Government in the United States, National, State and Local
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Title: Government in the United States, National, State and Local
Author: James Wilford Garner
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[Illustration: CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.]
GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
National, State, and Local
by
JAMES W. GARNER
Professor of Political Science in the University of Illinois
New York Cincinnati Chicago
American Book Company
Copyright, 1911, 1913, 1919, 1920, by
James W. Garner
Copyright, 1922, by
American Book Company
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London
Govt. U. S.
W. P. 29
Made in U. S. A.
PREFACE
My aim in the preparation of this book has been to present in an
elementary way the leading facts concerning the organization and
activities of national, state, and local government in the United
States. I have given rather greater emphasis than is customarily done in
textbooks of this character to what may be called the dynamics of
government, that is, its actual workings, as contradistinguished from
organization. Likewise, I have laid especial stress upon the activities
and methods of political parties, party conventions, primaries, the
conduct of political campaigns, the regulation of campaign methods, and
the like. The increasing importance of citizenship has led me to devote
a chapter to that subject. To encourage wider reading among students, I
have added to each chapter a brief list of references to books which
should be in every high school library. The great value of illustrative
material as a means of acquainting students with the spirit and actual
methods of government is now recognized. For the convenience of
teachers, I have therefore added at the end of each chapter a list of
documentary and other illustrative material, most of which can be
procured without cost and all of which may be used to advantage in
supplementing the descriptive matter in the textbook. To stimulate the
spirit of research and to encourage independent thinking among students,
I have also added at the end of each chapter a list of search questions
bearing upon the various subjects treated in the chapter.
I am under obligations to a number of teachers for reading the proof
sheets of this book and for giving me the benefit of their advice. Among
those to whom I am especially indebted are Mr. Clarence O. Gardner,
formerly assistant in political science in the University of Illinois,
Mr. W. A. Beyer, of the Illinois State Normal University, Mr. C. H.
Elliott, of the Southern Illinois State Normal University, Mr. E. T.
Austin, of the Sterling Township (Ill.) High School, and Mr. William
Wallis, Principal of the Bloomington (Ill.) High School.
J. W. GARNER
URBANA, ILLINOIS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. LOCAL GOVERNMENT: TOWNS, TOWNSHIPS, AND COUNTIES 5
II. LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CONTINUED: CITIES AND VILLAGES 25
III. THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 57
IV. THE STATE LEGISLATURE 73
V. THE STATE EXECUTIVE 91
VI. THE STATE JUDICIARY 109
VII. SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS 125
VIII. POLITICAL PARTIES AND NOMINATING METHODS 144
IX. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNION 159
X. THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS 174
XI. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE OF CONGRESS 197
XII. FEDERAL FINANCE, TAXATION, AND MONEY 217
XIII. THE REGULATION OF COMMERCE 236
XIV. OTHER IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS 248
XV. THE PRESIDENCY: ORGANIZATION AND MODE OF ELECTION 274
XVI. THE PRESIDENCY, CONTINUED: INAUGURATION, POWERS AND DUTIES 298
XVII. THE CABINET AND THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 324
XVIII. THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 353
XIX. GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES 369
XX. CITIZENSHIP 383
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 393
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 399
INDEX 411
GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
CHAPTER I
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: TOWNS, TOWNSHIPS, AND COUNTIES
=Kinds of Local Government.=--Most of us live under at least four
different governmental organizations: the government of the United
States, the government of a state, the government of a county, and the
government of a minor division, usually called a town or township. In
addition to (or sometimes instead of) the county or township government,
many of us live under a special form of government provided for urban
communities,--cities, villages, or boroughs,--where the population is
comparatively dense and where, therefore, the somewhat simple form of
government provided for rural communities is insufficient. If the people
of the smaller communities are allowed to choose their own public
officials and, within certain limits, to determine their own policies in
public matters of a local character, they have a system of _local
self-government_. If, on the contrary, they are governed by some distant
central authority which determines their local policies and by which
their local officials are appointed, they live under a system of
_centralized government_.
=Merits of Local Self-Government.=--In the United States, the privilege
of local self-government is regarded as one of the chief merits of our
political system, and it is often declared to be one of the inalienable
rights of the people. One great advantage of local self-government is
that it brings government near the door of every citizen, and permits
the people of each locality, who are most familiar with their own local
conditions and who know best what are their local needs, to regulate
their own affairs as they see fit. Also, such a system is well
calculated to secure responsibility. So long as the local authorities
are chosen by the community from its own inhabitants and are constantly
under the eyes of the people, to whom they are responsible, they can be
more effectively controlled by local public opinion than is possible
where they are chosen by authorities distantly removed. Another
important advantage of local self-government is that it serves as a
training school for the political education of the citizens. Allow them
the privilege of choosing their own local officials and of regulating
their own local concerns, and their interest in public affairs will be
stimulated and their political intelligence increased and broadened.
This not only will tend to secure more responsible government (local,
state, and national), but will produce a more active type of
citizenship.
=Importance of Local Government.=--With the growth and congestion of
population in centers, and the increasing complexity of our industrial
and social life, the importance of local self-government has enormously
increased. The local governments touch us at many more points to-day
than does either the state or the national government; they regulate a
far larger proportion of the concerns of our everyday life; and hence we
feel the effects of corrupt or inefficient local government more keenly
than we feel the effects of inefficient state or national government.
We depend largely upon our local governments for the maintenance of the
peace, order, and security of the community; for the protection of the
public health; for the support of our schools; for the construction and
maintenance of roads and bridges; for the care of the poor; and if we
live in a city, for protection against fire, for our water supply,
usually, and for many other services essential to our comfort and
happiness. Finally, the larger proportion of the taxes we pay goes
toward the support of local government--a fact which makes it very
important that our local governments should be efficiently, honestly,
and economically conducted.
=Types of Local Government.=--The form of local government existing in
each state is such as the state itself provides, the national government
having no authority whatever over the matter. Such differences as exist
are more largely the result of historical conditions growing out of the
early settlement of the states, than of any pronounced differences of
opinion among the people in regard to forms of government. Since
colonial times there have been three general types of local rural
government in America: the _town system_, in New England; the _county
system_, which originated in Virginia and spread to other colonies and
states; and the _county-township type_--a combination of the first two
forms--which developed in the middle colonies of New York and
Pennsylvania and was carried to many Western states by settlers from the
middle states, and is now the most common form to be found.
TOWN GOVERNMENT
=Town and County in New England.=--The characteristic feature of the
town system of government is that the management of local affairs
devolves mainly upon the town (or township, as it is usually called
outside of New England), while the county is little more than an
administrative district for judicial and election purposes. In some of
the New England states, where the town system originated and where it
exists in its purest form, the county is almost ignored as an area for
local government. In Rhode Island it performs practically no duties of
local government and is merely a judicial district; there no county
officers are to be found except the sheriff and clerks of the courts. In
the other New England states the county plays a more important part than
it does in Rhode Island, but in none of them does it share with the
towns in anything like an equal measure the burden of local government.
=The New England Town.=--The towns of New England are the oldest
political communities in America, some of them being older in fact than
the counties and states of which they are a part. Generally they vary
from twenty to forty square miles in area, and are irregular in shape,
being in this respect unlike the townships of many Western states, which
were laid out in squares, each with an area of thirty-six square miles.
In population they vary from a few hundred persons to more than 130,000
as is the case with New Haven, which, though an incorporated city,
maintains a separate town organization.
=Powers of Town Government.=--The functions performed by the town
governments are varied and numerous. The most important, however, are
the support and management of public schools, the laying out and
maintenance of roads, the construction of bridges, the care of the poor,
and in the more populous towns, fire protection, health protection, the
maintenance of police, lighting, paving of streets, establishment of
parks, public libraries, etc. The towns also have power to enact
ordinances of a police character, relating to such matters as bicycle
riding on sidewalks, the running of animals at large, etc.
In addition to the management of the purely local affairs of the
community, the town acts as the agent of the state government for
carrying out certain state laws and policies. Thus it assesses and
collects the state taxes, keeps records of vital statistics, enforces
the health laws of the state, and acts for the state in various other
matters. Finally, except in Massachusetts, the town is a district for
choosing members of at least one branch of the legislature, and
everywhere in New England it is a district for state and national
elections.[1]
[1] Fairlie, "Local Government," p. 147.
=The Town Meeting.=--The central fact in the system of town government
in New England is the town meeting, or assembly of the qualified voters
of the town. The annual meeting is usually held in the early Spring
(except in Connecticut, where it is generally held in October) and
special meetings are called from time to time as necessity may require.
All persons qualified as voters under the state laws are entitled to
attend and take part in the proceedings of the meeting. Formerly
non-attendance was punishable by a fine, but that is no longer resorted
to; it being supposed that each voter's interest will be sufficient
inducement to secure his presence. The attendance is larger in the towns
of New England than in the states of the West where the town meeting
exists, and it is larger in urban towns than in those of a rural
character. Formal notice must be given of the time and place of the
meeting, and this is done by a warrant issued by the selectmen, which
specifies also the matters of business to be considered. This notice
must be posted in conspicuous places a certain number of days before the
meeting. No other matters than those mentioned in the warrant can be
introduced or considered. The meetings are usually held in the town
hall, though in the early history of New England they were frequently
held in the church, which was thus a "meeting house" for civil as well
as for church purposes.
The meeting is called to order by the town clerk, who reads the warrant,
after which an organization is effected by the election of a presiding
officer called a moderator, and business then proceeds in accordance
with the customary rules of parliamentary law. The next order of
business is the election of the town officers for the ensuing year. This
done, appropriations are made for the payment of the public expenses of
the town, and the other measures necessary for the government of the
town are then discussed and adopted. The most interesting fact about the
New England town meeting is the lively discussion which characterizes
its proceedings. Any voter may introduce resolutions and express his
opinion on any proposition before the assembly. One great advantage of
this system of local government is its educative effect upon the
citizens. It affords a means of keeping alive interest in public affairs
and thus tends to develop a more intelligent citizenship. Important
measures may be carefully discussed and criticized before the final vote
is taken, and it is difficult to "railroad" or smuggle an objectionable
measure through, as is sometimes done in the legislatures and city
councils. Everything the officials and committees of the town have done
is subject to be criticized, everything they are to do is subject to be
regulated by the meeting. The final action of the meeting, therefore, is
pretty apt to represent the real wishes of the people.
=Conditions Unfavorable to Government by Town Meeting.=--Various causes,
however, are at work in some parts of New England to weaken the system
of government by town meeting and to render it less suited to the modern
conditions under which it must be operated. The growth of manufacturing
industries in many of the towns has introduced a conflict of interests
between factory owners and operators on the one hand, and farmers on the
other. The result is occasional squabbles and controversies which are
not favorable to government by mass meeting. The influx of foreigners
who are unaccustomed to local self-government and who are therefore
unfamiliar with the duties of citizens in self-governing communities has
in recent years also introduced an unfavorable element. Finally, the
caucus has gained a foothold in many towns so that the election of
officers and the determination of important policies are often
controlled by a small group of persons who get together prior to the
town meeting and prepare a "slate" which is put through without adequate
discussion. It is also to be noted that with the growth of population,
many of the towns have become too populous to be governed effectively by
mass meeting. Frequently the town hall is too small to accommodate all
the voters who attend, and satisfactory debate under such conditions is
impossible. Often when a town reaches this size it organizes itself into
a municipal corporation, and a city council takes the place of the
popular assembly, but there are many places of considerable size which
still retain the town organization.
=Town Officers.=--_Selectmen._--From the beginning of town government it
was necessary to choose agents to look after the affairs of the
community during the interval between town meetings. These persons were
called _selectmen_, and they have retained the name until the present
day.
Every town now has a body of selectmen chosen at the annual meeting,
usually for one year (in Massachusetts for three years) to act as a
general managing board for the community. The number for each town
varies from three to nine according to the size of the town, three being
the most usual number. Reëlections are frequent; one selectman in
Brookline, Massachusetts, served nearly forty years. Their duties vary
in the different towns. Generally they issue warrants for holding town
meetings, lay out roads, impanel jurors, grant licenses, abate
nuisances, arrange for elections, control the town property, hear
complaints, sometimes assess taxes (especially in the small towns), and
may appoint police officials, boards of health, overseers of the poor,
and other local officers if they are not chosen by the voters assembled
in the town meeting.
_The Town Clerk._--Besides the selectmen, there are various other
officers of the town, the number varying according to its size and
importance. One of the most important of these is the _clerk_, who
performs some duties discharged by the county clerk in states outside of
New England. The town clerk is elected at the annual town meeting, and
is frequently reëlected from year to year. His principal duties are to
keep the records of the town meetings, and of the meetings of the
selectmen, issue marriage licenses, and keep registers of births,
marriages, and deaths.
