COUNTIES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
_The purpose of this chapter is to show how the counties, towns, and
villages of the United States are governed, who their local
officials are, and what they do._
[Sidenote: The division of governmental functions.]
=What Local Government Is.=—The functions performed by governments fall
into two divisions. First, there are functions which relate mainly to
the life and activities of the neighborhood, such as police
administration, fire protection, the cleaning of streets, and the care
of the poor. These things can best be managed by the local authorities.
Second, there are functions of a more general character which relate to
the life and activities of the entire state or nation, such as the
regulation of the railroads, the coining of money, the maintenance of
post offices, and the control of corporations. These functions we have
committed, accordingly, to the state and national governments. In
earlier days, before industry and commerce developed so greatly, local
functions were the more numerous; but as population grows the whole
country tends to become one great community, hence many functions
formerly performed by the local authorities are being taken over by the
states and the nation. It is impossible to lay down any rule as to what
functions are local and what functions are general. A few years ago each
town and village made its own regulations concerning the speed limit for
automobiles; to-day that matter has been taken over almost everywhere by
the state authorities.
[Sidenote: Local government in the colonies.]
=The Beginnings of Local Government in the United States.=—Local
government is the oldest branch of government; both the state and the
national government have grown out of it. When colonists first came from
England to Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay they settled on small farms
and built their houses within short distances of one another. In
Virginia, on the other hand, the colonists took up large plantations for
the growing of tobacco and cotton; their homes were spread over a wide
area. Because of the difference in the manner of settlement the New
England colonists organized themselves into _towns_ (or townships) while
the Southern colonists created larger units of local government known as
_counties_. From the Atlantic seaboard these two types of local
administration—township and county government—have spread out over the
rest of the country. In the course of this spread they have been
considerably altered from their original forms.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT
[Sidenote: Nature of the county.]
=The County.=—Every state in the Union is now divided into counties.[59]
The division is made by the state legislature, but when county
boundaries are once fixed they are seldom changed thereafter. In the
older states the counties are often small; in the newer states they
sometimes cover several hundred square miles.[60] Counties, like cities,
are public corporations, that is to say they have the right to own
property, to raise taxes, to borrow money, and to make contracts. They
may sue and be sued in the courts. But counties have no inalienable
rights of their own. All their powers are derived from the state. They
are merely political divisions of the state, created for the more
convenient administration of local affairs. In a few states the people
of each county are permitted to select and establish such form of county
government as they may choose, but as a rule the state legislature
prescribes a uniform type of county government for all the counties
within the state.
=The County Officers.=—The chief governmental authority of the county is
the county board, the members of which are usually known as
commissioners or supervisors. These members are either directly elected
by the voters of the county or sent as representatives from the
townships. County boards may have only three members or as many as
fifteen—each state has its own regulations on this point. The board has
its headquarters at the county seat, where the county courthouse is
located.
[Sidenote: County functions.]
The functions of the county board may be summarized under six heads. 1.
_Financial._ Most county boards have the right to levy county taxes and
to make appropriations for expenditure. They have authority from the
state legislature to borrow money on the county’s credit. This borrowing
power is exercised in order to construct county roads, build bridges, or
provide county buildings. 2. _Highways and bridges._ In many states all
the main highways are designated as state or county roads. The towns and
townships are responsible for the construction of minor highways only.
The state roads are built by state highway commissions or some such
body; the county roads are constructed and maintained by the county
board. In some states these county roads are numerous; in others they
are very few. Main bridges, which connect two cities, towns, or
townships, are also built and maintained by the county board. 3. _Public
buildings._ Every county requires certain public buildings, including a
courthouse, a county jail, a registry of deeds, a county poorhouse, and
sometimes a county hospital. These buildings are erected and managed by
the county board. 4. _Poor-relief and correction._ The function of
providing public poor-relief is to some extent performed by the state
and municipal authorities but a good deal of the responsibility still
rests upon the county boards. 5. _Elections._ In most states of the West
and South the county board has charge of the local arrangements for
state and national elections. It designates the polling places, appoints
the election officers, and provides the ballots. The county, in most of
the states, serves as the unit for the selection of senators and
assemblymen in the state legislature. 6. _Miscellaneous._ Finally, the
county boards have sundry other functions. Occasionally they grant
charters of incorporation to companies. In some states they construct
irrigation works and arrange for the abolition of grade crossings on
railroads. They often help in the selection of jurors and have authority
to grant certain licenses.
[Sidenote: The faults of county government.]
