Socialist Demands for, the New City Charter for New York
Laidler, Harry W.
Socialist Demands for, the New City Charter for New York By Harry W. Laidler JN the new City Charter, now in process of preparation hy the Charter Revision Coniniissifin, iiotliing is niwe...
...There would at least be no guarantee that a city manager appointed by a council and subject to it.s will wouhi .serve the people of the city better than a mayor elected by general suffrage...
...The Insurance Commission delved into this subject very thoroughly and decided to discontinue tho boiler insurance entirely, and instead of paying thousands to insurance companies to inspect boilers it will engage a competent engineer to do this work...
...For purposes of economy the entire list of city property was submitted fori bid \ipon a one-year or a thrc*'^ year basis...
...It is somewhat easier for an aroused public opinion to oust an inellicient mayor than an in-eflicient council...
...j Vets Denounce War and the War Makers iy A V«t«ran ' lUOVV that the eminent Barney * Haruch, perhaps sa.tisfie(l with liis accumulations tiiroufjh Wall Street and ether methods not involving any material .service to the nation, has come out with a qualified approval of the slogan, •Take the Profits Out of War" (his little joker consists in limiting the niuiiiti(«nuakers and business interests in general to "reasonable" profits after war lia> Ihcii declared), it might be well to draw .the attention of .SiKJalists to a statement on this sulijeit recently adopted hy the National Kxecutive Committee of the American Legion dn tlie recimimendation of the Legion's national chaplain, the Rev...
...I It shoiild be given aflfirmativc authority to take over and operate public utilities and to administer municipal banks...
...In striving for such changes, however, every one should realize that a well oiled machine is not enough...
...While the chaos of municipal accounting and Incompleteness of records makes .impossible a minute appraisal of the economies which have already been effected in the matter of the city's Insurance account as it is now being adminii-tercd under a Socialist regime as compared with the olrf order, with ita accompanying wast© and corruption, it is gratifying to not* that even the bitterest of oppo* nents have taken favorable cognizance of (she accomplishments of the Socialists...
...1t.0M for iMDoetleii A careful investigation failed to reveal when Bridgeport ever ra-covered a penny for dAmagaa arising out of steam boiler explosion...
...In the city of New York experience has shown that it is even ea.sier for a corrupt Tammany machine to control a council than it is to control a mayor...
...School houses and libraries which were built in recent years with esiK>cial care that they were in all respects fire-proof became the juciest of plums which the insurance boys received...
...be run badly from the standpoint...
...The election of a .Socialist administration in that city has put an end to the racket...
...It waa also revealed that by placing the insurance in mutual companies another 20 per cent of the total could be saved: altkM^ the total premium could )m paid annually over the three-yflar pa-riod...
...It is high time that Socialists realize that there are millions of ex-service men, disillusioned by the depression and embittered by the success of the National Economy i*a<rue of big income tax-payers (or dodgers) in depriving a host of poverty-stricken and disabled veterans of their relatively small pensions, who nre nuite willinfr to listen to our advocacy of industrial democracy, provided it is put forward in the proper way...
...In view of this, the Insurance Commission discontinued this insurance with a saving of another 17,000...
...The Legion pledges its utmost support to combat this growing belief that war is inevitable...
...In the course of the study on this subject, City Attorney Harry Schwartz revealed court decisions establishing the precedent that a municipal government is not liable fur damage arising in a collision with city-owned cars when engaged in performing a ifovernmenlal function...
...This is the one way to safeguard the interest of the ^reat mass of people...
...This statement, which has received hardly any publicity in the '*great" metropolitan newspapers that are so quick to publish any foolish resolutions passed by the Legion or any of its sub-divisions, runs as follows: "The American Legion views with deep concern the growth of opinion as voiced in the press, current magazines and interviews of the likelihood of an impending war...
...According to a city ordinance, all municipally-owned vehicles must be marked on the side of the car as to the department in which they belong, which, it would seem, would minimize the possibility of these cars being stolen...
...Jasper McLevy and (^ity Clerk Fred Schwarzkopf, both Socialists.' After several months of careful study of the problem, a new appraisal of the city's property was j made...