_Assessors and Treasurer._--In the large towns there are assessors of
taxes, who prepare tax lists; in the smaller ones, as stated above, the
selectmen act as assessors. In all of the towns there is a town
treasurer who receives and takes care of all taxes collected from the
citizens, turning over to the proper officers the portion which goes to
the state and to the county. He also keeps an account of all receipts
and disbursements and makes an annual report to the town meeting.
_Overseers of the Poor._--To care for the pauper and dependent class
there are usually one or more overseers of the poor elected by the town
meeting, though in the smaller towns the selectmen perform this duty.
Their principal function is to determine who shall receive public aid.
_Constables._--In every town one or more constables are elected.
Formerly this office, like that of sheriff, was one of dignity and
influence, but it has lost much of its early importance. As the sheriff
is the peace officer of the county, the constables are the peace
officers of the town. They pursue and arrest criminals and execute
warrants issued by the selectmen and by the justices of the peace. In
addition they sometimes summon jurors and act as collectors of the
taxes.
_School Committee._--Generally there is also a school committee elected
at the town meeting. It is charged with establishing and visiting
schools, selecting teachers, prescribing the courses of instruction, and
appointing truant officers.
_Other Town Officials_ are justices of the peace; road surveyors or
similar officers with other titles, charged with keeping public roads
and bridges in repair; field drivers and poundkeepers, who take up and
keep stray animals until claimed by their owners; fence viewers, who
settle disputes among farmers in regard to partition fences and walls;
sealers of weights and measures, who test the accuracy of scales and
measures; surveyors of lumber; keepers of almshouses; park
commissioners; fish wardens; inspectors of various kinds; and a host of
other minor officials, some of whom bear queer titles, and many of whom
serve without pay or receive only trifling fees for their services. In
some of the small towns, officials are so numerous as to constitute a
goodly proportion of the population. The town of Middlefield (Mass.),
for example, with only eighty-two voters recently had a total of
eighteen officials.[2]
[2] Hart, "Actual Government," p. 172.
=Town Government in the West.=--Town government is not confined to New
England; it has been carried to many Western states where immigrants
from New England have settled, though in none of them does it possess
the vitality or play the important part in the management of public
affairs that it does in the older communities where it originated. In
the states of the South and the far West, there is no general system of
town government. Counties, however, are usually divided into districts
for a few unimportant purposes.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT
=The County.=--The county[3] is a civil division created by the state
partly for purposes of state administration and partly for local
government. New York city embraces within its boundaries five counties;
other cities, like Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Cincinnati, contain
within their limits the larger part of the population of the counties in
which they are situated. The population of a large majority of the
counties, however, is predominantly rural rather than urban in
character, and where there is a large city within a county, most of the
affairs of that portion of the county lying within the city limits are
managed by the city government.
[3] The corresponding division in Louisiana is called a parish.
_Population and Area._--The population of the counties, and their areas,
vary widely. Several counties in Texas in 1910 had less than 400
inhabitants each, New York county, on the other hand, had more than
2,750,000. The most populous counties are in the Eastern states, and
the least populous in the South and West. There are now about 3,000
counties in all the states, the number in each state ranging from three
in Delaware and five in Rhode Island to 244 in Texas. In proportion to
population Massachusetts has a smaller number (fourteen) than any other
state in the Union. In many states the minimum size of counties is fixed
by the constitution. The minimum limit where it is fixed by the
constitution is usually 400 square miles, though in some states it is
600 or 700 and in Texas it is 900 square miles. Where no such
restrictions have been prescribed, however, as in some of the old
states, the area is sometimes very small. In Rhode Island, for example,
there is one county with an area of only 25 square miles. New York has
one county (New York) with an area of 21 square miles, and another (St.
Lawrence) with an area of 2,880 square miles. On the other hand, Choteau
county in Montana has an area of over 16,000 square miles, being
considerably larger than the combined area of several of the smaller
states.
To prevent the legislature from creating new counties or altering the
boundaries of existing counties against the wishes of the inhabitants,
and to secure to the people home rule in such matters, the constitutions
of a number of states provide that new counties may be formed, or the
area of existing counties altered, only with the consent of the
inhabitants concerned, given by a direct popular vote on the question.
_Functions of the County._--The county is a judicial and elective
district, and the jails and courthouses and sometimes the almshouses are
county rather than town institutions. Outside of New England the county
is also often the unit of representation in the legislature; and it acts
as an agent of the state in collecting taxes and executing many laws.
=County Officers.=--_The County Board._--The principal county authority
is usually a board of commissioners or supervisors (in Louisiana it is
called the police jury), elected by the voters either from the county at
large or from districts into which the county is divided. In most states
it is a small board, usually three or five members; in some it is
larger, being composed of one member from each township in the county.
In a few Southern states (Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas), the county
court of justices of the peace still acts as the county board, as in
Colonial days.
This board is both a legislative and an administrative body for the
county, for the executive and legislative functions in local government
are not always kept so separate and distinct as they are in the state
and national governments. It levies taxes, appropriates money for
meeting the public expenses, has general control of county finances, has
charge of county buildings and other property, settles claims against
the county, approves bonds of county officials, and in many states it
establishes roads, lets contracts for the erection of bridges and other
public works and for repairing them, licenses ferries and sometimes
inns, saloons, peddlers, etc., cares for the poor and dependent classes,
and performs numerous other services which vary in extent and character
in the different states.
[Illustration: Pueblo County Court House, Colorado]
[Illustration: Polk County Court House, Florida]
_The Sheriff._--The most important executive officer of the county is
the sheriff. This office is a very ancient one, though it has lost much
of its former dignity and importance. The sheriff is elected by the
people of the county, in all of the states except Rhode Island (where he
is chosen by the state legislature), for a term ranging from one to four
years, the most usual term being two years. The sheriff is usually
assisted by a number of deputies, who are either regularly employed by
him or especially summoned in case of emergencies. He is the general
conservator of the peace of the county and is charged with attending the
court as its executive officer and with carrying out its orders, whether
it be to sell property for nonpayment of taxes, to seize and sell
property in execution of a judgment, or to hang a convicted criminal. He
has the power, and it is his duty, to arrest offenders and commit them
to the jail, of which he is usually the custodian, and to this end he
may summon to his aid the _posse comitatus_, which consists of the
able-bodied male citizens of the county. In case of serious disturbance
and riot he may call on the governor for the aid of the militia. He must
exercise reasonable care for the safe-keeping of prisoners in his
custody, and in some states he may be removed from office by the
governor for negligence in protecting them against mob violence. In some
of the Southern states he is _ex officio_ tax collector and in some he
is also _ex officio_ public administrator. Other duties of a special
nature are imposed upon sheriffs in different states.
_The Coroner._--Next to the sheriff among county officers in point of
origin is the coroner, whose principal duty is to hold inquests upon the
bodies of persons who are supposed to have died from violence or other
unlawful means. In such cases it is the duty of the coroner to impanel a
jury, usually of six persons, who from the testimony of witnesses, if
there are such, and with the aid of a physician or other expert, decide
the facts as to how the deceased met his death. A coroner's inquest,
however, is not a trial but merely an inquiry into the circumstances of
the death. By an old common-law rule, the coroner usually succeeds to
the office of sheriff in case the latter dies or for any other reason is
disqualified from acting.
_County Clerk._--Usually in every county there is an official called the
county clerk, who in most states serves both as the clerk of the county
board of commissioners, and as clerk of the county court and of the
circuit court. In the former capacity he keeps a record of the
proceedings of the meeting of the board. His books must contain a record
of all bids for the erection of county buildings, of all contracts let,
notices of elections ordered, licenses granted, roads laid out or
changed, and indeed of all transactions of the board. As clerk of the
court he must prepare and keep the docket of all cases for trial and of
the judgments entered, issue processes and writs, certify to the
accuracy of transcripts from the records of the court, and keep all
papers and records of the court. In Pennsylvania and Delaware the clerk
of the common pleas court is known as a "prothonotary"; in Massachusetts
the clerks of the probate courts are styled "registers of probate."
In a few states these two sets of duties are intrusted to different
officials, one of whom is styled the county clerk and the other the
clerk of the court. Usually the county clerk is also an election
officer, being charged with the giving of notices of elections, the
preparation of ballots, and the keeping of election records. County
clerks are usually elected by the people of the county for a period
ranging from one to four years, and reëlection is much more frequent
than is the case with other county officials, because of the greater
need of experience and familiarity with the duties of the office.[4]
[4] In Vermont and Connecticut, however, they are appointed by the
judges and hold during their pleasure, while in Rhode Island they are
elected by the legislature annually.
_County Treasurer._--An important county officer is the treasurer, who
receives and has custody of the state and county taxes, though in a few
states having the county system of local government there are special
tax collectors, and, as we have seen, in some of them these duties are
performed by the sheriff.[5] Nearly everywhere the office is filled by
popular election, though in a few states treasurers are chosen by the
county board or appointed by the governor. On account of the large sums
of money often intrusted to their keeping, they are usually placed under
heavy bond to insure the state and county against loss in case of
defalcation or other misapplication of the funds in their charge. County
treasurers frequently deposit the public funds in local banks and retain
for themselves the interest which they receive therefrom. Recently the
treasurer of Cook county, Illinois, agreed before his election to turn
over to the county all interest received by him on county funds
deposited in banks, and in 1904 nearly half a million dollars was thus
paid into the county treasury by him.
[5] Rhode Island is the only state in which there is no such official
as the county treasurer, the custody of local funds being intrusted
to the town treasurers.
_County Auditor._--In a number of states the office of county auditor
has been provided. Generally he keeps the accounts of the county, so as
to show the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys, and issues
warrants upon the treasurer for the payment of bills authorized by the
county board. In some states his duties are limited merely to an
examination of the accounts of county officers to see that they have
been properly kept and that there has been no misapplication of public
funds.
_Recorder of Deeds._--In all the states there are officials charged with
keeping records of certain legal documents such as deeds, mortgages, and
leases. They are designated by different names, the most usual being
register of deeds or recorder of deeds. They make exact copies of the
instruments to be recorded, enter them in large books, and keep indexes
by which such instruments can be readily found. In some states these
duties are performed by the county clerk. The importance of the office
is evident because upon the careful preservation and accuracy of the
records must depend in many cases our rights to property.
_School Officers._--In the states outside New England there is usually a
county superintendent or commissioner of schools and in most of the
Southern states a county school board. In a large majority of the states
the county superintendent is elected by the people, though in a few he
is appointed by the governor, elected by the local school boards, or
chosen in other ways. The principal duties of the superintendent of
schools are to examine teachers, issue certificates to teach, visit the
schools, organize teachers' institutes, give advice on educational
matters to teachers and school trustees, make reports to the state
superintendent of public education, sometimes decide questions appealed
to him from the district trustees, and in general watch over and promote
the educational interests of the county. County school boards in the
South establish schools as do the town school committees and school
district boards in other states.
_Other County Officials_ are the surveyor, who makes surveys of land
upon the application of private owners, prepares plats, and keeps
records of the same; superintendent or overseers of the poor, who have
charge of almshouses, hospitals, and poor farms where they belong to the
county; health officers or boards of health, whose duties are indicated
by their titles; and occasionally other minor officials with varying
titles and duties.[6]
[6] The county court and the justices of the peace are discussed in
the chapter on the state judiciary (chapter vi).
THE COUNTY-TOWNSHIP SYSTEM
In most states the general type of local government is that which we
have designated as the county-township system. It is a system in which
there is a more nearly equal division of local governmental functions
between the county and township than is found either in New England or
in the Southern states.
=The Two Types.=--Growing out of the fact that the county-township
system has two sources it has developed into two different types: the
New York or supervisor type and the Pennsylvania or commissioner type.
_A. New York Type._--In New York the town with its annual meeting early
made its appearance, though the town meeting there never exhibited the
vigor and vitality that it did in New England. Early in the eighteenth
century a law was enacted in New York providing that each township in
the county should elect an officer called a _supervisor_, and that the
supervisors of the several towns should form a county board and when
assembled at the county seat should "supervise and examine the public
and necessary charge of each county." In time the management of most of
the affairs of the county was devolved upon the board of supervisors,
and the system has continued to the present. This board is now composed
of not only the supervisors of the townships but also the
representatives of the various villages and wards of the cities within
the county. The county board thus represents the minor civil divisions
of the county rather than the county as a whole. It has charge of
various matters that in New England are managed by the towns. The town
meeting exists but it is not largely attended, and does not play the
important rôle in local government that it does in New England. This
system in time spread to those states, like Michigan, Illinois, and
Wisconsin, which were largely settled by immigrants from New York.
