WJJhy- TSgg'Xi 'jhfSSp --"?.. EVENING PUBLIC LED GEE PHILADELPHIA, MONDAY, MARCH 3, 19X9 9 r,-y. u REVISED CHARTER " BILLUgTOMGHT provides Single Council and City to. Do Own Street Cleaning NEW FINANCE SYSTEM Unification of Municipal and i County GovcrnmentB Is Provided Also The charier revision bill, designed to p-ctfhape Philadelphia's government, 'will be Introduced Into the Legislature to Jnlght f Details of the new measure Intended Jto replace the Bullitt bill were made Jpubllc today. The bill continues con centration of power In the. Mayor, but reorganizes Councils Into a single cham Jber. makes several departmental Jchanges, gives thd city putWlty to do jits own street cleaning and rtreet re fpalr work hnd creates a new system of municipal financlnB.- The revision bill will Iks Introduced In the stato Senate tonight either by Scn 'ntor George Woodward or Senator Au gustus F. Dalx, .lr. ' The charter bill proper Is to bo sup plemented by two additional bills. The first provides tor the creation of tho omco of purchasing agent In cities "of tho first class. J Tho second supplementary bill Is dc 'slgned to Improve the civil tervlco of 'counties having a population of 1,500, oOO or more. ' United City and County Government I Need for the supplementary bills sarlses from the distinction between tho city and tho county governments of '"Philadelphia. Tho charter revision com .mlttee favors the abolition of this dis tinction. A constitutional amendment Is 'needed to accomplish It. The committee rxecommends the appointment of a com mlsslon to Inquire Into the need for a 'constitutional convention which would kbe Instrumental In mailing tho city and tcounly governments hero Identical ilcgally as they are In point of .boundaries. v WIillo tho charter bill proper In pro 'posed as a substitute for tho no-called '.Bullitt bill, which upon passage of the new legislation would be repealed, It 'deals with many subjects not covered iby tho Bullitt bill. Chances Departments ' Tho bill concentrates executive power 'In the handB of tho Mayor. In this It follows tho thought of tho existing char ier, but It proposes. In addition to the elimination of the Department of Sup plies, many other changes In thoexecu tlve departments. It proposes to sen. ,nrate the functions of the Departtnent 'or Tubllu Health and Charities and to Jcreate a new department to bo called ' the Department of Public Welfare. To the latter would be Intrusted those duties relating to tho supervision of the char itable Institutions of tho city, Including hospitals and reformatory Institutions In this connection tho report of the mll,'. committee which drafted tho bill sets forth: 1. 'Thero Is no logical reason why tho 'activities of the city goxernment In the 'protection of the public health should be joined In ono department, with ts ac. tivltles, so far as they relate to tho care, Jmanagement, administration and super (vision of charities, almshouses, hospitals "and correctional Institutions, mid the separation Is In accordance with the 'usual practice In other cities. To the Department of I'ublo Welfaie will also -bo delegated tho functions previously performed by tho Beard of Recreation, ,and It Is given general authority over 'such matters affecting tho public welfare na may bo provided for by ordinance. 'This will mako It posslblo for the Coun cil to provide for the supervision und '.control of any activities In the city 'which might affect tho morals of ItB In habitants." The next Important change In the ex ecutive department proposed by the bill Js that tha ofllce of Hecelver of Taxes should ccaso to be a separate ofllce anil 'that the duties of the receiver should bo 'performed by the City Treasurer. The department or mo iieeeiver or Tuxes, 'tho report points out, logically should ibe &. bureau under tho City Treasurer, and this would further simplify and con centrate authority in tho government of ithe. city. The bill provides that the City Solici tor shall cease to bo an elective officer, .but shall be appointed by tho Mayor. "This." says the report, "Is strictly In line with the practice in tho state and nation, and makes It certain that the City Solicitor will be ablo to work In 'harmony with the Mayor of tho city. The bill also makes It clear, as It has not been hitherto under exiting law, .that tho City Solicitor Is to represent not only tho Mayor and tho executive departments, but also tho legislative de partment of tho city government. Tho provision making tho City Solicitor in appointive officer