and such different lines of work go to make up a city's business. The plan grew up in an unusual way. Nearly twenty years age a young New York lawyer, Richard S. Childs, had, .with others, been carrying ou an educational campaign for a shorter ballot, that is, the system in Australia electing the council only, and leaving the appointment of all officials in the council s hands. In 1908 it came to the knowledge of Mr. Childs, and the com-, mittee of the National Municipal League With whom he was acting, that the city Council of the small town of Stnunton, Virginia, was trying : the experiment, of delegating the actual management' of otiiunton's affairs to one man, as well qualified as they could obtain, and that, under the council's general supervision, he was running Stanntoii, and was called the city manager. The name and part of the idea was taken over, and in tho study in Now York was worked out to completion the city manager plan. . Tlie first opportunity to put it into practice) came some live years later, when, in 1913, the city of Dayton, Ohio, with a. population of about 128,000, was desolated by a tornado, and floods and fire. Dayton is known all over tho world principally for its output of cash registers, and scales and weighing-mach-ines, and is not to be confused with the tiny Dayton in Tennessee, which has been in the fore so much lately in con* , nection with the evolution theory trial.. Under the pressure of its disaster, Dayton looked round for help more effective than could be afforded even by any national relief fund. In the State of Ohio the cities now enjoy large powers of home rule. Dayton took advantage of this to recast its own form of Government. The citizens believed that this was an occasion when one competent head would be ■ Dayton's salvation, and adopted a new charter, providing for a small city council and a city man-i ager. The Daytonians soared high indeed, for the man whom, they invited to serfo them in tbis capacity wa« none other than General Goethals, the worldfamed engineer of the Panama Canal. Although General Goetbals did not see ' his way to come to Dayton, the fact that a_ man of his calibre could seriously con-. aider .the proposal brought the city man. ager idea for the first time prominently ' before the public of the entire country, lhe position was eventually conferred upon an unknown young man, Harry Waite, then head of the Public Works Department in Cincinnati, who has mado a distinct success. Within the next ten years more than 300 municipalities lmvo followed Dayton's lead. Among them are Duduque, lowa (population 40,000), ' Sacramento, the State capital of California (population 65,000), and San Diego, California (population 75,000), Grand Rapids (population 148,000). and Kalamazoo (population 50,000), both in Michigan; Miami (population 30,000) tend Tampa (population 52.000). in Florida ; and Boulder, Colorado (population 11,000). Of all the 327 cities which have engaged city managers, only half a'dozen have dropped out and gone Back partly to the. old system: A. few of the smaller Canadian towns are also on the list. ■ Niagara Falls, Ontario, has its Canadian manager, and Niagara Falls, on-the'other side, its American manger. • SYSTEM IN LARGE CITIES. But, it may be urged, many of'these are comparatively small communities. How about cities of the first rank '! There are now three coming under that head, Cleveland (population 912,503) and Cincinnati (population 407,832), both in Ohio, and Kansas City, Missouri (population 359,650), which either have or shortly will have their affairs under a city manager. Of these, the first and still the most important is Cleveland, the fifth city in the Republic, and with a population about paralleling that of Melbourne and Sydney. It is the chief port on the Great -Lakes for coal and iron, .whether coming southward from Lake Superior or west from Pennsylvania; has large manufacturing industries and shipbuilding docks. Its schools and colleges rank high, it is a musical and intellectual centre, and its civic activities are numerous and weil organised. Cleveland is divided electorally into five districts, returning in all twenty-five councillors elected by proportional representation. The first council took office in January, 1924. The councillors appointed one of their own. number as mayor and the city's official head, ■ The man whom they chose as city manager was William R. Hopkins, 'ai Clevelander, head of ,the Belt and Terminal Realty Company and president o£ the Columbia Axle Company. During the past year both Cincinnati and Kansas City have adopted new charters providing for a city manager. The cdun^ cils will be voted for in a few week*' time, and the managers chosen befmV the end of the year. There are-some American counties, corresponding to our country shires, which are considering engaging a county manager, whose duties would correspond to those of th» city man, -although the details .of his, work might be entirely different. ' ■■ What kind of a man makes a success* ful city manager? His duties, it may be admitted, are by far more onerou» than those of any ordinary managing director, for he must at least have a general interest in everything. He hai likewise many masters, for -every voter feels at liberty to .call up tho manager's office at any hour of the day,'and sometimes the manager's house at any hour of tho night, to make his particular wants known. Again, the manager must have his finger upon,all the weak spots,• whether it be in tho health department, in tho telephone service, or in the interests of the business quarter. ' He . ! must be all the time watching out whether there may not, be somo neglected' j source of revenue, or some crying public need which is not being met. On* manager went strolling round his city and found a bit of land' that could just as well bo turned to some good purpose. . S3, remembering how much » fine para system does to attract visitors, <Vj presently suggested to the city council that funds might be available for a . new park. . Another discovered that sundry back, taxes were still owing, and organised a board or trust'to. collect them. Professor Lindsay Rogers, of Columbia University,- (speaks of one firm of consulting engineers which 'gives lower rutes v to city manager cities,' on account.of the superior ease with which, business can be transacted.' At first there were very few men who had had any training for this somnwhat exacting position. A number who ■ tried it left .it for something easier. But now it is settling down into a regular profession. Half of the present city managers have had a university training. About half are engineers of somo kind. One man may be a railroad engineer. Another learnt to manage men on construction work. The city managers now have an association, meet yearly to exchange ideas and publish their own magazine. In anything so new and so young, there will be changes, there will be mistakes, even amid great successes, and the successes have \>een great; diminished fire losses, improvedl car service, better lighting, and, beet of all, keener civic • interest,. for, at has been said, and is in evidence, "improvements in municipal control are ac- i coinpanied by and are in part due to ft rliffAj'aiif. tainnai* A*. tha naaulaJ"