LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CONTINUED: CITIES AND VILLAGES
=Need of Municipal Government.=--The systems of local government
described in the preceding chapter are those which have been devised
mainly for rural communities, that is, communities containing a
scattered population engaged principally in agricultural pursuits. In a
sparsely settled community the governmental needs of the people are
comparatively few, and a simple governmental organization is sufficient
for supplying those needs. In a densely populated community, however, a
more complex and differently organized form of government must be
provided. When, therefore, a community becomes so populous that it
cannot be governed effectively by town meetings, small boards, and the
other forms of political machinery described in the previous chapter, it
is incorporated as a municipality, that is, the state gives it a charter
which confers upon it special powers and privileges and provides it with
a somewhat different type of local government for the exercise of those
powers. The minimum population necessary to constitute a city varies in
the different states. They all require, however, that there must be a
considerable number of inhabitants occupying a comparatively small area
of territory, before the community can be incorporated as a city. In
Illinois, for example, any community having at least 1,000 inhabitants
resident within an area not exceeding four square miles may become a
city. In some other states, a population of not less than 5,000 is
required, while in some a still larger number is required. The census
bureau of the United States, for statistical purposes, has at different
times taken 8,000 and 2,500 as the minimum population required to
constitute a city.
=Growth of Cities.=--One of the most remarkable political and social
facts of the past century was the growth of towns and cities. When the
Constitution of the United States went into operation there were but
thirteen cities in the whole country with populations exceeding 5,000
each. Only about four per cent of the people then lived under urban
conditions: rural life was the rule, and city life the exception. Since
the middle of the last century, however, there has been a remarkable
change in the relative proportion of the total population living in the
cities and in the country. According to the federal census of 1910 there
were 1,232 cities in the United States with a population of more than
5,000 each, and in them lived 42 per cent of all the people. The number
is now considerably larger. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the
people of Massachusetts now live in cities of over 5,000 inhabitants,
and in a few other states the urban population constitutes more than two
thirds of the whole. More than half the population of New York state is
now found in the city of New York alone. Even in several states of the
West, as Illinois, more than half the population is now living under
urban conditions. What is even more remarkable has been the rapidity
with which many American cities have grown to their present size. Thus
New York in a period of 100 years grew from a city of 50,000 inhabitants
to a city of more than 4,000,000. The growth of Chicago was even more
rapid. In 1907 there was still living in that city the first white
person born within its present limits. This person saw Chicago grow from
a petty prairie village to a city of more than 2,000,000 souls.
=Causes of City Growth.=--The causes that have led to the extraordinary
growth of cities are partly economic and partly social. With the more
general use of labor-saving machinery in agriculture the number of men
necessary to cultivate the farms and supply the world with food has
decreased relatively, leaving a larger number to engage in the
manufacturing and other industries which are generally centered in the
cities. One man with a machine can now do the work on the farm which
formerly required several, so that fewer farmers in proportion to the
total population are needed. On the other hand, the development of trade
and commerce and the rise of the manufacturing industries have created
an increasing demand for city workers. Many persons are also drawn away
from the country by the social attractions and intellectual advantages
which the cities offer. In the cities, good schools are abundant and
convenient. There also are colleges, libraries, picture galleries,
museums, theaters, and other institutions for amusement and education.
There the daily newspaper may be left at one's door often for a cent a
copy; there are to be found fine churches with pulpits occupied by able
preachers; there one finds all the conveniences of life which modern
science and skill can provide--everything to gratify the social
instinct, and little or none of the dullness of country life. These are
some of the attractions that lure the young and the old as well from the
rural communities to swell the population of the cities. These are the
forces that are converting us from a nation of country dwellers to a
nation of city dwellers.
=Consequences of City Growth.=--The congestion of the population in the
towns and cities has had far-reaching economic, social, and political
effects.
_Economic Results._--As the city population becomes more dense the
number of those who are able to own their own homes becomes less, and
thus the city tends more and more to become a community of tenants.
According to the census of 1900, while more than 64 per cent of the
families of the United States living on farms owned their own homes,
less than 35 per cent of those living in cities were owners of the
houses they occupied. In New York city the proportion was only about 12
per cent, and in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx it was less
than 6 per cent. Of these hardly more than 2 per cent owned homes that
were clear of mortgages.
_Social Results._--Another result of the movement of the people to the
cities is the evil of overcrowding. Manifestly where the area of a city
is limited, as is often the case, there must come a time when the
population will be massed and crowded together under circumstances that
are dangerous to the health, morals, and comfort of the people. In some
of the large cities to-day the conditions resulting from overcrowding
are truly shocking. According to the census of 1900, while the average
number of persons to a dwelling throughout the country as a whole was
about five, the number in New York city was nearly fifteen, and in the
boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx it was more than twenty. In several
parts of the city there are blocks containing more than 1,000 persons to
the acre. Under such circumstances the rate of mortality is necessarily
high, and immorality and vice are encouraged. In the great cities one
finds a large floating population with no local attachment or civic
pride, and thousands of persons, foreigners and natives alike, with low
standards of life. There also the individual is lost in a multitude,
and the restraining influence of public opinion, which is so powerful in
the country, is lacking. Thus the tendency to wrongdoing is greatly
accentuated.
