Our Government: Local, State, and National: Idaho Edition Part 2

1. The functions of government. Hoxie, How the People Rule, 11-16.

Reinsch, Young Citizen's Reader, 31-46. Dole, Young Citizen, 73-92.

2. Towns and villages. Reinsch, 145-152. Hoxie, 42-63. Hill, Lessons for Junior Citizens, 142-168.

3. County government. Reinsch, 163-166. Hoxie, 90-103.

CHAPTER III

THE ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

The Source of Our Local Governments.--If we look further into the systems of local government which have been described, we shall find facts in the history of their origins which explain many of their details. We shall now see how local government grew in the colonies, for here we have the beginnings of the systems that are in operation to-day.

Everywhere in the colonies the English settlers brought to their new homes the ancient customs of the mother-country. Differences in physical geography, and in the character and motives of the colonists, caused differences in the resulting local governments. This fact is best ill.u.s.trated by an account of what took place in New England and in Virginia.

The Method of Settlement in New England.--These colonies were settled by emigrants who came, in the main, from the same cla.s.ses of Englishmen.

The New Englanders, however, were Puritans. The church and its services were a very important part of their daily lives. The requirement of church attendance was one reason for grouping their homes near the meeting-house. Moreover, the region in which they settled had a stony soil, difficult to cultivate. Their farms required careful cultivation, and therefore could not be very large. The New Englander was content to live near the coast. Means of traveling to the interior were not easy, for the rivers, with few exceptions, were short and rapid. The sea fisheries tempted the settlers to remain near the coast, and fishing, with ship-building and commerce, became their important industries.

Town Meetings and Officers.--For these reasons New England was a region of small farms and towns, and the local government which grew up was adapted to these conditions. The voters of each town (or township) met annually, or oftener, in "town meeting." Here their common local affairs were discussed and regulated. The church, the schools, roads, the poor, and many other matters were under the complete control of this meeting, and of the officers elected by the a.s.sembled voters. These officers were the selectmen,--which was a board having general supervision of the town affairs,--the clerk, treasurer, a.s.sessors, fence viewers, constables, and numerous others.

The County in New England.--Because the people lived in towns and could most easily regulate their affairs through the machinery of town government, they had no counties whatever at first; but these were soon established, though merely for judicial purposes. The governor appointed justices who held court in each county.

The leading features of New England local government, then, were (1) its democratic character, seen particularly in the town meeting; and (2) the fact that nearly all local affairs were managed by the town government, leaving but one important function, and that judicial in its nature, for the county.

The Settlement of Virginia.--In the colony of Virginia we find conditions that bring about entirely different results in the organization and workings of local government. Here the settlers were not bound by religious or other ties into compact social bodies as the Puritans were. Natural conditions in Virginia made it better for the settlers to live apart, so that nearly all their attempts to form cities and towns failed. The cultivation of tobacco, of course, explains this to a large extent. The fertile soil and the ease of raising this product led to the formation of large plantations. The broad rivers made progress into the interior remarkably easy; and there seemed little necessity for towns as shipping ports, because ocean vessels could stop at the private wharves of the various plantations. The rich planters were most prominent in the social and political life of the colony, and local government fell under their control.

The Importance of the County.--Now, of the various local organizations to which the Virginians had been accustomed in England, the one best suited to their condition in the colony was the county. So they copied the English county and made it their chief organ of local government. The princ.i.p.al governing body was the _county court_, composed of justices appointed at first by the governor of the colony.

The court had both legislative and judicial functions. It managed such matters as roads, licenses, and taxation; it also tried civil and criminal cases. Other county officers were the sheriff and the lieutenant, the latter being commander of the militia.

The Parish and the Vestry.--That part of the Virginia local government which corresponded to the New England town was the _parish_; but it is apparent that few functions remained to be exercised in this, their smallest political organization. The counties were generally composed of several parishes. The governing body of each was the vestry; it had charge of church affairs and of poor relief. The members of the vestry and also the justices of the county court were not elected by the people, as the town officers were in New England. On the contrary, both the vestry and the county court filled vacancies in their own number, without popular election.