_B. The Pennsylvania Type._--As New York was the parent of the
supervisor system, Pennsylvania became the parent of the commissioner
system. Instead of a county board composed of representatives from the
various townships in the county, provision was made for a board of
commissioners elected from the county at large. The Pennsylvania system
spread to Ohio and from there to Indiana and later to Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In some states the
commissioners are elected by large districts into which the county is
divided for that purpose.
Thus, first to New York, and second to Pennsylvania belongs the honor of
predetermining the character of local government in the West. The
county-township system is the most widely distributed system of local
government in the United States, and seems destined to become the
prevailing system for the country as a whole.[7] The principal
difference between the two types consists in the presence of the town
meeting in the northern tier of states where the New York type prevails,
and its absence in the states where the Pennsylvania type was
introduced; in the different manner in which the county boards are
constituted; and in the relative importance of the county and township
in the local governments of the two groups of states.
[7] Goodnow, "Comparative Administrative Law," Vol. I, p. 178.
=Conflict of Different Systems in the West.=--An illustration of the
attachment of the people of different parts of the country to the local
institutions to which they were early accustomed, is found in the
conflict which took place in Illinois between the settlers in the
northern and southern parts of the state. The southern part of the
state was settled largely by people from the South, who brought with
them the Southern ideas of local government, and as they constituted the
bulk of the population of the state at the time it was admitted to the
Union, the system of county government was established by law throughout
the state; but the county board was organized on the Pennsylvania plan
and not according to the old Southern system. The northern part of the
state, on the other hand, was settled mainly by people from New England,
who were likewise strongly attached to the local government to which
they had been accustomed. They succeeded, therefore, in securing the
adoption of a clause in the constitution (1848), allowing the people of
each county to adopt the township system whenever the majority of the
legal voters of the county voting at any general election should so
determine. Under the operation of this "home rule" provision, 85 of the
102 counties of the state have adopted the township system. A somewhat
similar conflict occurred in Michigan, where the Pennsylvania
commissioner system was first introduced, but with the influx of
inhabitants from New York and New England dissatisfaction with that
system increased until finally it was displaced by the New York or
supervisor type.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, ch. xxix.
BRYCE, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), chs.
xlvii-xlviii. FAIRLIE, Local Government in Towns, Counties and
Villages, chs. iv-v, viii-xi. FISKE, Civil Government in the U. S.,
chs. ii-iv. HART, Actual Government, ch. x. HINSDALE, American
Government, ch. lv. WILSON, The State (revised edition), secs.
1035-1043. WILLOUGHBY, Rights and Duties of Citizenship, pp.
260-265.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. A map of the state
showing its division into counties. 2. A map of the county showing
the towns, townships, supervisors' districts, or other civil
subdivisions. 3. A copy of a town meeting warrant. 4. A copy of
the proceedings of the county board or town meeting, as published
in the local newspaper. 5. The legislative manual or blue book of
the state in which lists of counties and their subdivisions, with
their population, area, officers, and other information may be
found. Usually this may be procured from the secretary of state. 6.
Reports of county officers. 7. Copies of the state constitution,
which may usually be obtained from the secretary of state; and, if
possible, a copy of the revised statutes of the state. 8. Volume of
the census report on population.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the distinction between local self-government and centralized
government? What are the advantages of a system of local
self-government?
2. Why should counties, towns, and cities be subject in some measure to
the control of the state?
3. What are the provisions in the constitution of your state in regard
to local government?
4. How many counties are there in your state? What is the area and
population of the largest? of the smallest?
5. How may new counties be created in your state? How may old counties
be divided? How are county seats located?
6. Enter in your notebook a list of the county officers in your county.
For how long a term is each elected?
7. Which one of the three forms of local government described above does
the system under which you live most nearly approach?
8. How many members are there on your county board? Are they called
commissioners or supervisors? Are they elected from the county at large
or from districts?
9. What are the political subdivisions of your county called, and how
many are there?
10. If you live in a state where the town system of local government
exists, make a list of the town officers and state their duties.
11. Is the town meeting a part of the system of local government where
you live? If so, how often is it held?
12. Are the public roads in your community under county or town control?
the poorhouse? the assessment and collection of taxes?
13. How many justices of the peace and constables are there in your town
or district? Give their names.
CHAPTER II
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?
CHAPTER III
THE STATE GOVERNMENTS
=Place of the States in Our Federal System.=--Proceeding upward from the
county, township, and city, we come to the state, the authority to which
the local governments described in the preceding chapters are all
subject. The consideration of state government properly precedes the
study of national government, not only because the states existed before
the national government did, and in a sense furnished the models upon
which it was constructed, but because their governments regulate the
larger proportion of our public affairs and hence concern more vitally
the interests of the mass of people than does the national government.
The states collectively make up our great republic, but they are not
mere administrative districts of the union created for convenience in
carrying on the affairs of national government. They do not, for
example, bear the same relation to the union that a county does to the
state, or a township to the county. A county is nothing more than a
district carved out of the state for administrative convenience, and
provided with such an organization and given such powers of local
government as the state may choose to give it. The states, on the other
hand, are not creations of the national government; their place as
constituent members of the union is determined by the Federal
Constitution, framed by the people of the United States, and their
rights and obligations are fixed by the same authority. Each state,
however, determines its own form of government and decides for itself
what activities it will undertake.
=Division of Powers.=--The Federal Constitution has marked out a
definite sphere of power for the states, on the one hand, and another
sphere for the national government on the other, and each within its
sphere is supreme. Upon the domain thus created for each the other may
not encroach. Each is kept strictly within its own constitutional sphere
by the federal Supreme Court, and the balance between the union and its
members is harmoniously preserved.
The states were already in existence with organized governments in
operation when the national government was created. The founders of the
national government conferred upon it only such powers as experience and
reason demonstrated could be more effectively regulated by a common
government than by a number of separate governments; they left the
states largely as they were, and limited their powers only so far as was
necessary to establish a more effective union than the one then
existing. Experience had taught them, for example, that commerce with
foreign countries and among the states themselves should be regulated by
a single authority acting for the entire country: only in this way could
uniformity be secured, and uniformity in such matters was indispensable
to the peace and perpetuity of the union. Accordingly, the national
government was vested with power over this and other matters which
clearly required uniformity of regulation, and the remaining powers of
government were left with the states, where they had always been. Thus
it came about that the national government was made an authority of
enumerated or delegated powers, while the states have reserved powers.
_Prohibitions._--It was thought wise, however, to prohibit both the
national government and those of the states from doing certain things,
and thus we find provisions in the Federal Constitution forbidding both
governments from granting titles of nobility, from passing ex post facto
laws, bills of attainder, etc. Likewise the states were prohibited from
entering into treaties with foreign countries, from coining money, from
impairing the obligation of contracts, and from passing laws on certain
other subjects which it was clearly unwise to leave to state regulation.
=Powers of the States.=--The powers left to the states, unlike those
conferred upon the national government, cannot be enumerated. They are
so varied in character, and so extensive, that an attempt to enumerate
them would involve cataloguing all the multitudinous business and social
relationships of life. The powers of the national government seem much
greater by comparison than those of the states, partly because they are
set forth in the Constitution and partly because of their application
throughout the entire country, but in reality they are not only far less
numerous but affect less vitally the great mass of the people. The
powers of the states include such matters as the regulation of the
ownership, use, and disposition of property; the conduct of business and
industry; the making and enforcing of contracts; the conduct of
religious worship; education; marriage, divorce, and the domestic
relations generally; suffrage and elections; and the making and
enforcement of the criminal law. In the division of governmental powers
between the nation and the state, says Bryce, the state gets the most
and the nation the highest, and so the balance between the two is
preserved.
"An American," says Mr. Bryce, "may, through a long life, never be
reminded of the federal government except when he votes at
presidential and congressional elections, buys a package of tobacco
bearing the government stamp, lodges a complaint against the post
office, and opens his trunks for a customhouse officer on the pier
at New York when he returns from a tour in Europe. His direct taxes
are paid to officials acting under state laws. The state or local
authority constituted by state statutes registers his birth,
appoints his guardian, pays for his schooling, gives him a share in
the estate of his father deceased, licenses him when he enters a
trade (if it be one needing a license), marries him, divorces him,
entertains civil actions against him, declares him a bankrupt,
hangs him for murder; the police that guard his house, the local
boards which look after the poor, control highways, impose water
rates, manage schools--all these derive their legal powers from his
state alone."
=Rights and Privileges of the States as Members of the Union.=--The
states have certain rights and privileges which are guaranteed them by
the Federal Constitution, and of which they cannot be deprived by the
national government without their consent.
_Republican Government._--Thus it is made the duty of the United States
to guarantee to every state in the union a republican form of
government, that is, a government by the chosen representatives of the
people of the state. In a few cases rival governments have been set up
in a state, each claiming to be the legitimate government and entitled
to the obedience of the people; the one recognized by the federal
authorities has always prevailed.
_Protection Against Invasion._--It is also made the duty of the national
government to protect the states against invasion. This is right and
proper, since the states are forbidden by the Constitution to keep ships
of war or troops in times of peace.
_Protection Against Domestic Violence._--Again, it is made the duty of
the national government to protect the people of the states against
domestic violence arising from insurrection or riots, _provided_ that
application has been made by the proper state authorities. The purpose
of this proviso is to remove the temptation to federal interference in
state affairs for political or other reasons against the wishes of the
people of the state. The ordinary procedure for the suppression of a
local disturbance is for the sheriff of the county, or the mayor of the
city, to make use of the local police, and if necessary he may call upon
the citizens to come to his aid. If this is not effective, the governor
may be called upon to order out the state militia for the suppression of
the riot. If, however, the riot should spread and assume such
proportions that the power of the state and local authorities is
insufficient, it becomes the right and duty of the governor, or the
legislature if it be in session, to call on the President of the United
States for the assistance of national troops. If in the President's
judgment the situation is one which warrants federal intervention, he
sends a detachment of troops from a near-by military post to restore
order. Many times in our history federal troops have been used to put
down riots where the state authorities had shown themselves incapable of
maintaining order; two recent examples being in connection with strikes
among the miners of Nevada in 1907, and of Colorado in 1914.
Ordinarily the President has no lawful right to interpose in the affairs
of the state by the employment of troops until he has received an
application from the governor or the legislature, but if the disturbance
is one which interferes with the operations of the national government
or with the movement of interstate commerce, the President may intervene
whenever in his opinion the situation calls for federal action. Thus
during the Chicago strike riots of 1894, President Cleveland ordered a
detachment of federal troops to that city against the protests of the
governor, upon being assured that the strikers were interfering with the
movement of the mails and with the conduct of interstate commerce and
were also disregarding the writs and processes of the United States
courts. The interference of the President was criticized by some
persons, but the great body of citizens approved his course, and the
United States Supreme Court upheld the validity of his action.
_Other Rights of the States._--Among the other rights of the states
under the Federal Constitution may be mentioned the right of equal
representation in the senate, a right of which no state can be deprived
without its consent, and the right of territorial integrity: no new
state may be created within the jurisdiction of another state, nor may
any state be formed by the junction of two or more states or parts of
states, without the consent of the states concerned.
=Obligations and Duties of the States.=--Rights and privileges usually
imply obligations, and so we find that the states owe certain duties to
one another and to the union of which they are a part, and the harmony
and success of the federal system are dependent in a large measure upon
the performance of these duties in good faith.
_Full Faith and Credit._--First of all, each state must give full faith
and credit to the acts, judicial proceedings, and records of the other
states. This means, for example, that a properly authenticated copy of a
will or deed duly executed in one state will be taken notice of and
rights depending on it will be enforced in other states as though the
instrument were made therein. Likewise, a marriage legally celebrated in
one state will usually be treated as valid in another state, and the
facts of a case at law will be recognized in other states without the
necessity of retrial. The provision as to full faith and credit does
_not_ mean that one state must enforce within its borders the laws of
other states, or that its courts in reaching their decisions are bound
by the decisions of the courts of its sister states. As a matter of
practice, however, courts in one state in deciding difficult questions
of law will examine the decisions of the courts of other states on
similar points for their own enlightenment, and will show respect for
these decisions, the degree of deference depending on the standing of
the judges rendering the decision and upon the similarity of the laws
and policies of the states concerned.
_Surrender of Fugitives from Justice._--In the next place, it is made
the constitutional duty of the executive of each state to surrender
criminals escaping from other states, in order that they may be returned
for trial and punishment in the state from which they have fled. The
demand for the surrender of such fugitives is made by the governor of
the state from which the criminal has fled, and the governor upon whom
the demand is made ought to comply with it unless for very substantial
reasons. There is no way, however, by which this obligation may be
enforced, and there have been many cases where governors have refused to
deliver up criminals escaping from other states--usually for the reason
that, in the governor's opinion, the fugitive would not receive a fair
trial in the state from which he had fled.
