276 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



under this system, which is in a fair way to becoming the prevailing 

 form of municipal government in the United States. 



The story of the commission government was recently made the sub- 

 ject of an address in the senate of the United States by a member who 

 was convinced that the new system was such an important discovery in 

 popular government as to warrant calling the attention of the whole 

 nation to it. Well may it be said of this, as of the other new municipal 

 systems, that its early story has been "full of sound and fury." Is it 

 also to be a tale " signifying nothing " ? Is the dream of a new munici- 

 pal era which has been aroused by the wonderful success of this new 

 instrument of democracy destined to vanish as the former dreams have 

 vanished ? 



Any significant answer must come from an inquiry into the effi- 

 ciency of the new system — an effort to find out whether the principles 

 underlying the new government are sound in the light of our municipal 

 experience. Of course, many people believe that municipal efficiency 

 is not to be found in any form of government, that it is the type of men 

 in charge of the government and not the form of government that de- 

 termines the character of the administration. Excellent administra- 

 tion, these people say, has been obtained under a poor system, and poor 

 administration under an excellent system; therefore 



fg For forms of government let fools contest 



,' What's best administered is best. 



The protest is itself an admission. If the form is unimportant, why 

 such violent opposition to a change in the form ? As a matter of fact, 

 although the character of the public officials is an essential factor in 

 the success or failure of a municipal administration, the type of po- 

 litical organization under which the officials work is also important. 

 That inefficient officials will fail to give good government, no matter 

 how excellent the system under which they work, is plainly borne out 

 by American experience ; and it is equally apparent that efficient public 

 servants will not be able to secure the maximum of efficiency, and, in- 

 deed, will be very apt to obtain a minimum of efficiency, if handicapped 

 by a system of government which is ill-adapted to the work to be per- 

 formed. Moreover, the system exerts an important influence in de- 

 termining the character of the men who are attracted to the public 

 service. If it is so organized as to discourage the candidature of able 

 men, an inferior type of elective official will result, and the subordi- 

 nate administrative service will suffer accordingly. The inquiry into 

 the efficiency of the commission plan, then, may be resolved into two 

 questions: (1) Will the new system serve to attract efficient men into 

 the elective offices? (2) Is the new system conducive to the applica- 

 tion of approved methods to the public administration ? In other words, 



