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Show HOME RUIf FOR CITIES GOOHLAII In Erery State Where Tried Results Hare Been En-coiuraglng. En-coiuraglng. CHARTER REFORM IS s ; MODERN TENDENCY y Municipalities Put on Own . Responsibility Make All Needed Improvements. . BT FBBDEBIO 3. HAJSUT.' - IK TIMES past the government of I the typiegl American city was so J controlled! and regulated by the state legislature, and special legislation legis-lation affecting adversely the interests of the individvl city was as of tea enacted, en-acted, that many states incorporated provisions ia their eoastitatioas prohibiting pro-hibiting the legislator ' from p easing any -law. with reference te eae city that did not apply to all cities alike. This provision helped along the good - government advocates in their effort for the improvement of aranieipai conditions. condi-tions. . . But it remained for St. tioala to demonstrate to the world the fact that when a city is given the right to role its own affairs without let or hindrance from any power higher up, it is bound to make some - improvement ia its in s tarnal affairs. Ia 1875 Missouri bad a eoastitutionsl convention. The delegates dele-gates from St. Louis were seat to that convention with instructions to insist upon a provision which would allow their eity to build its. own ehsrter, and which would fores the legislature to keep its hands off St. Louis affairs. .The attempt was at 'least partially successful, for the convention knew thst without the support of St. Louis the constitution might not be ratified by the people. The completed iastru-ment iastru-ment provided that cities with mors than 100 0OO cumulation miff-ht make their own charters in conformity with . the constitution and laws of the state, aad that the charter should be drafted bv a committee of freeholders duly chosen. The constitution also laid down some other guiding principles,' such as the provision thst -there should he a mayor and a two-chamber council, st least one bra ash of - which- should - be elected at large. - u . But in the "main Sf.'toulS had be-' be-' eome master of its own' destiny, -A' . beard, of freeholders was "elected- wrttr eethority to frame a 'charter-for submission sub-mission ' to the people: ' ' This - charter was drafted, submitted aad - adopted. The restrictions imposed by the constitution consti-tution somewhat restricted full freedom of action, but the new ehsrter was suck aa improvement that home rule became a Bsed principle of municipal government. govern-ment. In 1880 California followed suit with a homs rule constitutional provision provi-sion applicable to cities of 100,000. The charters under this provision were to be approved by the legislsture, hut it could not smend tbem, so thst this approval became merely a perfunctory dutv. Ho well did the home rule pro-visioa pro-visioa work thst in 1887 it wss extended ex-tended to cities of 10,000 population, aad ia ' 1890 .still further extended to embrace towns of 35 (JO. There were sums provisions in 'the California coa- etltntion which were found to militate against the absolute independence of the cities controlling thsir local affairs, af-fairs, snd the constitution waa twice amended in 1802 and 1896 ia a way thst took away from the legislsture the last vestige of right to interfere with a city government in the conduct of its, local affairs. The example of California was followed fol-lowed in lsWby the state of Washing-ten, Washing-ten, which gars home rule to cities of Sft.000-papulation and upward. In 1896 Minnesota followed suit, giving a fair degree' of home rule to all cities within its borders. . Colorado joined the pro-cession pro-cession in Oregon in 1906. Okls homa in 1907. and Michigan in 1908. la every stats where the home rule doctrine of eitr ehsrter making haa been spplied there has been a general teadencv toward charters more suited te locsl needs and better adapted to sacs I conditions. , The ststes which have constitutional auarantees . sesinat special leeialstiot for individual cities not only have pre-q pre-q vented legislative interference., but . they have cut off tbe right of a' citv le appeal for aid to the legislature u remedyiag a specific situation. Au thorities ssv thst tbe experience o' t kicago ia this direction is most illumi natiag by way of illustratioa as te whsi a city caa do whsn conditions srs bsd The same law which preveated th legislature from interfenrhg with Chi - csgo s affairs also prevented it fron rendering Chicago aid whea that cit' desired to free itself from the thrsll doss ef a corrupt city council. Bo hampered- by the impossibility of add isg to or subtracting from the powen ef the council through legislative ar tion, Chicago reformers settled dows to . gst the problem out ia another wsy bv (leasing out the crooked memben aad substituting good men. It was t long, uphill pull, iot since then good government experts everywhere hsvi held up the experience of Chicago ar a a object lesaoa of what can be accom pliehd whea a citv is left to its owt resources in its fight for better munici pal conditions. t Under the Michigsn constitutiot cities of all elasses are governed a:' te whst they shall and shsll net do b-tae b-tae eame general lsw. This law bsi te be broad enough to allow Detroit with its nearly half a million people the sec imary freedom of actios of metropolis, aad at the same