also has tho advantage of further shortening the ballot. "Other and ndnor changes In tho cx ecutlvo departments place under the general department of tho Mayor not only the purchasing agent, but u city architect (which position Is by law r.n(f! fnr the first time, although pre viously existing In an Irregular man ner), the Zoning Commission, tho City Planning Commission and tho Art Jury. Slight changes in regard to theso de partments have been made upon tho advice of persons interested In and es pecially familiar with their work. Single Clinmber Provided Probably tho most Important change provided for In the government is tho substitution of n slngle-chumber Council of twenty-ono members for tho present bicameral system. It Is proposed that tho Council shall consist of members elected from tho senatorial districts, ono Councilman being elected for each 20,000 qualified elector Tho bill vests In this Council all the powers and duties now exercised by the Common and Select Councils and prescribes a mode of pro cedure as to mako It mora slmplo und better understood. Tho Councllmcu nro to bq elected for terms of four years und are to receive salaries of JD000 per year. The act sjieclflcally prohibits dual ofllce holding. "Under existing law." says tho report of the subcommittee, "while City Coun cllmen cannot hold any other city office, they are not prohibited from holding covinty offices. Tho result Is that a largo number of Councllmen hold such ofllces, upon which they'malnly depend for their livelihood. In conbequence, their Inde pendence of action la greatly interfered with. !f not destroyed, as they find It difficult to resist pressure brought to bear In connection, with their duties us Councllmen by thoso upon whose favor they hold Income-producing ofllces. This evil of dual office-holding has long been recognized and the proposed bill de stroys It by making Councllmen Ineligi ble to hold any other office of profit of any kind whatever. It also provides hat Councllmen shall be paid salaries Of $5000 each, which Is reasonable. In .View of the fact that they will now be j-equlred to give more time than for merly owing to tho reduction of their pumber." ' , To lUonanli Finances , A new syitem of municipal finance la proposed In the bill, based upon modern theories of accounting. This section of the measure proposes more freedom Ip kMiieUCthan exists under the present ',w'S.v''j.' -' - ' - charter and It eliminates the necessity of having cash In hnnd beforo contracts can be made. It provides that tho Mayor must submit to Council each year n com prehensive, budget showing the estimated revenues nnd that the revenua nf tho city must equal tho expenditures. Under tho syrtem which will guide the city's financial policy It Is provided that when revenues do not meet expenditures, the resulting deficit will become n first charge against the next year's revenue Tho Mayor, tho bill provides,, must nlso submit 11 copy of the budget to the City Controller, who will examine It nnd re turn It to Councils with his romments. Council Is left entirely free to change the budget In any manner It sees fit. It Is upon the budget that the act declares Council shall fix the tax rnte not later than tho first day df December next after Its presentation. Should Councils fall to act nnd fix n tax rate, tho bill specified that a tax of 110 per cent of tho maximum rnto existing during nny part of the five preceding years shall automatically bo Imposed by nuthorlty of the net. This provision was Included as a means of forcing the Council to perform Its duty. As was pointed out nt a recent meeting of tho charter revision committee, the members of .Council would bo loth to earn public rebuke which would follow the extra tax of 10 per cent Bhould the body full to fix a proper rate, based upon tho budget. Tho bill provides that the tax rate shall bo such as will provide an ijmount of esti mated revenue, which when added to tho estimated budget revenue from all other sources, will produce n total, esti mated budget revenue for tho ensuing year nt least equal to tho sum of the estimated budget expenso of the ensuing year nnd the estimated budget deficit, If any, of the current year. Dealing with tho matter of Keeping expenses within revenues, tho net pro vides us follows: "The Council may from time to time by ordinance authorize any detriment, olllcer. board, commission, commltteo or other agency to Incur liability for such purposes and within such amounts as the said Council shall specify; and