Carter Harrison On Municipal Government

CARTER HARRISON ON MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Carter H. Harrison, in his talk last night before the Good Government club, came out strongly for the so-called federal system in municipal government and for public ownership. He said that his six years of experience as Chicago's chief executive had brought him to these views. He strongly condemned the contract system of doing public work also, and declared that with a city having the federal idea in force and a civil service of merit, much revenue can be saved by the city doing its own work. Chicago has the federal idea in its municipal government and the fitness of employees is determined through civil service examinations. The greatest trouble experienced in Chicago has been due to the fact that the constitution of the city was made for a city of 300,000 instead of 2,000,000. In the effort to stretch this charter to cover the needs of a great city various independent taxing authorities, such as park boards, have grown up which are not controlled by the city government and in this way great abuses have flourished. He strongly condemned the board method of dividing responsibility and considers board of control of city departments a source of weakness and corruption. Public utility franchises in the hands of private corporations he looks upon as among the greatest evils with which municipal governments have to contend.

In closing he emphasized the idea that neither professional reward nor financial gain constitutes the highest good of life, that American citizenship is not a mere perquisite, not all pure gain and profit. The advantages the republic confers demand return, the opportunities it offers carry their obligations. It says to the young men just going out into the affairs of life that what the fathers have done for you you must also do for posterity.