_Treatment of Citizens of Other States._--Still another obligation
imposed by the Federal Constitution on the states is that of treating
the citizens of other states as they treat their own citizens, i. e.,
without discrimination. But this obligation has reference rather to
civil rights than to political privileges. It does not mean that an
illiterate man who is allowed to vote in Illinois may go to
Massachusetts and vote where an educational qualification for the
suffrage is required; nor does it mean that a woman who is allowed to
practice law in one state may therefore practice in another state which
excludes women from engaging in that profession. What the provision does
mean, is that whatever privileges and immunities a state allows to its
own citizens, it must allow the citizens of other states on the same
terms, and subject to the same conditions and no more. Thus a state
cannot subject the citizens of other states to higher taxes than are
imposed upon its own citizens.
_Other Obligations._--Finally, it goes without saying that it is the
duty of each state to treat its sister states in the spirit of comity
and courtesy; to carry out the mandates of the Federal Constitution
relating to the election of senators, representatives, and presidential
electors so as to keep up the existence of the national government; and,
in general, to perform in good faith all their other obligations as
members of the union, without the performance of which the republic
would be a mere makeshift. The existence of the states is essential to
the union, and their preservation is as much within the care of the
Constitution as is the union itself. Indeed, the Constitution in all its
parts, said the Supreme Court of the United States in a famous case,
looks to an indestructible union of indestructible states.
=The State Constitution; how Framed.=--The governmental organization of
each of the states is set forth in a written instrument called a
constitution. Unlike the constitutions of some of the European states,
which were granted by kings, and unlike, also, those of the British
self-governing colonies, which were enacted by Parliament, all the
American constitutions now in existence were framed by constituent
bodies representing the people, and in most cases they were approved by
the people before they went into effect. As Mr. Bryce has remarked, the
American state constitutions are the oldest things in the political
history of America. Before the Federal Constitution was framed each of
the thirteen original states had a constitution of its own, most of them
being framed by popular conventions chosen especially for the purpose.
Later, when a territory asked to be admitted to the union as a new
state, Congress, through what is called an "enabling act," empowered the
people of the territory to choose a convention to frame a constitution
which, when submitted to the voters and approved by them, became the
fundamental law of the new state. In a number of cases, however, the
people of the territory went ahead on their own initiative, and without
the authority of an enabling act framed their constitution and asked to
be admitted, and sometimes they were admitted as though they had acted
under the authority of Congress. Whenever an existing state wishes to
frame a new constitution for itself, the usual mode of procedure is for
the legislature either to pass a resolution calling a convention, or to
submit to the voters the question of the desirability of a new
constitution. A resolution calling a convention usually requires an
extraordinary majority of both houses of the legislature, two thirds of
the members being the most common rule.
=Ratification of New Constitutions.=--When the draft of the constitution
has been completed by the convention, it is usually submitted to the
voters of the state at a general or a special election, and if it is
approved by a majority of those voting on the constitution, or (in some
states) of those voting at the election, it supersedes the old
constitution and goes into effect on a day prescribed. In some
instances, however, new constitutions were not submitted to popular
vote; instead, the convention assumed the right to put them into effect
without popular approval. Of the twenty-five state constitutions adopted
before the year 1801, only three were submitted to the voters for their
approval, but as time passed the practice of giving the people an
opportunity to approve or reject proposed constitutions became the rule.
In the twenty years between 1890 and 1910 eight new constitutions were
submitted to the people, and only five were put into force without
popular ratification, namely, those of Mississippi (1890), South
Carolina (1895), Delaware (1897), Louisiana (1898), and Virginia (1902).
=Frequency of New Constitutions.=--The frequency with which the states
revise their constitutions varies in different sections of the country.
In New England new constitutions are rare, while in the states of the
West and the South new constitutions are framed, on an average, at least
once in every generation and sometimes oftener. Since the Revolution
more than two hundred constitutions have been made by the states, though
some of them never went into operation. Several of the states within a
period of less than one hundred years have had as many as six, and a few
have had even more. The constitution of Massachusetts of 1780, with
several subsequent amendments, is still in force; but outside of New
England there are few constitutions that are more than thirty years old.
Some of the states, indeed, have inserted provisions in their
constitutions making it the duty of the legislature at stated intervals
to submit to the voters the question of calling a convention to revise
the existing constitution or to adopt an entirely new one. In this way
the people are given an opportunity to determine whether the
constitution under which they live shall be revised or superseded by a
new one, independently of the will of the legislature.
=Contents of State Constitutions.=--The early state constitutions were
brief documents and dealt only with important matters of a fundamental
and permanent character. They were remarkably free from detail and
rarely contained more than 5,000 words. As time passed, however, there
was an increasing tendency to incorporate in them provisions in regard
to many matters that had formerly been left to the legislature to be
regulated by statute, so that some of the constitutions of the present
day are bulky codes containing detailed provisions concerning many
matters that might more properly be dealt with by statute. The
constitution of Virginia, for example, has expanded from a document of a
few pages to one of seventy-five, from an instrument of about 1,500
words to one of more than 30,000. The present constitution of Alabama
contains about 33,000 words; that of Louisiana, about 45,000; and that
of Oklahoma, about 50,000. The Virginia constitution contains a lengthy
article on the organization of counties; one on the government of
cities, constituting a code almost as elaborate as a municipal
corporations act; one on agriculture and immigration; one on
corporations, containing fourteen sections; one on taxation and finance,
etc. The constitution of Oklahoma contains an article of seven sections
on federal relations, one of which deals with the liquor traffic;
elaborate provisions regarding the referendum and initiative; a section
describing the seal of the state; a detailed enumeration of those who
are permitted to accept railroad passes; an article on insurance; one on
manufactures and commerce; and one on alien and corporate ownership of
lands.
_Parts of a Constitution._--A typical constitution consists of several
parts: (1) a preamble; (2) a bill of rights; (3) a series of provisions
relating to the organization of the government and the powers and duties
of the several departments; (4) a number of miscellaneous articles
dealing with such matters as finance, revenue and debts, suffrage and
elections, public education, local government, railroads, banks, and
other corporations generally; (5) an article describing the procedure by
which amendments may be proposed and ratified; and (6) a schedule. Many
constitutions contain an article defining the boundaries of the state,
and most of them one on the distribution of the powers of government.
Some of the newer constitutions also prescribe numerous limitations upon
the legislature, so great is the popular mistrust of legislatures
to-day; while others lay down various rules as to the procedure of the
legislature. The schedule contains provisions for submitting the
constitution to the voters and making necessary arrangements for putting
the new constitution into effect.
=The Bill of Rights=, says Bryce, is historically the most interesting
part of the state constitution, and if we may judge by the space devoted
to these provisions and the attention paid to their framing, they
constitute a very important part of the constitution. In a sense they
are the lineal descendants of great English enactments like Magna
Charta, the Bill of Rights, and the Act of Settlement, and of the
various declarations of the Revolutionary Congresses in America. They
consist of limitations upon the government and of statements of the
fundamental rights of man.
_Some Provisions of the Bills of Rights._--Examining these bills of
rights, we find that they all contain declarations in favor of freedom
of religious worship, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and of the
press, and most of them forbid the establishment of a state church or
the appropriation of money for the establishment or support of any
religious denomination. Most of them contain declarations providing for
trial by jury in criminal cases, indictments by grand jury, the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the right of the accused to a
speedy and public trial; a declaration of the right of citizens to bear
arms; the prohibition of excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments,
general search warrants, and imprisonment for debt; the prohibition of
titles of nobility, ex post facto laws, and bills of attainder[9]; and
provisions forbidding the taking of private property except for public
purposes and then only when just compensation is made.[10] Many of them
contain philosophical enunciations of political doctrines such as the
assertion that all governments originate with the people, and are
instituted solely for their good; that all men are equal; that all power
is inherent in the people; and that the people have at all times the
right to alter, reform, or abolish their government. Some of the newer
constitutions declare that monopolies and perpetuities are contrary to
the principles of free government; that every citizen shall be free to
obtain employment wherever possible; that a long lease of office is
dangerous to the liberties of the people; that aliens shall have the
same rights of property as citizens; and so on.
[9] An ex post facto law is retroactive, making criminal an act that
was not a crime when committed, or increasing the punishment for past
crimes. A bill of attainder is a law convicting an accused person
without a trial, and imposing on him the penalties of treason.
[10] The inherent power of the state to take private property for
public use is called the right of eminent domain.
The real importance of the bills of rights, now that executive tyranny
is a thing of the past, is not very great.
=Amendment of State Constitutions.=--The practice of inserting in the
constitution many provisions which are temporary in character, makes
frequent alteration a necessity if the constitution is to meet the
rapidly changing needs and conditions of the state. Some of the early
constitutions contained no express provision for their own amendment,
but as time passed changes became manifestly necessary, and in time they
were all amended or supplanted entirely by new ones, notwithstanding the
absence of amending provisions. Ultimately the advantage of pointing out
in the constitution a legal and orderly way of amendment came to be
generally appreciated, and at the present time all of the constitutions
contain amending provisions. These clauses provide that amendments may
be proposed, either by a convention called by the legislature, or by the
legislature itself, usually by an extraordinary majority; in either case
the proposed amendment must be submitted to the voters for their
approval, and it becomes a part of the constitution only if ratified by
a majority of those voting on the proposed amendment or, in some states,
by a majority of those voting at the election at which the proposed
amendment is submitted. A new method of amendment by popular initiative
was adopted in Oregon in 1902. According to this method a proposed
amendment may be framed by the people by petition and submitted to a
popular vote without the necessity of the intervention of the
legislature in any form.
In spite of the restrictions imposed, most of the constitutions are
frequently amended. During the two decades from 1900 to 1919, 1500
amendments were proposed by the legislatures of the several states, or
by popular initiative, and of these about 900 were ratified. At the
general election of 1918, no less than 130 amendments were voted on by
the people of the different states, and a number of others were awaiting
the action of the legislatures soon to meet. In five western states
alone 270 amendments were submitted from 1914 to 1919.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, chs.
xxii-xxiii. BRYCE, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition),
chs. xxxiv-xxxv. DEALEY, Our State Constitutions, chs. ii-iii.
HART, Actual Government, ch. vi. HINSDALE, The American Government,
chs. xl, xli, xlix, l. WILSON, The State, secs. 1087-1095.
WILLOUGHBY, Rights and Duties of Citizenship, ch. x. WILLOUGHBY,
The American Constitutional System, chs. ii-x.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. THORPE's Constitutions
and Organic Laws, or POORE's Charters and Constitutions, both
published by the Government Printing Office. 2. Pamphlet copies of
state constitutions can usually be obtained from the secretaries of
state of the various states. 3. The legislative manual of the
state, where usually a review of the constitutional history of the
state may be found.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. In what two senses is the word "state" used? In what sense is New
York a state and in what sense is it not?
2. Were the states ever sovereign? What were the two views in this
country prior to the Civil War in regard to the sovereignty of the
states?
3. The constitution and laws of the United States are declared to be
supreme over those of the states; what is the meaning of that provision?
Does that mean that any law passed by Congress will override a
conflicting law passed by a state, even though the law passed by the
state is clearly within its powers?
4. Distinguish between _reserved_ powers and _delegated_ powers.
5. Do you believe the powers of the national government should be
increased so as to include the regulation of such matters as marriage
and divorce, the business of corporations, factory labor, and insurance?
6. What is the purpose of the commissions on uniform legislation in the
different states, and what are they seeking to accomplish? Is there such
a commission in your state?
7. Which of the following matters fall within the jurisdiction of the
United States and which within the jurisdiction of the states? (1) the
levying of tariff duties, (2) the transfer of land, (3) the building of
lighthouses, (4) the protection of religious worship, (5) the granting
of passports, (6) punishment of crime, (7) the granting of pensions,
(8) the regulation of labor in mines and factories, (9) the protection
of the public health, (10) the support of schools, (11) the regulation
of navigation, (12) the erection of fortifications.
8. Name some powers that may be exercised by both Congress and the
states; some that may be exercised by neither; some that may be
exercised by the states only with the consent of Congress.
9. May the United States government coerce a state? Suppose a state
should refuse or neglect to perform its constitutional duties as a
member of the union, could it be punished or compelled to fulfill its
obligations?
10. May a state be sued by a citizen of the state? by a citizen of
another state? by another state itself?
