Fort Worth charter history; Midway hero
Fort Worth charter
In reference to Fernando Florez’s Thursday commentary (“After 91 years, it’s time for Fort Worth council to grow”):
I don’t disagree with his political stand, but some of his facts need to be corrected.
The Fort Worth charter of 1924 was not the city’s first, but its third.
The city was first chartered by the Legislature in 1873.
It then received a new charter incorporating the city commission form of government in 1907.
The third charter that Florez refers to adopted the city manager form of government, which we still have today.
In the early years (first charter), the City Council was made up of aldermen, each representing a particular ward, for instance the Third Ward where Hell’s Half-Acre was located.
Later, the charter was amended to provide at-large councilmen.
The year 1977, I believe, is correct for when the city returned to single-member districts.
They are no longer called “wards” because of the bad connotation of that term, thanks to its association with corrupt municipal politics left over from the Progressive Era.
The history of Fort Worth municipal government is something most people know nothing about — and even fewer care about.
Let’s get the history right before we start arguing about the form.
Richard Selcer, Fort Worth
Midway hero
On April 22, a man deserving honor and praise died; his name was Norman Kleiss.
Never heard of him? Of course not. Why? He was one of the forgotten men who fought for the survival of our country, almost 74 years ago.
On June 4, 1942, at the Battle of Midway, Kleiss, flying a Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber on two missions from the carrier USS Enterprise, scored hits on two Japanese carriers, Kaga and Hiryu. On June 5, he planted a bomb on the heavy cruiser Mikuma.
All three ships sank.
The U.S. victory at Midway stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific and made possible the U.S. offensive in the Solomon Islands, where the Japanese fleet and air arm were put through a merciless grinder.
Robert Tate, Fort Worth
This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Fort Worth charter history; Midway hero."