THE BONDAGE OF CITIES - The Community Environmental Legal ...

su(;(M:.STioxs FOII A MODEL CHARTER. Xiilup general standards in respect to state interests below which no municipalitymust fall in dealing with such interests, but beyond which anycity or town may go as far as it chooses. As a matter of fact citiesfrequently do exceed state requirements in provision for education, fireprotection, etc.The charter of a city bears the same relation to the city and itsgovernment that the constitution of a state bears to the state and itsgovernment, and ordinances are to the city what statutes are to the_state. The municipal constitution like the state constitution should r>esimple, brief, comprehensive a statement of elementaryfacts andprinciples, an outline of municipal policy, the framework of localgovernment. The details should be left for the ordinances. This willmake the government clear, strong and flexible easily understoodand easily molded as occasion may require.With this thought in mind in addition to those expressed in precedingpages respecting municipal sovereignty in local affairs, andfree initiative in all affairs subject only to the constitution and generallaws relating to state and national interests, we present the followingoutline as a suggestion of what may be done in the way of reducinga charter to its lowest terms, and making it the simple, concise andvigorous instrument it ought to be. Criticisms and suggestions fromour readers in regard to this outline are specially requested in orderthat we may render it more perfect in future publications.2our legislatures and the lack of municipal patriotism among our people. Itwould be manifestly absurd for the National Government at Washington tocontrol the internal affairs of New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, decidingthat oue street shall be paved with asphalt, another with stone; thatone company should have a telephone franchise, another a gas privilege anda third enjoy the street railway monopoly; that one city officer should beelected and another appointed; that the salary of one city official should be$5,000, another $10,000, and the terms 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. Ourpeople would regard such control as despotic interference of outsiders inaffairs of local concern. Yet it is only a little less absurd to allow a Legislaturein Albany, Harrisburg or Springfield to determine such matters forNew York, Philadelphia or Chicago. The legislature determines whether orno a city may own and operate its street railways, telephones and waterservice, how wide its streets shall be, what officers it shall have. Down tothe minutest detail our Legislatures may and do regulate the organization,methods, powers and activities of our cities. If it were not for the blindingpower of usage we should regard this also as despotic control of outsiders inlocal and would start a crusade to free our cities from their "abjectconcerns,slavery to legislative despotism."2Dr. Taylor desired an outline or skeleton of a city., charter to sendto legislators and other progressive men along with the reasons for municipalliberty and the proposed forms of constitutional amendment andstatutory enactment intended to secure such liberty, so that if the readerwere disposed to take a part in this great movement for truer self-government,he might have before him the model of a liberty charter wherebyhe might attain a clearer idea of the work to be done in this field fromstart to finish. The intricacy and difficulty of the task and the lack of anysatisfactory precedents made me very reluctant about attempting to drawa model charter. But the Doctor mildly persisted as he always does when heknows he has a good idea, and finally I said I would make the effort providedthe thing should not be called "a model charter/' but only "suggestions fora model charter" to which the Doctor readily assented, that being in factexactly what he wanted.So I gathered a pile of freehold charters adopted in western citiesunder the homo-rule amendments, got out my notes of the various municipalacts or statutory charters in our States, analyzed the "Municipal Program"put forth by Dr. Albert Shaw. Hon. Clinton Rogers Woodruff, Prof.Rowe of Pa. University, Prof. Goodnow of Columbia, and other eminentauthorities, made a list of the principles and methods successfully appliedin public affairs in England, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand, and