_Political Results._--Finally, the growth of the cities has had
important political consequences, in that it has given rise to
conditions that have increased enormously the problems of local
government. As long as the population of the nation was predominantly
rural and the cities few in number and small in size, the difficulties
of local government were not serious. But the presence of such
conditions as those described above, together with the task which
devolves upon the city of performing so many services for the people
that are not required in sparsely settled communities, has made the
problem of city government the most difficult of all governmental
problems.
=Movement to Check Immigration to the Cities.=--The abandonment of the
farms and the movement of the people to the cities is viewed by many
persons with regret, not to say alarm. There are some who think that the
cities are the plague spots of the country, that city life tends to
produce an enfeebled race with low moral standards; that they are
tending to make of us a nation of tenants, tramps, anarchists, and
criminals; and that the economic welfare of the country is being
endangered by the drift away from the farm. Such a view, of course,
represents an exaggerated conception of the dangers, though it will be
readily admitted that the change is not without serious evils.
Lately we have heard a great deal of discussion among thoughtful men as
to the possibility of checking the movement of the young to the cities.
And notwithstanding the movement from the country to the city it is
evident that the conditions of rural life are much more favorable than
formerly. The daily free delivery of mail at the doors of the farmers,
the introduction of the telephone and the interurban railway, to say
nothing of the use of labor-saving machinery, have done much to add to
the attractiveness of country life and to diminish the hardships of farm
life and other rural occupations. But these advantages have not checked
the movement to the cities, and other remedies must be found.
=The Position of the City in the State.=--The city occupies a twofold
position in the state of which it is a part. In the first place, it is
an agent of the state for carrying out certain state laws and policies.
Thus it acts for the state when it protects the public health, cares for
the poor, maintains peace and order, supports education, and collects
the taxes for the state. In the second place, the city undertakes to
perform numerous services which are of interest to the people of the
locality alone and which do not concern the people of the state as a
whole. When acting in this latter capacity, the city is merely an organ
of local government and not an agent of the state. Thus the city
sometimes supplies the inhabitants with light and water, protects them
against fire, maintains sewers, disposes of garbage and other refuse,
builds wharves, docks, and bridges, and maintains public libraries,
museums, bath houses, and other institutions.
_State Control of Cities._--The organization, powers, and privileges of
the city are determined for the most part by the state constitution and
laws. In a few states the financial transactions of city officials are
subject to state inspection and audit, and in practically all of them
their power to levy taxes and borrow money is placed under restrictions.
It is felt that if the cities were left entirely free from state control
they could not always be relied upon by the state to carry out the laws
which they are charged with enforcing, and that in other respects their
action might not be in harmony with the general policy of the state. In
those matters, however, which are of purely local interest, the state
should interfere as little as possible. Interference in such cases is
contrary to the ideas of local self-government which Americans cherish
as one of their most valuable rights. However, the right of the people
living in cities to regulate their own local affairs according to their
own notions is not always recognized, and there are frequent complaints
that state legislatures have interfered when the interests of the state
did not justify it.
=The City Charter.=--The city, unlike the county, township, and other
minor civil divisions described in the preceding chapter, has a charter
granted to it by the state which gives the city more of the character of
a public corporation. The charter contains the name of the place
incorporated, a description of its boundaries, its form of organization,
and a detailed enumeration of the powers which it may exercise. It is
granted by the state legislature, though, unlike the charter granted to
a private corporation, such as a bank or a railway company, it is not a
contract but simply a legislative act which may be repealed or altered
at the will of the legislature. Thus, legally, the city is at the mercy
of the legislature. Its charter, indeed, may be taken away from it and
the city governed directly by the legislature in such manner as it may
choose, and this has sometimes been done in the case of cities which
grossly abused their powers or got themselves into such hopeless
financial condition that they were unable to meet their obligations or
properly discharge their duties.
_Methods of Granting Charters._--Formerly it was the custom in most
states for the legislature to frame a charter for each city as
application was made. The result was that different cities received
different kinds of charters, some more liberal than others. Besides, the
time of the legislature was taken up with the consideration of
applications for charters, and abundant opportunities were offered for
favoritism and for the use of improper influences upon members of the
legislature by cities that desired new charters or amendments to
existing charters. To avoid these evils many states adopted the practice
of passing a general law for the government of all cities in the state,
under which any community which desired to be incorporated as a city
might by fulfilling certain prescribed conditions be organized under
this general act, which then became the charter of the city. Under this
system all cities in the state would have practically the same
organization and powers.
_"Home Rule" Charters._--The feeling that the people concerned should be
given some power in framing the charters under which they are to be
governed has led in comparatively recent times to the adoption of "home
rule" provisions in the constitutions of a number of states--that is,
provisions allowing the people of each city, under certain restrictions,
to frame their own charters. Thus the Missouri constitution, adopted in
1875, allows each city of more than 100,000 inhabitants to prepare its
own charter, which, when approved by the voters, shall go into effect
provided it is not inconsistent with the state law. Other states having
"home rule" charter provisions in their constitutions are California,
Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Arizona, and Connecticut.
[Illustration: CITY HALL AND MUNICIPAL BUILDING, NEW YORK
The City Hall is in the foreground; the Municipal Building, containing
additional office room for city officials, is the tallest building
shown.]
