trative duties in the township, he may be, as in New York State, for instance, ex officio a member of the county board, and thus connects the local with the general administration. Schools are regularly in charge of а small elected school committee, but the school district is often organized separately from the township, and its voters are frequently empowered to meet for the transaction of school business. for elections, roads, and for schools. | visor, or the township chairman or The districts are generally larger in trustee. In addition to his adminisarea than are the townships in the North, but they are thinly inhabited and distinctly rural. In these states cities and villages are regularly incorporated and usually have large local autonomy, with some county and state supervision over their exercise of general powers. The sys tem as а whole is obviously best suited for states or counties somewhat sparsely settled or strongly rural in character, where the administrative business of a locality is small and relatively unimportant. The New England Town.-The towns of the six New England states The Township of the North. The vary in area from 20 to 40 sq. miles northern states of the union, lying and in population from less than 100 east of the Rocky Mountains, but inhabitants to over 20,000. There is excepting New England, contain still unorganized territory in the collectively over one-half the popula- northern parts of New Hampshire tion of the United States. In these and Maine; districts formed from the township system dominates, this, preliminary to a town organizathough sparsely populated counties tion, are in Maine called plantations. naturally have administrative dis- Historically, the town preceded the tricts instead. From these townships county, which now, however, exists are regularly separated in organiza- in all of the six states, but has few tion urban centers, which are incor- powers in any; it is especially weak porated as cities or villages under in Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode general or special statutes. The av- Island. Each state has cities, but erage township, though with many three only have incorporated villages exceptions, is an artificial area of six or boroughs, and there are scarcely miles square laid off by geographical a hundred of these all told. In the survey. It is a rural district of com- other three states, the villages in orparatively small population and is in- ganization are not separated from corporated for the purpose of ad- their towns. In each town, under ministering its local affairs and of the chairmanship of an elected modserving as agent in more general erator, an annual town meeting, commatters for the county, which, in posed of all the voters of the town, these states, is an important body, is held, and special meetings subject in close relation to the state and to call. The town meeting first having large jurisdiction over its elects its numerous officers and townships. In most of the northern boards, the chief of which are the tier of these states, township meet- moderator, the town clerk and the ings of voters, after the New Eng- board of selectmen, or town council, land pattern, are held for elections which is a body of from three to and for the transaction of town- nine members in charge of adminisship business, but the business meet-tration. After election of officers the ing has small administrative power, meeting hears the reports of the reis, as a rule, poorly attended, and tiring officers, discusses the budget tends to delegate its functions to its for the ensuing year, and instructs Board or Council. In the southern the selectmen in matters of future tier, the voters meet for election policy. Obviously, in the larger only, having no deliberative powers. Township administration is regularly vested in a board, the members of which are usually known as supervisors or trustees. In most of the states an executive officer has become differentiated, known as the super towns all the voters cannot meet in the town hall for the transaction of business and as a remedy the town may have its urban centers incorporated as villages, or have the whole *Maine, Vermont, Connecticut. town incorporated as a city.* The council, with its chairman elected by authority of the town is large, in- itself, exercises the statutory powers cluding such powers as assessment, of the village. Frequently, however, taxation, roads, poor-relief, fran- a special chairman or president is chises, and schools, which are regu- elected by popular vote as a sort of larly entrusted to a school board or mayor, in which case he regularly committee. The powers of the town has some supervisory authority and to a slight extent are supervised other specified powers, such as justice through state administrative boards, or police; he also regularly has a or by the county, if it is so author- limited veto over the acts of the ized. The New England town, it council. may be said, is losing its historic In closing it may be said that importance, chiefly through the throughout the United States there growth of urban centers and the de- is a strong tendency to insist on the velopment of the county, but also election, not appointment, of all local through the influx of a foreign-born officials. There are numerous offiimmigrant population unused to a cials elected each for a specified system of direct democracy. function, and there are many boards Service is per The Village.