=Have County Boards been Satisfactory?=—The work of the county boards
has not received much public attention in most of the states until the
last few years. The county has been called “the jungle of American
politics” because the masses of the people know so little about what is
going on in the offices of the county authorities. On the whole county
government has not been conspicuously bad, but it has been far from what
it ought to be. American counties, as a rule, have been more honestly
and more economically governed than American cities. The fundamental
objection to the existing system of county government is that it places
in the hands of an elective body, the members of which are usually
chosen for purely political reasons, the performance of many difficult
_executive_ functions. The management of finances, construction of
roads, bridges, and public buildings, the proper treatment of the poor,
the sick, and the insane are all tasks which require ability, skill, and
experience. Elective county supervisors cannot reasonably be expected to
perform them well, and this is especially the case when the nominations
and elections are dominated by professional politicians.
=The County Manager Plan.=—In view of the large amount of executive
work, requiring skill and experience, which is imposed upon the county
boards, and especially in consideration of the fact that this executive
work is steadily growing, it has been proposed that the boards should
confine themselves to matters of general policy, leaving to a county
manager the entire work of actual administration. In a few counties this
proposal has been adopted. The county manager, a trained and highly-paid
official, is appointed by the county board to purchase all materials and
supplies, to hire labor, to prepare contracts for the construction of
public buildings, and to attend to all the details which arise in
connection with the board’s work. In this way, by concentrating
authority in a single hand, a great deal of waste and inefficiency is
avoided. The plan is in harmony with the principle that responsibility
for purely executive work, particularly when it is of a technical
character, should be entrusted to men who have special qualifications
for performing it (see pp. 197-198).
[Sidenote: County courts.]
=The County as a Judicial Area.=—In the administration of justice the
county plays an important part. County courts exist in nearly all the
states, and although they form an integral part of the state judiciary
they have jurisdiction over such matters within the county as the laws
may provide. Both the organization and the jurisdiction of the county
courts differ greatly from state to state. In some states each county
has its own judge; in others there is one judge for a group of counties.
This judge holds sessions in one county after another. The county court
usually hears appeals from the local courts and has original
jurisdiction in cases where a jury is in order. The probating of wills
is in most cases a function of the county court. Appeals from its
decisions may usually be carried to the higher tribunals of the state.
[Sidenote: His functions.]
=The Sheriff.=—Every county has a peace officer known as the sheriff,
usually elected by the voters of the county. He is the chief guardian of
the law and the right-arm of the county court. Historically this is the
oldest office in the country. It goes back to the time of William the
Conqueror or earlier, when the shire-reeve was the agent of the king in
keeping law and order. Sheriffs have the right to appoint
deputy-sheriffs whose duty it is to help preserve the public peace, to
make arrests, and to serve court papers. Sometimes the sheriff and his
deputies are paid regular salaries, but more often they obtain their
remuneration from fees. The sheriff is the custodian of prisoners in the
county jail; he summons the jurors to the court sessions and carries out
all the judgments rendered by the court.
[Sidenote: Work of the grand jury.]
=The Prosecuting Attorney.=—Attached to every county court there is a
legal officer who is commonly known as the prosecuting attorney or
county attorney, usually elected by the people.[61] His chief duty is to
conduct prosecutions before the county court. He investigates crimes,
prepares the evidence, and usually lays the case, first of all, before a
body known as the grand jury. This jury, as will later be explained, is
selected by lot from among the voters of the county. It does not go into
the question of guilt or innocence, but merely determines whether an
accused person should be placed on trial before a trial jury in a county
court. In some states it is not necessary for the prosecuting attorney
to lay the case before the grand jury; he may merely file a sworn
declaration, called an information or complaint, stating his belief that
there is sufficient ground for placing the accused person on trial.
Prosecuting attorneys everywhere have a good deal of discretion in the
way of discontinuing or “nol-prossing” criminal cases.[62]
=Other County Officers.=—There are various other officers connected with
county government. The county assessors go about the county and assess
or value property for purposes of taxation. The county treasurer
receives the taxes and pays the county’s bills. The county auditors
inspect the financial accounts of all county officers. The registrar of
deeds or recorder keeps books in which all deeds and mortgages on land
are entered.[63] [Sidenote: The coroner.] The county coroner has the
duty of holding an investigation or inquest whenever a death takes place
under circumstances which excite suspicion of crime. For this purpose he
summons a coroner’s jury of citizens to determine the facts. They do not
determine guilt or innocence, but may recommend that a suspected person
be arrested and held for trial. In some states the office of coroner has
been abolished and its functions given to an appointive official known
as the medical examiner, who is always a physician. In many counties
there is a county superintendent of schools whose duties are indicated
by his title. Practically all these officers are elected, usually for a
short term of years.
[Sidenote: The selection of county employees.]