_Powers of Municipal Corporations._--With the exception of a few cities,
of which Houston, Texas, is an example, the powers that may be
exercised by a city are specifically enumerated with great detail in the
charter, and where that is done no other powers may be exercised by the
city except such as are clearly incidental to, or implied in, those
enumerated. Thus when the city of New York wished to build an elevated
railway, it had to secure express authority from the legislature, which
body insisted that the work should be carried out under the supervision
of a state commission. Likewise when the city of Chicago wanted power to
prescribe the width of wagon tires to be used on its streets, recourse
had to be made to the state legislature for permission, though in
neither case was the matter involved one which concerned directly
anybody except the people of the cities affected.
=Legislative Interference in the Affairs of Cities.=--The power of the
state legislature over the cities has sometimes been employed to
interfere in their local affairs and to force upon the cities measures
or policies to which they were opposed. Thus the legislature of
Pennsylvania passed an act requiring the city of Philadelphia to build
an expensive city hall which cost the taxpayers of the city something
like $20,000,000, though it was not a matter of direct interest to the
people outside of the city. Likewise the legislature of Ohio required
the city of Cleveland to erect a soldiers' monument at a cost of
$300,000 against the wishes of the taxpayers who had to bear the
expense.
Sometimes the legislature employs its power of control over the cities
in the interest of the political party which happens to be in control of
the legislature, and it frequently passes laws relating to the hours of
opening and closing of saloons in the cities when local sentiment may be
opposed to such laws. But as to the moral right of the legislature to
enact such laws as the last mentioned, there is a difference of
opinion. The disposition of the legislature to interfere in the affairs
of the cities by means of special acts--that is, acts applying to a
single city--has come to be a crying evil and has been a cause of
complaint from the people of nearly every large city. The New York
legislature during a period of ten years passed nearly four hundred laws
applying to the city of New York.
=Constitutional Protection Against Special Legislation.=--To protect the
cities against special legislation and at the same time to remove the
opportunity which such a practice offers for bribery and the employment
of other improper means to secure special legislation or to prevent it,
when it is not desired, the constitutions of many states contain
provisions absolutely prohibiting the legislature from enacting laws
applying to particular cities except where general laws are
inapplicable. Where such constitutional provisions have been adopted,
the legislatures have frequently evaded them by a system of
classification by which acts are passed applying to all cities within a
class when in reality there may be but a single city in such a class.
And the courts have generally held such acts to be constitutional where
the classifications are not unreasonable.
The New York constitution recognizes that special legislation applying
to larger cities may sometimes be desirable, and instead of forbidding
such legislation absolutely it classifies the cities of the state into
three classes according to population,--New York City, Buffalo, and
Rochester constituting the first class,--and allows the legislature to
enact laws affecting a single city within a class, subject to the
condition that the proposed law must be submitted to the authorities of
the city affected, for their approval, and if disapproved it is void
unless repassed by the legislature. Likewise by recent amendment to the
constitution of Illinois the legislature of the state is allowed to
pass special laws affecting the city of Chicago alone, but such
legislation cannot take effect until it has been approved by the voters
of the city at a general or special election.
=Functions of Municipal Government.=--The functions and activities of
city government are numerous and varied, much more so, of course, in
large cities than in small ones. First of all, the problem of police
protection, the punishment of crime, and the care of the public safety
in a community where thousands of persons of all nationalities and with
varying standards of respect for law are living in close proximity, is
very difficult and requires a small army of officials which would be
entirely unnecessary in a rural community. Likewise the duty of caring
for the public health, of preventing the spread of disease, of securing
a wholesome water supply, of protecting the people against impure and
adulterated food, and of securing wholesome and sanitary conditions
generally, is very much greater in cities than in sparsely settled rural
districts or in villages and small towns. Then there are the problems of
fire protection, gas and electric light, street railway transportation,
the construction and maintenance of streets, education, building
regulations, the care of the poor and dependent class, disposal of
sewage and waste, the maintenance of hospitals, libraries, museums, and
other institutions, the regulation of traffic on the streets, and many
other activities too numerous to mention.
=The City Council.=--The legislative branch of most city governments is
a council composed of members elected by the voters for a term ranging
from one year in some of the cities of New England to four years in
certain other parts of the country, the most usual term being two years.
The number of members ranges from 9 in Boston to more than 130 in
Philadelphia. The city of New York has a council of 67 members; Chicago,
70; and San Francisco, 18. In the large majority of cities this council,
unlike the state legislatures, is a single-chambered body, though in a
few important cities, notably Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, and
Louisville, it is composed of two houses.
_Mode of Election._--Generally, the members of the city council are
chosen by districts or wards, usually one member from each, though in
some cities several are elected from each district; in Illinois cities
two members are elected from each ward into which the city is divided.
Where the council is composed of two houses, the members of the upper
house are sometimes chosen from the city at large on a general ticket,
and the members of the lower house by wards. In San Francisco, where the
council is composed of but one house, the eighteen members are elected
from the city at large. The same is true of Boston, whose council under
the new charter is composed of but nine members.
The method of election by wards is open to the objection that it tends
to the election of inferior men and of men who are likely to consider
themselves the special representatives of their wards rather than the
representatives of the people of the city at large. On the other hand,
election from the city at large, or election of several members from
large districts on a general ticket, unless coupled with a system of
minority representation, is likely to give the majority party an undue
advantage. Perhaps the best plan would be to elect a certain number from
the city at large and the rest by wards.
Moreover, in some cities, of which Chicago is a conspicuous example, the
ward system has led to inequality of representation. Thus it has
sometimes happened that certain wards which are largely inhabited by the
worst elements of the population are over-represented as compared with
wards in other parts of the city inhabited largely by the better class
of citizens. Finally, where the ward system prevails, the ward becomes
the seat of a local political organization whose methods are so often
corrupt and dishonorable that they constitute a great hindrance to good
city government.
