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

HOME RULE FOR OUR CITIES. 405bill was brought before the New York legislature to authorizea municipal subway in Syracuse, a prominent lobbyist told themayor of Syracuse that he was wasting his time working forthe bill; itmight pass the legislature but it would not becomelaw; it would be killed either in the legislature or afterward,for all the electric companies in the state had put funds inpool in the hands of a lobbyist he knew (and named) to beused against any bill tending toward public ownership. Inthis case,the bill passed the legislature,but died in the Governor'shands.The lack of home rule hinders development in other waysthan those already mentioned. For example, Governor Pin-home rule a fewgree tells me that if Detroit had possessedyears ago, it would have been possible to accept the offer madeby a responsible syndicate to run all the street railways of thecity as one system on a uniform 2-J cent fare with free transfers,and pay the interest on the sum expended by the city inobtaining possession of the roads under the right of eminentdomain. It was a splendid offer, but Detroit was still in herand the legislature wasnonage, she could not act for herself,not in session, and, if it had been, a long and costly fight withthe companies would have been necessary, with defeat for thecity perhaps at the end. The Governor knows whereof hespeaks, for he spent $75,000 of his own money fighting corporationswhile he was Mayor of Detroit.THE REMEDY.The cure for the evils of municipal dependenceis municipalindependence. A certain amount of dependence is goodessential to state and national organization, and the coordinationof effort for wide purposes; but over-dependenceis an evil, and the excess should give place to independence.Instead of having to get permission for every move in localconcerns, municipalities should be free under general regulations,to act in any way they please so long as they do notcall Lie Manhoodconflict with superior law. This we mayPrinciple, as distinguished from the Infancy Principle,whereby the child, or municipality, acts by permission.This