It shall not bo necessary for tho Council to mako an appropriation for, or specifi cally to set npart money for tho pay ment of, any such liability. "Whenever tho Council shall author ize liability to bo Incurred, and when ever It shall specially authorize tho disbursement or transfer of money, tho Council shall Indicate In such authoriza tion tho fund or funds ugalnst which such authorization Is chargeable. "At no tlmo shall It be lawful for tho Council to mako nny such authorization In excess of tho unencumbered balance of the fund or part of und against which tho sumo Is chargeable. For tho purposes of this section tho amount of 11 fund or part of fund, other than loan funds, shall bo deemed to bo tho sum of (a) tho cash therein, (b) tho Invest ments and securities therein, at the net value at which they arc carried on tho city's book's, and (c) tho accounts re ceivable thereof (Including tuxes, water rents. Interest nnd other Items receiv able), payment of which has accrued or Is to accrue within the year, at tho esti mated amount of such payments col lectible within two years." The commltteo lays stress upon tho Importance of a new financial policy and It sets forth that ono of tho greatest dltllcultles In the administration of tho affairs of the city during tho lust fifty years has been Its financial methods. Ignorant nf Cotitlllion "Large sums of money," says the re port, "have been borrowed tu meet cur rent expenses, not so much 011 account of excessive cxpendltutt'S as because of ignorance as to tho actual condition of Hip city, and t tie lack of moial courage 011 tho. part of persons In control of tho city administration who feared to place tho tax rate al such a figure as would yield tin- Income they desired to spend. "Under the existing system contracts must bo habed upon previous appropria tions, and "whero appropriations havo been lnsulllclent ' large amounts of sup-, piles and material, mlTI even labor, hnvo Iiicn dellveieil to or performed for tho city without any appropriation and without any contract, with tlio neces sary icsult that the work and material have cost tho city far more than they would have cost had they been con tracted fur in 11 regular and lawful manner. "In order to avoid this dlfllculty in tho future, tho commltteo proposes more freedom In contracting than has hitherto existed, doing away with tho necessity for having cash In hand beforo contracts can bo made. This will mako tho vicious system of delivering Mip plles in advance of appropriations un necessary, nnd will no doubt save tho city a largo sum of money annually on that account. Tho plan proposed In volves an Improved system of Imokkeep lug whereby tho actual condition of the city, not only as regards Income and expense, but also as tegards capital ex penditures and assets possessed by it, can bo easily ascertained and under stood at any time. It also contemplates that i comprehensive budget will be presented to tho Council each year at the proper time, showing tho estimated expenditures, und that tho revenue of tho city must equal each year tho ex penses, or. It It does not, tho deficit will automatically appear as tho first chargo on tho next year's revenue, and It wll bo clour to all to what extent such deficit docs exist und how it has been created. "The commltteo Is convinced that under this system the Income will at least equal tho expenso und the business of tho city will bo placed on a very much more " regular anil legitimate I basis. The bill contains 11 t-cction dealing ' with municipal Indebtedness, In which it Ik provided that In any ordliiunco au thorizing the city to Increase Us indebt- I edness to Incur new debt provision shall bo mailo tor tuo coneciion ot a iax to pay the Interest thereon and tho principal. Tho debt may bo Increased EL PR0DUCT0 If you enjoy the mildness, the mellowness, the fragrant aroma of finely blended Hava na, you'll enjoy El Producto. There's distinctive character to El Producto's blend and it can't be copied. ilk BLUNT W Jjr jmmmr Vmtiamm iAnit 2 asaimiraJti -3Z. (a fnm tin la .