=Powers of City Councils.=--Unlike the state legislature, which is an
authority of general powers, the city council in America has only such
powers as are conferred upon it by the charter of the city. These powers
are numerous and varied and relate to such matters as the laying out and
care of streets, the protection of the public health, the regulation of
the sale of liquor, the control of places of public amusement, markets,
bathing places, traffic on the streets, the suppression of vice and
immorality, protection against fire, the disposal of waste, the lighting
of the streets, and in general the preservation of the good order and
peace of the community. Its powers are exercised usually through acts
called ordinances, which are framed and enacted after the manner
followed by the legislature in enacting laws for the government of the
state. The power of the council is frequently limited by the state
constitution or laws. Thus very frequently it is forbidden to incur
debts beyond a certain limit, or to levy taxes above a certain amount,
and frequently the purposes for which taxes may be levied and money
appropriated are carefully specified.
=Franchises.=--One of the most important powers of a city council is the
granting of franchises to street railway, gas, electric light, water,
and other public service companies to maintain tracks, wires, pipe
lines, etc., in the streets and other public places. As these franchises
are often of great value to the companies receiving them, a temptation
is thus created for the employment of bribery and other improper means
for securing concessions of this character. In some cities aldermen have
been paid large sums of money for their votes on franchise grants, and
indeed the practice has been so often resorted to that there is a
popular belief that most public utility franchises in the larger cities
are secured in this way. Formerly franchises were frequently granted for
long periods of years or for an indefinite period, and often without
adequate compensation to the city. This abuse became so common that the
people gradually came to adopt constitutional provisions or state laws
limiting the periods for which public service franchises could be
granted, and indeed a few, notably those which have adopted the
commission form of government, have gone to the length of making all
such grants subject to the approval of the voters of the city at an
election held for the purpose.
=The Mayor.=--The chief executive officer of the city is the mayor. With
a few unimportant exceptions he is elected by the qualified voters of
the city and serves for a term varying from one to four years, the most
usual term being two years. In Boston, Chicago, and New York city,
however, the term is four years.
=Powers and Duties.=--It is the duty of the mayor to enforce the
ordinances of the city and also such laws of the state as he may be
charged with executing. Like the sheriff of the county, he is a peace
officer and as such is charged with the maintenance of order and the
suppression of riots, and if a disturbance becomes so great that it
cannot be suppressed by the police he may, like the sheriff, call on the
governor for the militia. In some cities he is the presiding officer of
the city council, though not a member of it. Generally he is required
to submit messages to the council concerning the condition of the city,
and may recommend measures for its consideration. Practically everywhere
he has the power to veto ordinances passed by the city council, and some
mayors have made extensive use of this power. The council, however, may
pass an ordinance over the mayor's veto.
One of the important powers of the mayor is the appointment of
officials, though usually the assent of the council is necessary to the
validity of most appointments. In recent years there has been a
considerable extension of this power in a number of the large cities,
where the mayor has been given the absolute power of appointing the
heads of the administrative departments. Indeed, the tendency now seems
to be in the direction of concentrating larger powers of appointment in
his hands as a means of fixing responsibility more definitely. There is
also a tendency in the direction of giving him a large power of removal,
subject to the provision that the official shall be removed only for
good cause and that he shall be given a hearing and an opportunity to
answer the charges made against him.
Finally, the mayor usually has the power to grant pardons for violations
of the ordinances of the city, and this power is sometimes extensively
used. Thus during the year 1909 the mayor of Chicago released more than
1,100 offenders who had been committed to prison, or about 10 per cent
of the whole number committed. In some cities also he may remit fines
that have been paid for violations of city ordinances.
=Administrative Departments.=--_Single Commissioner System vs. the Board
System._--In every large city there are, in addition to the mayor, a
number of departments each charged with the conduct of some particular
branch of the city's affairs. They are organized on one of two
principles: each is under the control either of a board or of a single
commissioner. Each method of organization has its advantages and
disadvantages, but experience has shown that the single-headed
department is the one best calculated to secure efficiency and
responsibility, and it is the one most generally employed. The board
system is well adapted to secure deliberation, but not promptness and
unity of action nor responsibility, because one member may easily shift
the responsibility for an error or blunder upon his colleagues. But for
certain branches of administration such as the civil service, park
administration, school administration, assessments, and possibly others,
the board system has important advantages.
_Number of Departments._--The number of these administrative departments
varies widely among the different cities of the country. In general we
find the following departments: a finance department, a law department,
a health department, a fire department, a police department, a
department of charities, and a department of public works. In some
cities, however, the number of departments is much larger than this.
Thus in some we find a street cleaning department, a department of
buildings, a sewer department, a department of parks, a department of
docks, and so on.
_Choice of Heads of Departments._--The heads of these departments are in
most cases appointed by the mayor, to whom they are responsible, though
nearly everywhere the approval of the council is necessary to his
appointments. In recent years there has been more or less criticism of
the practice of choosing administrative officials by popular election.
In every large city there is a great mass of unintelligent voters who
are easily controlled by corrupt and scheming politicians. Moreover, it
is impossible for the voters in a large city, however intelligent they
may be, to become acquainted with the merits of all the numerous
candidates when there are a considerable number of offices to be filled.