=Civil Service Reform in Counties.=—Besides the foregoing officers there
are, in the service of county government, large numbers of subordinate
officials and employees, including deputy-sheriffs, attendants in the
jail and poorhouse, foremen on road construction, clerks in the county
offices, and so on. All of these are still chosen, in most counties,
under the spoils system. Positions on the county pay roll are given
almost everywhere the reward of party or personal service. The merit
system of selecting subordinate officials by competitive examination has
made little or no progress in the counties of the United States although
there is no good reason why it should not be used there as well as in
the municipal, state, and national service. The county remains the last
fortress of the spoils system because the people as a whole have not
been fully awakened to the importance of its work and because the
political influences which control county government have heretofore
been strong enough to prevent the loss of patronage which the
introduction of the merit system would entail.
[Sidenote: Relations of county and city.]
=The Metropolitan Counties.=—Special problems of county government arise
whenever a large city spreads itself over a whole county or even over a
very large portion of it. The growth of great municipal centers during
recent years has changed many American counties from rural into urban or
metropolitan areas. Examples are to be found in New York City which
includes five counties within the city limits. The city of Philadelphia
includes the whole of Philadelphia county; Suffolk county is almost
entirely covered by the city of Boston, and the city of Cleveland
contains nine tenths of the population of Cuyahoga county. The cities
are largely independent of the counties within which they are located,
but the functions of city and county government run close together at
many points. For example the sheriff of the county and the police
commissioner or police chief of the city are both responsible for the
maintenance of law and order. The result is, quite often, a duplication
of work and a waste of money. It has been proposed that the city and
county governments, in the case of metropolitan counties, should be
substantially combined to prevent this duplication. To some extent this
has been done, as in the case of St. Louis, Baltimore, Boston, and San
Francisco. In other large cities various plans for entire or partial
unification are under way.
[Sidenote: Desirable changes in county organization.]
=The Reform of County Government.=—For the improvement of county
government throughout the country three important changes in present
organization and methods seem to be needed. [Sidenote: 1. A centralized
executive.] In the first place some provision should be made for the
better handling of executive work. As matters now stand there is no
county official corresponding to the President, the governor, and the
mayor in national, state, and city government respectively.
Responsibility is scattered into too many hands. It ought to be
centralized in a county manager or some other single administrative
official. [Sidenote: 2. A shorter ballot.] Second, the number of
elective county officers should be reduced. There is no sound reason why
treasurers, auditors, and superintendents of schools should be appointed
in cities (as is usually the case), but elected in counties. The
practice of electing so many administrative officers makes the ballot
long and cumbersome; it also leads to the choice of men who have no
qualifications other than popularity. What is even worse, it encourages
frequent changes in the incumbents of these offices and thus interferes
with the efficient management of the county’s business. [Sidenote: 3.
The merit system.] Finally, the merit system could be advantageously
extended to include all subordinate county positions.
TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
[Sidenote: The various units of local government.]
=The Areas of Community Government.=—For purposes of local
administration the counties are divided into towns, townships, or county
districts, but whenever any portion of the county becomes thickly
settled it is usually organized as an incorporated village, an
incorporated town, a borough, or a city. It will be seen, therefore,
that there are at least seven different units of community government in
the United States, not to speak of the special districts which exist in
some individual states. The reason for this great diversity is to be
found in the fact that the American system of local government has grown
up gradually and in each state independently. In most European countries
the system of local government is uniform; in the United States it is
not. Each state has its own system and in no two states are these
systems exactly alike. For this reason only the broad outline of the
subject can be presented; the details must be studied in the localities
concerned.
[Sidenote: The town meeting.]
=The New England Town.=—Among the areas of community government the New
England town is the oldest and the most interesting. It is not always,
or even usually, a thickly-settled place. These towns differ greatly
both in size and in population; they are usually quite irregular in
shape and may contain anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand
people. The New England town does not possess a charter of incorporation
but it has the usual corporate powers (see p. 177). The chief governing
organ of the New England town is the town meeting, an assembly of all
the voters, both men and women. This town meeting is called together at
least once a year and often three or four times. It elects the town
officers, votes the appropriations, and decides all questions of general
policy. Sometimes the town meeting lasts all day; occasionally it
continues even longer. Every citizen has the right to a voice and a
vote.
[Sidenote: The selectmen.]
During the interval between the town meetings the affairs of the town
are managed by a board of selectmen, composed of three or five members,
elected by the voters. The selectmen prepare the business for the town
meeting and carry out its decisions. The larger towns also maintain
various other boards, such as a school board, a water board, and a board
of health, the members being in all cases elected at the town meeting.
Other town officials include a town clerk, a treasurer, an auditor, and
a superintendent of schools.
[Sidenote: Recent changes in the system.]