(Mn(y-rVa Features Contained in Revised Charter Somo features of tlfo proposed new charter: Executive power would still be concentrated In tho hands of tho Mayor. The-present bicameral system of Councils would bo changed to a slnglo chamber Council of twenty ono members. Tho Department of Supplies would bo abolished and a city pur chasing URent would bo substituted for that tlcpartment. Tho functions of tho Department of Public Health and Charities would be divided, with a new de partment to bo called tho Depart, ment of Public Welfare. This de partment would tako over the work of the Hoard of Recreation and would bo charged with handling tho charitable work of tho mu nicipality. ' Tho Department of Itccolvcr of Taxes would becomo a bureau of tho City Treasurer's ofllce. The City Solicitor would bo ap pointed by the Mayor. Tho city would be given author ity to do Its own street cleaning, street repairs and other municipal work If It desired to do so. Tho tower to enforco tho law prohibiting polltlc.il activity by ofllceholdcrH, Including police and firemen, would ho placed in the hands of Interested citizens und penalties for violation of this law would bo Increased. Tho civil servlco would bo admin istered by ono commissioner, Who would bo elected by Council. without submitting tho question to tho electors, In this connection tho bill says: N "Within such limitations In amount as Is now or may hereafter bo established by tho constitution, tho Council may authorize new debt to be Incurred tr an Increase of Indebtedness without the con sent of the electors of the city at a public election: hut the Council may. In its discretion, submit to tho electors for their consent at a public election the proposal contained In any ordinance authorizing new debt to ho incurred or an Increase of Indebtedness, and any such new debt or Increase of Indebted ness to which the electors shall have given their consent shall be excluded In computing tho amount of tho Indebt edness of the city Incurred without the consent of tho electors thcre'of. "Any ordinance authorizing now debt to be Incurred or nn Increase of Indebted ness, except for temporary loans, with out the consent of the electors, shall, prior to Its final passage, be published dally for two weeks In two newspapein fiavlng a bona fide circulation In such city of at least 30,000 copies per Issue." Asses. menln Prohibited The bill provides for a radical change In tho Civil Service Commission, for It authorizes the appointment of but one member, this member to be elected by two-thirds of all the members elected to Councils, in Ibis becllon of tho act Is Included legislation designed to remove all olllceholders. Including the police and firemen, from politics and to prohibit tho payment and collection of )olltlcal assessments. Discussing tho section, tho report sais that tho failure to observe tho civil service regulations lias been due largely to tho fact that the com missioners are appolnteey of th Major, and uro therefore unable lo resist pres sure from him or tho executive derail ments. Tho bill continues: "The dllliculty with regard to cxlbtlng laws Intended to prevent political ac tivity of officeholders. Including police und firemen, has been much the same, I. e., there has been no adequate method of enforcing them. The penalty has been dlrnilssal from elllcc, but as"such penalty could only bi inflicted by tho ruperlor olllcer of tho offending employe, and as nn employe would not engage lif political activity unless ho did It with tho ap proval of his superior, tho penalty was never enforced, for obviously the Ml pel lor would not remove the imploye for having carried out his ordeis. Tho re sult has been that the law bus sub stantially been Inoperative. It is now proposed to placo the enforcement of theso laws In tho hands of Interested cit izens; to make tho penalty nut only dis missal from olllce, but ineligibility for appointment to nny office within 11 period "of'two years, and also to mako a viola tion of the act u misdemeanor punish ablo by line and Imprisonment. The In crease hi tho penalties. It p believed, will be salutary in effect; but. most Im portant of all. Is the provision that In terested citizens need not depend upon the superior ufllcers of tho offenders to Inflict tho penally, but may do so act ing directly by appeal lo tho courts. "Both tho civil rervico law and the law relating to the political activity of ofllceholders havo been materially strengthened In various particulars other than thoso mentioned. "The assessment of olllceholders for political contributions has also been u eourco of great abuse In the past, and 13 ono of tho most serious evils to bo met In municipal government. Not only Is it unfair to tho emplojes, who aro often In- T f A TCIVJ real enjoyment C. H. P. CIGAR CO. rUhuii,M. adequately paid, that they should bo I compelled to surrender annually a cer- mm ijcri-cninga oi incir wages or salary at tho demand of political authority, but