THE COOS BAY TIMES, MARSHFIELD, OREGON. MONDAY, MAY 15, 1911 EVENING EDITION
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era on tho sea nnd lakes nro already
nipplled. Within tho past year the
. 1 1 telcRrnph has wivoil nearly
$12. imM). 000 nnd thousands of lives
that were in Jeopardy.
It linn become one of tlio oMontlnli
of pnwimer steamers nnd tho con-
M. ('. MAI.6.NKV Kdltomnd Pub. nectod story of whnt tho wlroloss hns
WAV 15. MAI.OXKV Nous lCilltor been to disabled shlpB In tho pnst two
ers. would make inoro fascinating
AUdrCFS nil commuuicnuuns iu ,.,,, ,,, n flrv mln Ami mnn
iitun ""' ..... - ..
COOS BAY TIMES
hulcrcd nt tho )ostolllco nt Marsh
Hotel, Oregon, for transmission
through tha malls as bocoihI class
mall matter.
COOS 1JAV
Mm Mitk'ld : :
DAIIiV TIMIJS.
I
The Story of the Short Ballot Cities
A Series of Articles on the New Commission Form of
Municipal Government
By RICHARD 5. CHILD5
nro tcnltiltiie moro nnd moro contra!
0rt'K" over It ovary yonr, ami tho messagou
An Independent Itoimbllcnn nows- nro bolus sent nml received over Inr
pnper published every evonlug oxcopt Kr nnd longer dtaUincos. And still
Sunday, and Weekly by there Ib tin Instinct which Is growing
Tho Coo Tiny 'rimes Publishing Co. stronger and stronger In tho souls -f
men Hint wlrolww tolegrnphy Is as
Dedicated to tho servlco of tho yt,tf not lnlr developed. It may bo
people, that no good cnuso shall lack n fooling that grows out of hope only,
a chnmplon, and that evil shall not Mlt it , n vury BWcot ono. It may
Ihrlvo unopposed.
sunsntirriox hatks.
DAILY.
Ono year JC.00
Por month CO
WEEKLY.
Ono year $1.50
When paid strictly In ndvnnco tho
come of the growing bollof that this
world nnd tho noxt nro not so very
fnr apart, and that as electricity !n
tho very life of tho world and at tho
same time the perfect conductor of
the mcssngcfl that tho wireless lllngs
Into space; who knows that It will
not sometime send n messngo that
will strike on Hint other shore and
m.
The Secret of the Success of the Commission Plan
N
Official Paper of Coos County
aiiliaxrlnlliin nrlrn nf thn Cons IlnV
Times is f Me per year or $2.C0 for t,ltlt nn nn8W0r mn' como back ovor
-i- ..,- itho soundless waste and bo recorded
six months.
In somo station hero?
It has n volco which tho roar of
ntiiMrml ftnniia nnntint aflll If linn n
OIWICTATj PAPKK OF Till CITY """"" "-" -" -
, substance which tho hurrlcnno ennnot
OP MAHSIIMELI). i 4 i i i. i i i i i , .
boat back It haH wings which defy
storm and cold nnd hent, nnd wlilcti
I brings messages tied to tlioso wings;
THE WOHK OP Till: WOULD.
Mnny tho drenmor, with viol
i WH" should It not conquer spneo nUo?
ir wo nut Know tlio cunrnctors or tno
into, ninny with dance nnd song; nIplnI)0t 1B0I, 01l tll0 othor 8ld0( who
Mnny tho builder, with brawn of ,noWB 1)Ut vvo Bi,0uld bo gottlng thoso
brute, helping tho world along, mossngos now? "A groat nnd strong
Mnny who wonrlly loaf and groan, wind rent tho mountains nnd broko
helpless as knlghtR,of rest, I" "loces tho rocks nnd nftor tho wind
Whllo ovor tho note of tho morning an onrthqunko and nftor tho enrtli-
horn Is echoing over tho crost: qunko n lire," but tho Lord was In
neither, but "nftor tho flro n still,
Mon must bo doing the work of tho small volco."
