A TRIUMPH FOR THE REFERENDUM
Bottomly, Robert J.
A TRIUMPH FOR THE REFERENDUM The Story of the Campaign to Rid Boston of Boss Controlled Conventions By ROBERT J. BOTTOMLY THE ADOPTION of Plan Two by the voters of Boston at the State Election,...
...Plan Two is not, and was not believed to be, a perfect remedy for the evils in Boston's city government...
...the increase in power of the auditor...
...Joker" in Plan One PLAN ONE was an attempt to secure a return to the old convention system, which had been discarded six years previously in Boston, by sugar-coating it with the popular features of local ward representation and a short term for the Mayor...
...The second, or so-called "political" part of the bill was to be referred to the people in alternative form...
...The machine men, the ward bosses of both parties, and the liquor dealers lined up in a solid front for Plan One...
...The thought was that if the citizens of Boston, the Democratic stronghold of the State, declared by their ballots for the convention system, this would be a crushing blow to the spread of direct nominations in Massachusetts...
...Machine Leaders THE Legislature held protracted hearings upon the proposed charter amendments of the Finance Commission and the numerous charter amendments submitted by other citizens...
...Federal office holders high in the Republican machine were in frequent conference with the various Democratic ward bosses...
...the regular publication of a City Record and various other excellent details...
...They conceived the idea of using the public opinion which was behind the Finance Commission charter to strike a blow at direct nominations in Massachusetts...
...Its adoption, however, shows that the people can be trusted to go forward, even though the politicians try to confuse the issue...
...all nominations by petition signed by 5,000 of the candidate's fellow citizens...
...A Committee of One Hundred representative citizens was organized late in February to back up the Finance Commission...
...The original Boston Finance Commission, consisting of seven representative citizens appointed by the Mayor of Boston on the recommendation of the various business bodies, began its work in August, 1907...
...Triumph for Referendum EVERYONE was agreed that neither plan was perfect...
...The success of their campaign depended entirely upon the public spirit of the citizens in the different wards who gave freely of their time in promoting the Finance Commission's recommendations as embodied in Plan Two, the People's Plan...
...The first part embodied the administrative features of the recommendations of the Finance Commission: it provided for a permanent Finance Commission...
...They found some graft, much waste and a system under which the correction of existing evils seemed hopeless...
...Plan Two contained the Finance Commission recommendations which had not been embodied in the administrative section of the bill...
...The bill as it came from the Committee was divided into two parts...
...The Senate Chairman of the legislative committee made a midnight trip to Washington to consult with Senator Lodge...
...A TRIUMPH FOR THE REFERENDUM The Story of the Campaign to Rid Boston of Boss Controlled Conventions By ROBERT J. BOTTOMLY THE ADOPTION of Plan Two by the voters of Boston at the State Election, November 2, was a splendid demonstration of the value of the referendum...
...the administration of departments by trained experts approved by the Civil Service Commission...
...Plan One literature, bearing the stamp of the Republican City Committee, was to be found in the headquarters of the Democratic City Committee...
...As soon as the bill was signed by the Governor in June, the Committee of One Hundred began its campaign for Plan Two by tendering to the Finance Commission a big dinner in the American House...
...a city council of nine members elected at large for three year terms, three to be elected each year, each voter to vote for all three...
...Working without pay for eighteen months they made an exhaustive investigation of the condition of the city government...
...These were a four-year term for Mayor subject to a recall after two years by a majority of the voters...
...Through the summer a special committee started organizations in every ward...
...With the power of the Republican machine behind this bill, it was crowded through the Legislature...
...Politicians Forced to Yield THE machine leaders saw that some very substantial concessions must be made...
...The Chamber of Commerce marched in a body from its building up to Beacon Hill and demanded the Finance Commission charter amendments as a whole with a complete referendum to the people...
...Citizens vs...
...It is a great triumph for the supporters of the Referendum...
...The Committee of One Hundred knew that Plan Two was an honest attempt to step forward, while Plan One was a tricky device to make the people step back...
...During the last week of the campaign, all the so-called practical politicians predicted a land-slide for Plan One...
...The Commission comprised among its members an ex-mayor, an ex-congressman, an ex-city treasurer and others of wide administrative experience in city affairs...
...Plan One provided for the continuance of the two-year term of the Mayor, a city council of thirty-six, twenty-seven to be elected by wards and nine at large with minority representation, the retention of party names on the ballots, and nominations for the office of mayor and aldermen at large by the old convention system...
...and the abolition of party designations on the ballot at city elections...
...The Committee of One Hundred felt that they must remain satisfied to secure a part of the Finance Commission recommendations in the Legislature, and go to the people of Boston for the remainder...
...These administrative features were to be adopted by the Legislature without the referendum...
...the more careful safe-guarding of long time contracts entered into by the City...
...One of the Federal office holders prominent in the Republican machine took an active hand in shaping the report...
...It seemed doubtful for a time whether at the best more than a part of the proposed amendments could be secured...
...When the votes were counted, the people had declared for Plan Two by nearly 4,000 majority...
...The issue was so obscured that many well meaning citizens were uncertain...
...Several members of the legislative committee to which the recommendations were referred, maintained an entirely public spirited point of view and demanded a trial of the Finance Commission charter as a whole...
...The removal of party designations from the ballot at city elections and the direct nomination by petition signed by 5,000 of the candidate's fellow citizens were distasteful to the Republican machine leaders...
...By means of house to house canvasses, letters to every voter and bill-board and newspaper advertising, an attempt was made to put before every citizen of Boston the fact that the whole issue was: Which shall nominate the city officials—the boss-controlled conventions or the people...
...On the other side, behind Plan One which was dubbed "the bosses" or "politicians" plan, was arrayed the whole strength of both party machines in Boston together with the freelance ward bosses and the liquor dealers...
...This pressure finally became so strong that the legislative committee saw that some sort of radical action would be absolutely necessary...
...Each plan contained four distinct issues in no way logically connected with each other...
...The Legislature submitted two plans of charter revision in such a manner as to confuse the voters...
...The Committee of One Hundred undertook an extensive campaign in all parts of the State, but especially in Boston, with a view of organizing public opinion in favor of the Finance Commission charter, and bringing the pressure of this public opinion to bear upon the Legislature...
...the initiative of appropriation and loan orders by the Mayor...
...They framed a charter, aimed to correct the abuses which were discovered, and reported it to the Legislature in January, 1909...
...The people looked beneath the surface of the two plans, seized on the real issue and chose Plan Two by a vote of 39,170 to 35,276...
...carefully drawn provisions preventing the interference of the City Council in matters of city contracts and city labor...
Vol. 1 • November 1909 • No. 47
