THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



173 



.sioiicr \vh(i i^ siil)jected tu such jircssurc to riiuj the leisiux- 

 and the detaclinient which is necessary for reaching wise 

 cunclusions upun the larger questions of park pohc\ , 

 and upon the general trend of results nf the various 

 operations of the department. 



The peculiar difificulty in defining and keeping clearly 

 in \ie\\ the controlling piu-poses to he served hy the 

 various jiark areas, and the enormously large percentage 

 of waste which is apt to occur in park work (without 

 arousing general notice) through vacillation of purjiose 

 and through failure to keep any one consistent aim 

 clearly in view froiu year to year in expending mone\s 

 for the maintenance and improvement of each piece nf 

 park land, make tlie ah(.)ve considerations more >trongl\ 

 a]!i)lical)le in park work than in most other departments 

 of city government. In no other class of nnmicipal work. 

 I helieve, is it so important that the commissioners in 

 charge should free themselves to the utmost possible de- 

 ijree from the worry and tedium of executive detail, 

 should place upon their suliordinates the burden of settling 

 the innumerable petty questions that arise from week to 

 Aveek, so as to be able to concentrate their own attention 

 upon the larger aspects and tendencies of the wurk. In 

 no other class nf work is it so important that the lioard 

 should act as a really unitied (Ielil)erati\-e body, and not 

 as so many separate individual executives. 



If this is not done attractive ideas for im])rovements 

 and for changes in maintenance methods, whether 

 originating with individual connnissioners, or with em- 

 ployees, or whether lu-ged upon the commission by out- 

 siders, will be too easily adopted on their face value 

 without sufficiently deliberate consideration of their re- 

 lation to other ideas, and to the probable net results 

 during the next twenty or thirty years or more. Impor- 

 tant questions will be too frequently settled at the eleventh 

 liour, under duress as it were, instead of being anticipated 

 and settled right, because settled after mature delibera- 

 tion. 



In other words, proposals which in essence in\-nlvc 

 changes of policv. changes in the plan of given park areas, 

 changes in the kind of use to which given areas are de- 

 voted, and for which they may have been gradually ]ier- 

 fected by laborious and costly maintenance work extend- 

 ing over many years, changes in tlie cliariuicr of |iark 

 areas which may involve greatly increased burdens of 

 future maintenance cost — such proposals are too often 

 autiiorized and i)Ut into effect at the instance of in- 

 <lividuals without deliberate study of the probable con- 

 sequences by the members of the board as a whole : 

 while, on the other hand, the time and energies of the 

 commissioners are too often occupied in settling details 

 of method, for which the board's employees ought to be 

 beld responsible. 



( )f course, the connnissioners must keep themselves 

 informed as to the methods used by their employees, both 

 for the purpose of judging whether the employees are 

 really directing their energies toward the ends ajiproved 

 by the board and for the pin-pose of judging their 

 efficiency. But keeping in close touch with the methods 

 of an employee is one thing, and doing his work for 

 him, or tying his hands liy detailed orders, is another. 



It is an excellent general rule that a conmiissioner is 

 not to give orders to foremen and other subordinates 

 except through the superintendent. To do otherwise is 

 obviously subversive to (liscii)line. But this rule ought 

 to be carried a step further, anrl no member of the board 

 should, as an individual, give orders even to the superin- 

 tendent. Every member should be at liberty — indeed it 

 should be his duty, especially in regard to the subject mat- 

 ter of his .standing committee — to put to any employee 

 suggestive questions calculated to bring out the reason or 



the lack of reas(jn for any course of action about the ex- 

 pediency of which there is any doubt ; but it should always 

 be made clear that the responsibility for accepting or re- 

 jecting any such suggestion rests cntir(.-l\ u])on tlie jier- 

 sonal judgment of the executive employee, within tiie 

 limits of discretion allowed to him hy his immediate 

 superior; and it should be made clear also that the im- 

 mediate superior of the general superintendent is not 

 any one of the member> who may choose to give him 

 orders, but the l;oard as a whole. Thus no one could 

 weaken the ab.solute resiionsibility of the superintendent 

 for getting the best jiossilile results within the limitations 

 fixed upon him by the voles of the boar<l. He would have 

 every benefit of the best coimsel and a(l\ice which each 

 member of the Ixjard could give him: but in taking such 

 adxice he would do >o on his own resi)oiisil)ility. unless 

 sijecitically directed by a vote of the board, and he could 

 hide behind no one else's skirts if the entire results were 

 not just what lie lh(]ught they ought to be. 



Theoreticall} at least, the entire executi\e business 

 should be carried on uiuler a single responsible 

 liead, tlin ugh whom all employees wtnild be responsible 

 to the board, and ihrougb whom the\^ would receive their 

 orders. It is oi secondary consequence whether this 

 a<lministrati\ e head bears the name and has llie special 

 technical equiimient of a park sui;erintendeiit, tir a secre- 

 tary, or otherwise. In particular cases, there may be per- 

 sonal reason.^ which make it inexpedient to place all the 

 executive emjiloyees under any one of their number as 

 chief; but 1 hardly think an organization can be said to 

 be in the best of shape without any recognized chief 

 executive at all. In some cities it is necessar)- for the 

 chairman of the board to act in this capacity. Sometimes 

 the office of chief executive is made a nearly colorless 

 means of transmitting instruction.^ and reports between 

 the board and its various executive employees, in which 

 case there are obvious advantages in assigning the duty, 

 along with other central clerical work, to the secretary. 

 r.ut commonly the superintendent is the most effective 

 general executive. .As such, it would be his duty to throw 

 upon the head of each division under him as much of the 

 entire discretion and responsibility and labor connected 

 with the duties of that division as each could be made to 

 carry with reasonable success. In his dealings with each 

 of these divisions, he would constantly have the s])ecial 

 counsel and supervision of a standing committee of the 

 board. As previousl)' stated, such a committee should 

 not be empowered to issue orders, because to do so would 

 weaken the responsiljilitv of the general executive for the 

 harmonious working of .ill the divisions, and also the re- 

 s])Oiisibilitv delegateil to each of the heads of divisions 

 and through him to bis subordinates; but whenever any 

 committee felt it to l)e important that certain orders be 

 issued and its suggestions to that effect were nut accepted 

 by the responsible executive officer, the committee would 

 take the matter before the board, which would as a whole 

 consider the wisdom of overruling the executive officer, 

 and in so far curtailing his discretion and his res])onsil)ility 

 for the results of the work. 



Taking up now the question of fixing the limits of re- 

 si)onsibiiitv and of authority for the various parts of the 

 executive force, I suppose the only lines of division which 

 can be defined in such a manner as to preclude conflict 

 through overlapping jurisdiction, and at the same time 

 ensure that nothing shall fall between two divisions and 

 thus escape from the responsibility of everyone, are terri- 

 torial lines. 



The lines separating one district from another can lie 

 defined beyond the possibility of doubt, and if the per.son 

 in charge of each district is made responsible for every- 

 thing and am UiiufT affecting the successful and economical 

 (Continued on pa(;e 186.') 