When towns grow large the town meeting becomes unwieldy and the system
of administration by numerous boards fails to work smoothly. For this
reason some New England towns have recently adopted a “limited town
meeting” system, by which the voters of the town elect delegates to
represent them in the town meeting. A few towns have also abolished the
various administrative boards and have placed town administration in
charge of a town manager appointed by the selectmen.[64]
=The Township.=—In the great group of Central and Middle Western states,
ranging from New York and Pennsylvania to Nebraska and the Dakotas, the
principal area of community government is the township, although it is
sometimes called the town. In the older states these townships (or
towns) are of irregular shape; in several of the newer states the
so-called “congressional” townships were laid out in uniform blocks, six
miles square. In some of the states, both old and new, the towns or
townships have town meetings, as in New England, but nowhere outside of
New England have these meetings attained any great importance. Their
chief function in the Central and Middle Western states is to elect the
town or township officers. The work of township (or town) administration
is carried on either by a board of trustees or by a single official
commonly known as a supervisor. There are also various subordinate
officials, all of whom are usually elected by the voters.
=The County Districts.=—In most states of the South and Far West there
are no townships. The county remains the principal area of local
government, but for the management of various community affairs the
county is divided into districts. There are school districts, road
districts, and election districts, for example. Each district has its
own elective officers who are in charge of the function for which the
district was established.
[Sidenote: Incorporated towns, boroughs, and villages.]
=The Incorporated Communities.=—The vitality of townships and district
government has been weakened by the practice of incorporating as a
village, town, borough, or city, any portion of the area which becomes
thickly settled. The laws of the various states usually provide that
whenever any part of a community becomes sufficiently populous a
designated number of the inhabitants may petition for incorporation. The
question is then submitted to a vote, and if the vote is favorable, a
charter of incorporation is granted. A certain minimum of population is
required; usually from two to three hundred in the case of a village,
one to three thousand in the case of a town, and more than three
thousand in the case of a city. These figures vary from state to state.
In some Western states the minimum for incorporation for a city is only
a few hundred. In any event when the place becomes incorporated as a
village, town, borough, or city it becomes separate, for administrative
purposes, from the township or district to which it belonged and sets up
a local government of its own. The nature of this government, the
officials, and the scope of their powers are all fixed by the laws of
the state. There are more than 15,000 incorporated villages, towns,
boroughs, and cities in the United States, nearly three fourths of them
being places of less than 2500 population.
[Sidenote: The advantages.]
=The Merits and Defects of the Local Government System.=—The most marked
feature of the American system of local government, when surveyed as a
whole, is its decentralization. Nothing is uniform throughout the
country; each state follows its own plan, and everywhere a large measure
of home rule in local affairs is granted. Contrast this with the system
of local government in the French Republic for example, where all
communities, whether large or small, are governed in exactly the same
way and strictly controlled by the central authorities in Paris. The
American system has the advantage of allowing each section of the
country to adopt whatever scheme best suits its own particular needs. It
also facilitates the making of experiments in local government and
through these experiments we learn better ways of doing things. The
large measure of local home rule brings community government close to
the people, giving them control over it and responsibility for it. It
fosters initiative and tends to develop a wholesome rivalry in good
work. Local government is a fine school for the teaching of democracy.
[Sidenote: The defects.]
On the other hand the American system has its defects. So many areas of
local government have been created in some of the states that the people
are over-governed. The multiplication of local offices has led to
wastefulness. Local home rule, moreover, has in some cases been a
synonym for local misrule. The result is that we have required, during
recent years, an increase in the amount of control exercised over the
government of the local communities by state and county authorities.
Townships, towns, and villages are areas of government established to
meet local needs, but they are also the channels through which the state
authorities carry on a portion of their work. This latter phase of local
self-government should not be overlooked.
General References
EVERETT KIMBALL, _State and Local Government_, pp. 309-344;
CHARLES A. BEARD, _American Government and Politics_, pp. 638-705;
_Ibid._, _Readings in American Government and Politics_, pp. 556-566;
JAMES BRYCE, _American Commonwealth_, Vol. I, pp. 596-616;
W. B. MUNRO, _Government of the United States_, pp. 535-571;
H. G. JAMES, _Local Government in the United States_, especially pp.
254-299;
JOHN A. FAIRLIE, _Local Government in Counties, Towns and Villages_,
especially pp. 57-140; American Academy of Political and Social Science,
_County Government_, pp. 81-111; _Cyclopedia of American Government_
(see under _County, Towns_ and _Townships, Borough_).
Group Problems
=1. Should the county-manager plan be adopted?= With what county
functions do you now come into contact? How important to you and to your
home is the work of the county officials in the matter of road-building,
the maintenance of prisons, the care of the poor, the registration of
deeds, and the supervision of schools? Are any of these things now
mismanaged and, if so, in what way can the situation be improved? The
present multiplication of county authorities. Duties of each. How these
duties are performed. The cause of waste or inefficiency. What the
county-manager system aims to do. Comparison of the city-manager and the
county-manager plans. =References=: H. G. JAMES, _Local Government in
the United States_, pp. 425-451; JOHN A. FAIRLIE, _Local Government in
Counties, Towns and Villages_, pp. 75-94; H. G. GILBERTSON, _The
County_, pp. 151-180; “_County Government_” in the Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. XLVII (May,
1913); National Short Ballot Organization, _Documents on County
Government_; C. C. MAXEY, _County Government_, pp. 45-62.