11. Suppose a state should refuse to pay a debt which it has incurred,
has the person to whom the debt is due any remedy?
12. Will a divorce granted in Nevada to a citizen of Massachusetts be
recognized as valid in Massachusetts?
13. Suppose a man, standing on the New Jersey side of the Delaware
River, should fire a shot across the river and kill a man in
Pennsylvania, would the governor of New Jersey be bound to surrender the
criminal upon demand of the governor of Pennsylvania, in order that he
might be tried in Pennsylvania?
14. What is the difference between a constitution, a statute, and a
charter? Between a written and an unwritten constitution?
15. When was the present constitution of your state adopted? Was it
submitted to the voters before being put into effect? How many
constitutions has your state had since its admission to the union? Were
they all adopted by popular ratification? Who was the delegate from your
county to the last constitutional convention?
16. How may the constitution of your state be amended? Is a majority of
those voting at the election necessary to ratify, or only a majority of
those voting on the proposed amendment? How many times has the present
constitution of your state been amended? Do you think the method of
amendment is too rigid?
17. What is the purpose of a preamble to a constitution? Does the
preamble of your constitution contain a recognition of God?
18. What are the provisions in the bill of rights to your constitution
in regard to the rights of an accused person? in regard to freedom of
the press? freedom of assembly? freedom of worship? right of the people
to change their government?
CHAPTER IV
THE STATE LEGISLATURE
=Powers of the State Legislatures.=--The powers of the state
legislature, unlike those of the city council and those of the Congress
of the United States, are not set forth in the constitution. In general,
a state legislature may exercise any powers which are not denied to it
by the Constitution of the United States or by the constitution of the
state. Its powers, in other words, are residuary in character, rather
than delegated or granted.
_Limitations._--In recent years, however, mainly on account of the
popular distrust in which our legislatures have come to be held,
numerous limitations upon their powers have been imposed by the
constitutions of many states. Thus they are frequently forbidden
absolutely to pass local or special laws where a general law is
applicable, or they are allowed to enact such laws only under certain
restrictions. In most states, also, the legislature cannot run the state
into debt beyond a certain amount, and its power to impose taxes and
appropriate money is generally restricted. Finally, its power of
legislation has been limited by the present practice of regulating many
important matters in the constitution itself. In the newer constitutions
especially we find a large number of provisions relating to schools,
cities, towns, railroads, corporations, taxation, and other matters. To
that extent, therefore, the legislature is deprived of its power of
legislation on these subjects.
_Extent of the Legislative Power._--In spite of the numerous
restrictions, however, the power of the legislature is very large. It
enacts the whole body of criminal law of the state; makes laws
concerning the ownership, use, and disposition of property, laws
concerning contracts, trade, business, industry, the exercise of such
professions as law, medicine, pharmacy, and others; laws relating to the
government of counties, towns, cities, and other localities; laws
concerning the public health, education, charity, marriage and divorce,
and the conduct of elections; laws concerning railroads, canals,
ferries, drainage, manufacturing, eminent domain, and a great variety of
other matters. The subjects concerning which the legislatures may enact
laws are indeed so numerous and varied that it would be impossible to
enumerate them all. For that reason the legislature is by far the most
important branch of the state government, and it is highly important
that it should be composed of honest, intelligent, and efficient
members. Unfortunately, however, in many states the legislature has
declined in public esteem. In the early days of our history the
legislative branch of the government was all-powerful. It was not only
practically unlimited as to its power of legislation, but it was
intrusted with the choice of many important officers of the state. Now,
however, there is a disposition to cut down its powers and place
restrictions on the exercise of those that are left to it. In many
states the people have secured the power to legislate for themselves by
means of the initiative and referendum (pp. 85-89); and, to diminish the
power of the legislature to enact useless laws, many constitutions limit
the length of the sessions to forty or sixty days in the hope of
compelling it to devote its time to the consideration of important
measures of general interest.
=Structure of the Legislature.=--Every state legislature to-day consists
of two houses. At first several states followed the example of the
Congress of the Confederation and tried the single-chamber system, but
they soon found its disadvantages serious, and substituted legislatures
with two houses. The principal advantage of a bicameral legislature is
that each house serves as a check upon the haste of the other and thus
insures more careful consideration of bills. Nevertheless, proposals
have recently been made in several states to establish a
single-chambered legislature, and the question was voted on by the
electors of Oregon in 1912 and in 1914, and by those of Arizona in 1916.
The lawmaking body popularly known as the legislature is officially so
designated in some states, but in others the formal name is the general
assembly or the legislative assembly, and in two, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, the colonial title, "general court," is still retained. In
all the states the upper house is styled the senate. In most of them the
lower chamber is known as the house of representatives, though in a few
it is styled the assembly and in three the house of delegates.
Both houses of the state legislature are chosen by the people. The
principal differences in their make-up are, that the senate is a smaller
body and therefore each senator represents a larger constituency, the
senators in many states are chosen for a longer term, and usually the
senate is vested with special functions such as the approval of
executive appointments to office, and the trial of impeachment cases.
_The State Senate._--The size of the senate varies from seventeen
members in Delaware to sixty-seven in Minnesota, the average number
being about thirty-five. In about two thirds of the states the term of
senators is four years; in New Jersey their term is three years; in
Massachusetts it is one year; in the remaining states it is two years.
In about one third of the states the terms of the senators and the
representatives are the same. In some states the senators are divided
into classes, and only half of them retire at the same time.
_The House of Representatives._--The house of representatives everywhere
is a more numerous body than the senate, and in a few states the
disproportion is very great. Thus the New Hampshire legislature with a
senate of 24 members has a house of representatives of more than 400
members, the largest in any state, a body about as large as the national
house of representatives. The Connecticut legislature is composed of a
senate of 35 members and a house of representatives of 258 members;
Vermont has a senate of 30 members and a house of representatives of
246; Massachusetts has a senate of 40 members and a house of 240. The
smallest houses of representatives are those of Delaware and Arizona,
each consisting of 35 members.
_Apportionment of Senators and Representatives._--Senators and
representatives are apportioned among districts, usually on the basis of
population. Political units, however, are often taken into
consideration, and in some states such units rather than the number of
inhabitants are the determining element. Thus it is frequently provided
that each county shall be entitled to one senator, though the population
of some counties may be many times as great as that of other counties.
In some of the New England states the inequalities of representation are
so glaring as to constitute a great injustice to the more populous
towns. In Connecticut, for example, the members of the lower house are
distributed among the towns of the state, without regard to their
population. As a result each of the small towns of Union, Hartland,
Killingworth, and Colebrook, with an average population of less than
1,000 persons, has two representatives, while New Haven, with 133,000
inhabitants, has only two. Hartford, with about 99,000, has only two,
and so has Bridgeport with a population of 102,000, and Waterbury with
73,000. These four cities comprise about one third the population of the
state, but they have only one thirty-second part of the membership of
the house of representatives. A similar system of representation exists
in Vermont and in the senate of Rhode Island.
Moreover, as a result of "gerrymandering" by the political party in
control of the legislature the legislative districts are frequently so
constructed as to give the majority party more than its fair share of
representatives. As a result there are in some states great inequalities
of representation among the different counties or legislative districts.
In order to prevent large cities from controlling the legislature and
thereby dominating the state, a few constitutions limit their
representation in the legislature. Thus in New York it is provided that
no county, however populous, shall have more than one third of all the
representatives, and a somewhat similar provision is contained in the
constitutions of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.
=Minority Representation in the Legislature.=--Where there are two
political parties in the state, it is worth considering whether some
provision should not be made for allowing each party to choose a number
of representatives in proportion to its numerical strength, or at least
for allowing the weaker party some representation in the legislature. It
not infrequently happens under the present system that the majority
party in the state succeeds in electing nearly all the representatives,
leaving the other party practically without representation, although it
may be strong enough to cast hundreds of thousands of votes in the
state as a whole. In the Oregon state election of 1906, for example, the
Republican party, with only 55 per cent of the voting strength, elected
eighty-eight members of the legislature, while the Democratic party,
though casting 34 per cent of the total vote, elected only seven
representatives.
The present constitution of Illinois contains a clause which makes it
possible for the minority party in each of the fifty-one legislative
districts into which the state is divided to elect at least one of the
three representatives to which the district is entitled. Each voter is
allowed three votes, and he may give one vote to each of three
candidates, or he may give all three to one candidate, or two to one
candidate and one to another. Usually the party having the majority in
the district elects two candidates and the minority party one, the
voters of the latter party concentrating all their votes on the one
candidate.
=Legislative Sessions.=--In the great majority of states the
legislatures hold regular sessions every two years. In New York, New
Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, and South Carolina the
legislature meets every year in regular session. Alabama is contented
with a session once in every four years. In California the session is
divided into two parts, the first being devoted exclusively to the
introduction of bills. The legislature then takes a recess of a month to
enable the members to consult their constituents in regard to the bills
introduced, after which it reassembles for the enactment of such
legislation as seems to be demanded. In all the states the governor is
empowered to call extraordinary sessions for the consideration of
special matters of an urgent character.
There is a popular belief that legislatures waste much of their time in
the consideration of petty matters, and in many states the constitution
either limits the length of the session,--sometimes to forty, fifty, or
sixty days,--or provides that where the session is prolonged beyond a
certain number of days, the pay of members shall cease. The wisdom of
limiting the sessions to such brief periods, however, is doubtful, and
several states that once imposed such restrictions have since removed
them.
=Legislative Compensation.=--In all the states, members of the
legislature receive pay for their services. This is either in the form
of a definite amount per year, term, or session, or so much per day. The
largest legislative salaries are those of Illinois ($3,500 per biennial
session), New York ($1,500 per year), Massachusetts and Ohio ($1,000 per
year), and Pennsylvania ($1,500 per biennial session). In New Hampshire,
on the other hand, the salary is only $200 per biennial session, in
Connecticut $300, and in South Carolina $200 for each annual session. In
thirty states the per diem method of compensation prevails, the amount
ranging from three dollars per day, which is the salary paid in Kansas
and Oregon, to ten dollars per day, in Kentucky, Montana, and Nebraska,
the most usual sum being four or five dollars per day. In several
states, however, the per diem compensation ceases, or is reduced to a
nominal amount, after the legislature has been in session 60 days or 90
days. Mileage ranging in amount from ten cents per mile to twenty-five
cents is usually allowed, and in a number of states there is a small
allowance for postage, stationery, and newspapers. In some states the
pay of the legislators is fixed by the constitution, and hence the
matter is beyond control of the legislature. Indeed, in only a few
states is the matter of legislative pay left entirely to the discretion
of the legislature without restriction.
In a number of them the constitution either forbids members to accept
free passes on the railroads, or makes it the duty of the legislature to
pass laws prohibiting the acceptance of such passes.
=Organization of the Legislature.=--Each house is usually free to
organize itself as it may see fit, though where the office of lieutenant
governor exists, the constitution designates that official as the
presiding officer of the senate.
_The Speaker._--The presiding officer of the lower house is styled the
speaker, and in all the states he is chosen by the house from its own
membership. He calls the house to order, presides over its
deliberations, enforces the rules governing debate, puts motions and
states questions, makes rulings on points of order, recognizes members
who desire to address the house, appoints the committees, signs the acts
and resolutions passed by the house, and maintains order and decorum. He
usually belongs to the political party which is in the majority in the
house, and in making up the committees and recognizing members for the
purpose of debate he usually favors those of his own party.
_The Clerk._--Each house has a clerk or secretary who keeps the journal
of the proceedings, has custody of all bills and resolutions before the
house, keeps the calendar of bills, calls the roll, reads bills, and
performs other duties of a like character. He is often assisted by other
clerks such as a reading clerk, an engrossing clerk, sometimes an
enrolling clerk, etc.
[Illustration: STATE CAPITOL, HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA]
[Illustration: STATE CAPITOL, SALEM, OREGON]
_Sergeant-at-arms._--To execute the orders of the house in preserving
good order and enforcing the rules, there is an officer called a
sergeant-at-arms. He usually has custody of the hall in which the
meetings are held, makes arrests when the house orders an outsider to be
taken into custody for contempt, compels absent members to attend
when ordered by the house to do so, and sometimes keeps the accounts of
the pay and mileage of members.
