in Annals Am. Acad.

Pol. Sc., 23 (1904), 223-236.

Results of growth.

Weber, A.F., candidates even for the ward offices are probably unknown to ninety-five per cent of the voters. The indifference of the people to city affairs, due to these causes, is increased by the lack of great public questions in connection with the municipal government. The vast number of details with which city officials are concerned, from their very complexity, make supervision of city administration by the voters all but impossible. It is well known that our city governments have often fallen into the hands of men whose sole Rowe, Prob- business is "politics," and whose care for the public welfare lems of City is less marked than their devotion to private interests. Gov't, This is the more unfortunate because the regulation of a city's business involves the expenditure of a much greater amount of money in proportion to the population than does that of the county, the State, or the national government, so that all citizens ought to be vitally interested in having their city's government as perfect as possible.

96-114.

How cities are incorporated.

General

charter laws.

Parsons, City for People, 415-427.

ORGANIZATION OF CITY GOVERNMENT

67. City Charters. All cities are public corporations created under state municipal laws. Upon petition from a certain number of voters living within the district that desires a city government, a special election is called at which an opportunity is given to vote for or against incorporation. If the vote is favorable, the city obtains from the state government a charter under which it may elect its officials and conduct its business.

For the sake of convenience, we may consider the granting of charters under three heads. (1) In most of the States, the legislature passes a series of charter laws for cities of different sizes. That is, forms of charters are enacted for different classes of cities. For instances, all cities whose population is more than 100,000 may be called cities of the first class, those having between 25,000 and 100,000, cities of the second class, and so on. All cities that, by

virtue of their population, are of the second class, have charters of the second class which may be amended or revoked in their entirety by the next legislature.

Rowe, Prob lems of City

Gov't,

123-132.

(2) In other States, the charters are granted by special Special act, a custom once used almost universally. Instead of hav- charters. ing different classes, each city is in a class by itself, and each charter is therefore different from every other, although all are given to the cities by the legislature and not adopted by popular vote.

citizens.

Oberholtzer,

Referen

dum,

343-367.

(3) Six States, Missouri, California, Washington, Minne- Charters sota, Oklahoma, and Oregon, permit their cities to elect charter framed by committees, which frame suitable charters. In some cases, these are in force as soon as they are approved by the voters of the cities; in others, they must be ratified by the state legislature. The charters serve the same purpose for the cities that Character the constitutions do for the States (§ 160), that is, they are the fundamental law of the cities. The most important part deals with the frame of the government for the city, showing the composition and powers of the city council, as well as the term and duties of the mayor and other administrative officials.

of a city charter.

ber councils

the rule;

two cham

bers the

exception.

68. The Organization of the Council. As a rule, the One-chamcouncils of our cities are small bodies of from ten to twenty members comprising a single chamber, although in about one city in four, there is a second chamber, just as in the state legislatures and in Congress. The members of the larger of these two bodies, and of the single chambers of the other Goodnow, cities, are elected from wards for a term of from one to four City Gov't, years. For the upper chamber, the members are usually chosen for longer terms, not exceeding four years, and Conkling, are occasionally elected from the whole city, or from large Mun. Gov't, Chap. III. districts, each of which elects several of these "aldermen."

154-161.

In many of the cities, the council, or at least one chamber Wilcox, of it, is a "continuous" body, one half of the members City Gov't, retiring at a time. In the majority of American municipali

143-168.

Powers

in the city charters.

Goodnow, City Gov't, 161-175.

Wilcox,

ties councilmen serve without pay; in the other cities their compensation ordinarily depends upon the number of sessions held.

Philadelphia has the largest council in the United States, its upper chamber numbering 47 and the lower 80. For the city and county of San Francisco, the only legislative body consists of 18 "supervisors."

69. The Powers of the Council. The council is not enumerated allowed to exercise any power unless that particular power is mentioned in the city charter. The list of enumerated powers is apt to be quite long, giving the council the right to construct public buildings and make ordinances for controlling the streets, preventing disorder, regulating licenses, caring for the health of the community, and for many other matters of local interest. The council is usually the chief financial organ of the city. To it estimates of the expenses City Gov't, of the different departments are furnished, by it appropriations are voted, and provision made to meet the expenditures through taxation or other forms of revenue. When it becomes necessary to borrow money, the council is authorized to issue bonds for the necessary amount, although sometimes only after securing the approval of the voters. When companies apply for franchises to lay a street railway, or furnish telephone service or gas to the people, the applications are made to the council, but in some cities it is not permitted to grant franchises without first gaining the consent of the

168-179.

