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Other officers elected by the people are clerk, attorney, treasurer, police magistrate, and sometimes city judge.

Besides these, the council may provide for the election by the people, or the appointment by the mayor, with the consent of the council, of a collector, marshal, or superintendent of police, superintendent of streets, corporation counsel, and such other officers as the council may deem necessary.

Q. What are the council's duties?

A. To enact such ordinances and levy such taxes as are necessary for the city's welfare.

To approve or reject the mayor's appointments of city officers.

To take some action on the mayor's suggestions

To receive petitions of citizens.

Q. What is an ordinance?

A. A law passed by a city council.

Q. What are the mayor's duties?

A. To preside at the meetings of the council.

To see that the measures passed by the council are executed.

To appoint, with the council's consent, certain officers. He may veto measures passed by the council, but if the council afterward pass the same by a two-thirds majority, they become laws.

Q. State the principal duties of the other city officers. A. The clerk keeps a record of the acts of the council.

The marshal has command of the policemen, and with them preserves public order, by arresting and putting in jail all disorderly persons.

The superintendent of streets keeps the streets and sidewalks in repair.

The comptroller prevents the city from being robbed

by its officers, by examining the accounts of all officers who collect, pay out, or receive any of the city's money. The corporation counsel is the chief officer of the law department of the city.

The police magistrate's duties are the same as those of a justice of the peace (See page 18.)

The attorney, treasurer and collector perform about the same duties for the city as the corresponding officers do for the county.

Q. What can you say about the pay of city officers ? A. It is fixed by the council.

Q. What can you say of the government of cities under special charters?

A. As each has its own charter, no two such cities are governed exactly alike, but all are more or less similar in their government to cities organized under the general law.

VI. VILLAGES.

Q. What can you say of the government of villages? A. Under a general law of the State, villages as well as cities may organize and have a government separate from that of the township in which they are located.

Such village government consists of a board of six trustees, three of whom are elected annually, and such officers as the trustees see fit to appoint.

The trustees choose one of their own number presiIdent of the board.

The president and board have about the same powers and duties as mayor and council have in cities.

VII. GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED

STATES.

CONGRESS.

Q. What is the legislature or law-making body of the United States called?

A. It is called Congress.

Q. Tell about its meetings?

A. It holds one regular session a year, and extra sessions when called by the president. It meets in regular session, in Washington, on the first Monday in December.

Q. Describe Congress, and tell how its members are chosen?

A. It consists of two houses, the senate and the house of representatives.

Each State is entitled to two senators. Senators are elected by the State legislatures for a term of six years. The number of representatives that a State is entitled to depends on its population.

Once in ten years, that is, after each census, congress fixes the total number of members that the house of representatives shall have during the next ten years. Let the whole population of the United States be a dividend, and the number of representatives a divisor; the quotient will be the number of persons entitled to one representative.

Divide the population of a State by this quotient and the number of representatives the State is entitled to will be obtained.

The legislature divides the State into districts equal in number to the representatives the State is entitled to. One representative is elected from each district every two years.

Q. Who presides over the senate?

A. The vice-president.

Q. How does the house of representatives organize for business?

A. By the election of a speaker, whose business it is to preside and appoint the house committees.

Q. What are the powers and duties of congress? (See U. S. Constitution, Article I., Section 8.)

Q. What is the salary of senators and representatives?

A. $5,000 per year.

Q. Who are the present senators from Illinois?

In what congressional district do you live? (See page 58.)

What counties comprise your district?

Who is its present representative in congress?
When was he elected?

Who were the opposing candidates?

Who is the present speaker of the house or representatives?

How many congressional districts are there in Illinois ? (See page 59.)

Of how many members does the house of representatives now consist?

A. 325.

Q. Do territories have any representatives in congress?

A. Each territory is entitled to one delegate in the

house, who has the right to speak on questions relating to his territory, but can not vote on any question.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

Q. Who constitute the executive department of the government of the United States?

A. The president, vice-president and cabinet officers. Q. How are the first two elected?

(See Article II., Section 1, and the 12th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.)

Q. What are their salaries?

A. President, $50,000; vice-president, $8,000 per year.

Q. Name the cabinet officers ?

A. Secretary of State, secretary of the treasury, secretary of war, secretary of the navy, secretary of the interior, postmaster-general, and attorney-general.

Q. What general duties do cabinet officers perform? A. They advise the president, and assist him in executing the laws made by congress.

Q. What are the president's duties?

(See U. S. Constitution, Article II., Sections 2 and 3.) Q. What are the special duties of the secretary of State?

A. To look after the relations of the United States with foreign countries, and to have charge of the public archives.

Q. What are the principal duties of the secretary of the interior?

A. To attend to the relations of Indian tribes to the government, to superintend public lands, to issue pa

tents.

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