Emil Lederer: Competent Authority and Uneven Municipalization (1921)

This recorded commission intervention concerns who should authorize municipalization and whether its uneven territorial development is objectionable. Lederer opposes Prentzel’s proposed route because releasing an entire economic sector for municipalization would amount to a legislative act by the Reich government. Facing substantial political opposition, that government would be reluctant to accept responsibility, whereas municipalization could remain politically feasible in individual localities.

His objection also concerns administrative competence:

Meiner Überzeugung nach ist allerdings auch die Reichsregierung technisch dazu nicht geeignet. Deswegen wäre es auch zweckmäßig, eine andere Instanz damit zu betrauen.

English translation: In my conviction, however, the Reich government is also technically unsuited to this task. It would therefore also be expedient to entrust another authority with it.

Asked by Vogelstein whether this transfer should be definitive, Lederer answers affirmatively. The passage does not identify the alternative authority or specify its powers; its institutional proposal remains limited to a permanent reassignment of responsibility.

Lederer then rejects unevenness as an objection. Municipalities already differ considerably in their willingness to municipalize, reflecting political and economic positions as well as individual abilities and personnel. He treats these differences as compatible with further development:

Es spricht kein Bedenken dagegen, daß die Kommunalisierung in einem Landesteil schneller erfolgt als in einem andern.

English translation: There is no objection to municipalization proceeding faster in one part of the country than in another.

The intervention thus separates advancement from uniform implementation: neither central authorization nor equal regional speed is necessary for municipalization to proceed.