world, l our modern world tho wlroloss
Hnmmor nnd mnllot nnd steam; defies tho wind, tho onrthqunko and
Tolling nnd trouhlo till tlmo Is the lire, hut when shnll wo hoar Its
furled Htlll. small voice tolling us of whnt
In tho folds of n dreamless bus boon, nnd whnt Is to bo? Nothing
dream I olso Is bo wonderful ns what tho wire
less has nlrendy rovenled nnd It Is
"Why, I would wander In field nnd but ton yenrs slnco Its mnnlfostntlons
wood nnd hldo in tho dcop green bognn to bo rocordod. Whnt do tho
places, years hold In rcsorvo for men through
Whoro only tho thing thnt you soo la thnt Miurco, when human onra be
good, and nil Is n grnco of como ndjustcd to henr nnd liiimnn
graces. brnliiR to lutorprot its "still, smnll
Many hnvo wonrlod of smoko nnd volco?"
dust nnd longed for rost nnd tho
rlvor,
But ovor nnd out of tho chimneys
tnll Is tho roar of tho echo for-
ovor:
ui: ciip.p.upul.
Mon must bo doing
tho world,
0 laugh and bo Joyous! Don't fret
nnd annoy us by telling your troubles
wo'vo Homo of our own; wo don't
tho work of wnnt to nurse thoin or pet or rohoano
them nnd dronry old grouches should
And It must bo dono to tho end, lot us nlonol Wo try to keop smiling
With only tho Joy of Its doing tor ninnner beguiling, nnd Just when
I'" our facos are strotchod Into shnpo,
And only Its hardship for friend! Homo gloomy old duffer starts making j
us suffor by telling us stories of
Thus, whon tho spirit to loaf nnd to hoarsen and crapo. Wo try to bo
sing comes ovor mo heart and ,,. nnd cheery nnd funny, wo'd
B0U'i kick up our heels llko ns many bay
And I long for tho freodom to tnko stoors, but always somo hoary old
tlio rond ami go to tlio clovor Hkato with a story of trouhlo and
nnd roll, niigulsh Inys slogo to our oars. Our
I buckle my brnln to tho brawn and woos we'd forget 'om; no moro
blood or tho honrt thnt beata W(,uld wo wet 'em with streams of
with raro, tho briny from sorrowing eyes, If thoy
Aud I hear tho roar of tho whistle wore oxcluslvo; but people ohtruslvo
or work tliiiuilorlng over mo Bre loading us down with tholr own ( U n public servant, but there In noth
more; HtooK of sighs. Wo'd boar our own , mg (lemocrnue
burden and strlvo for tho guerdon of
Men must bo doing tho work of tho ,,0,,ee that should como when tho bat
tle Is o'or; but always somo dub'll
como up with his trouhlo and stand
and oxpotnid It until wo nro soro.
WALT MASON.
O mere form of government will
uutomntlcnlly produce oomt
government. Hut forms can
be devised thnt will automat
ically give popular government. The
pcoplo's will can be balllod or facili
tated by tho form of government. The
pcoplo's work nt tho pells can be made
obscure, complex mid dltllcult, or It
can bo made clear, simple nnd easy.
Under tho commission plan, with Its
short ballot, tho people's work la very
clear, very simple, very easy. And
that In nil tho secret there Is to the
success of tho plan.
In theory citizenship Is tho business
of every citizen. But In our old style
city governments cffectlvo citizenship
Is ono of the learned professions. To
vote intelligently n citizen must "go
Into politics." That tnonnrf work, nnd
tho average mnn can't afford to do
much unpaid work. So politics be
comes dominated by a few men, nnd
tho people nt largo helplessly leave
the bulk of the ticket to the party poli
ticians to do ns they plenso with.
In our old fashioned city govern
ments, wo hnvo committed two seri
ous errors.
First, we hnvo scnttcrcd the lowers
of government among so many petty
ofllclnls that It is quite Impossible fnr
the peoplo to watch aud control them
nil.
Second, wo havo subdivided tho
power In such small fragments that no
iilnglc part is really worth wntchlng.
A member of the city council, for In
stance, under tho old form of govern
ment, hns so Httlo power that it is
really not wort- while for the people
of tho town to become ngltnted over
the question of who shnll get the Job.
The typical old stylo city govern
ment of this country consists of a
mayor, with fairly largo power, n
string of minor udmlulstnttlvo ofll
clnls also chosen by popular vote, nnd
a council which sometimes consists of
two legislative bodies. The featuro of
this plan Is the distribution of power,
based on our nucleut fear of kings.