=2. How town government can be improved.= =References=: H. G. JAMES,
_Local Government in the United States_, pp. 254-283; C. S. BIRD, _Town
Planning for Small Communities_, pp. 311-340; _Cyclopedia of American
Government_ (see under _Towns_ and _Townships_); Annual Reports of Town
Officers.
=3. What your township officials do.= =References=: JOHN A. FAIRLIE,
_Local Government in Counties, Towns and Villages_, pp. 164-181; H. G.
JAMES, _Local Government in the United States_, pp. 268-283; JOHN FISKE,
_Civil Government in the United States_, pp. 89-95; EVERETT KIMBALL,
_State and Local Government_, pp. 333-344; Annual Reports of Township
Supervisor or Chairman.
Short Studies
1. =The importance of local government in a democracy.= A. DE
TOCQUEVILLE, _Democracy in America_, Vol. I, pp. 74-87.
2. =French and English methods of local government.= H. G. JAMES, _Local
Government in the United States_, pp. 1-65.
3. =The county board.= JOHN A. FAIRLIE, _Local Government in Counties,
Towns and Villages_, pp. 75-94; EVERETT KIMBALL, _State and Local
Government_, pp. 317-332.
4. =Politics in county government.= H. S. GILBERTSON, _The County_, pp.
43-65.
5. =Where the county’s money goes.= H. G. JAMES, _Local Government in
the United States_, pp. 232-250.
6. =City and county consolidation.= _Ibid._, pp. 437-448.
7. =A New England town meeting.= JOHN FISKE, _Civil Government in the
United States_, pp. 16-34.
8. =The enforcement of the state laws in rural communities.= J. M.
MATHEWS, _Principles of American State Administration_, pp. 430-462.
9. =How good planning helps the small town.= C. S. BIRD, _Town Planning
for Small Communities_, pp. 1-19; 76-99.
10. =Home rule for counties.= H. S. GILBERTSON, _The County_, pp.
207-250.
11. =The government of an urban county.= Cook County, Board of
Commissioners, _A Study of Cook County_, pp. 5-21.
12. =The county courts.= J. W. SMITH, _Training for Citizenship_, pp.
185-197; American Academy of Political and Social Science, _County
Government_, pp. 120-133; Illinois Constitutional Convention, 1920,
_Bulletins_, No. 11, pp. 905-925 (Local Government in Chicago and Cook
County).
Questions
1. Why do we need a system of local government? Suppose all the areas of
local government were to be abolished and the management of local
affairs taken over by the state, what advantages and disadvantages would
result?
2. To what extent does the constitution of your state restrict the
freedom of the state legislature in interfering with local government?
Are these restrictions too great? Why should not counties and towns be
given complete home rule?
3. Name the qualifications which a good sheriff ought to have. An
efficient coroner.
4. Why do we need a registry of deeds? If deeds were not registered what
difficulties would be encountered? Is a deed invalid if not registered?
5. If counties were to be abolished, which of their present functions
would you transfer to the state and which to the townships, towns, or
villages?
6. Why is it thought desirable that when places become thickly-settled
they should be given separate incorporation?
7. Explain how local government serves as a school for democracy.
8. What ought to be the minimum limit of population for an incorporated
village, an incorporated town, a city?
Topics for Debate
1. All county administrative officials, except the highest, should be
chosen by civil service rules.
2. City and county government should be consolidated in cities like
Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Los Angeles.
-----
Footnote 24:
In doing this they do not take editorials, resolutions, and letters
too seriously. Some newspapers merely reflect the opinion of their
owners, not public opinion. Societies often adopt resolutions without
hearing both sides of the case. Congressmen sometimes receive several
hundred letters in a single day, most of them saying exactly the same
thing, which means that they have all been inspired from the same
quarter.
Footnote 25:
The President of the United States is to all intents and purposes
chosen directly by the voters although as a matter of form the choice
is made indirectly (see pp. 288-290).
Footnote 26:
The appointment of officials is sometimes made by legislative bodies,
although this plan is not common. In a few states the judges are named
by the legislature. In some others the legislature elects the state
treasurer, the secretary of state, the comptroller, or the auditor.
Where the commission form of city government has been adopted all
appointments are made by the commission. The general theory of
American government is, however, that the choosing of administrative
and judicial officers should not be vested in the hands of a
legislative body. It is regarded as undesirable that the body which
enacts the laws should have anything directly to do with the selection
of those officers who enforce or apply the laws. But this principle
ought not to be applied inflexibly; there are good reasons at times
for making exceptions to it.