It is believed by many municipal reformers, therefore, that better
results could be obtained by allowing the mayor to choose all the heads
of important departments, except possibly the chief finance officer, who
might properly be chosen by the people. For the selection of the large
number of subordinate officials, the best method yet devised is that
known as the civil service system, which has been introduced in most of
the larger cities. Under this system appointments are made on the basis
of merit and fitness, which qualities are ascertained by an examination
by a board of civil service commissioners.
=City Finances.=--One of the most remarkable features of American
municipal development has been the extraordinary growth of municipal
expenditures. The functions and activities of modern city government are
indeed so numerous and varied as to require a larger number of officials
and a greater expenditure of money than is required for the conduct of
any other of the various governments under which we live. By far the
larger part of the taxes contributed by those who live in the cities go
to meet the expenses of municipal government. In 1920 the budget of New
York city was over $270,000,000, while that of Chicago was about
$130,000,000, in each case the amount being about five times as great as
the appropriations for the support of the government of the state in
which the city is situated. The annual cost of operating our largest
city exceeds what was required to maintain the national government in
its early days, and is greater than the national budget of a number of
European countries to-day. New York city in 1910 had a debt almost as
large as the national debt, her annual interest account alone being in
the neighborhood of $30,000,000. The proper raising and expenditure of
such vast sums of money is one of the most difficult tasks of a city
government. For this purpose there are assessors, collectors,
treasurers, comptrollers or auditors, and various other officials. The
levying of the taxes is everywhere a power of the city council, though
in many states the amount of taxes which may be levied by it is
limited--usually to a certain percentage of the value of the taxable
property within the city, and in some states the limit is fixed so low
that the cities are handicapped in raising sufficient revenue to meet
their expenses. The purpose of such restrictions is to prevent
extravagance and wastefulness, and the history of many of our cities
proves that they have, in general, served a good purpose.
_Sources of Municipal Taxation._--The principal source of income for
city, as for state and county, purposes is the general property tax,
though cities are usually allowed to levy a great variety of other
taxes, such as taxes on certain trades and businesses. Street peddlers
are in many cases required to pay license fees. Before the liquor
traffic was prohibited, many cities derived a large portion of their
income from license taxes on saloons. Some cities receive a considerable
income from franchises granted to public corporations. Thus Chicago
receives a large percentage of the earnings of some of the street
railways, the amount aggregating more than $1,500,000 a year. In many
cities the expense of public improvements, particularly street paving
and the laying of sidewalks, is met by what are called "special
assessments," that is, assessments laid upon the owners of the property
benefited, in proportion to the benefits received from the improvement.
_Municipal Expenditures._--Appropriations are in most cities made by the
city council subject to certain rules and restrictions prescribed by
state law. In New York city, however, the budget is prepared by a board
of estimate and apportionment composed of a few high city officers, and
in a few other cities the preparation of the budget is intrusted to
other authorities than the city council. To secure accuracy and honesty
in the expenditure of city funds, provision is commonly made for
auditing the accounts of financial officials, and in a few states like
Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, provision is made by law for state inspection
and audit of municipal accounts by state examiners. This plan has proved
very effective. In one state, these inspectors found that municipal
officials had misappropriated more than $500,000, over half of which was
recovered and turned into the proper treasuries. In a number of cities
where the commission form of government has been adopted provision is
made for monthly financial statements which must be published in the
local newspapers, and for annual examinations of city accounts by expert
accountants.
_City Debts._--For the construction of permanent improvements, the
erection of public buildings, and the establishment of commercial
enterprises such as waterworks and gas works, cities must borrow money;
and so one of the powers always given them is that of incurring debts.
This power, however, was greatly abused in the early history of our
municipal development--so much so that many cities found themselves on
the verge of bankruptcy. In order to check this evil, many states have
placed a limit upon the municipal borrowing power, and some have
provided that whenever a debt is incurred, provision shall be made at
the same time for payment of the interest and the principal within a
certain period of years. The debt limit is usually a certain percentage
of the assessed valuation of the taxable property within the city. It
ranges from 2 per cent in Boston, to 10 per cent in New York. In some
cases the limit is so low that cities have been handicapped in
constructing needed permanent improvements. Thus in Chicago, where
property has been assessed at only one fifth of its real value, the
result of the debt limitation has been to render extensive improvements
very difficult, and to compel the city to meet the expense of many
absolutely necessary undertakings out of its current revenues when the
cost should have been distributed over a period of years. Chicago, as a
consequence, has the smallest debt of any of the large cities of the
country.
=Police Protection.=--Where large numbers of people are living together
in close proximity the problem of maintaining order and preventing some
from violating the rights of others is very much greater than in
sparsely settled rural communities. One of the principal tasks of the
authorities in a city, therefore, is to provide police protection for
the inhabitants. This is done through the agency of a body of men
organized and uniformed somewhat after the manner of an army. The size
of this force varies ordinarily in proportion to the population of the
city. In New York city, for example, the entire police force numbers
more than 10,000 men--a body as large as the army of the United States
was in the early days of our history. In Chicago there are altogether
some 8,000 men in the police service of the city.