Wo hnvo nlwnys had n superstitious
dread of giving to any elected ofllclnl
power enough to do nnythlng for us
without getting tho consent of several
others. Wo have overlooked tho fact
that to mnkc the former otllclal obey
our wishes wo Imd also to exert simul
taneous compulsion over the latter,
whoso consent be needed, nnd that
pepulnr control beenmo thus nnythlng
but the simple matter it ought to bo.
Tho politicians can always get their
own wny if they make tho council
Inrgo enough. A council of tlfteen men
might occaslonnlly feel personally the
pressure of public opinion, but triple
the size of tho council, nnd the Individ
unl members become so Inslgnlllcnnt
and publicity so subdivided that each
member Is safely "lost In the shiillle."
Those who promoted the Idea of hav
ing n host of elective otllcials In the
government havo alwaya taken It for
granted thnt there was something
democratic nbout this procedure. De
mocracy, however, does not consist In
electing everybody, but In controlling
everybody. Tho mayor's olllce bov.
for Instance, mny be appointed by tho
mnvor. or elected by popular vote He
unique. It Is so short that every citi
zen known what he Is doing and Is not
relying on n party label or mi tho
guidance of n iwlltlclan. The "nvnrnBe
man," "the innn in the street." or tlio
"plain people," whatever you choose
to call them, nro In complete control
of tho government. Tho short ballet
has left no work for the politician to
do; the people arrange the whole mat
ter directly with the candidates with
out the politicians' help.
The politician Is a specialist In cit
izenship, and In the commission gov
erned cities citizenship Is so simple
that thcro is nothing to bo a specialist
In.
Tho mo3t marked phenomenon of
commission government hns been the
Increased interest of tho people In
their city government. All eyes have
been focused on the city hall mouth
after mouth without Interruption.
Tho nets of the commission nro tlio
topic of conversation for the street
car and the business men's luncheon.
CONCERT
CHAMINADE CLUB
.MUH. W.M. IIOUSFALL, .lit., DIUKCTOU,
PUKSKXTIXa
Mrs. Klfrida Heller Weinstein, Soprano
AXD
Mrs. Delphine Marx, Contralto
OP POIITLAXI) AT
Masoni
c
Opera House, May 17th
AT 8:30 P. M.
SKATS OX SALF. AT T1IK "UUSY COItXKU".
SKATS $1.00. OKXKUAL ADMISSION r.( OKXTS.
ksijuvi:i)
"I will not let my wife or
my mother risk their lives
cooking with a gasoline stove."
This was the declaration of
Criticism is plentiful, nnd-better yet II fillO appearing VOUllg 1I1IU1
a lew days ago.
knowledge or tno facta is wide-,!.. ..., QfYJm
uco tho government.
Tho forco of public opinion has been
rcpentcdly Illustrated In the commis
sion governed cities. Few men. good
or bad, would have the strength to re
sist popular demand when It Is so in
tensively concentrated upon tin in.
Knch commissioner knows ins respon
sibility for what Is done, and isuows
that everybody else In town Knows tt
too. Politicians of the average sort
have been elected to olllce mnny times
In commission governed cities, hut
their conspicuous responsibility lias
brought about a remarkable respon
siveness to the oplnlmi r the prop.e.
The Initiative, ivfeiendum anil re
call are considered Important leuiuivs
of the plan by many people, itut tint
veston and Houston made a hiI(t"s
of the commission plan netorc any ot
Humo features were tliouuln of eul
their charters to this day do not pro
vide for them. Furthermore, thece
cities do not feel the need ot Illume
devices ami there U no demand toi
their Introduction.
He had called to inquire
about our limit oil free gns
range offer, lie wanted to
see the stove.
ITc was amazed to learn that
we not only givo tlio range
away, but run all the pipes,
connections, etc., free.
Within 30 seconds his sig
nature went on an agreement
to lake and use the range.
Will you let the women
of your household run (he
danger of gasoline this
summer?
OREO OX POWER COMPANY
world,
And no one must stop to play,
For thero Isn't n inlnuto to loso in
II fo,
And tho sphcros woro not made
in a day!
A I'ltAVKU.