I It has a most unfortunate effect unon the , public welfare. The result of ruch as sessment Is to crcato a great corruption fund to bo used ostensibly for legitimate political purpose-!, but often used for purposes which wre far from lawful, "The Impropriety of permitting office holders to engage unrestrictedly In po litical work and of permitting thtm to be compelled to subscrlbo to n corruption fund for tho use of tho political party which happens to be In power is obvious and requires no discussion. Philadelphia has suffered too much from evils result ing from both these pernicious activities to require any defense by this commit teo of Its action In urging methods to I end both. I "The payment of political contribu tions as well as the collection from city employes Is positively forbidden In the proposed net under heavy penalltes." I "It Is believed that the measures pro posed will go far toward a complete 'eradication of the evil In bo'h particu lars." Ob. erven Principle of Home Bute Tho prlnclplo of homo rule Is thor oughly observed In tho section of tho hill dealing with city contracts. The act provides that the city shall hnvo the power to pave, repair and clean streets, collect waste, rubbish and garbago If It desires to do so. This section of tho bill follows "Any such city shall havo tho power to pave, repair and clean the streets, col lect waste, rubbish and garbago within the limits of such city, nnd to dlsKse of street sweepings and of waste, rub bish and garbage. Any such city shall havo tho power tolease, acquire, con struct or cause to be constructed a plant or plrnts to be used for or In connection with any of the purposes mentioned in tills section, and to lease the same to 8 Radiant Stories 55 Articles 4 Full-Cofor War Pictures any person, association or corporation which shall contract to perform such work for the said city. The council of such city shall have the power to author ize any existing department or bureau of such city to perform tho work which such cl'y Is authorized to do nnd to lense, purchase, construct, mako or cause to be constructed or made such plants nnd equipment, supplies nnd ma terials as shall bo necessary and ap propriate therefor, or to create such now bureau or new division In any bureau ns shall bo deemed necessary, and to confer upon cuch new burenu or division like authority. "After the 31st day of December, 131D, the repair and cleaning of tho streets, the collection of waste, rubbish nnd garbrgo within tho limits of- such city, and the disposal of street sweepings, waste, rubbish nnd garbage, shall bo dono directly by tho city! Provided, That any such work may bo done by contract when nuthorlzed by the coun cil by a vote of three-fourths of all tho members elected thereto, with the ap proval of tho Mayor. Kor tho purpise of determining whether It Is to the best Interests of the city to authorize tho per form' ncc of nny such work: by contract, tho Mayor or the council may, prior to the first day of August of any year, 1 Invited bids for such work. Advertise ment for such bids shall be made during a period ending not later than the first day of October next ensuing, and n sum mary of the bids shall be Included by the Mayor In the budget: Provided further, That If It Is determined In ac cordance with the provisions of this sec tion to havo any such work performed by contract a reasonable time, jiot ex ceeding six months, shall be allotted the contractor or contractors thereunder to secure tho necessary equipment to per form such contracts and to begin the j performance thereof. ' "Any audi city shall havo the power I to contract for mater!-"!-, stinpl.es or One day I was a Royal Princess The next no one wanted me To-day I am in America The extraordinary personal story of a dethroned European princess, "before whom the whole world bowed, with royal carriages to drive me about and sumptuous palaces to shelter me." In a day all was changed. Then what? That she tells: how she came to America. "I have found a place here: I am fighting my way joy fully." Where and how? That she explains If labor opposes woman's right to do any lawful work by which to earn a living, then women should And William Howard Taft, former President, tells exactly what they should do, with "no doubt of the result," either, he says. He tells it plainly, and changes a life-time opinion to advo cate his view. A Secret Service detective Lets the cat out of the bag & iJlrcMt&dlsS'fjeHrna work to bo supplied to or performed for said city, except