In our century

In the first few years of The American City’s publication, new forms of local government began to emerge across the country and were debated in the pages of the magazine. The City Manager Plan was one of the newest forms, characterized by the appointment of a manager who would be responsible for the city’s business to an elected commission that made policy decisions, removing elected commissioners from directly managing city operations. “This plan makes it possible for the affairs of the city to be carried on in the same way as those of any private corporation, the commissioners acting as a board of directors and the manager as superintendent,” wrote Kenyon Riddle, city engineer for Abilene, Kan., in the December 1913 edition of The American City.

In June 1915, The American City editors compiled a list of the 45 cities that had adopted the city manager idea within the previous two years. Some had instituted the plan through ordinances, and some adopted it in their charters. Many of the earliest city managers were engineers because a great deal of the work of developing cities required engineering expertise, but they also were charged with a variety of duties, including installing municipal accounting systems and preparing annual budgets, ensuring that laws were enforced, signing contracts, hiring and firing city employees, and keeping city records. “The commission-manager plan is the best device yet developed for attracting able men to the study and practice of municipal administration as a possible life work,” the editor’s note states.

Opponents of the city manager plan argued that it concentrated too much power in one person and was too similar to a city “boss.” However, Henry Waite, city manager for Dayton, Ohio, wrote in the July 1914 edition that “under the old form of bossism the boss was unassailable — he was unofficial.” In Dayton, the city manager was assailable and subject to recall. In the end, Waite wrote, “No matter what form of government a city may have, if the people themselves are not interested in it and participate in it, that government will never be a success.”

Previous “In our century” Stories

• In our century — October 1913
  Cities take action in the earliest days of motion pictures to regulate content and ensure theater safety
• In our century — July 1935
  Cities install parking meters in business districts to improve traffic flow, reduce car damage and generate revenue
• In our century — April 1910
  Cities organize July Fourth events, regulate fireworks to reduce Independence Day injuries and deaths
• In our century — May 1915
  Cities seize revenue-generating opportunities to provide ice and refrigeration to residents and businesses
• In our century — May 1914
  Officials invest in maps to guide public projects, improve city administration and communicate plans to the public
• In our century — September 1915
  Technology develops to ensure the safe movement of trains, cars and emergency vehicles through city streets
• In our century — July 1914
  Among the early efforts to improve public health, cities invent and seek weapons of mass fly destruction
• In our century — August 1913
  When bond issues fail, cities seek alternative funding for infrastructure improvements and other public projects
• In our century — August 1914
  Cities improve cleanliness and public health by strategically placing public restrooms and encouraging their use
• In our century — December 1914
  Cities begin the tradition of decorating enormous public Christmas trees to celebrate the holidays
• In our century — June 1910
  Government accounting methods and reports mature from vague and incomplete records to standard formats.
• In our century — October 1909
  Investigations into corruption and mismanagement lead to (some) reforms in government policies and operations.
• In our century — January 1913
  Cities experiment with road surfaces and set out methods for funding road construction and maintenance.
• In our century — September 1909
  Limits on outdoor advertising are set through cities’ hard-fought battles over billboard sizes, messages and locations.
• In our century — August 1911
  Fire departments gain authority, modern equipment to prevent and improve response times to structure fires.
• In our century — June 1910
  Street lights become symbols of communities’ economic success, and lighting technology efficiency evolves.
• In our century — September 1909
  With urban growth comes city leaders’ desire to control and direct it for the community’s greatest benefit.
• In our century — September 1909
  Cities embrace playgrounds as valuable public assets for children’s safety, health and social development.
• In our century — September 1909
  Women embrace public causes, work to improve their communities and expand their societal roles.
• In our century — March 1910
  Cities develop methods, mechanisms and regulations for residential solid waste collection and disposal.
• In our century — November 1909
  Occupancy laws and social workers emerge in the early 1900s to clean up inner-city neighborhoods.
• The way we were
  Publisher’s son remembers American City & County‘s roots.