Footnote 27:
Washington was not a party man and cared very little about the
political views of men whom he appointed to public office. His
immediate successors, Adams and Jefferson, did not preserve this
strict impartiality; on the other hand, they were disinclined to treat
public office as a mere means of rewarding their own supporters. They
did not remove office-holders in order to make room for their own
political friends.
Footnote 28:
The story is often told, and it may well be true, that at a critical
time in the war a visitor to the White House remarked to Lincoln that
the responsibilities of the great struggle must be a heavy burden upon
his shoulders. “No,” replied the President, “it is not the war that is
giving me the greatest worry at this moment. It is the problem of
filling that postmastership at Little Rapids, Indiana.”
Footnote 29:
No method of appointment will secure the best results, however, unless
it is accompanied by a fair system of promotions. This has not yet
been arranged for on any large scale. Appointments are to a large
extent based upon merit, but promotions are still determined, in many
cases, by personal or party favoritism. Rarely is there any
examination or other test to decide who will be promoted when a
vacancy occurs higher up. It is desirable, therefore, that the merit
system of appointment should be supplemented by a merit system of
promotions. Many capable young men and women will not enter the public
service today because there is no certain chance of promotion on the
basis of ability and industry. A merit plan of promotion would help to
attract better candidates. The public treasury, moreover, ought to
provide pensions for those who retire by reason of old age after many
years of faithful service. Some large private institutions are now
doing this. The nation, state, and city ought to adopt the same
practice, not only because it is the humane way of treating aged
employees but because it would make the public service more attractive
as a career.
Footnote 30:
In a sense, however, the terms initiative and referendum are merely
new names for very old institutions. The right of petition, which is
the foundation of the initiative, has always existed in the United
States. The referendum, in other words the submission of questions
directly to the people, is as old as the New England town meeting;
indeed it goes back to the time of ancient Athens. All early
democracy, in fact, was direct democracy; the people decided things
without legislatures. But as communities grew in size this system of
direct democracy became impractical; hence they resorted to
representative government. Now, when representative government fails
to satisfy, we go back again in a roundabout way to the old method.
Footnote 31:
Only five of these states, however, lie east of the Mississippi River.
Why is it that so many of these new movements, political and economic,
originate somewhere in the West? Direct legislation, the recall, woman
suffrage, popular election of senators, free silver, the single tax,
Populism, the Non-partisan League,—the list would be a considerable
one if given in full. It is often said that the growth of industrial
communities, with large bodies of propertyless workers, tends to
promote radicalism; but the West is still predominantly agricultural.
What new political or economic movements have had their origin in
industrial states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania
during the past twenty-five years?
Footnote 32:
Here are some of the matters submitted to the voters of a certain
Western city at one election: to pension firemen; to grant a street
railway franchise; to abolish grade crossings; to exempt certain city
officers from being citizens of the United States; to define the
powers of the municipal court; to exempt certain officers from the
civil service rules; to regulate the sale of bonds; to change the
method of passing ordinances; to allow the city to acquire property
outside the city limits, etc. Is the average voter likely, or
unlikely, to know much about things of this sort?
Footnote 33:
In 1921 the voters of North Dakota recalled Governor Frazier from
office before the expiry of his term.
Footnote 34:
See p. 31.
Footnote 35:
In England full suffrage has been granted only to women who are thirty
years of age or over. This was purposely done in order that the male
voters should be in the majority.
Footnote 36:
New York State in 1921 joined the list of states which impose the
literacy test.
Footnote 37:
Various classes of people, although qualified by citizenship, age, and
residence, are debarred from voting on other grounds. Among these are
insane persons, criminals, and, in some states, those who have been
convicted of bribery or other serious offences against the election
laws. In some states, also, soldiers of the regular army and enlisted
men of the navy are denied the right to register as voters on the
ground that they are not really residents but merely representatives
of the national government temporarily quartered within the state
boundaries. Civil officials of the national government are not
debarred.
Footnote 38:
This gives the party workers an opportunity to investigate all
suspicious names on the list and be ready for action when election day
comes.
Footnote 39:
Sometimes annual registration is required in the cities but not in
small towns or rural districts. In Ohio there is an annual
registration in cities of over 100,000 population; a registration
every four years in smaller cities, and no general registration at all
in the rural districts. In the latter the same list is used year after
year with such individual changes as may be necessary.
Footnote 40:
In most cases they take the voter’s say-so as sufficient proof of his
party allegiance.
Footnote 41:
At the New York state primaries of September, 1920, the candidate who
won the Democratic nomination for governor received fewer than 200,000
votes; at the November election he received more than a million, and
yet was not elected.