This fact serves to ill.u.s.trate the general truth that local government was democratic in New England and aristocratic in Virginia; in the former colony the ma.s.s of voters took part most actively in local government, while in the latter a few men const.i.tuted the ruling cla.s.s.

This does not mean that local affairs in Virginia were badly managed, for the leading men were on the whole intelligent and public-spirited; and in the years of the Revolution they were among the foremost in the defense of American liberties. In New England, however, it was noticeable that the ma.s.s of voters were intelligent and understood the practical management of political affairs--a result which doubtless came largely from their training in the town meeting.

The Three Types of Local Organization.--We have now seen that in New England the town had the most important functions of local government, and this is called, therefore, the _town type_; while in Virginia the county had the greater share of governing powers, and there we find the _county type_. Virginia influenced the colonies that lay south of her, so that the county type was found also in the Carolinas and Georgia. In the middle colonies there existed both counties and towns, and here there was a much more equal division of powers between these organizations. Hence we call theirs the _mixed_ or _township-county type_ of local government.

Local Government in the West.--The people who migrated to the new States west of the Alleghenies carried with them the forms of local government which have just been described as growing up in the colonies.

This statement needs some modification, for nowhere in the West was the pure town type adopted. Everywhere in the North we find the mixed type, while the Southern States have, in general, the county type. In the latter the county commissioners, elected at large or from precincts, together with other county officers, exercise most of the local powers of government.

Two Forms in the North.--In the greater number of the States that have the mixed type, the county is governed by a board of commissioners elected by either of the methods just mentioned as prevailing in the South. In a few States (such as Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin), the county board is composed of _supervisors_, who represent the towns, villages, and wards of the county. Here we find the town meeting, copied after that of New England or New York, and the town government has more functions than in those States where commissioners compose the town board.

Local Self-Government.--Such is the way in which local government has come about in the various States of the Union. Rooted in the systems that Englishmen have developed through the centuries, adapted to the new life and the peculiar conditions of the colonial period, it has spread with the population throughout the land. The management of local affairs by the people and their chosen representatives is a sound principle of government which holds a firm place in every part of our country.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES.

1. Which type of local government exists in your State? Can you account for its origin?

2. Is the system of local government uniform throughout your State? If so, why is this true? If not, can you account for the lack of uniformity?

CHAPTER IV.

THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES.

The General Plan of City Government.--The general framework of city government is not very different from that of the other governmental divisions. There are the legislative, executive, and judicial departments, whose organization and functions are stated in the _charter_, or fundamental law of the city. The city legislature is the _council_ or _board of aldermen_. In most cases this body is a single house, though in some cities there are two houses. The members are elected from the wards into which the city is divided. The council may pa.s.s ordinances for the government of the city, but it is limited in the extent of its powers by the terms of the city charter.

City Charters Granted by Legislatures.--The source of the charter is the State legislature. In most States the const.i.tution provides that the legislature shall pa.s.s _general laws_ prescribing the framework of all cities, or of the cla.s.ses into which the cities of a State may be divided, according to their population. These laws also contain regulations that are safeguards against the abuses of munic.i.p.al government, such as heavy taxation and the acc.u.mulation of debts. The requirement of general laws secures uniformity in the most important features of city government, and it prevents the practice, which is otherwise liable to prevail, of constant interference by State legislatures in the affairs of certain cities. Such _special laws_ should be enacted with great caution, if at all; for when a legislature regulates the affairs of a particular city, it too often does so at the request of persons or corporations having advantages to gain at the expense of the public.[3]

[Footnote 3: In some States where the const.i.tutions require general laws applying to cla.s.ses of cities, single cities have been put in cla.s.ses by themselves; so the legislature has virtually governed them by special laws.]

The Mayor.--The chief executive of the city is the mayor. He is the head of the police department and has more or less authority over the other administrative departments to be discussed later in this chapter.

In the cases of both mayor and aldermen, the facts concerning their terms, salaries, and other details vary so greatly in different cities that no general description is possible.

The city judiciary includes the ordinary State courts and also special or munic.i.p.al courts of various degrees.

Other City Officials.--Besides the officers enumerated, every city has its clerk, treasurer, attorney, and a.s.sessors. The auditor, or comptroller, is an important official who controls city finances.