-Within the United of administration. States there are now considerably formed without pay, or for fees or over 10,000 incorporated villages, small salaries. Supervision from and the number is steadily increas- county or state is poorly performed ing, since not only is urban popula- as a rule, so that waste through tion multiplying but this form of incompetency or dishonesty is not body politic is rapidly growing in uncommon. The qualifications for favor. There is no uniform popula- local suffrage are always fixed by tion basis for a village, and the num-state constitution, but in school bers of inhabitants fixed by law vary matters women as well as men usufrom a minimum of 100 to a maxi- ally have the suffrage, and referenmum of 10,000. These urban centers dums involving the issuance of bonds are variously called by statute villages, boroughs, incorporated towns, or even cities; this last term in Kansas, for example, includes all municipal corporations. They are regularly incorporated under general statutes, are given authority in local administration, and serve as agents for township or county in more general matters. Village administration is regularly in the hands of an elective board or council of from three to nine members elected for from one to three years. This village The town of Cranston, Rhode Island, for example, with a population of over 21,000, became a city in 1910. are sometimes referred to taxpayers only. The chief need at present throughout the United States is that there be a closer coördination and a better supervisory system, so as to bind more effectively the state, county, urban center and township. Bibliography.-In John A. Fairlie's Local Government in Counties, Towns and Villages (New York, The Century Co., 1906), the only modern book covering the entire subject, will be found on pages 273-9, a lengthy bibliography, and a list of school text-books, each explaining the system of local government in the state which it describes. XI. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT NEW CITY CHARTERS Tendencies in Charter Framing.- commission governments in AmeriDevelopments during 1911 have am- can cities, owes a large part of its ply justified the recent statement of success, which has been as marked Dr. Charles E. Merriam that "the during the year 1911 as in any preAmerican city charter is the most vious year since its introduction in rapidly changing political structure Galveston in 1901, to the fact that it in the United States." Charter re- is a simple form of government, easvision and rebuilding have been up-ily understood by men of average permost issues in nearly every city intelligence and opportunity, and beof any size or importance. In Boston and New York the question has been to protect what' has been gained. In other cities it has been to secure improvements, and in a long list of communities to adopt the commission form. Four leading cities now have recently secured charters providing a strong mayor and a strong legislature of nine, elected at large: Boston, Pittsburg, Seattle and Los Angeles. In these places there has been material improvement in administration, and the general results have been satisfactory to the progressives who have been responsible for the changes. cause it provides the short ballot and a simplified form of nomination and election. Even in those charters which can not properly be classed as commission government or semi-commission government charters, the same tendency is to be observed, notably in the new charters for Boston, Pittsburg, Seattle and Los Angeles. In each of these the small council elected at large takes the place of cumbersome legislative bodies, in some instances of two legislative bodies, elected from wards. The elimination of party designation and the provision for a simple form of nomination are also chief characteristics. At the Richmond meeting of the National Municipal League (Nov. Boston.-Public opinion was too 13-16) the secretary reported that strongly in favor of the new charter during the 17 years of the League's in Boston for the politicians to have activities, the most important ten- their way in amending it to suit dencies to be noted had been those their purposes. We may look for toward an expansion of municipal other efforts to alter it, but the force functions and a simplification of of public sentiment was made SO municipal machinery, and that this clear that any such attempt will be latter tendency has been most undertaken with caution. The charmarked in the matter of charter re- ter is to have a fair trial. The small vision. Each year there has been a council will be continued, and the marked increase of interest in this evil of ward representation, with its phase of the subject, and an equally chain of log-rolling, bargaining, pomarked increase in the number of litical trading, is put aside. The efforts to eliminate the complexities city gained by the fight that had of the older forms of charters. The been waged, because the desires of movement for the establishment of the public were plainly arrayed and prevailed against the desires of a group of designing practical politicians whose aim was to restore the very conditions which the adoption of the charter demolished. was expected that public sentiment would be most lethargic and active leaders away. They miscalculated, however; for the civic workers were on guard and at once converted the New York was the scene of another hearings into real hearings, and conflict over charter revision in forced the issue home upon the peowhich enlightened public opinion ple. The response was