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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: DECEMBER 12. 1920.
City Manager Plan F!oundv
Most Efficient in Michigan
Municipal Head of Grand Rapids Declares System Is
Also Most Democratic-TManager Is Selected
. On Basis of Merit May Be Removed at
: v Any Time If Incompetent- 1
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(Editor's Note The Bee believes the city manager form of municipal
administration should be given careful consideration by the people of
Omaha. With this idea in view it is -presenting a series of articles by
city managers in various sections of the country, explaining the operation
of the system. Each of these articles has been prepared expressly for
The Omaha Bee and one of them will apear each Sunday.)
His Favorite Topic
By Charles Dana Gibson
Copyright, Mf Tub. t. t-
N Published by Arrangement With Life
BY FRED H. LOCKE. .
City Manager, Grand Rapids, Mich.
. I note with interest the movement
in Omaha-tov amend the city charter
to give the city a commisskm-man-
agcr form of municipal administra
tion. It is evident Omaha is hav
ing about the same experience with
the commission form, of government
as a great many of the other mu
nicipalities that have tried ittout,.
While 1 the commission form of
government is a great advance over
the old i aldermanic, cr council
mayor form, it is, I believe, to be
superseded by the commission-manager
form. This latter form pre
sumes a single elective representa
. tive government hoard, called the
council or commission, which cm
ploys the chief administrative offi
cer, or city manager, and holds him
responsible for enforcing the law
and conducting the cUy's business
affairs ; in accordance with ' the
board's policies. '
Centralized Responsibility. ,
' The city manager pianinay:be
likened to the usual organized plan
of a business corporation; the ,city
manager acting in" approximately
the same relative .capacity1 as the
president or general -manager of a
private corporation. ' Under this
plan authority is concentrated in the
executive head and he is held ; re
sponsible for enforcing the' law' and
conducting the city's business.,' He
appoints and directs his Subordi
nates and is responsible for results.
He also acts as an adviser 16. the
commission, with the privilege .of
proposing measures but yith no
vote. .
Contrast between the commisslon
mauager form differs fronf the usual
mayor and council type Jir vesting
authority and responsibility in a
single body. It provides a trained,
professional, controlled executive,
instead of a'n untrained, amateur,
independent executive.. It differs
from the commission form by con
centrating administrative duties in a
single appointive officer, instead of
distributing them among the mem
bers of the commission.
Most - Democratic Plan,
The commission-manager form
becomes our most democratic form1
of city government by creating a
governing board on which any rep
resentative citizen- may serve with
credit and without technical quali
fications or personal sacrifice; a
board sensitive f.o the will of the
people since they invest it with sole
power and hold it responsible ; for
results. The manager is appointed
by this body on the basis of merit,
for an indefinite term, and may be
removed at any time. Under , the
commission-manager form citizens
appreciate the privilege of having
one definite place to go with com
plaints or for information, namely,
the manager's office. If service is
not rendered through this departs
ment thc-matter can be brought be
fore the city commission and if the
manager is found to be unfit for the
position he occupies he may be re
moved. - '
'. In conclusion,' I believe it is fair
to State there are instances .where
any, form of government can be ef-v
ficient. I believe, however, that the
possibility of efficiency is greater in
the commission form than under the
old aldermanic or council forrrf, and
that the - commission-manager is a
decided advantage over the commis
sion fjorm. This latter form removes
the executive from the .legislative
,body and gives the opportunity of
conducting municipal affairs on a
strictly business basis.
Two Score Indians Now
Working in'Colorado Mines
' Telluide, Colo., Dec. 1.1 Lo. the
Redman has joined the group of for
eign miners her!; that inchides rep-lcsentatives-
front practically every
natidli on earth. i
Forty ' full-blood Navajo Indians
from New Mexico are now employed
in a tunnel working here. It is be
lieved to be tha first experiment in
the use of American Indians - as
underground workers.. )'
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Letters From Home-Made Father to His Son
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By ED STREETER
Too Much Insurance Makes a Man
Feel Guilty to Live.
Dear Son:
- The man who said life was cheap
never talked to a life insurance
agent. I just had mine insured for
so much I feel selfish everytime f
live through the day. '1 he first
week it was a jgbrious .sensation.