Footnote 42:
In a few cities, for example in Boston, there are no primaries before
the municipal elections. Candidates for the office of mayor may be
nominated by presenting a petition signed by not fewer than 5000
qualified voters; candidates for the city council must have at least
2500 signatures.
Footnote 43:
This roundabout way of fixing the election date is used in order to
make certain that the election shall not take place on the first day
of the month, a time when those who work in banks, offices, etc., are
particularly busy.
Footnote 44:
It is sometimes arranged that local elections shall take place in the
odd years, while national and state elections come in the even years.
Footnote 45:
A ward boss in a certain American city some time ago was urging his
followers to vote the “straight ticket”, but knowing that some of them
could not read and recalling the fact that the figure of an eagle
stood at the top of his party column, he bellowed at them “Now when
you go to the polls put your cross right under that chicken with the
short legs”.
Footnote 46:
For a further discussion, with additional data, see C. A. Beard,
_American Government and Politics_, p. 673.
Footnote 47:
Proportional representation should also be distinguished from _limited
voting_ and _cumulative voting_. Under the limited voting plan a voter
is permitted to mark his ballot only for some smaller number of
candidates than there are places to be filled. For example, if seven
councilmen are to be chosen by the electorate of the city at large,
each voter might be permitted to vote for not more than four. The
outcome would very likely be that the strongest party would elect four
councilmen and the next strongest three. This gives a certain amount
of _minority_ representation, but does not ensure proportional
representation. _Cumulative voting_ is an arrangement under which each
voter is given as many votes as there are candidates to be elected but
is permitted to allot all or any of his votes as he pleases. Thus, if
three assemblymen are to be elected, the voter will have three votes.
He may give all three votes to one candidate; or two votes to one
candidate and one vote to another; or one vote to each of three
candidates. This plan also gives reasonable assurance of minority
representation, because the weaker party will concentrate its votes
upon one candidate, but the usual outcome is that the majority,
whatever its strength, will have twice as many representatives as the
minority. It does not, therefore, ensure proportional representation.
This plan has been used in Illinois.
Footnote 48:
In Ashtabula (Ohio), Boulder (Colorado), West Hartford (Connecticut),
and Sacramento (California). Cleveland, the fifth largest city in the
United States, adopted in 1921 a new city charter in which provision
is made for using proportional representation at council elections.
The first election under the new plan will be held in the autumn of
1923.
Footnote 49:
Various other things, not in themselves wrong, have been made illegal
by statute because they are regarded as contrary to good public policy
in that they tend to render an election undignified, or unfair, or
unnecessarily expensive. Canvassing and distribution of campaign
literature is forbidden within a certain radius of the polling place.
Campaign advertisements must not be printed in some states unless they
bear the name and address of a qualified voter. Candidates are
required to file with the proper authorities a statement of their
campaign expenses and it is illegal to spend more than a prescribed
sum even for purely legitimate purposes, such as the hiring of halls
and the printing of posters. The purpose of these provisions is not
only to render the election a dignified affair, as becomes an exercise
of popular sovereignty, but to give every candidate, rich or poor, as
nearly equal a chance as the laws can ensure. These regulations are
sometimes evaded, it is true, but on the whole they are well respected
both by party organizations and by candidates. In Senator Newberry’s
case the United States Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not
limit the campaign expenses of candidates for election to the Senate
or the House. Control of these elections rests with the several
states.
Footnote 50:
They try to persuade the existing parties into helping them gain their
object; if they fail in this, they frequently organize a new party.
Thus the Liberty and Free Soil parties were organized to abolish
slavery; the Prohibition party to get rid of the liquor traffic, and
the Progressive party to put through various political and economic
changes which the older parties would not father.
Footnote 51:
That, indeed, is what does actually happen at times in spite of the
party system. A President, elected by one political party, negotiates
a treaty; a Senate controlled by the other political party declines to
ratify it. A governor insists that pledges made by him during the
election campaign shall be carried out; but the legislature (having a
majority of the opposite faith) declines to pass the necessary laws. A
mayor tries to make an appointment, and his political opponents in the
city council refuse confirmation. Such things happen now and then. As
a general rule, however, when a political party gains control of one
branch of the government it gains control of the other too.
Footnote 52:
There have been some critical issues at different times in American
history, such as nullification, slavery, secession, reconstruction,
green-backs, free silver, the regulation of trusts, imperialism, the
league of nations, and so on. Most of the leading issues in recent
years have been economic in character; they have been concerned with
such matters as the railroads, the merchant marine, the regulation of
industry, immigration, relations with Mexico, banking reorganization,
the extension of aid to agriculture, conservation, budget methods, and
international trade.