Suggested changes in council.

voters.

In some respects the council has been the least successful branch of our city governments, but many people have ad

1 In many cities the charters give the councils the right to pass ordinances that are necessary for the general welfare, and which are not contrary to the constitutions of the State and the United States.

2 The ordinary financial powers of the council are limited in some cities by boards of estimate composed of the auditor, the mayor, and some of his appointees. The council has less control over expenditures than these boards. The extraordinary financial powers are often limited by the requirement that the expenditure shall be ratified by popular vote, as shown above.

vocated an extension of the powers of the council: (1) as a Eliot, C. W., means of reform for the council, or (2) as the best remedy in World's Work, for the defects of city government. In several American 14 (1907), cities a plan is being tried of concentrating practically all 9419-9426. power in the council, hoping to make the body responsible for the success or failure of the work done by the munici pality. This plan corresponds in some particulars with the English form of city government.1

with very

great

powers.

65-68.

70. The Mayor with Centralized Power. An attempt has Mayors been made in some cities, during the last two decades, to remedy the defects of municipal government by concentrating in the hands of the mayor the absolute control over most of the administrative officials of the city. Instead of hav- Goodnow, ing a great many officials elected by the people, or appointed City Gov't, by the council, as was formerly the case, the mayor is allowed to select and remove most of these subordinate execu- Bryce, Am. tive officers, including not only the heads of departments, wealth. Commonbut others such as the city clerk, the treasurer, and the attor- abr. ed., ney. He has consequently been held responsible for their 434-439. acts, in the cities where he has this power over them, and rightly so, for they must do as he wishes, or he may remove them.

mayors great power

Those cities which have been able to offer their mayors Reasons for large salaries and considerable power have succeeded in se- granting curing as candidates for the mayoralty men of ability and of business standing. By thus awakening popular interest, a long step has been taken toward securing good government, irrespective of any benefits in the new method adopted. Whether the concentration of power in the hands of the mayor will ultimately prove a blessing, we cannot say ; but, judging from the success of the national administration (§ 312), in which the executive power is centered in the

1 On Galveston plan, see Turner, G. K., in McClure's Magazine, 27 (1906), 610-620; Slosson, W. B., in Independent, 63 (1907), 195–200; Haskell, H. J., in Outlook, 85 (1907), 839-843. On Des Moines plan, see Dillon, S. J., in Overland Monthly, 50 (1907), 324-328. On English form of city government, consult Lowell, Government of England, I, 144-201.

President, it is likely to be more effective than the older system.

71. The Mayor with Ordinary Power. A second kind of mayor, still to be found in a great majority of our cities, has general supervision of city administration, but he cannot control the actions of any one except himself and his immediate subordinates. He is aided by associates or colleagues, all of whom are independent of the mayor, for they are chosen without consulting him, and usually cannot be removed at all. A mayor of this type is usually elected for a term of two years by the voters of the city. As he is not called upon to appoint many officials of prominence, his chief powers are his right to enforce the laws and his influence over the council. At the begining of each year he sends to that organization a message, showing the condition of the city's finances, and recommending changes in the departments or their work. But it is his right to veto bills that gives him his greatest power. To pass a measure over his veto, a two-thirds vote of the council is necessary, so that the overruling of his veto is very rare.

72. City Elections. - Besides the mayor and the councilmen, an auditor, a treasurer, an engineer, an assessor, a tax collector, members of a school board, and often other officials are chosen by popular vote. The qualification for voters are everywhere the same as those prescribed for all other elections (§ 29), differing in this respect from the European custom of restricting the voting in cities to men of property.

Until the close of the nineteenth century city elections were held almost always at the same time as state or congressional elections. As a consequence, the nominations for city office were of a distinctly partisan character, and it was practically impossible to select candidates on their merits. After some agitation, the fact became generally recognized that there is no necessary connection between city government and partisan politics, so that voting on party lines was a distinct injury to the city. When it was perceived that the