Administrative Departments.--The greatest difficulties of city government arise in connection with the numerous administrative departments; these are quite complex in their operation. In large cities the number of officials and the variety of their duties render it almost impossible for the average citizen to become informed concerning these affairs; consequently, opportunities for fraud and mismanagement occur frequently.

Why, it may be asked, is such complex machinery necessary in munic.i.p.al government? It is because social and industrial conditions (that is, the circ.u.mstances under which men live and work) are quite different from those that we find in towns and villages; and city government must be adapted to these conditions.

Conditions Peculiar to City Life.--Let us notice some of the ways in which this is true. (1) The mere fact that population is dense increases the possibility that a citizen may interfere with the rights of his neighbors even in the conduct of ordinary business. (2) There is greater liability that public health and safety may be endangered, both in the homes and in the shops and factories of cities, than in less densely settled communities. (3) The opportunities for evil-doing and for concealment that exist in cities draw to them a larger proportion of the vicious cla.s.ses who need control and suppression. (4) Finally, in cities it is less easy than in the country for each family to supply itself with certain conveniences, such as water, light, and transportation; consequently, the government must regulate to some extent the supply of these necessities.

These are some of the conditions that are peculiar to city life; and we find here the reasons why the government in a city must undertake a large number of functions. At every point the safety of the citizen and his property must be guarded; and in a great many ways the conveniences of life must be supplied by the city or under the control of city officials. Thus we account for the fact that city government is complex--the princ.i.p.al source of the difficulties and the evils that we find in connection with administrative departments.

Fire and Police Departments.--The number and the organization of administrative departments vary considerably in different cities.

Everywhere we find the police, fire, and health departments. Fire departments are, as a rule, very efficient; for the citizens will not allow laxness in the protection of their property. The efficiency of police departments varies greatly in different cities. When the selection of police officers is on a political basis, the standards are apt to be low, and the police may then protect or even a.s.sist violators of the law. Instances have been known where policemen received, regularly, money payments from law-breakers whom they did not arrest.

The detection of this form of corruption is difficult; nevertheless, if it continues, the people are evidently not awake to their own best interests. In other cities, on the other hand, the police force is maintained upon a high standard. Sometimes civil-service-reform methods are used in the selection of policemen; the pa.s.sing of an examination is necessary for appointment. This, with a fair system of promotions, should render a police force more like a military organization in its relation to the enforcement of law.

The Health Department.--The department of public health has duties that are of vital importance. Sewerage systems, sanitation, and the water-supply are the chief objects of its inspection. Health officers also have powers which enable them to detect and prohibit the sale of impure foods. The milk-supply should receive its particular attention, for the purity of this product is an important matter. The enforcement of strict health regulations in the crowded tenement districts of large cities is very difficult; but the neglect of these matters by city officials is nothing less than criminal.

The Department of Streets.--This department, which has in charge the construction of streets and pavements, affects the convenience of every citizen. Here vast sums of money are expended, sometimes wisely, and sometimes under the supervision of officials who are lacking in the technical knowledge required by this kind of work. Opportunity for dishonest handling of public money may be found in the letting of contracts and in the purchase of supplies. Street-cleaning has received comparatively little attention in American cities. In this respect we are far behind many European cities. This is because the relation of clean streets to public health, and to civic beauty, is not fully appreciated by the average citizen of our country.

Public Charities.--The administration of public charities is everywhere a difficult matter, and, naturally, its difficulty is greatest in large cities, where we find the greatest number of those who seek relief. Two problems confront the department of public charities: (1) How can it distinguish between those who actually need a.s.sistance and those who do not? (2)How can it help those who need a.s.sistance temporarily, without weakening their desire to become self-supporting?

The same problems must be solved by the citizen in connection with his private charities. In general, it may be said that charitable work is best managed by private organizations, in charge of trained workers, who can investigate all cases of application for aid.

The Public Schools.--Public education is another department of munic.i.p.al activity.[4] City governments spend great amounts of public money for this purpose. The work of our educational inst.i.tutions is constantly being enlarged; courses in commerce, manual training, and domestic science are intended to strengthen the practical side of education. In some cities special schools are maintained for the defective cla.s.ses and for truants.

[Footnote 4: This subject is also treated in the chapter on Public School Systems.]