Footnote 53:
This is quite a contrast with what has happened in France, Germany,
Italy, and the other countries of Continental Europe. In these
countries there are several parties and they continue in existence for
long periods of time. No two parties ever manage to get the field of
politics largely to themselves. It is significant that the two-party
system has flourished in the English-speaking countries, that is, in
Great Britain, the British colonies, and the United States. Everywhere
else there are from three or four to a dozen parties. Why should there
be this difference?
Footnote 54:
Until recent years the state convention also had the function of
nominating the party candidates for state officers, but in most of the
states this prerogative has been taken away from the convention and
the nominations are made by the party voters at state-wide direct
primaries. In the others the nominations are still made by the
conventions. Even where the primary is used, however, it is sometimes
the practice of a convention to adopt an “unofficial” slate of
candidates which it recommends to the voters for their endorsement at
the primary (see p. 129).
Footnote 55:
At the Republican national convention of 1880 it took thirty-six
ballots to nominate Mr. Garfield. In 1912, at the Democratic national
convention, Woodrow Wilson was not nominated until the forty-sixth
ballot. Sometimes the very first ballot results in nominating the
candidate as happened with Mr. Wilson in 1916. How many ballots were
taken before the nomination of Mr. Harding at Chicago in June, 1920,
and before the nomination of his opponent, Mr. Cox, at San Francisco,
a few weeks later?
Footnote 56:
Rings and bosses are not American inventions. Pericles was a political
boss, and a very successful one in his day. There were bosses in
ancient Rome; they could even get together and form a ring (they
called it a triumvirate). Simon de Montfort, the so-called “father of
the House of Commons”, was a boss and a rather skilful one at that.
Pitt, the younger, was a boss of the first order, a corrupt one, too.
In America we have had many political bosses from Aaron Burr down, but
most of them have operated in state and city politics. There is no
national party boss; the field is too large for any one man to
control. Perhaps the most notable of all American bosses was William
M. Tweed, who dominated the politics of New York City a half century
ago. “He was an American by birth, a chairmaker by trade, a good
fellow by nature, a politician by circumstances, a boss by natural
process of evolution, and a grafter by choice.” As the boss of his
party he sold nominations openly, assessed public officeholders for
contributions to his campaign funds, gave out contracts to his
friends, looted the city treasury, and finally went to jail. New
York’s experience with Tweed cost the city about fifty million dollars
in less than five years.
Footnote 57:
The campaign fund of the Republican party, when it elected Abraham
Lincoln in 1860, was a little over $100,000. The amount raised by the
Republicans for the campaign of 1920 was about $4,000,000. The
Democratic campaign fund was considerably smaller, but it also ran
into the millions. The laws provide that the treasurers of these funds
must publish, before the election, the names of all contributors who
give more than $100, and after the election must file a statement of
all moneys expended. Corporations are forbidden to contribute to any
federal campaign fund.
Footnote 58:
These costs mount up quickly. A torchlight procession in a large city
costs several thousand dollars. To send a single circular, with a
one-cent stamp on the envelope, to every registered voter in a city
the size of Boston costs for printing, stationery, stamps, and labor
about $10,000. Some large halls cost $500 per night, yet halls for
meetings have to be hired night after night during the latter part of
the campaign.
Footnote 59:
In Louisiana, however, the counties are known as parishes.
Footnote 60:
The largest county in the United States is San Bernardino county,
California, which covers more than 2000 square miles. The smallest is
Bristol county, R. I., with about 25 square miles. Cook county, which
includes Chicago, has the biggest population and Cochran county,
Texas, with less than 100 people, has the smallest.
Footnote 61:
In some states he is known as the district attorney, state’s attorney,
or county solicitor.
Footnote 62:
To discontinue a prosecution the prosecuting attorney files in court a
statement known as a _nolle prosequi_, indicating that he does not
wish to press the case to trial. The right to do this gives the
official a great deal of power, which has been in some cases abused.
Footnote 63:
A deed is a document by which one person conveys land to another. It
is the duty of the purchaser to make sure that his deed is valid and
that the seller has a good title to the land which he sells. This he
can ascertain by examining the records in the registry of deeds. In
some states a plan known as the Torrens System is in operation.
Intending purchasers submit their deeds to the registration official,
who examines them. If he finds that the title is good, he registers
the deed and thereafter the title may not be questioned. Where the
Torrens System is not in operation a purchaser can get his title
insured by paying a premium to a title insurance company.
Footnote 64:
There is a widespread impression that the government of the New
England towns, being a close approach to a direct democracy, has been
a great and consistent success. These towns have been pictured by some
writers as little Utopias, free from state interference, and
privileged to manage their own affairs in their own way. Unhappily
this portrayal does not square with the facts. Small agricultural
communities, such as the New England towns used to be, can manage
their local affairs satisfactorily under almost any form of
government. But when population grows, and factories come in, and
local activities are multiplied—then the problems of a town are akin
to those of a city and have to be handled in the same way.