as provided In Section 5 nf fills nrtlelf. florlnc nn. .. nnr.. naar. . ......, ......., ' ... (.U.. ...... ... nnd tho City Council may by ordlnnnco nuthorlzo sucii contract without the necessity of making nn ntnirnptintlori I therefor or otherwise sperlflcally setting aside money for tho payment thereof. ' When the term of nny such conlrret ex ceeds threo year tli-re shall be Inserted I In the co-tract i elat-se reserving to the city tho r'r'it to ter 11 nute the same nt i's option nt n' Mine nfter the ex-' titration nf throe venrs without llahlllty lo tho contractor fir damages for tho loss of pr. fits which would havo been renllzed bad the enntrnct not been 1 terminated, but (tier, shall he Inserted a provision obligating the city to pay ' the ron'rnctor. In tho event of such I termination, the loss on equipment or construction especially purchased or erected by the contractor to carry out the terms of the contract with the city. If the term of eny such contract exceeds ono year a reasonable time, not exceed ing six months, shall be allowed the con tractor thereunder to secure the neces sary equipment to perform such contract and to begin the pjrformanco thereof." It will be noted that the bill ends tho vicious one-year contract system now in force. TO END OPIUM MONOPOLY Japan Plans Action in Cliinco Holdings Tokln, Keb. 21 (delayed) (liy A. P.) Premier Mara today announced that tho government had decided nt the earliest possible moment to abolish the opium monopoly In the provinces of Kwangtung and Tslng-Tao, China, and on the tslnnd of l-'ormosn. The newspapers en- lend this action as tho removal of ither source of friction between natlvis and foreigners In China. In a handful of true and remarkable r " in phrtTrriri rir 4 - lir 0 iui iio, ouuvviiJtg iitai iiu vxixxxjliicxx uaui the law wants to catch him, fof there never was one who didn't leave a clue behind him. And then he tells in the most fascinating way what those clues are and how men have been caught. 15 CENTS MINNIE SELIGMAN DIES Actress Expires in Atlantic City nt Ago ot I'ifty Atlantic rlty, Mareh 3. Mlnne f-'ellg-man. for many yenra a popular actrers, In private life Mrs William llromwell, tlte wife of an actor. Is dead here of heart disease .She came here about ten , days ago to recuperate from 11 recent III ties. M's Sellgman was fifty years old. Ml HcllKinuii was the daughter of S .1. Sellgman, and sho made her debut 011 dip stage in tile spring of 1SS" nt Madison Hquiire Theatre. .S'ew York, In "Hlulne" After her engagement at this theatre she Joined a stock company or ganlzed by McVlcker for his tlilcago theatre Miss Kellgmnn was thr'ce mutriert, In 1880 sjie berame tho tirldo of Ilr Kugeno J. Kaufmann. Doc'or Xnuf mnnn was nt one t'me the editor of the American edlfon of the l,nmlon I.prce' Their married llfp wns unhappy and In '8So she obtained a divorce The second tn.1rrl.-1gn In 18P2 to Hubert I.'vingston futtlng, .lr, member of io of the oldest families In NVvv York, tr mporirl'y tip t her stage career. Mho had been en gaged to Frank Ranger for five years After rutting had been cut off bv his father with an nenme of JSf.nn n year, because he disproved the nmrrlnge, Mr and Mrs Cutting tried nrting together r'utt'ng soon went back to a barking house and his wife continued on tne s'nge In I 'inn she nbta tied a dlvoreo from him In St Ixiu's, ami In June, t'.tiiT, he married William llromwell. HI10 ami her husband have been nctlng In plays in vaudeville. DRIVERACCJSOFTHEFT Einplnvo of A. Siiltin !i' Son Mill ing With Finn's Money, Charge- Pollen nn. looking for a driver who was employed by A. Stilus & Son. Thir teenth and South streets, who "got away with a few hundred dollars," 10 'ordlng to n member of the firm The oilce have not mail, the alleged theft .lilblle, but it was admitted a' -the Salut - i - f' nn nwtminol "or The Highest in The Biggest in The Lowest in establ'shment that the police were) "working on the case." A, Salus, head of tho concern, 1s tha father of State Senator Samuel W. Sal us. rCAPITALS500,000,OOl sukplus (EARNED) JCtUUU,UUU.OO WVSlxlh&Sprina6an KW Income Tax To make it easier for you to obtain information about In come Tax regulations, the Collector of Internal Revenue has assigned Mr. Edward Bennis, Deputy Collector, to the Northern Trust Company, at Sixth and Spring Garden streets, where returns may be prepared and filed and taxes paid to the Deputy Collector ISA detectiv oooot-vo ijovavy is Quality Size 156 pages Price """ 4aHP" i. t Vl 1? s 1 .. .. .. i, -I'..