I had the feclin' that if I got killed
somebody hal to pay dear fer it -so
I tested out the old car fer speed,
painted the roof of the barn, ate
three helpiiis' of pie, told Henry
Peters he was a durned old fool, an
cleaned tip a lot of other odds an
ends that s ben on my mind, fer
some time. -
The' troubel is, though, that afte
a, while life insurance makes you
suspicious. It seems to .. me that
when I come-- downstairs in the
mornins nowdays everybody asks
me how, I feci with kind of a hope
ful expression. An if I say "Fine,"'
they say "Good," an look depressed.
insult with anything short of a pair
of brass knuckles. He just walked
in my office, put his hat in the scrap
basket and asks havc I had my -life
insured. I says no, tliaT" I had
enough expenses now what with
educatin a sqn in other local chari
ties. . -
A Doleful Ticture. '
Well, sir,. Sam just collapsed into
a chair and started , drawhi a plan
of my home life When my funeral
expenses was paid, providiu there
was enough left fer that. That man
could . have made the 1 millenyum
sound like a calamity. Before he
got really warmed up he had you a
cripple, your ma paralyzed, your lit
tle brother starving the cows all
down the well, an the house mor
gaged. , , "
As I told Sam I seemed to come
out the smalL end of the shoot no
matter what I'djd. If 1, didn't take
out no insurance they all cussed me.
an if I did they ajl fergot i ever
lived.
But when Sam told me how Pooch
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When I Come Downstairs in the M
! Me How I Feel With Ki
An if I say, "Not so well." they
say. "Too bad," an crack jokes all
durin breakfast. Or visa versa.
I spose taint notliin but magina
fion but after all that's what most
of life is. Up til about three weeks
ago I looked at death in about the
Vame way I looked at the income
tax an Bullshevikkyism an the high
price of jewlery. 'They was all ter
libel things that happened to other
people vbut not to me. But since
Ulkin to Sam Adams, that insurance
fello from Milford, I can't pass Jim
Bartlett's funeral parlers without
peekin in he window, an to s(ee a
fello shovclin makes me low spirited
icr the rest of the day.
. Sam's friends all say ties a "live
wire"." As near as I can figfier a
"live wire" is a fello that S6u can't
ornings Nowadays Everybody Asks '
nd of a Hopeful Expression. -
Frisbee an the Squire had taken
out some I allowed Fdjhave to get
in it just to keep them quiet. ....
"Do you want a straight life?"
says he.
I told him how I'd always lived
one but I was open to argyment. '
s Then Sam started to explain. lu
sted of dividin folks up into Bap
tists, Unitarians an Congregashun
alists like ordinary folks would, he
had em arranged into straight life,
20-year endowments, and 40 pay
ment plan. All what didn't fall
under one of these heads -was a
prospeck. guess that's about the
same thing as an unbeliever.
"Straight life is the simplest," says
he. "You pay so much a year every
year accordin to how old you are
an every year you get soincthiii back
accordin to theNiumber' of people
what die an that minus thetaniount
paid divided by 3.1416 is the cash
surrender value. Now the 20-yeat
endowment is more complicated "
"Dont go into it," says I. "I
can see by your explanation of a
straight life its the one fer me. I
wouldn't be happy with no other."
"Good," ays he. ''An now fer
the doctor." . . .
"What's he got to do with it?"
says' I.. "Now my life's insured I
should think you'd want to keep mc
alive as long's you could," . . ,
Companies Are Cautious.
"You ain't insured vet,!' says "he.
'Unless the docter garanfees you're
good fer 50 annual instalments we
can't take you ou., There's many
a man doin the outer edge round the
grave an don't know it." ' .
On the way; over to Milford he
told me a number of amusin aneck
dotcs about cancers an toomers, so
that when we got to Doct.1 Brady's
I was glad to find him in.
The Doct. put a little tclelone off
my chest an listened, kiokin more
glum every . uiiiiit. Then he called
Sam over iirthe corner an whispered
to him til I like to have died.
-"What's the matter?" I asks. '
The Doct. shook his head. "You
got, valves in your heart," says he,
"An I can hear distinck simtems of
aii aorta. Maybe you have a trochea
fer all I can tell. Do you fgel sleepy
when you wake up in the mornins?"
I had to admit I did.
"An sometimes aftp two or three
cigars do you feel a little heady?"
Once more he'd hit it right. 4
"''Well," says he, "don't worry. You
may live ,for months art months.
P'raps years.".
"But how about the insurance?"