_Organization._--The management of the police force is usually under the
direction of an official called a commissioner, superintendent, or
chief, though in some cities it is controlled instead by a board. In a
few cities this board is appointed by some state official, usually the
governor, for it is believed by many persons that since the police are
charged with enforcing state laws as well as municipal ordinances, they
should be under state rather than local control. Where they are entirely
under local control, it is sometimes difficult to secure the enforcement
of such state laws as those requiring saloons to be closed at certain
hours during the night and on Sundays, especially when local sentiment
is opposed to such restrictions. Below the head of the police force are
usually deputy chiefs, inspectors, captains, sergeants, roundsmen, and
finally the patrolmen. The city is usually divided into precincts, in
each of which there is a police station under the charge of a sergeant
or some other official. A number of precincts are grouped together in
districts with an inspector in charge of each, and so on. In the large
cities there are also usually special detachments of the police force
organized for special services. Such are the mounted police, the bicycle
squad, the river and harbor police, the sanitary police, and the
detective force.
_Police Corruption._--The control of the police branch of the city
service is very difficult because of the opportunities for corruption
which are open to the members of the force. It has not infrequently
happened that the police in the large cities have systematically sold
the right to violate the law. Gambling houses, saloons, and other places
of vice sometimes regularly pay members of the police force for the
privilege of violating the law, and the heads of the force have
frequently found it impossible to prevent the practice. A recent police
commissioner in New York, for example, said that there was an organized
system among the police of his city for selling the right to violate the
law; that many of the captains and inspectors had grown rich out of the
proceeds, and that the system was so thoroughly intrenched that he was
powerless to break it up.
=Health Protection.=--In densely populated districts the danger from the
spread of disease is much greater than in rural communities where the
conditions which breed disease are less prevalent, and where the spread
of epidemics may be more easily prevented. In the smaller cities the
chief health authority is a board, but in the large cities there is
usually a department of health at the head of which is a single
commissioner. Other officials are inspectors of various kinds, analysts,
collectors of statistics, superintendents of hospitals, etc.
_Work of the Health Department._--Among the principal duties of the
health authorities are the inspection and abatement of unsanitary places
and the suppression of nuisances; the inspection of public buildings and
sometimes of private dwellings with special reference to drainage; the
removal of garbage and other refuse (in some cities); the inspection of
the city water supply; the inspection of food, particularly milk; the
control of certain establishments of an offensive character, such as
slaughterhouses, soap factories, and fertilizer factories; the
vaccination of school children and often of other persons, as a
precaution against smallpox; the isolation and quarantine of persons
suffering from contagious diseases; the maintenance of pesthouses and
hospitals; and the collection of vital statistics.
One great source of disease in cities is impurity of the food supply,
especially of milk, and much of the activity of the health department is
directed toward the inspection of milk and other food. Crowded,
ill-ventilated, and poorly constructed dwellings are another source of
disease, and many cities have undertaken to prevent this evil as far as
possible through tenement house laws and building regulations requiring
dwellings to be constructed according to plans prescribed by law. The
enforcement of these laws often devolves upon the health department,
which carries out a rigid system of inspection.
In recent years much more attention than formerly has been given to the
problems of health administration, and great improvement has been made.
So efficient is the health administration of some of our large cities
that the death rate in proportion to the population is actually lower
than it is in many small country towns where little or no attention is
paid to this important branch of administration.
=Fire Protection.=--The danger from fire, like that from disease, is
obviously greater in crowded cities than in country districts.
Therefore, every large city and most small ones maintain an organized
fire department. In the days of small cities reliance upon voluntary
unpaid fire companies was the rule, and this is true even to-day in many
of the smaller towns and cities. In the larger cities, however, there
are organized professional companies, the members of which give all
their time to the service and are paid regular salaries. New York city
has more than 5,000 men in its fire department, some 900 pieces of
apparatus including more than a dozen fire boats, and hundreds of
thousands of feet of hose. At the head of the department there is
usually an official called a fire chief or fire marshal, appointed by
the mayor. The rank and file of the department are under civil service
rules, the employment is of a permanent character, and many cities have
provided a system of pensions for members who have grown old or are
disabled from injuries.
Great improvement has been made in the methods of fighting fires and in
the character of the apparatus employed, so that the danger from loss by
fire has greatly diminished. Furthermore, the more general use of brick
and stone for building purposes in the larger cities has made the danger
from fire much less than in the old days when most houses were built of
wood. Many cities have what are called "fire limits," that is, districts
in which it is forbidden to erect wooden buildings.
=Municipal Public Utilities.=--People crowded together in cities depend
largely upon public service companies for their water supply, for
electric light and gas, for telephone service, and for the means of
transportation. The furnishing of each of these services, from the very
nature of the case, tends to become a natural monopoly. Moreover, such
companies must use the city streets in serving their patrons. It
follows, therefore, that they must be subject to public control,
otherwise the public might be charged exorbitant prices and the use of
the streets by the citizens unnecessarily interfered with. Before
engaging in a service of this kind, therefore, the street railway
company must secure permission from the city to lay tracks on the
streets and to operate cars thereon. Likewise a telephone or electric
light company must have permission to erect its poles on the streets or
alleys, and a gas or water company must have authority to tear up
pavements and put its pipes and mains under the streets.
[Illustration: MUNICIPAL LIGHTING, DENVER, COLORADO]
[Illustration: PART OF THE LOS ANGELES AQUEDUCT, CALIFORNIA
This Aqueduct is 11 feet in diameter and carries water from Owens River
246 miles to Los Angeles.]