time it bsri to be specific enough in detail to guide the untrained official of tbe eouatrv towa of 00. It is provided thst whei a revieioe of a ehsrter is sought, then, must be-an initiatory petition aignei by at least 20 per cent of tV voters If two-thirds of the let tslstives body vote- fsvorably oi this petition, it is st tbe next muniei f pel election eehmitted to the electorate (Continued oa page 2.) . - - HOME RULE (Continued frora page 1.) If a majority vote ia favor of the revision, re-vision, a charter commission ia next chosen, consisting of one member from each ward and three at large, who are chosen as the regular city officials are, except that their aamee are plaoed oa a separate ballot, oa which no party lesignatioaa are permitted. Amendment is easier than revieioa. Ia this caae tha legislative body, by a two thirds vote, may propose an amend, ment, and if the amendment is able to command a majority of the votes cast at the next muaicipal election it becomes a part of the charter. There it also a proviaioa ifc the constitution requiring re-quiring that ao charter ahall become a law until it is first approved by the governor, although it ia provided that tha city may override hie veto by a two thirds vote. A anmber of other safeguards, such aa the limitation of indebted in-debted aass aad the right of taxpayiag womea to vote whea quaations ef taxation tax-ation are peading ara provided by the constitution. Charter reform la one of the most important im-portant tendeneiea of the new municipal movement, both ia home rule cities and those municipalities which da not enjoy home rule. In two years 138 cities asked the municipal experts of the National Na-tional Municipal league to assist them ia building or rebuilding their chart era. This included nearly ail the larger cities of the country Bad a anmber of states as well. Tba present orgaaie.law af the city ef New York eoasiats of a large eoilectioa of atatntee aggregatiBf half a milboa words, a- hodgepodge of all sorts of laws aad regulations, throws together by charter tinkering processes covering many years. When .Justice Hughes waa governor of New York he appointed a eocamiaaioa which drafted a modern charter for tha city, the new instrument covering the entire situation situa-tion ia 70,000 words. But the legislature legisla-ture aad the governor locked horns over charter reform aad the question it yel unsettled. ft. Louis haa had a board of freeholders free-holders at work oa a bow city charter, iato which it is sought to "incorporate the beet ideas of the Eaglish aad Oct ma a systems with those of the advanced ad-vanced Ameriesa fyatenu 8t Paul aad Fituburg ales have beea at work doe-toriag doe-toriag their methods ef government so aa to Incorporate ia their charters ths beet lessons of municipal experience, itaa t'raacisco kaa shows a deep ister-est ister-est ia charter reform and the indies-tioBB indies-tioBB srs that the preseat decads will witaeea a greater era of charter making mak-ing progress thaa aav other decade la American municipal hiatory. The privilege of home rnle for cities gives individual mnnicipnlities opportunities opportu-nities to try experimcBta that never would be g rested by a geaeral law paased by a atats legislature. It waa while acting under its home rule privi-1 lege that boa Angeles mads a aotsbls departure ia municipal affairs by incor-1 porating a recall proviaioa ia its char I ter. That ths recall hat beea ahuaed , ia soms instances may be sdmittsd, snd that it has beea oa trial long enough to justify a final decree ia its favor may bs conceded, but ob the whole it naa gone a long way toward proving its aass in the eoort of public opinion, ssd it will probably become oae of the most potent influences for furs municipal government yet discov- I ered. If it justifiee the hnpee of its advocatea, 'it will in itself be a cuffi cient excuae for heme rule. While Los Angelra haa aot beea as successful in its nse aa have eome other cities, it ia hoped that ths recall will he more a perpetual warning thaa an instrument j of frequent use. The recall haa beea exercised often enough to demonstrate that ths people who may Invoke it will do ao if they i become coavinced that their city government gov-ernment ia aot to their liking. 'Pallas has invoked tha recall, and there have been enough other horrible example'' to keep the average municipal official in the straight and narrow way. ft it probable that ether instru mentalitiee. for good ia . municipal af faira aill be developed through the home rule urisripls. With a charter ; comparatively easy of amendment, it naturally follows that aianv citiea will ' experiment with bow remedies for ma- j niripsl ills, aad it weald be contrary j to human experience to snppoee that out j of the tboueaadt of experiments made other sew engiBCe of direct control of ! municipal affairs will aot be discovered, i Los Asgelee' experimenta with the mi ! ti.tive snd referendum and the recall may aot have produced entirely satisfactory satis-factory results, but when California fol lowed the example of Missouri ia as-tsbliahiag as-tsbliahiag the principle of municipal city home rul it mads possible the widespread adoptioa of maay ideas is slate aa well as maaiclpal politics that , premiss to give sew voire te the de ma ads of the America a people for good and wholesome control of local aad gee oral politics. , j |