I ast 'him. "Does that mean they
won't giv it to me?" "
"Like as not." says the Doct. "But
don't worry. The end may be a long
ways yet." ;
Well, sir, I took Sam over in the
corner and reminded him how we'd
always Jjeen jriends an hbw I'd lent
him five : dollars once wliicjr he'd
i
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The Doctor Put a Little Telephone
on My Chest and Listened.
never paid an which was all right. 1
told Wm instead of four thousand I
wanted to take out ten an if he- could
fix it up with the Doct. to go the
limit up to. two dollars. . .... "
.. Sam looked kind of doubtful. He
said the Dort, ,was a great friend oi
hisrthough, an he'd see what he
could do. The ncxt'day'he came
over with a twenty thousand dollar
policy fer me to sign. 'I told ; him
I "Where There's a Will
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there's a way!' for " the .
widow and children. It! is
the easiest and best 'the
husband and" father - can
provide.
It is proof of his thoughtful -concern
for tiis"family. The
no-will way suggests careless--ness
or indifference Yet the
state distributes countless es
tates every year for people
who "never got around" to
i make a will.
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Read our valuable booklet, -"Some
Vital Questions." i
Call, write or telephone for
"a copy.' . ' ' '
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llttttelt BlnU& ruat (Enmpng
' Affiliated Wth y
Httttcli Bitits Natianal 3attk
1512 Farnam Street Omaha, Nebraska
I'd never fergct a' kind geiiru thing
he was doin. ' ' - -:
But that was three weeks ago an
I feel hetjer'n I ever did. , I sort
of' wish that I'd never got into this
thing cause its got on my mind so
that the slammin of a door sounds
like a coffin lid. This bisnis, of
sittin around waitin til iafter your
funeral before you can afford to
spend any ' money aint ; what its
cracked up to be.
' insuredly vours. ,
AMOS R. AMESBY.
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(Copyright, ISSO, by Boll Syndicate, Inc.)
' The women of Borneo Spend their
time weaving, dyeing, cooking, plant
ing sfeds and takfng care of their
children. . '- " i - ,
Don't Poke Fun at Poor'Boarding House Prune,
Science Shows That It Is Clfock Full of Glories
Berkeley, Dec. 11, Poor old
pruncr cursed by the regular board
er, long held out as the toothsome
dessert by the boarding house keep
er, punned about by the writers and
made a joke of wherever its name is
heard, it is still some fruit, according
to Mrs. Agnes Fay Morgan, associ
ate processor of household science
at the University of California. -4 In
a letter to Mrs. Robert' J. Graham,
market chairman of the Berkeley
State Housewives' league, Mrs. Mor
gan puts the prune in a dress suit
and he looks like a different fellow.
She says: ' ' ' , , , 1
. "Prunes are a valuable addition to
the diet for a number of reasons. ' In
the dried state they furnish an eco
nomical source of energy, since they
may contain as much as 60 to 65 per
cent of sugar. (They compare favor
ably' with other carbohydrates-rich
foods, as may be seen from the fol
lowing brief statement of the costs
and amounts of various foods re
quired to provide', tbt same quantity
of energy, 1,160 calories, as is fur
nished by one pound of dried prunes:
: "Prunes at 14 cents'a "pound, one
pound is equal to: "
"Fresh peaches at 10 cents a pound,
seven pounds, costing 70 cents. .
"Canned peaches at (20 cents a
pound, five pounds, costing $1.
"Oranges at 70 cents a dozen, one
doxen, costing 70 cents.
"Cranberries at IS cents a pound,
five pounds, testing 75 cents.
"Apples at S. cents a pound, four
pounds, costing 20 cents. t
"The use of a reasonable amount
in the dietary can be recommended
for . hygienic as well, as economic
reasons." "
s ; a Real Men's Store
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Something Useful That
HE'LL flPPRECIflTE
A gift that will mate him feel good for
days, afterward. A wonderful assortment
to select from. . Come down and look 'em
over.-': X ' ' ' '. '
J Shirts
'
Hosiery
Handkerchiefs
. Jewelry
Collars Silk Hats
Scarfs Mufflers
Belts Suspenders
Gloves Hose Supporters
1 ,
Waistcoats Walking Sticks
Hats
CHARLES E. BtfiGEl
(SUCCESSOR TO PEASE-BLACK CO.)
1417 FARNAM ST. OPP. SUN THEATER
f.