_Franchises._--The permit thus granted is called a "franchise," and is
in the nature of a contract between the city and the company. Public
service franchises are often of great value to the companies which
receive them, for the business of these companies in a large city is apt
to be very profitable. Sometimes the dividends which they pay their
stockholders are very large, and not infrequently, to deceive the public
as to the real amount, the profits are concealed by "watering" the
stock, that is, by increasing it beyond the amount of the capital
actually invested. Experience has shown that in granting franchises
certain restrictions or conditions should be placed on the companies to
whom they are granted.
First of all, the duration of the franchise should be limited. Formerly,
it was not uncommon to grant franchises for fifty or one hundred years,
and indeed sometimes for an indefinite period. The objection to this
practice is that with the growth of the city, the increased value of the
franchise resulting from such growth goes entirely to the company, while
the city is deprived of the opportunity of making a better bargain with
the company. A franchise ought, however, to be for a period sufficiently
long to enable the company to derive a reasonable return on its
investment. Obviously, no company could afford to establish an electric
light plant or gas plant if its franchise were limited to a period as
short as five years. The better opinion now is that twenty or
twenty-five years is a reasonable period, and the constitution or
statutes of a number of states forbid the granting of franchises for a
longer period.
Frequently the franchise contains provisions in regard to the rates to
be charged and the quality of service to be performed. In many states
there are state commissions which have power to supervise the operations
of all public service corporations and in some cases even to fix the
rates which they shall be allowed to charge. As long as such rates are
reasonable, that is, high enough to allow the corporation a reasonable
return on its investment, the courts will not interfere.
It is now the practice to require public service companies to pay a
reasonable compensation for the franchises which they receive. This is
usually a certain percentage of the gross receipts, or sometimes, in the
case of street railway companies, a certain sum for each car operated.
When the compensation is a certain percentage of the receipts, provision
ought to be made for examination of the books of the company in order to
prevent the public from being defrauded of its share of the earnings.
=Municipal Ownership.=--Sometimes, instead of relying upon private
corporations to supply the people with water, gas, and electric light,
the city itself undertakes to do this. Very many cities own their
waterworks,[8] while some own their electric light plants, and a few own
their gas plants. In Europe, municipal ownership and operation of such
public utilities is very common, and even the telephone and street
railway services are often supplied by the city.
[8] The Census Bureau reported in 1916 that 155 of the 204 cities
having populations in excess of 30,000 owned their water supply
systems.
The advantages claimed for municipal ownership are that better service
will be furnished when the business is conducted by the city, because in
that case it will be operated solely with the interest of the public in
view; and, secondly, the cost of the service to the community will be
less because the earning of large dividends will not be the main end in
view. The principal objection urged against municipal ownership in the
United States is that "spoils" politics still play such an important
part in our city government that the management of such enterprises is
likely to fall into the hands of incompetent politicians and party
workers. Experience with municipal ownership has been satisfactory in a
great many cases where it has been tried, although the principle upon
which it rests is contrary to the notions of many people in regard to
the proper functions of government.
=Municipal Courts.=--In every city there are certain inferior courts
called by various names, police courts, magistrates' courts, or
municipal courts, which have jurisdiction over offenses against the
ordinances of the city. These courts constitute a very important part of
our governmental machinery, and they have rarely received the
consideration which their importance requires. They are practically
courts of last resort for a large number of persons charged with minor
offenses, and from them many ignorant persons in the large cities gain
their impression of American institutions. In the city of New York, for
example, more than 100,000 persons are brought before these courts every
year.
The magistrates who hold municipal courts are often men of little or no
legal training, and the experience of some cities has been that many of
them are without integrity. Recently there has been much discussion of
how to improve the character and usefulness of these courts, and in
several cities notable reforms have already been introduced. The Chicago
municipal court recently established is an excellent example of what can
be accomplished in this direction. It consists of thirty-one judges, and
the salary paid them is sufficiently large to attract well-trained
lawyers of respectability. The procedure of the court is simple and it
is so organized as to dispatch rapidly the cases brought before it, so
that justice is administered more swiftly, perhaps, in this city than in
any other in America.
=The Commission Plan of Government.=--The increasing dissatisfaction
with the government of our cities by mayor and councils has recently led
a number of cities to abandon the system for a new method known as the
commission plan. The principal feature of this method is that all the
powers of government heretofore exercised by the mayor and council are
intrusted to a small commission usually chosen from the city at large.
The plan was first put into operation in the city of Galveston after the
great storm of 1900 which destroyed the lives of some 6,000 of its
citizens and left the city in a condition of bankruptcy.
Under the new charter which was adopted, practically all the powers of
government were vested in a mayor and four commissioners, each of these
men being put in charge of one of the five departments into which the
administrative service was divided.
_Merits._--Several advantages are claimed for this plan of municipal
government. In the first place, it does away with the evils of the ward
system by providing that the commissioners shall be chosen from the city
at large, and this tends to secure the election of men of larger
ability. Again, it is argued that a small body of men is better fitted
to govern a city than a large council composed of members who consider
themselves the special representatives of the petty districts from which
they are chosen. The affairs of a city are necessarily complex and often
technical in nature and require for their special management skill and
efficiency. City government is often compared to the management of a
business enterprise like a bank or a manufacturing concern, which, as
experience has shown, can be better conducted by a small board of
directors than by the whole body of stockholders. Finally, the
concentration of the powers of the city in a small body of men tends to
secure a more effective responsibility than can be secured under a
system in which the responsibility is divided between the mayor and
council.