Mfi OA.MK PUF.SKUVi:.
Clear Lake Section
President
PORTLAND. Oro..
lly
Set Aside
Tft.
May lfi. Wild
y-lVK me, 0 Lord, thnt qulotnoss
- of henrt that makes tho most of birds of tho state may heroaftor tnko
- labor und rest. Save mo from rofugo In Clcnr Lnko and tho sur-
pnsslonnto oxcltoniont, potulnnt frot- rounding lands, for President Tnft
fulness and idlo fear, keeping mo over has doclarod this a government bird
lu tho restful prosenco of Thy lovo. prosorve. Clear Lnko lies near tho
Teach mo to bo nlert nnd wlso In California lino and tho rosorvo I
nil responsibilities without hurry nnd, eludes 25,000 acres. It was purcha!
without neglect. Tamo Thou nndjed by the government as a reservoir
rule my tongue, that I may not trans- nlto tlvo years ago.
Kress Thy law of lovo. When othora Clear Lake hna boon ono of tho
conBiiro may I sook Thine liungo In best known breeding spots for wild
onch follow man, Judging with elm-' birds for years and Is second only to
rlty na ono who shall be Judged. tlio Lower Klamath Lako regions.
Dnulsh onvy from my thought and Millions of ducks nest thero each
lintrod from my lips. .spring. The lake Is from 12 to 15
Holp mo to bo content, amid tho miles across at Its widest point,
strlfo of tonguos, with my unspokon j The action of Prosldont Tnft In sot
thought. "Whon anxious cares throat- ting aside tho Clear Lako rcsorvo Is
on my penco, help mo to run to Thso believed to bo tho first stop toward
that I may find my rest and be made establishing an Immenso gnino re
etrong for calm onduranco and vail- servo In Southern Orogon south of
nnt service.
Soloctod.
T1II1 WOXDKUFPL WIUP.LKSS.
A'
Klamath Falls nnd including tho lava
bed country along tho California lino.
For n yoar an offort has been mndo to
have the prosldont sot nsldo tho lava
beds as a rofugo for mule tall deor.
This has been fought by tho Btock
Intorests but Is still being considered
FTRU July no pnssenmev steanwr
tarrying fifty or moro pnsson
'crs to anil as far as two hun
dred mllep. will be p-rniltted to leave at Washington,
port unless oqulppod with wireless!
telegraph apparatus. This Is a law , Aftor tho uhovr try a Turkish bath
ft of congross, Most of tho largo steam- Phono 214- J.
In electing him win n
he can Just as well bo appointed. Tho
vital thing Is thnt ho shall be con
trolled by the peoplo, nnd If ho will
bo under better control through ap
pointment than through election, It Is
more democratic to appoint him.
Tho commission plan of government
Is based on no fnlso Idea that tho peo
plo want to elect everybody. It gives
I tlio iiower to nvo men, who inereuj-
becomo conspicuously responslblo be
fore all the people of the city. Knch
one of them Is Important enough to
mako It worth while for tho cltlzeus to
Inquire concerning bis record nnd
character. Kach candldnto for tho of
flee can attract n crowd t hear hi in
speak, whereas an old time councilman
would havo been utterly unablo to get
n hearing beforo tho people. There
are not ao mnny of theso ottlclnls but
what every citizen can And out about
all of them and vote Intelligently on
election day Thero are not so many
as to cause a citizen to depend upon
tickets put together for him by polit
ical specialists. Each citizen can nnd
does make up his own ticket, and tho
function of tho professional ticket
mnklug machines is thereby entirely
disposed of.
If tho commission wero composed of
ten men Instead of tlvo the list of
names would be louger than the arer
ago citizen would bo likely to remoiu
her for himself, and wo should seo a
natural grouping of candidates and
their election by groups Instead of
singly. Some "good government asso
ciation" or some party machine, even
on a nonpartisan ballot, would be sure
to advertise tickets for tho guidance of
tho voters, and In accepting these tick
ets tho peoplo would bo sharing their
power with tho ticket makers.
The Short Ballot.
Tho commlsslou plan succeeds there
, foro because It puts tho power where
wiu n-,,iiv iuu ecu ii, xiiu viini tea-
turo Is not the method of organization,
but tho method of popular control. It
Is tho b-.llot on election day which Is I somo changes!
