two elements are indispensable where the work to
be performed is of a local and business nature. We find that under
the present system, no matter which branch of government dominates,
there is always a notorious lack of responsibility. If the council
makes a blunder in legislation, it immediately lays the blame upon
the administrative officials, maintaining that it passed the measure
upon recommendation of the administrative branch, or that branch
failed to carry out its policy. If the administrative officials are
neglectful, they shift the blame onto the council, and insist that
the difficulty lies in insufficient legislation. Under such
conditions, the average citizen has no way of telling where the
blame really lies.

At present, there is no attempt at co-ordination between the
legislative, executive, and judicial departments. On the other hand,
there is often open rupture between them. For years before the
commission form of government was adopted in Galveston, there was
open warfare between the legislative and executive departments,
which saddled upon the city a bonded debt of many thousands of
dollars. In our state, there is a municipality in which the two
departments of government are defying each other. Both are
exercising legislative and administrative authority until the
citizens of that place are at a loss to know which is right. This is
admittedly a deplorable state of affairs, yet it is the logical
result of forcing upon the city a form of government entirely
unsuited for its needs. Moreover, this lack of co-ordination and
responsibility has resulted in the confusion of powers and the
creation of needless boards and committees. A recent investigation
in Philadelphia showed that it had four boards with power to tear up
the streets at will, but none to see that they were properly relaid.
Chicago finds herself possessed of eight different tax levying
bodies, while in New York City there are eighty different boards or
individuals who have power to create debt. Is it any wonder that
inefficiency and graft infest such a maze of boards, councils and
committees? We see, then, that the present system of separation of
powers produces inefficiency through a confusion of functions; it
does away completely with the system of checks and balances and
results in utter lack of resp