HE proportion of the news in our daily papers which relates to city government is almost ridiculously small. As a whole, it is insufficient to give the public the information which it needs in order to pass intelligent judgments on municipal questions. The explanation given by newspaper men for the failure to give more attention to the ordinary working of city government is that it is not news. The truth of this statement must be admitted. If, however, a knowledge of the working of city government is essential to its genuine democratic control; if newspapers are what no one will deny that they are -practically the sole vehicle to the public of information on this as on other matters, the conclusion seems inevitable that it is the duty of the newspapers to make the essential facts relating to city government news. When a newspaper is interested in a particular propaganda it has no difficulty in making it news. It should have none in performance of necessary public duty. -Lida Rideout, B. ever there are sufficient problems of general interest to call together this unusual group. Village ordinances concerning motor vehicle laws, fire protection, police problems, impending legislation in the state which directly concerns them, are some of the general issues that come before this group of officials, who call the organization The Association of North Shore Municipalities. OFFICE OF THE City Commission of the City of Jacksonville JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA TO THE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYES OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE -RULES FOR CONSIDERATION— 1. All of us, officers and employes, are paid from the Public Treasury. The PUBLIC, therefore, deserves respectful attention. LET'S EARN OUR PAY. 2. No service is worth while that is not cheerfully and cour. teously rendered. LET'S BE PATIENT AND POLITE. 3. Efficient service requires constant harmony between departments, and among all employes. LET'S MAKE "HARMONY" OUR MOTTO. 4. No work is properly done that is not promptly done. Delays are costly, and prevent proper service. LET'S DO TO-DAY'S WORK TO-DAY 5. Orders of superior officers should be observed without grumbling. Responsibility will be placed where it belongs. LET'S MAINTAIN NECESSARY DISCIPLINE. 6. These rules apply to all of us, officers and employes, alike. LET'S BE A UNIT FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY THESE "RULES FOR CONSIDERATION'' HAVE A., in the Bulletin of the Bureau of Government, Cooperation of Near-hy For almost a dec- The Motor-Cycle OBBERS, R burglars, safe blowers, payroll bandits, bank robbers, murderers and other crooks have recognized the efficiency of motor vehicles, and in many instances they have been able to make their getaway while police have been lumbering along their beats in the old-fashioned slow-footed style, trying a few doors and peering into store-room windows. Certainly, so far as traffic violations are concerned, the most potent deterrent is the presence of the motor-cycle officer, just behind the reckless driver and speeder. I am convinced, so far as the city of Cleveland is concerned, if we had an adequate license law for drivers providing for a strict mental and physical examination, and with 75 or 100 motor-cycle officers on the street day and night and with the Wichita, Kans. 11 335 300 29 160 Gift and purchase Gift and purchase Gift and purchase Wilkes Barre, Pa.. 11 Yonkers, N. Y..... 8 Additional details from many cities as to the original cost of the parks, tax rate for maintenance, the present equipment of the parks, etc., are given in a mimeographed report, a copy of which will be sent to any reader of THE AMERICAN Crry by the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce while the supply lasts. Attention is directed to the fact that the questionnaire on which this report and the foregoing table are based was mailed out in June, 1922, and the replies are therefore more than a year cld. T HE management of a newly-opened North Carolina resort found that its sign, "Don't Pluck the Water-Lilies," might as well have read, "Please Pull!" but when the notice was changed to "Pond Lilies for Sale," the depredations ceased. This result was a reaction characteristic of the average American, who remains an individualist in spite of the theoretical bonds of innumerable laws. He resents the spirit of "Verboten." Say to him "Shan't!" and his answer is "Will!" Challenge him with "Don't," and he rushes to accept the issue. Ask him to aid in safeguarding life, liberty, or property, and he lends cheerful acquiescence. Assume the tone peremptory, and he is an equally cheerful rebel. The horde of rhetoricians preaching daily from the premise of "American lawlessness" could devise no better method than this of accusation to bring into contempt the very laws for which they plead. Every state highway should be lined with trees, ornamental and useful. There should be nut- and fruit-bearers; there should be flowers, wild and cultivated. Orthodox objection is that the user of the highway would soon put the veto of destruction on any such program. He would do so only if tempted with the formula of "Don't" and "Can't." He would lend himself to the creation of a helpful and dominant public opinion, were the emphasis placed on the property value