_Other Officers and Employees._--Usually, also, there is a chaplain who
opens the session with prayer, though he is not always a paid employee;
a postmaster; and a number of miscellaneous employees such as
doorkeepers, janitors, copying clerks, stenographers, pages, etc.[11]
[11] The California house of representatives, consisting of eighty
members, had in 1907 a total of 335 employees, with salaries ranging
from $3 to $8 per day. The senate, composed of forty members, had 228
employees. Since then an amendment to the constitution of that state
has been adopted, limiting to $500 per day the amount that may be
expended by the legislature for clerical assistance. In some other
states the number of employees of the legislature seems excessive, and
restrictions similar to that now found in the constitution of
California might not be out of place. Thus in 1903 there were 226
employees of the legislature of Illinois, 315 in Missouri, 299 in New
York, and 225 in Oregon. The expense account of legislative employees
in Illinois for the session of 1913 amounted to more than $95,000; the
amount in New York was over $250,000; and in Wisconsin over $76,000.
One of the arguments now being urged in some states in favor of a
single-chamber legislature is that it would make possible a material
reduction in the number of legislative employees and a corresponding
diminution of expenses.
_Committees._--For convenience in legislation the members of each house
are grouped into committees, the more important of which are those on
agriculture, corporations, finance or appropriations, ways and means,
judiciary, railroads, labor, education, manufactures, engrossment and
enrollment, and insurance. In the Western states there are usually
committees on immigration, mining, dairies, forestry, fish and game,
drainage, swamp lands, irrigation, levees and river improvements, etc.
The number and size of the committees vary in different states. In some
of the states there are as many as fifty or sixty committees, and
occasionally as many as forty members are placed on a single committee.
In addition to the standing committees of each house there are
frequently select committees appointed for special purposes, and there
are usually a number of joint committees made up of members of both
houses. In the New England states most of the committee work is done by
joint committees, there being usually only four or five standing
committees in each house.
=How Bills are Passed.=--Each house is empowered to frame its own rules
of procedure, but in order to insure publicity and careful consideration
of bills the state constitutions have placed restrictions upon the
legislature in the consideration and passage of bills. Thus in all the
states each house is required to keep a journal of its daily
proceedings; in most states it is provided that no law shall be passed
except by bill, that no bill shall embrace more than one subject, which
shall be clearly expressed in the title of the bill, that no money shall
be appropriated except by law, that every bill shall be read at least
three times before being passed, that no existing law shall be amended
by mere reference to its title but the amended portion must be set out
in full, and that the yeas and nays shall be recorded upon demand of a
certain number of members. Some states require that every bill shall be
referred to a committee, that every bill shall be printed and placed on
the desk of each member, that no bill shall be introduced after the
legislature has been in session a certain number of days, and that bills
of a local or private character shall be introduced only after public
notice has been given in the locality affected and to be valid must be
passed by a two-thirds majority of each house; and so on.
In general these constitutional restrictions represent an attempt to
eliminate the evils of undue haste, lack of consideration,
extravagance, and objectionable local and private bills, and to compel
the legislature to do its work openly, carefully, and in the interest of
the public good.
_Order of Procedure._--A common order of the procedure in passing bills
is the following: 1. Introduction and first reading. 2. Reference to a
committee. 3. Report of the committee. 4. Second reading. 5. Third
reading. 6. Vote on passage. 7. Enrollment. 8. Approval by the Governor.
This order of procedure, however, is often departed from under a
suspension of the rules or by unanimous consent.
Usually any member can introduce a bill on any subject and at any
time[12] except where the constitution forbids the introduction of bills
after a certain date, and some legislatures have even found a means of
evading this restriction. In most states a bill can be introduced by
filing it with the clerk. It is then usually read the first time, though
only by title, and referred to the appropriate committee for
consideration and report. The committee may "pigeonhole" it and never
report, or it may make a report so late in the session that
consideration of the bill is impossible. If the bill seems worthy of
being reported, the committee reports it to the house with a
recommendation that it be passed either with or without amendments, or
that it be rejected. If reported favorably it is placed on the calendar
for consideration in its turn. At this stage it is open for general
discussion and for amendment by the house. If the bill meets the
approval of the house, it is finally ordered to be engrossed and read a
third time. It is then put in shape by the committee on engrossment,
after which it is read a third time and finally passed. It then goes to
the other house, where the procedure is substantially the same. If
passed by the second house, it is ready for the signature of the
governor. If amended by the second house, it comes back to the first
house for concurrence in the amendments. If the first house refuses its
concurrence, a conference committee is usually appointed by the two
houses to consider and recommend a compromise. The bill is not ready to
send to the governor until it has been passed by both houses in exactly
the same form.
[12] In Wisconsin and some other states, "legislative reference
bureaus" furnish members with information regarding subjects of
proposed legislation, and aid them in the drafting of bills.
=Lobbying and Bribery.=--In all our states a large proportion of the
legislation enacted affects directly or indirectly the interests of
particular persons, classes, or localities. As a result, interested
parties bring great pressure to bear upon the members to pass certain
bills or to reject certain others.
_Methods of the Lobbyist._--Usually when the legislature meets, the paid
representatives of interested individuals, corporations, or local
governments appear on the scene to urge legislation in their interests
or to defeat bills introduced that are unfavorable to them. These
persons are known as "lobbyists," and the means they employ to secure or
prevent legislation are often improper and sometimes venal. Sometimes
money is used to bribe members to vote for or against pending measures,
and there are few states indeed where charges of this kind have not been
made. In one state recently, money was contributed in large quantities
by persons interested in preventing certain legislation, and the sum
thus contributed was known as the "jack pot" fund, out of which members
were handsomely paid for their votes. In a special message to the
legislature of New York state, Governor Hughes declared that certain
disclosures had "caused honest citizens to tingle with shame and
indignation and made irresistible the demand that every proper means
should be employed to purge and purify the legislature." The situation
described by the governor as existing in New York, unfortunately exists
in other states as well.
_"Strike" Bills._--Some of the great corporations maintain regularly
paid lobbyists at the state capitals when the legislature is in session,
not so much for the purpose of securing legislation in their interests
as to prevent the enactment of laws to which they are opposed. Sometimes
they are practically forced to have lobbyists on the ground to prevent
the enactment of what are called "strike" bills, that is, bills
introduced by unscrupulous members for the purpose of extorting money
from the corporations to pay for defeating them.
_Anti-lobbying Legislation._--The evils growing out of the practice of
the special interests in maintaining paid lobbyists near the legislature
have led to attempts in a number of states to restrict such abuses by
legislation. This legislation, in general, makes it unlawful to attempt
to influence improperly any legislator. In several states lobbyists are
required to make known the purpose of their business and to register
their names with the secretary of state, and after the adjournment of
the legislature to file a sworn statement of their expenses.
=Direct Legislation: the Initiative and the Referendum.=--The
legislature is not the only agency for enacting law and determining the
public policies of the state. Laws on certain subjects may be made by
the people themselves acting directly in their primary capacity as well
as through the agency of representatives. This is done through what are
called the initiative and the referendum. The initiative is a device by
which the people themselves may propose laws and have them submitted to
the voters for their approval or rejection. Through the referendum the
people reserve the power to approve or reject by popular vote certain
laws enacted by the legislature.
_Varieties of Referendum._--The referendum may be obligatory or optional
in character, that is, the approval of the electorate may be required by
the constitution before certain laws shall go into effect, or the
legislature in its discretion may refer a law to the people for their
opinion. Thus the constitutions of many states declare that no law for
increasing the debt of the state beyond a certain amount shall be valid
until it has been submitted to the voters and approved by them. Again,
the referendum may be mandatory or advisory in character. Under the
mandatory form, the legislature is required to carry out the will of the
electorate as pronounced on any subject referred to the voters, while
the advisory referendum is nothing more than an expression of opinion
which may or may not be followed by legislative action.
Again, the referendum may be state-wide in its scope, as where a general
law or question of public policy is submitted to the voters of the whole
state, or it may be of a local character, as where a law affecting a
particular community is referred to the voters thereof.
The referendum as a device for adopting constitutions and constitutional
amendments is as old as the republic itself, and is now the general
practice (pp. 65, 70). In all the states except Delaware proposed
amendments must be submitted to the voters at a general or special
election, and must be adopted by them before going into effect. The use
of the referendum for ordinary lawmaking is also an old practice, though
it is much more generally resorted to now than formerly. Thus very early
in our history it was employed for such purposes as the incorporation of
towns, borrowing money, the location of county sites, division of
counties, subscription to stock in railroads and other enterprises by
states, counties, or towns, and the levying of special taxes for the
support of schools. One of the important uses to which it was put was
the determination of the question whether intoxicating liquor should be
sold in a particular locality. In time what were called local option
laws were passed in many states, giving the people of towns, cities, or
other local divisions of the state the privilege of determining by
popular vote whether liquor should be sold within their limits. Other
matters that have frequently been made the subject of a referendum are:
the granting of the suffrage to negroes, and sometimes the
enfranchisement of women; the location of state capitals; the sale of
school lands; the incorporation of state banks of issue; the granting of
aid to railroads; the adoption of the township form of local government;
the construction of canals; the erection of public libraries; and many
other matters too numerous to mention. There is no state in which the
referendum is not provided by the constitution for certain kinds of
legislation, and there is hardly a general election held nowadays in
which the voters are not called upon to pass judgment upon some proposed
act of the legislature or some question of public policy.
In Illinois there has been enacted what is known as the "public opinion
law," which provides that upon petition by 10 per cent of the registered
voters of the state the legislature is required to submit to the voters
any question of public policy for their opinion. The popular vote,
however, is nothing more than an expression of opinion by the voters and
is not binding upon the legislature.
_The Oregon System._--The idea of the initiative and the referendum has
been carried out most fully in Oregon, whose constitution provides that
8 per cent of the voters may by petition propose an amendment to the
constitution, and when so proposed it must be submitted to the voters
and if approved by a majority of them the amendment becomes a part of
the constitution. Likewise the constitution of Oregon provides for the
initiation and adoption of ordinary laws by the people. It further
provides that upon the petition of 5 per cent of the voters any act of
the legislature, with certain exceptions, before going into effect, must
be submitted to the people for their approval, and if not approved by a
majority of those voting, it shall not go into effect. From 1904 to
1914, 130 constitutional amendments and statutes were submitted to
popular vote, of which 46 were adopted. For the information of the
voters, "publicity pamphlets" are provided, containing an explanation of
the measures upon which they are called to vote, together with arguments
for and against each proposition. In 1912 these arguments (on 37
measures) made a book of 252 pages.
_Initiative and Referendum in other States._--Various other states
(South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, Maine,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada, California, Washington,
Michigan, Ohio, North Dakota, Massachusetts, and Mississippi) have
established both the initiative and the referendum in some form or
other. The initiative and referendum are in use also in many cities,
especially those under the commission plan of government. Usually the
number who are empowered to initiate a proposed law or ordinance is 8 or
10 per cent of the registered vote. In Texas the referendum is applied
to the formulation by political parties of their party policies, 10 per
cent of the voters being allowed to propose policies which must be
submitted to the party for their opinion.
_Merits of the Referendum._--One of the chief merits of the referendum
is that it serves as a check on the vices, follies, and errors of
judgment of the legislature. Another merit claimed for the referendum is
its educative effect upon the electorate. Where the voters are
frequently called upon to pass judgment upon the acts of the legislature
or upon questions of public policy, they must, if they discharge their
duty properly, study the measures submitted to them and thus become
trained in public affairs. The enjoyment of such a privilege also tends
to stimulate their interest in political affairs and increase their
feeling of responsibility for the good government of the state.
The advantage of the initiative is that it puts in the hands of the
people the power to bring forward needed measures of legislation and
secure a vote on them whenever the legislature refuses to act in
obedience to the popular mind.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, ch. xxv.
BRYCE, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), ch. xxxix.
DEALEY, Our State Constitutions, ch. vii. HART, Actual Government,
ch. vii. REINSCH, American Legislatures and Legislative Methods,
chs. iv-x. WILSON, The State, secs. 1128-1142.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. The legislative manual
or blue book of the state. 2. A map showing the division of the
state into legislative districts. 3. Rules of procedure of the two
houses of the legislature. 4. Specimen copies of bills and
resolutions. 5. Messages of the governor to the legislature. 6. The
last volume of the session laws of the state.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How many members are there in the senate of your state legislature?
How many in the house of representatives? What is the term of the
members of each house? What are the qualifications for membership? What
is the salary?
2. What is the principle of apportionment of the members of each house?
Are there any inequalities of representation among the districts or
counties from which the members are chosen? What county has the largest
number of representatives? What county the smallest number? Have any
charges been made that the state is "gerrymandered" in the interest of
the dominant party?
3. How many committees are there in each house? Of what committees are
your representatives and your senator members? What is the average
number of members on each committee? Name some of the most important
committees. What are the principal officers and employees of each house?
4. How often does the legislature of your state meet in regular session?
Are there any constitutional restrictions on the length of the sessions?
Have any extraordinary sessions been held in recent years? If so, for
what purpose? Are there any restrictions on the power of the legislature
when in extraordinary session?