...It .should be able to '-ot up its own asrency alone or in combination with the state r cooperatives for the di.stribution of milk...
...Where tbe Uv^f«t% ci Bridgeport under ]^p|ibU«an or' Democratic administrations formerly had to dig into their pocl(«tS for $22,000 annually for fire insurance on part of the city iM"op-erty, it now costs them, under a Socialist regime, $27,000 to cover all of the |)rop«rty for three years...
...of this matter includes Mayor...
...The Insurance Commission of j three members which has charge...
...Thla graft is no more...
...t Socialist* Control Committion...
...It was a good risk...
...In only one year in th8 city's e]<perience did Bridgeport recover more for fire losses than it ^ had paid in premiums...
...generally more difficult for the forces of special privileges to con...
...trol a larger than a smaller group...
...average man and woman to urge, | however, in the revised charter,: are: I 1. Proportional representation, with party labels placed after the names of candidates...
...The Legion reaffirms its position in favor of an adequate national defense...
...It was found that a 20 per cent saving could be effected by accepting the three-year coverage...
...if the city never carried any fire | insurance, it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead...
...Available for this type of insurance was $7,000...
...Socialists believe that, if such a system is adopted, political affiliations of candidates shall be properly desiarnatcd on the ballots...
...The records of loss by Are present the illumini^ing picture of but a small fraction of the premium cost having been recovered by the city from damages arising from fire...
...The American Legion is best equipped of all organizations in the nation to discourage the opinion that war is inevitable...
...The important things for the...
...It has been alleged by a former school commissioner that the boiler insurance on school buildings alone has run aa high as $12,000 per year...
...of the great mass of men and women...
...The Legion now reaffirms its demand of many years for the enactment of the universal draft law, which in the event of war would conscript all the resources of the nation without profit to anyone...
...Every Socialist eligible for membership in the Legion, or the other veterans' organizations, and able to pay the comparatively low dues, ought to join up and do his best, in an unobtrusive manner, to open the eyes of his fellow members to the real cause of their troubles...
...No more fat premiums for writing fire insurance policies on huildiiigs which fire can't •destroy or boiliT insurance on boilers which can't blow U...
...The city owns approximately 150 cars...
...The Legion again appeals to the public and particularly to the youth of America for public support for this measure, believing that a real devotion to a frank and friendly understanding between nations and adequate preparedness, plus the universal draft law taking profit out of war, would furnish the surest guarantee of a lasting peace for the American nation...
...Only hy such a .system will it he possible for the large and growing So^'ialist minority to have a hand in creating jwlicies for the city of which tiiey are so important a part...
...Obviously...
...Every one sought the city's in-luranc* buainess...
...2. A section enabling the city to engage in necessary public services and to devise a modern, progressive system of taxation...
...The second most important principle that should be embodied in our city charter is the principle that the city should be free to engage in services regarded as ot public interest to the people of the city...
...The matter of liability and property damage insurance on the fleet of city-owned automobiles next had the attention of the Socialist-controlled Insurance Commission...
...They take sucn ownership for granted...
...This would not be the ca!>e with a city manager of the largest city of the country...
...It will then be no longer necesuNY to appropriate Ainually a hundred thousand dollars, most of which has in the past gone into...
...At this date it appears that this form of insurance will also be canceJlcd with a substantial saving...
...The matter of the various kinds of insurance the city has been carrying and tho amounts which this coverage has cost is difficult to determine because of the chaotic condition of municipal records...
...On the other hand, the average recovery for fire losses was less than $6,000 per year...
...And it is best equipped to point out to American youth that war is not a romantic adventure, but rather a horrible tragedy...
...It should have power to revise its system of taxation...
...A city with an outgrown constitution may be run well in th' hands of tho.se dedicated to the common good...
...In most countries abroad the municipalities own their own gas, electric and other utilities...
...The city of New York should be able to secure control of those public services that are now handled by the few in the intercut of the few...
...As the people of the country get together in great centers of population, it becomes increasingly necessary for the government to take charge of services formerly private in their nature...
