Good government has become a matter of course in Des Moines since the first commission took charge of the city's affairs in April, 1908; and the unpleasant memories of the old regime are already fading into forgetfulness, though not yet gilded with the radiance which often brightens disagreeable events long after they have happened. The keynote of the old order was the phrase, &dquodivisive strife,&dquo coined by the publisher of one of the Des Moines newspapers to describe the perpetual

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... ng, usually without results, which attended the consideration of municipal questions. In the new administration, the dominant note is harmony. The community acts as a unit on all large matters; and this accord is seen in equal measure in the minor details of city business. There is much discussion, and sharp differences of opinion arise; but the affairs of the city receive such prompt attention that divisions among the citizens do not, as formerly, become chronic or degenerate into futile and senseless factionism. Democracy is necessarily a noisy type of government, but commission government in Des Moines has demonstrated that it does not necessarily behave itself unseemly. A somewhat elementary description of the styles of municipal management before and since igo8, will perhaps best serve my purpose of showing by contrast what has been accomplished by abolishing the mayor-and-council form and substituting government by a commission of five members. This will probably convince the reader that most of the features of bad municipal administration in Des Moines were typical 'of unsuccessful city government as it has long existed in American cities generally. There were and are two townships and seven wards in the city ; at Univ of Illinois at Chicago Library on May 5, 2015 ann.sagepub.com Downloaded from