5. How many acts were passed at the last regular session? How many joint
resolutions were adopted? What is the difference between an act and a
joint resolution?
6. What are the provisions in the constitution of your state in regard
to the procedure of the legislature in passing bills? Find out from the
rules of each house how a bill is introduced, considered, and passed.
How are special and local acts passed?
7. Is there a law in your state to regulate lobbying? What is the
penalty for accepting a bribe?
8. Is there a legislative reference bureau or other agency in your state
for collecting information for the benefit of members or for assisting
them in the preparation of bills?
9. Are there any provisions in the constitution of your state in regard
to the initiative or referendum? Do you know of any instance in recent
years in which the people of the state were called upon to vote on a
proposed legislative act or a question of public policy? Is there a
local option liquor law in your state? If so, have the people of your
county or city taken advantage of it?
10. Do you think members of the legislature when instructed by their
constituents to vote for or against a certain measure, should obey the
instructions, or vote according to their own judgment of what is best
without regard to the expressed will of the people?
11. Is there any organization in your state for studying the records of
members and for securing the election of honest and efficient
legislators?
CHAPTER V
THE STATE EXECUTIVE
=The Governor; Election and Qualifications.=--Each state has a chief
executive styled a governor, who is charged with the execution of the
laws. In all he is elected by the people. In nearly all, a plurality of
the popular vote is sufficient to elect, but in a few states a majority
is required and if no candidate receives a majority of the popular vote,
either the legislature makes the choice, or a second popular election is
held.
To be eligible to the office of governor, a man must have attained a
certain age, usually thirty years, and generally he must be a citizen of
the United States; in many states he must have been a citizen for a
period ranging from five to twenty years. He is also usually required to
have been a resident of the state for a period ranging from one to ten
years.
=Term.=--The term of the governor in twenty-five states is two years; in
the others it is four years except in New Jersey, where it is three
years. Formerly the term was one year in several states, but by 1920 all
of them had changed it to two years. A one-year term seems to have
little to recommend it, for experience is as necessary for the
successful administration of public affairs as for the conduct of
private business, and familiarity with the duties of an office of such
importance cannot be acquired in so short a time. However, where the
one-year term prevailed, it was customary to reëlect the governor to a
second term. In a number of states, the governor is ineligible to two
successive terms, the idea being that if reëligible he would make use of
his official power to secure his reëlection. A few state constitutions
wisely provide that he may hold office until his successor has
qualified, and thus the danger of a vacancy is obviated.
=Salary.=--The salary of the governor is everywhere comparatively small,
though in recent years the tendency has been to increase it. In three
fourths of the states now the salary is $5,000 per year or more. In
California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania,
it is $10,000 per year, and in Illinois it is $12,000. The smallest
salary is $2,500 per year, which is the amount allowed in Nebraska.
Frequently the state provides the governor with a residence styled the
"executive mansion." A contingent fund out of which to meet the expense
of emergencies in the execution of laws is usually placed at his
disposal, but this fund cannot be used for private purposes. Some
governors, however, have not been very careful to distinguish between
private and official purposes, and not infrequently the use made of this
fund has been the subject of legislative investigation and of popular
criticism.
=Organization of the Executive Department.=--The organization of the
executive department of the state government is different in one
important respect from that of the executive department of the United
States. In the national government the responsibility for the
administration of executive affairs is concentrated in the hands of the
President, and the heads of the various departments are all his
appointees; they are responsible directly to him for the discharge of
their duties, are, within the limits of the law, subject to his
direction, and may be removed by him for any reason which to him may
seem expedient. The executive power of the state, on the contrary,
instead of being concentrated in the hands of the governor, is really
divided between him and a number of other state officers, who are
generally elected by the people and over whom he has little or no
control. They are, in short, his colleagues rather than his
subordinates. This method of organizing the executive power has justly
been criticized on the ground that it introduces a division of
responsibility and lack of co-ordination in the state administration.
Thus, although the governor is charged with the execution of the laws,
he usually has no power to direct the attorney-general to institute
proceedings against a person or corporation for violating the law, as
the President of the United States might do in a similar case. Again, he
may have reason to believe that the state treasurer is a defaulter, but
in most of the states he has no power to examine into the affairs of the
treasurer's office, or to remove him from office. And so with the other
principal officers that collectively make up the executive department.
The responsibility of these officials is usually to the people alone,
and responsibility in such cases cannot always be enforced, for they are
elected for specific terms and cannot be removed before the expiration
of their terms, except by the cumbersome method of impeachment.
_The Lieutenant Governor._--In about two thirds of the states there are
lieutenant governors chosen for the same time and in the same manner as
the governor. About the only duty of this official is to preside over
the deliberations of the senate. In case of a vacancy in the office of
governor on account of death, resignation, or removal, or in case of his
absence from the state, the lieutenant governor performs the duties of
the office for the time being.
_Executive Councils._--Three of the New England states (Massachusetts,
Maine, and New Hampshire) have executive councils--survivals of
colonial days--which share the executive power with the governor to a
considerable extent. Their consent is necessary to the validity of many
of his acts, such as the making of appointments, the granting of
pardons, and the like. A modified form of the executive council is found
in a few other states.
=Other Executive Officers.=--Besides the governor, who is the chief
executive, there are in every state a number of state officers each in
charge of a particular branch of the administrative service.
_Secretary of State._--The first of these in rank is the secretary of
state, who is the custodian of the state archives and of the great seal
of the state; has charge of the publication and preservation of the
laws; countersigns the proclamations and commissions issued by the
governor and keeps a record of them; issues certificates of
incorporation to companies incorporated under the laws of the state; and
discharges other miscellaneous duties which vary in the different
states. He is elected by the people in all the states except a very few
where he is either appointed by the governor or chosen by the
legislature.
_The Treasurer_ of the state, as the name indicates, is the keeper of
the public moneys, such as taxes, trust funds, and the like, and upon
warrants issued by the auditor or other proper authority, he pays out
money appropriated by the legislature. Everywhere he is elected by the
people, usually for a short term, and is required to give a heavy bond
so as to insure the state against loss in case of his carelessness or
dishonesty. He is generally paid a salary, which is increased in some
cases by the practice of treasurers depositing the state's money in
banks from which they receive interest. The treasurer of a certain
Western state received thousands of dollars a year in this way, until
the legislature passed a law requiring him to turn into the state
treasury all moneys received in the form of interest on state deposits.
_Auditor._--Another financial officer found in all the states is the
auditor or comptroller, whose duties, in general, are to audit the
accounts of the state and issue warrants upon the treasurer for the
payment of moneys which have been appropriated by the legislature. A
warrant issued by the auditor is the treasurer's authority for paying
money out of the treasury, and without such an order he has no lawful
right to make a disbursement. Other duties of a miscellaneous character
are imposed upon auditors in the different states.
_Superintendent of Education._--Another important official is the
superintendent or commissioner of public education, who has charge of
the larger educational interests of the state. He supervises the
administration of the school laws, distributes the school fund among the
local districts, makes rules and regulations in regard to the holding of
teachers' institutes, makes reports to the legislature concerning the
educational conditions and needs of the state, and is frequently a
member of the state board of education and of the boards of trustees of
the state educational institutions.
_Other Officers._--Besides the officials mentioned above, there are a
multitude of other officers and employees in the larger states, such as
the commissioner of agriculture, the commissioner of immigration, the
commissioner of labor, state engineer, railroad commissioners,
superintendent of public works, state printer, factory inspectors, pure
food and dairy commissioners, state architect, land commissioner, mine
inspectors, superintendents of insurance, and many others too numerous
to mention. Of course, not every state has all these, but some of the
more populous ones such as New York and Massachusetts have most of them
and others in addition.
=The Governor's Powers.=--The powers and duties of governor may be
roughly grouped into four classes: (1) his share in the making of the
laws; (2) his power to execute the laws and administer the affairs of
government; (3) his military power; and (4) his power to grant pardons
for violations of the laws.
=Legislative Powers.=--_Power to Call Extra Sessions._--Everywhere he is
empowered to call the legislature together in extraordinary session. He
uses this power in case of emergencies, and also to secure the enactment
of needed legislation which has been overlooked or neglected by the
legislature at the regular session. In New York recently, when the
legislature adjourned without enacting a promised law against race track
gambling, the legislature was summoned in extraordinary session and
executive pressure and public opinion were brought to bear upon it to
compel the enactment of the law. Sometimes a great catastrophe occurs
when the legislature is not in session; for example, the California
earthquake, the Cherry mine disaster in Illinois, and the Galveston
storm, each of which required the immediate attention of the
legislature. In order to prevent the legislature when in extraordinary
session from taking action for which there is really no need, the
constitutions of most states forbid it to consider any subjects not
submitted to it by the governor; and in some states the length of an
extra session is limited to thirty or sixty days.
[Illustration: LABORATORY FOR TESTING FOODS]
[Illustration: ROAD MAKING, VIRGINIA]
_The Executive Message._--The governor is generally required to give the
legislature information concerning the affairs of the state and to
recommend the enactment of such laws as in his judgment the public good
requires, the idea being that he is more familiar than any one else with
the defects of the existing laws and with the legislative needs of
the state. This information, with the accompanying recommendations, is
communicated to the legislature in a message at the beginning of the
session,[13] and is often followed by special messages from time to time
recommending consideration of particular matters that may arise in the
course of the session. The weight which the recommendations of the
governor have with the legislature depends, of course, upon his
influence with the members and his standing with the people. If he
belongs to the same political party which is in control of the
legislature, and the party is not divided, or if he is especially
aggressive and is backed by a strong public opinion throughout the
state, his recommendations carry more weight than they would under
opposite conditions.
[13] The constitution of Illinois requires the governor to transmit a
message to the legislature also at the end of his term, summing up the
condition of affairs of the state at the time.
_The Veto Power._--Finally, in every state except North Carolina the
governor has the power to veto bills passed by the legislature. Owing to
fear of executive tyranny, the veto power was generally withheld from
governors for a considerable time after the Revolution; in fact, in only
two states (Massachusetts and New Hampshire) was this power granted to
the governor before the close of the eighteenth century. The worst fears
of executive tyranny, however, proved to be without foundation, and the
advantage of vesting in the hands of the governor the power to correct
the mistakes of the legislature by refusing to approve objectionable
laws soon came to be generally appreciated. Under the interpretation of
the veto power the governor may refuse to sign a bill either because, in
his judgment, it is inconsistent with the constitution which he has
sworn to support, or because he thinks it unwise or inexpedient, in
either case his judgment being conclusive. But manifestly, an absolute
veto is too great a power to intrust to a single person, however wise he
may be. The constitutions of all the states, accordingly, empower the
legislature to override the veto of the governor by repassing the vetoed
bill, in which case it goes into effect notwithstanding the executive
objection. To do this, however, a majority of two thirds or three fifths
of the members of the legislature is usually necessary, the idea being
that the judgment of so large a proportion of the legislature ought to
be allowed to prevail over that of the governor in case of a difference
of opinion. In the few remaining states a bare majority of the members
of the legislature may override the executive veto, though not
infrequently the statement of objections by the governor in his veto
message serves to convince some of those who voted for the vetoed bill
that it is unwise, and thus the veto will be sustained. When a bill is
presented to the governor for his signature he is allowed a period
ranging from three to ten days in which to consider it before taking
action. A subject of criticism in some states is the practice of the
legislature of delaying final action on many bills until the last days
of the session and then sending them all at once to the governor so that
the time allowed him for considering their merits is necessarily too
short.
A wise provision found in the constitutions of about thirty states is
one which allows the governor to veto particular items in appropriation
bills. Thus if the legislature passes a bill carrying appropriations for
a variety of objects, some worthy and others objectionable, the governor
is not under the necessity of approving or rejecting the bill as a
whole, but may approve the desirable portions and veto the others. In
this way wasteful and objectionable appropriations of the public funds
may be prevented without inconvenience. In a few states the governor may
also veto particular sections of other bills.
=Executive and Administrative Powers of the Governor.=--The governor is
generally charged by the constitution with taking care that the laws are
faithfully executed, though, as already stated, the executive power is
really divided between him and a number of colleagues.
_Power over State Officers._--He generally has a certain power of
oversight over the other principal state officers, but little power of
control over them. There is a tendency, however, to enlarge his power in
this respect.[14] Several constitutions, for example, empower him to
require reports from the principal officers, and in some states he is
given the right to examine into the condition of the treasurer's and
comptroller's offices and under certain conditions to remove the
incumbent from office. In a very few states, also, the governor may
remove sheriffs or mayors for negligence or abuse of power in the
enforcement of the state laws.