...However, a larger council could more ade-(luately represent the people in varioujs sections of the city than would a small council...
...An up-to-date charter is a crying Tiekl...
...The Legion is also aware of an increased and intense public interest in the profits and the alleged intrigues of munition manufacturers in fomenting war, as evidenced in recent publications culminating in the present congressional investigation...
...In a larger council there would be a greater j chance for representation among •¦ the minority groups, while it is...
...A section safeguarding the rights of city employees...
...Let us build a new charter, and, but primarily, let us help to build a powerful political movement of the common man...
...More than that, the new administration ha.s laid the basis for a s\steni under vbicli \\v i'>ifrrst on tbe savings] between the (tld way ;md the new one, by being placed into a sinking fund and judiciously invested, will in 12 years pay the .iverage lire losses without any further cost to Bridgeport...
...We in the United States are many years behind many of our neighbors in this regard...
...On this ty|)e of structure the coveiago invariably was excessively high, while the frame structures which are less altriictive, usually were undei'insured or had no coverage at all...
...j How Bridgeport Socialists Killed...
...lt| is enough to know that nearly one hundred thousand dollars annually went Into the coffers of insurance companies with very little return...
...The cost of fire insurance alone on but part of the city property amounted to |22,000 annually over a i)eriod of many years...
...If the new city Charter Commission does its part to introduce a scientific system of proportional representation into our city politics, it is likely to give the Socialist Party a chance that it has not thus far had to enter the City Council and will distinctly advance the cause of democratic government...
...The only servioa which the city had received for this huge cost was a periodic examination of tho boilers covered by the insurance...
...But of still greater importance is the strengthening of such political movements as the Socialist movement detlicated to the advancement of the life, liberty and happin>'ss of the useful workers by hand and brain...
...It reaffirms as well its belief in individual duty to bear arrts in time of war...
...The premium is a substantial one...
...A conservative estimate of the savings effected by tbe present Insurance Commission point un-misUkably to such huge proper-tions that these savings set aside in a sinking fund «-ill in no mq^e than 12 years have accumulated to an extent that the interest derived from this sinking fund will be sufficient to meet the average losses...
...The new city charter should contain provisions guaranteeing the right to organize to all employees of any of its departments or of any employer who is awarded city franchises or city contracts...
...In the hands of a corrupt or reactionary group of politicians, a city with a perfect charter will...
...Many reformers urge a small council of nine on the ground of economy and efficiency...
...R. J. White...
...Socialist Demands for, the New City Charter for New York By Harry W. Laidler JN the new City Charter, now in process of preparation hy the Charter Revision Coniniissifin, iiotliing is niwe important than a provisioii fur proportional representation...
...Yet this method of providing business for insuranco friends of past administrations has annually cost the people thousands of dollars...
...Companies Had No Liability Consequently, inauranee companies covering the city ears received thousands of dollars as premiums and had no liability to meet when an accident occurred...
...As a matter of fact, there is no record of any car ever having been stolen...
...In a middle sized city, if a city manager refused to bow to a corrupt council and wfis forced to resign, he would have a chance for promotion to a larger city and to 4 better job...
...1 he easy money for insurance agents has come to an end in the city of Bridgeport...
...As this article is being written, the Commission is engaged in a study of the question of Are and theft insurance on city cars...
...As a result of this action, j the total valuation came to over a, million dollars less than a year | ago, although for the first time in recent municipal history every structure which the city owns, together with its contents, is now included in lh(« schedule...
...4. Other changes furnishing the mechanism for a more eflicient, a more ocunomical, a more humane and democratic government...
...We do not in general favor the city manager plan...
...It should be able to go into .slum clearance and municipal housing on an adequate scale...
...It should be far simpler and less cumber.soMie than the present city charter, which, as you know, contains no less than .'117 pages of double-columned newspajier type printing and deals in its 172,5 .sections wi!h almost evi'iy conceivable detail of administrative powers and duties, even to the way in which night refusej should be removed...
...An Insurance Racket IpillC iiisiiraiiee eom]).iiiie.s' paradise is no more...
Vol. 17 • July 1934 • No. 27