A Chnnco Tor Mlaisikes.
A few suggestions for the Improve
ment of the plan have been made rath
er persistently, based not upon an. dis
aster that has happened In the pusi.
but rather on the fear that there might j
be trouble lu the future. It Ii.ih lifi'ii
noted, for example, that the city ik-ru !
lu Des Moines, who passes Uhhi the
correctness of petitions for the recall
of commissioners. Is himself a eieatuiv
of tho commission and that lu tuts
work he ought to be ludepeudfiil. It
Is also pointed out that there Is no In
dependent auditing of the city's ac
counts. The commission uiullts Its own
books. In both cases tt hns been Mig
gested that these otllces be tilled liy
popular vote. In the language of thoo
who propose theso changes, "hnvo tliciu
Independently elected by the people
and responsible to the peoplo." This
familiar argument Involves an error,
the avoidance of which constitutes the
(.rent value of the commlsslou plan.
It Is easy enough to create a now olllce
and mako It elect I vo by popular vote,
but It Is not so easy to "havo" such an
lullcer "responslblo to the peoplo." He
will not bo responslblo to tho peoplo If
he Is elected in obscurity with no lime-1
light directed on his olllce. To be sure,
he may be legally responsible and the
responsibility In law may bo very clear
ly established, but the people cannot
and will not hold htm to account uu
loss ho stands out conspicuously beforo
thorn. An officer whoso funetlous nro
purely executlvo and not of great Im
portnuco cannot possibly bo conspicu
ous. If tho city clerk or city nudltor
wero made eleetlvo In Des Moines it
would be n llttlo otllce, overshadowed
by the rest of tho ticket, down at the
bottom of tho ballot. There would be
very llttlo publicity regarding the can
dldates, very llttlo of the purifying
limelight which Is responslblo for the
present good pollticnl sanitation In tho
higher otllces, and any group of schem
ers might put through a successful con
spiracy to capturo tho Job,
Tho desirability of an Independent
audit and an Independent Judgment ou
recall potltlous Is nevertheless obvious.
It should, however, be secured In some
other wny than by attempting to mako
tho people) chooso tho otllcers. The
snmo effect can bo obtained by having
tho state nssnmo theso duties. Let an
appolnteo of tho governor bo charged
with tho duty of auditing tho books of
all tho cities In tho state, with tho
right to prescrlbo a uniform method of
keeping them. There Is no difficulty la
lotting some state officer, such as tho
secretary of state, pass upon the gen
uineness and validity of recall peti
tions. Tho remoteuess of such nn offi
cor from tho disputants makes It
reasonably certain that his position
will be fair.
If all false "Improvements" can bo
avoided tho future of tho commission
plan will continue to bo full of suc
cess, nnd Its fundamental prluelple,
when once understood, will be extend
ejl to stntes and counties. Already a
national association, called the Short
Uallot Organization, with Woodrow
Wilson at Its bead, Is In tho Held.
Wo are on the evo of vast and whole-
First National Bank
OF COOS BAY
Capital fully paid $100,000,00
Surplus. 5,000,00
OFFICERS:
W, S, Chandler,
M n ij..- n i-!,
i ivii u, nullum uuiaoy ruuiueii
President, Vice-President, Cashier,
DIRECTORS:
W, S, Chandler,
W, U, Douglas,
John F, Hall,
F, S, Dow,
John S, Coke,
Win, Grimes,
S, C, Rogers,
W, P, Murphy,
M, C, Norton.
Does a general banking business,
Interest paid on time and savings deposits,
Rent a safety deposit box for your valuable papers at
$3,00 and up per year,
Flanagan k Bennett Banl
i
Established 1889
Capital, Surplus and Undivided
Profits Over ....
Assets Over
. $100,000
.$500,000
Interest Paid on .Time Deposits
I '""--M--M
Beaver Hill Coal
MOUNT WAI1LO 1X1) JOSSOX CEMENT.
The best Domestic and Imported brands,
blaster, Lime, Brick and all kinds of builders material
HUGH McLAIN
. GENERAL CONTRACTOR
""-. BU-TH HHOADWAY. PHONE 201
A Want Ad will sell it for you
jUmlMJ
enRis
it
MM
J Jyfs ivv