[14] By an important act passed in Illinois in 1917 a large number
of bureaus and commissions were consolidated and placed under the
authority of departmental heads appointed by the governor, who has
a large power of control over them. A number of other states have
since done likewise.
_Power of Appointment._--The governor's principal executive power
consists of the right to appoint certain officers and boards, and
sometimes to remove them, subject to certain restrictions. In the early
days of our history, many of the state officers were chosen by the
legislature, but with the growth of the democratic spirit the selection
of these officials was taken from the legislature and they were made
elective by the people. In a very few states the legislature still
retains a considerable power of appointment. In most states, however,
the governor appoints all officers not elected by the people. In a few
states he appoints the judges; in half a dozen or more he appoints
several of the principal state officers, such as the secretary of state
and the attorney-general, and in most of them he appoints some of the
important administrative officers and the members of various boards and
commissions. In New York, for example, he appoints the superintendent of
insurance and banking, the members of the two public service
commissions, the superintendent of public works, the commissioner of
agriculture, the commissioner of health, and other important officials.
In some states he appoints the railroad commissioners, the trustees of
public institutions, members of the state board of health, the members
of various examining boards, pure food commissioners, factory
inspectors, game commissioners, mining inspectors, and so on. As
compared with the President of the United States, his power of
appointment, however, is very small. Moreover, his power to appoint is
usually limited by the condition that his nominations must be approved
by the senate or the executive council where there is such a body.
_Power of Removal._--The governor can usually remove the officials whom
he appoints, but rarely any others. But the power of removal must exist
somewhere, because it would be intolerable to have to retain in the
public service men who are dishonest, incapable, or otherwise unfit. The
other methods of removal provided are impeachment, removal by resolution
of the legislature, and occasionally removal by the courts. Removal by
impeachment takes place by the preferment of a charge by the lower house
of the legislature and trial by the upper house. This method, however,
is cumbersome and is rarely resorted to--never in the case of minor
officials. Removal by resolution of the legislature is sometimes
employed for getting rid of unfit or corrupt judges. In several states,
the method of recall has been instituted, by which, on petition of 25
per cent of the voters, the officer must submit his case to the voters,
and if a majority of them pronounce in favor of his recall, he must
retire.
=The Military Powers of the Governor.=--In every state the governor is
commander in chief of the military forces of the state and also of the
naval forces where there are any--a power which means little in times of
peace. Whenever there are riots or serious disturbances, however, this
power becomes important. When the disturbance is too great to be
suppressed by the local authorities, the governor may order out a
portion of the militia and may, if he elects, take charge of it himself.
There are few states where the governor has not at some time or another
been compelled to make use of this power. Mobs sometimes break into
jails and take out prisoners and lynch them; and sometimes strike riots
occur in mining or manufacturing communities, in which cases the
governor may be called upon to send troops to the scene of the
disturbance and keep them there until quiet and order have been
restored.
_Power to Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus._--A usual part of the
governor's military power is the right to suspend the writ of habeas
corpus in communities where great disorders prevail, that is, to suspend
the power of the courts to release prisoners charged with violations of
the law, thus leaving unhampered the power of the military authorities
to restrain persons they may imprison. This power, however, is one which
might be grossly abused; therefore many state constitutions forbid the
suspension of the writ except under extraordinary conditions, and a
few, indeed, permit it to be suspended only by the legislature.
_The Military Forces of the State_ consist usually of a number of
regiments of citizen soldiers, who are organized, uniformed, and
officered after the manner of the regular army of the United States, who
attend an annual encampment for purposes of drill and practice, and who
must always be ready to respond to the call of the governor. At the head
of the state militia is an officer called the adjutant general, through
whom the military orders of the government are issued and carried out.
The governor also has a military staff which accompanies him on
occasions of ceremony such as the inauguration of the President of the
United States, grand army reviews, and the like.
=The Pardoning Power.=--In every state the governor is vested with the
power of pardoning offenders against the laws of the state, but in most
states the exercise of the power is subject to restrictions. The purpose
of vesting this power in the governor is to make it possible to correct
the errors of courts and juries, as where subsequent to the conviction
evidence is brought to light showing that the person convicted is
innocent, and has been wrongfully convicted, or where it becomes evident
before the full penalty has been paid that the offender has been
sufficiently punished and should be released.
In many states boards of pardon have been provided for sharing with the
governor the responsibility for the exercise of this important
prerogative.[15] These boards are of two kinds: first, those whose powers
are limited to the hearing of applications for pardons and the making of
recommendations to the governor, who is not bound by their advice; and
second, those whose approval is necessary for the validity of any pardon
granted by him. Convictions for treason and in impeachment cases are
frequently excepted from the list of cases in which the governor may
grant pardons, though in the case of treason he is sometimes given the
power to suspend the execution of the sentence to await the action of
the legislature. In a number of states notice of an application for a
pardon must be published in the community where the applicant was
convicted, in order that the people of the community who have been
injured by his crime may have an opportunity to protest against the
granting of a pardon to him. Sometimes also the approval of the
presiding judge of the court in which the criminal was convicted is
necessary before a pardon may be granted. It is usual to require the
governor to make a report to the legislature at each session of all
pardons granted, and at the same time give the reason in each case why a
pardon was issued.
[15] In several states certain of the state officers, one of whom is
the attorney-general, serve as the pardon board; in others, it is the
senate; and in Massachusetts and Maine it is the executive council.
Generally with the right of pardon is included the power to grant
reprieves, that is, stays of execution; commutations, that is, the
substitution of a lesser punishment in the place of the one imposed; and
remission of fines and forfeitures. The right also usually includes the
power of amnesty or the power of granting by proclamation pardons to
large numbers of persons, as in the case of uprisings or insurrections
against the laws and authority of the state. A pardon may be absolute or
conditional; in the first case, it is granted without restriction; in
the second case, it is valid only on certain conditions, as where the
offender is required to lead an upright life or where he is required to
leave the state. Generally the governor of the state, unlike the
President of the United States, has no power to grant a pardon to an
individual offender before he has been convicted.
=State Boards and Commissions.=--One of the remarkable political
tendencies of recent years has been the multiplication of boards and
commissions to aid in the government of the states. Every state now has
a number of such boards, and in some of the populous commonwealths such
as New York and Massachusetts there are upwards of a hundred of them.
Hardly a legislative session passes that does not create one or two
commissions for some purpose or other. These boards or commissions fall
roughly into five classes, as follows:
First, many of these boards are of an industrial character, such as
boards of agriculture, food and dairy commissions, live stock, fish, and
mining commissions, and the like. In general their purpose is to promote
the agricultural, mining, and industrial interests, generally, of the
state, through the collection and dissemination of information
concerning the best method of conducting those industries.
A second class of boards are of a more distinctly scientific and
research character, such as boards of health, bureaus of labor and
statistics, geological commissions, forestry boards, and the like.
Although some of these, like the board of health, are charged with the
execution of certain laws, the general purpose of all of them is
scientific research and the collection of data.
A third class of boards are those charged primarily with the supervision
of certain businesses or industries affecting the public interest, and
with the enforcement of the laws relating to such businesses. Such are
the railroad commissions, commissions of insurance, public utility
commissions, commissions of inland fisheries, and the like. In some
instances these commissions not only have power to prescribe rules for
businesses affected with a public interest, but also to fix the rates
which they may charge.
A fourth group of commissions or boards are those charged with examining
applicants for admission to practice certain professions or trades such
as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, architecture, and plumbing. The
purpose of requiring such examinations is to secure a standard of
efficiency, and to protect society against quacks.
A fifth class includes those which have supervision over the public
institutions of the state, educational, penal, reformatory, charitable,
etc. In recent years there has been a marked tendency to consolidate
boards of this class, by putting all the charitable and penal
institutions under the control of a single board, or under two boards,
one for charitable and the other for penal institutions. In a few states
all the higher educational institutions are under one board.
Members of all these classes of boards are usually appointed by the
governor, though occasionally a board is made up of members chosen by
popular election.
_State Administrative Reorganization._--In 1917 a more systematic
organization of state administration was established in Illinois. Nine
main departments were established, each under a director, in place of a
large number of former offices, boards, and commissions. Similar
reorganizations have since taken place in a number of other states.
=The State Civil Service System.=--The number of persons necessary to
carry on the state government in its various branches is very large. In
order to provide a method by which subordinate employees can be selected
with regard to their fitness rather than with reference to their party
services, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other states
have enacted civil service laws establishing the merit system of
appointment.
The recent civil service laws provide, in general, for the
classification of all positions other than those filled by popular
election, by executive appointment, or by legislative choice, and for
appointment to these positions only after an examination of the
candidates. Generally, those who pass the examination successfully are
placed on an eligible list in the order of the grades which they
receive, and when an office is to be filled, the appointing officer is
required to make his choice from the three candidates highest on the
list. For the filling of certain positions requiring technical skill,
special non-competitive examinations are given and less consideration is
given to academic qualifications. Certain positions are not placed under
the civil service rules, and the appointing authority is allowed to make
his choice without the necessity of examinations. Such are the positions
of private secretary, chief clerk, and other employees who occupy a
confidential relation to the heads of departments.
The chief advantage of the examination system of filling civil service
positions is that it eliminates the evils of the spoils system and
places the public service on a merit basis. It must be admitted,
however, that the system is not perfect, because fitness for the
performance of administrative duties cannot always be determined by
examinations. Nevertheless, it is much better than the old method known
as the "spoils system," under which appointments were made for party
services; and it will in time, no doubt, be adopted in all the states.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, ch. xxiv.
BRADFORD, Lessons of Popular Government, vol. ii, ch. 32. BRYCE,
The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), ch. xl. DEALEY, Our
State Constitutions, ch. v. FINLEY and SANDERSON, The American
Executive and Executive Methods, chs. iii, vi, vii, viii, ix. HART,
Actual Government, ch. viii.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. The legislative manual
of the state. 2. Copies of the governor's inaugural address,
messages to the legislature, veto messages, public proclamations,
etc. 3. Copy of the revised statutes (chapter on the executive
department). 4. Reports of the state officers to the governor.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the term of the governor of your state? the salary? Do you
think the salary is adequate? What are the governor's qualifications?
Compare the provisions of the present constitution with those of
previous constitutions in regard to these matters. Is the governor
eligible to succeed himself? Is it customary to reëlect the governor in
your state? What, in your opinion, are the relative merits of a one-year
term and a four-year term for the governor?
2. Suppose a question should arise as to who was really elected
governor, what authority would determine the matter? Are there any
circumstances under which the legislature may elect the governor? Is the
governor of your state required to vacate his office immediately at the
expiration of his term, or is he allowed to hold over until his
successor has qualified?
3. Make a list of the names of the men who have held the office of
governor of your state, indicating the years they served and the
political parties to which they belonged. (This information can be
obtained from the blue book or legislative manual or from some history
of the state.)
4. Does the constitution of your state provide for a lieutenant
governor? In general, what has been the type of men elected to this
office?
5. Make a list (from the blue book) of the offices in your state that
are filled by appointment by the governor. Do you think the appointive
power of the governor ought to be enlarged? Mention some offices now
filled by popular election which, in your opinion, should be filled by
executive appointment.
6. May the governor of your state remove officers appointed by him? If
so, under what conditions? May he remove any officers elected by the
people? If he finds that the treasurer of the state has misappropriated
a large amount of state money, can he remove him? May the governor of
the state remove any local officers? Thus if the sheriff should allow a
prisoner in his custody to be lynched by a mob or the mayor of a city
should refuse to execute a state prohibition law, may the governor
suspend or remove such officers for neglect of duty? If not, are there
any means of punishing the negligent officer?
7. What were the principal recommendations in the message of the
governor to the legislature at its last session?
8. May the governor of your state veto particular items in appropriation
bills? May he sign a bill after the adjournment of the legislature? May
he veto a bill upon grounds of public policy as well as upon grounds of
unconstitutionality? How many bills were vetoed by the governor at the
last session?
9. Is there a civil service law in your state? If so, to what offices
and employments does it apply? How are appointments made under the law?
10. For what purposes and under what circumstances may the governor use
the military forces in your state? Have there been any instances
recently in which the militia was ordered out? What is meant by the
governor's "staff"? Find out from the blue book how many regiments of
the national guard there are in your state.
11. Are there any restrictions on the power of the governor to grant
pardons? May he also grant reprieves and commutations? May he remit
fines and forfeitures? May he grant amnesties? Is there a pardon board
in your state? If so, how is it constituted and what are its powers? How
many pardons have been granted by the present governor?
12. May the courts control the governor by issuing writs to compel him
to do his duty or to restrain him from doing certain things? May he be
arrested for wrongdoing? May he be
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