of the things lying at his hand to take, but left to his honesty to preserve. Similar appeal to a sense of property rights, to generous impulse, to innate love of beauty, would do much toward preventing forest fires, protecting bird and animal life, conserving innumerable natural resources. ENDURANCE ENDURANCE is the ability to bear and continue in spite of destructive forces. In this respect Newport Culverts are preeminent in the culvert field. Made of GENUINE, OPEN-HEARTH IRON (99.875% pure copper alloy), these culverts are the most rust-resisting on the market. In strength, they have never been found wanting, for under the heaviest fills, with the greatest loads, they have carried the burden without deformation. They are guaranteed to last longer under identical conditions than any other corrugated metal culvert pipe. Newport Culverts are made in full-round and half-round types, as illustrated, so that city, county and state officials may have a culvert adaptable to every condition. Newport Culverts endure the rav ages of time and rough usage for decades. Let us explain further why we thoroughly believe there is no better culvert made. Send us your name and address. Newport Culvert Company, Inc. 542 West Tenth Street In the opinion of P. M. Burke, City Secretary of Akron, who discusses the matter in the September issue of the City Manager Magazine, the Akron vote cannot be considered a serious attack upon the principles of managerial government. Nor can it be considered as a reflection upon the present administration, and it is not taken as such. The fact that the charter amendments carried may be attributed to several reasons, including overconfidence upon the part of those supporting the government; the usual lack of interest upon the part of the people towards a primary electiononly about 30 per cent of the registered voters having cast their ballots; the organized effort of the two political organizations in favor of the amendments; and the confused manner in which the amendments were presented to the electorate for voting. On the Calendar of Conventions American Public Health Association. Annual meet ing. Secretary, Homer N. Calver, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y. OCTOBER 8-12.-SPRINGFIELD, ILL. Playground and Recreation Association of America. Recreational Congress. Secretary, II. S. Braucher, 315 Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y. OCTOBER 8-13.-NEW YORK, N. Y. National Fire Prevention Exposition. One of the features of Fire Prevention Week. Address: Temporary Executive Headquarters, 25 East 26th Street, Room 1014, New York. OCTOBER 10-12.-INDIANAPOLIS, IND. Indiana Municipal League. Annual meeting. President, Eli F. Seebirt, Mayor, South Bend, Ind. Annual Ohio State Conference on City Planning. conference. Secretary-Treasurer. Charlotte Rumbold, 201 Chamber of Commerce Building, Cleveland, Ohio. OCTOBER 23-26.-RICHMOND, VA. International Association of Fire Engineers. Annual convention. Secretary, James J. Mulcahey, City Hall, Yonkers, N. Y. OCTOBER 29-31.-CINCINNATI, OHIO. National Association of Commercial Organization Secretaries. Annual meeting. Secretary-Treasurer, Joseph F. Leopold, 301 Crocker Building, Des Moines, Iowa. NOVEMBER 8-11.-ST. LOUIS, MO. NOVEMBER 12-16.-ATLANTA, GA. American Society for Municipal Improvements. Annual convention. Secretary, Charles Carroll Brown, P. O. Box 234, St. Petersburg, Fla. NOVEMBER 13-15.--WASHINGTON, D. C. City Managers' Association. Annual convention. Secretary, John G. Stutz, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans. Annual con NOVEMBER 14-17.-WASHINGTON, D. C. NOVEMBER 15-16.-HAMILTON, ONT. Ontario Associated Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce. Secretary, T. Marshall, Toronto, Ont. NOVEMBER 15-17.--WASHINGTON, D. C. Association of Urban Universities. Annual meeting. Secretary, Dean Frederick B. Robinson, College of the City of New York, New York, N. Y. NOVEMBER 15-17.-WASHINGTON, D. C. National Association of Civic Secretaries. Annual convention. Sceretary, Robert E. Tracy, 313 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa. NOVEMBER 15-17---WASHINGTON, D. C. National Municipal League. Annual meeting. Secretary, H. W. Dodds, 261 Broadway, New York, N. Y. DECEMBER 1-3.-URBANA, ILL. Illinois Municipal League. Annual meeting. Secretary, A. D. McLarty, Urbana, Ill. DECEMBER 3-6.-NEW YORK, N. Y. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Annual meeting. Secretary, Calvin W. Rice, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y. DECEMBER 5-6.-WASHINGTON, D. C. National Civil Service Reform League. Annual meeting. Secretary, H. W. Marsh, 8 West 40th Street, New York, N. Y. DECEMBER 5-6.-WASHINGTON, D. C. National Rivers and Harbors Congress. Annual meeting. Secretary, S. A. Thompson, 824 Colorado Building, Washington, D. C. DECEMBER 7-8.-LAKEWOOD, N. J. New Jersey Sanitary Association. Annual meeting. Secretary, Edward Guion. M. D., Bureau of Health, City Hall, Atlantic City, N. J. DECEMBER 10-12.-NEW ORLEANS, LA. American Association of Port Authorities. Annual meeting. Secretary, Tiley S. McChesney, Room 200, Court Building, New Orleans, La. JANUARY 13-19.--CHICAGO, ILL. Annual con American Road Builders' Association. vention. Secretary, Ethel A. Birchland, 37 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y. |