A thumb-nail history of the city of Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1836 to the year 1912 Page: 26

26 A THUMB-NATL HISTORY OF
the city as a fit man for the office of alderman he
will not be elected. Again, each alderman under the
present system represents the whole city. Under the
old system the conduct of public business was continually
obstructed by a system of petty log-rolling
going on among and between the representatives
of the numerous sub-divisions of the city. Then,
too, the smallness of the number of aldermen now
affords opportunity for the transaction of business.
"An executive session is held previous to each
meeting of the city council, at which matters to come
before the council are discussed and action determined
on. The small number of aldermen enables
the city administration to act on all matters of importance
as a unit. In other words, the system
makes it possible to administer the affairs of the
city in a prompt and business-like way.
"This is one of the strongest arguments in favor
of the present commission form of government, for
with a majority of the aldermen always in session,
public business can be, and is, promptly attended to.
it is no longer necessary to go before the city council
with petitions to have something done. Any citizen
who desires to have a street paved, taxes adjusted,
a nuisance abated, or anything else, has only to
call at the mayor's office and have the matter
promptly adjusted. After a hearing, the matter is
decided by the council in the presence of the applicant.
To illustrate the great difference between
this method and the old one, the following comparison
is made: By the old method a petition was ad-