_Objections._--The chief objections that have been urged against the
commission plan are that, by intrusting both the legislative and the
executive power to the same hands, it sacrifices the principle of the
separation of powers--a principle long cherished in America. In the
second place, by doing away with the council, it sacrifices to a
certain extent the representative principle and places all the vast
powers of the city in the hands of a few men.
Nevertheless, the system has much to commend it, and it has been adopted
in about four hundred towns and cities.
=The City Manager Plan.=--A still more recent form of municipal
government vests the management of the affairs of the city in a single
person, called the city manager. He is paid a reasonably high salary and
is chosen by the commission because of his expert knowledge. This plan
has been introduced in Dayton, Springfield, and Sandusky, Ohio; Newburgh
and Niagara Falls, New York; Sumter, South Carolina; Jackson, Grand
Rapids, and Kalamazoo, Michigan; San Diego and Alameda, California; and
some seventy other cities and towns.
=Village Government.=--Differing from cities chiefly in size and in the
extent of governmental powers, are small municipal corporations
variously called villages, boroughs, and incorporated towns. The
procedure of incorporation is usually by petition from a certain number
of the inhabitants, and a popular vote on the question. The law
generally prescribes a minimum population, which is usually
small--sometimes as low as one hundred inhabitants.
_Village Officers._--The principal authority is usually a small board of
trustees or a council, consisting of from three to seven members elected
from the village at large, though in some instances the number is
larger, and some villages have the ward system. The village board is
empowered to adopt ordinances relating to police, health, and other
matters affecting the good order and welfare of the community. They may
levy taxes, borrow money, open and construct streets, construct drains,
establish water and lighting plants and the like, and may license
peddlers, hack drivers, and other persons who use the streets for the
conduct of their business. The chief officer of the village is the
mayor, president, or chairman of the trustees, elected either by the
voters or by the trustees. There is also usually a clerk or recorder, a
treasurer, a marshal or constable, and sometimes a street commissioner,
a justice of the peace, and an attorney.
When the population reaches a certain number, which varies in the
different states (pp. 25-26), the village organization is put aside, the
community organizes itself into a city, takes on a more elaborate
organization, receives larger powers, and undertakes a wider range of
activities.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, chs.
xxvii-xxviii. BRYCE, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), chs.
xlix-li. GOODNOW, City Government in the United States, chs. vi-xiii.
HART, Actual Government, ch. ix. HOWE, The City the Hope of Democracy,
chs. i-iv. STRONG, The Challenge of the City, chs. ii-iii. WILCOX, The
American City, chs. ii, iii, iv, v, vi, ix, x, xii, xiii.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. A copy of the city charter
or municipal code of the state. 2. A copy of the revised ordinances of
the city. 3. The volume of the last census report dealing with the
population of cities. 4. The latest census bulletin on statistics of
cities. 5. A map of the city showing its division into wards, police
and fire districts, sewer districts, etc., and the location of the
city building, police stations, fire stations, the source of the water
supply, parks, slum districts, etc. 6. A copy of the last city budget
and tax ordinance. 7. A copy of a paving or other public improvement
ordinance.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the population of the largest city in your state? its area?
How many cities in your state have a population of 8,000 or over? What
percentage of the total population is found in the cities? How much
faster has the city population grown during the past decade than the
rural population? What percentage of the population of your city is
foreign-born?
2. Why do cities require a different form of government from that which
is provided for rural communities?
3. What are the provisions in the constitution of your state, if any, in
regard to the government of cities?
4. How many representatives does the largest city of your state have in
the legislature? What proportion of the total membership is it? Are
there any constitutional restrictions upon the number of members of the
legislature which may be elected from any one city?
5. Are there any restrictions upon the power of the legislature of your
state to enact special legislation applying to a single city? If so,
what are they?
6. If you live in a city, when did it receive its present charter? What
are the provisions in the charter relating to the organization and
powers of the city?
7. Do you think the people of a city should be allowed to frame their
own charter and govern themselves without interference on the part of
the state legislature?
8. How many members are there in the city council of your city? Are they
chosen by wards or from the city at large? What is their term and
salary? In what ward do you live, and what is the name of the alderman
or aldermen from that ward?
9. For what term is the mayor of your city or town elected? To what
political party does he belong? Does he preside over the meetings of the
city council? What officers, if any, does he appoint?
10. Name the administrative departments in your city. Are they organized
according to the board system, or is each under the control of a single
official?
11. Does your city have a civil service law under which appointments to
the municipal service are made on the basis of merit? If so, what are
its principal provisions?
12. Does the city own and operate its waterworks plant, or is the water
supply furnished by a private company? Does the city own and operate any
of its other public utilities, such as the electric light or gas plant?
If not, what are the terms of the franchises under which they are
operated by private companies? Do these companies pay the city anything
for the privilege of using the streets?
13. What are the duties of the public utilities commissions in New York
and Wisconsin? Do you think the policy of regulation preferable to
municipal ownership and operation?
14. How is the cost of street and sidewalk paving met in your city,--by
special assessment on the property benefited, or by appropriation out of
the city treasury?
15. What is the method of garbage disposal in your city?
16. Describe the organization and activities of the health authority in
your city. What does it do to secure a supply of clean and pure milk?
17. Are there any improvement leagues or civic organizations working for
the uplift and good government of your city? What are their methods, and
what are some of the specific services they have rendered?
18. What are the principal sources of revenue in your village or city?
What is the rate of taxation on the taxable property?