immediate, was arrayed against selfish political and afforded a substantial tribute considerations and won out. The to the generalship of the leaders of city needs a new charter and needs it badly, but it must be carefully worked out by responsible representatives. The work on the "Gaynor charter was done in the dark and in haste. It was done by methods that created suspicion and pointed to secret jobbery. It was done in defiance of enlightened opinion and in utter disregard of the wishes of the people of New York, as the politicians learned to their discomfort. The draft of the new charter was a patchwork affair. Νο competent body of lawyers, no civic organization of any kind, was known as a party to its preparation." These are the words of the New York World, "Various unidentified workmen sawed and hammered at it from time to time. What they made of it nobody seemed to know, least of all the people of New York who were to be governed under it." So strongly expressed was the public sentiment against the change in the laws of a letting down of the restrictions, that its sponsors receded from their opposition to changes and agreed to eliminate all changes in the civil-service system from the charter. This was but the forerunner of the end, the charter failing through the inability to dragoon a sufficient number of the members of the Senate into line to secure its passage. In this connection it is important to point out that the marshalling of public opinion was effected through the leadership of the civic organizations of New York City. Governor Dix likewise deserves credit for insisting that he would approve no bill unless there had been an opportunity for the people to express their views upon it. To offset this attitude of the governor, the dates of the hearings and of the reconvening of the legislature, were fixed at a time when it the movement. Jacksonville, Fla., has been granted a new charter which represents the evolutionary process of charter revision. Over 20 years ago the city bonded itself for $1,000,000 for sanitary improvements, and a board of bond trustees of nine business men was appointed. This board has been very successful, as the personnel of it was selected from the business community, rather than a political faction. It controls the city electriclight plant, city waterworks, police, fire and public works, and, under the charter amendment its powers have been increased and the powers of the mayor and council decreased. The amendment of the charter abolished the board of public works and the city health department, placing these duties upon the bond trustees. The board of trustees secured the services of an expert civic and sanitary engineer from the ranks of the United States engineer corps. This is in line with the ideas of the Civic Improvement Committee of the Board of Trade. dorsed the idea. Governor Dix, of New York, however, vetoed a commission government charter for the town of Beacon, in his veto memorandum saying: "I intend to recommend to the legislature of 1912, and have ready for its consideration a uniform charter for cities of the third class. Such charter should be most carefully prepared and be broad enough in its provisions to permit any existing community or communities by voting upon the question to adopt its provisions and thereafter, be governed by such law." A significant feature of the commission government movement has been the fact that in so many instances the people of a community have been given the opportunity of saying whether or not they wished that particular form to be adopted; in other words, hand in hand with this simplification of form and machinery, has gone an increasing tendency toward municipal home rule, with a very considerable strengthening of the self-governing instinct in communities and a very great increase in the interest of the people in their local affairs. Governor Dix's proposition will be more complete if he gives the electors of cities of the third class the opportunity of saying whether they wish a commission form or some other form of government for their municipality. law, and to advance the general interest of cities under this form of government. The mayors, corporation counsels, city attorneys and commissioners were organized and divided into five groups: the department of public affairs, department of accounts and finance, department of public health and safety, department of streets and public improvements and department of public property. The intent is to have group meetings, the mayors and legal advisers together, and the commissioners of their respective departments together. Besides the group meeting there will be one general meeting where suggestions and recommendations coming from the different departments may be acted on. CITIES ADOPTING COMMISSION 66 96.815 3.448 SOUTH ATLANTIC DIVISION. West Virginia. 17,842 Of the legislatures which met in Wallington, Utah, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Parkersburg, Charter Wilmington, North Carolina. 15.895 25,748 4,067 Georgia. adopted legislation on the subject. Greensboro, Charter The Connecticut legislature passed the Norwich charter. The Pennsylvania legislative committee reported favorably on the bill for third-class Cartersville, State Law. Icities but the measure failed on the floor. In three states, namely, California, Washington and Iowa, the Braceville, State Law ad'p'd by city 971 Carbondale, Dixon, system was extended by permissive Hamilton, Hillsboro, Jacksonville, Kewanee, Illinois. 5.600 5,165 31.140 |