Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/469

 charters enacted and put in operation. Under existing laws, ordinances can be proposed by the electors of the city, and if adopted by a majority of the voters at the city election they become an integral part of the ordinances of the city to be enforced as much as if passed by the city council.

Following, or rather yielding, to the inseparable self-interest of party government, the civil service of Portland, and of all cities has become a complex affair. That which should be a straight business proposition of securing to the city as much as practicable in faithful service for the contributions of the taxpayers, has been elaborated into an unwieldy machine, that wastes time, labor and money in endless proceedings which accomplish little for the welfare of the city. To' combat the endless combination of selfish interests, and protect the public treasury from the peculations of the dishonest purveyors to public service and public improvements, official responsibility has been unwisely distributed through so many independent if not antagonistic representatives of municipal authority and action, that it has become exceedingly difficult to place the blame of neglect or wrong doing upon any agent of the city.

The city of Portland manifests its hfe, growth and government through an elective council of fifteen members ; one from each of the ten separate wards of the city, and five from the city at large. This council is presided over by the mayor of the city, who segregates the council into twelve separate committees.

The executive arm of the city is represented by the mayor and seventy-two subordinate officers, of which the auditor, treasurer and city attorney are principal, and have a limited jurisdiction independent of the mayor. The city engineer in charge of the development work of streets, sewers, bridges and other constructions, is an appointee of the mayor, but must discharge his duties in accordance with limitations and obligations of the charter and ordinances and the acts and directions of the council and committee on streets and sewers.

The executive is farther aided, advised or restrained, as the case may be, by the executive board, which is an additional contrivance of the last adopted charter added to the government of the city to keep the council from going wrong. This executive board composed of ten citizens appointed by the mayor, and over whose deliberations the mayor acts as chairman, divided up into ten committees and to which any business of the council and acts of the council may be directly or indirectly referred for approval and execution.

In addition to these legislative and executive bodies, there is a board of health composed of three physicians and the chief of police; a park board of four citizens; a water board of three citizens ; and a civil service commission; and of these additional boards, all appointed by the mayor, the mayor himself acts as a member and presiding officer.

In practical operation, it results in inattention to business, or such careless attention to the city business that it is a hit or miss affair, if the right thing is ordered in any particular case. The councilmen are generally chosen on account of their local popularity in the ward to which they belong without the slightest consideration for their qualifications for the business in hand. And even if qualified and desirous of promoting the public welfare, they are all engaged in their own private business and give only an incidental and very inconsiderable attention to the public business. And being the creatures of local prejudices or favoritism, they give ear to every wind of criticism or opposition in order to please the electorate that conferred the "honor" upon them. There is, therefore, no such careful attention to the business of the city, or independent action in office as could be secured by an independent commission devoting its whole time to the city business and carefully considering every proposition from the same standpoint of the best interests of the city as would be taken by the manager of a railroad, bank, or factory seeking to promote the interests of the stockholders.

There is, therefore, in the city government a very much divided responsibility, so that it is a matter of great difficulty in locating the blame for unsatisfactory service in the administration of the city business. If the mayor was as-