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 Class 
 

 A HISTORY OF THE CITY GOV 
 ERNMENT OF 
 
 CLEVELAND, OHIO 
 
 >N SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD 
 OF UNI IY STUDIES IN CONFORMITY 
 
 WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE 
 Dl OF THE DOCTOR OF 
 
 ILOSOPHY, 1902. 
 
 BY- 
 CHARLES SNAVELY 
 Professor of History and Economics 
 Qttt > 
 
 'erville, 0. 
 

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Cleveland in the Formative Period. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 *Brief Review of Territorial History. 
 
 Selection of site for the city. Township organ- 
 ization. Care of the poor State constitution of 
 1802. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 :: T)C-ginnings of Corporate Existence, 1814. 
 
 The elective franchise. Power of the board of trustees. 
 Village finances. Public works. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Cleveland I'nder the Charter of 1836. 
 
 The executive. The legislative body. Finance. 
 Streets. Police department. Fire department. 
 Tavern license. Poor relief. Sanitary regulation. 
 Public franchise. Public instruction. Character 
 of the government of this period 1-21 
 
 PART II. 
 Cleveland Under General Laws. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Municipal ( )rganization Act of 1852. 
 
 The city council. Annexation of Ohio City. Po- 
 lice department. Fire Department. Water Works. 
 Health and sanitation. Board of improvements. .22-42 
 
 :i: Street Railways, Finance. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Reform Movement. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Federal Plan. 
 
 Chapters I and II of Part I, and Chapters II and III of Part II are not 
 printed. The complete dissertation in manuscript form may be found in the 
 Western Reserve Historical Library. 
 

 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CLEVELAND IN THE FORMATIVE 
 PERIOD. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CLEVELAND UNDER THE CHARTER OF 1836. 
 
 The Xew England plan of holding town meeting for the 
 purpose of transacting business of the municipality, and for 
 the popular discussion of public matters never obtained in the 
 Middle States, at least, not in Ohio. Charter changes in 
 Cleveland have usually come about through the efforts of a 
 comparatively small body of men who discussed the matters 
 among themselves and then presented bills, embodying their 
 views, to the General Assembly. That was the way the 
 charter of 1836 came into being. This new charter was 
 passed by the General Assembly March 6, 1836. 
 
 The institutions which had taken form under the old 
 charter were given greater expansion in the more firmly 
 articulated organism of the new. There were no radical 
 changes in the new instrument except in the financial powers. 
 It was an embodiment of those institutions which the needs 
 of the past two decades had erected. The new charter fol- 
 lowed closely the outlines of the old village charter, and 
 might be called an enlargement of the old. 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE. 
 
 In place of the village president was provided the mayor 
 of the city, sustaining the same relation to the city and 
 council which the village president sustained to the village 
 and its board of trustees. His tenure of office was the 
 same. His powers were greater to be sure, but the increase 
 was not in proportion to the increase in the powers of the 
 council. He was the presiding officer of the legislative 
 body, and rendered the decision in case of a tie vote, thus 
 
exercising legislative as well as executive powers. 1 He was 
 vested with the powers of a justice of the peace, and in all 
 cases of violation of ordinances of the city he was clothed 
 with exclusive original jurisdiction. 2 By this charter the 
 mayor was made a local police officer for the State, being 
 charged to see that the laws of the State as well as the ordi- 
 nances of the city were obeyed. 3 He was made a general 
 superintendent over the subordinate officers of the city, 4 
 which was not a specific duty of the village president. The 
 greater part of mayor's duties consisted of hearing com- 
 plaints and of performing the functions of a police judge. 
 
 Being an organic part of the council 5 , the mayor became 
 more or less intimately associated with the administrative 
 work of that body. Through the appointment of committees 
 the mayor's power in directing the policy of the administra- 
 tion was considerable, though his specified powers were not 
 great, and all powers not delegated resided in the council. 
 Under the village administration a great deal of the execu- 
 tive work was done by committees appointed for specified 
 purposes, but under the charter of 1836 the administrative 
 duties of the council began to be performed by standing 
 committees. 
 
 These eight standing committees (Finance, Licenses, 
 Streets, Harbors Wharves and Public Grounds, Judiciary, 
 Market, Fire and Water, and Claims) were appointed by 
 the mayor as were all other committees "unless otherwise 
 directed by the council." 6 The mayor was even made a 
 member of some of these committees, at the request of the 
 council. 7 The actual practice of the council was to confer 
 more powers on the mayor than the charter itself would in- 
 dicate. He performed some of the duties which would now 
 fall to the city clerk or the auditor, since they were of a fiscal 
 nature. 8 However, the independent power of the mayor 
 was insignificant. His influence in directing the policy of 
 the city government depended upon the degree of harmony 
 existing between himself and the legislative branch. Hap- 
 pily, the records indicate that this relation was always most 
 cordial. The mayor was elected by popular vote for a term 
 of one year. The veto power was not one of the mayor's 
 
 1 Charter of 1836, sec. 4. 3 Ibid. 
 
 2 Ibid 4 Charter of 1836, sec. 4. 
 
 5 Ibid. 
 
 6 Rules and Orders of the Common Council of Cleveland, Rule 4. 
 
 7 Council Proceedings 1836, June 9. 8 Council Proceedings 1836, June 9. 
 
functions at this time. As a general superintendent of affairs 
 the mayor recommended to the consideration of the coun- 
 cil such measures as he deemed expedient. 1 
 
 THE LEGISLATIVE BODY. 
 
 In the place of the three village trustees was erected the 
 city council, which was composed of three councilmen from 
 each of the wards, and as many aldermen as there were 
 wards in the city. 2 These two classes of members were 
 elected by popular vote for a term of one year. The coun- 
 cilmen were elected by wards while the aldermen were elect- 
 ed by vote of the entire city, but no two of the aldermen could 
 be residents of the same ward. Though composed of two 
 kinds of members the council was unicameral. The city was 
 divided into three wards, but the council had power to 
 change, increase or diminish this number whenever it saw 
 fit. 3 The original ward boundaries were extended from time 
 to time to take in the additional territory annexed to the cor- 
 poration, but the number of wards remained unchanged for 
 fifteen years. The territorial growth of the city during 
 these fifteen years had made the administrative work of the 
 council more complicated. To facilitate the proper execu- 
 tion of their duties another ward was created. 4 The ward 
 representation in the body of councilmen was cut down 
 about this time to two members. This change in represen- 
 tation returned a council consisting of the same number of 
 members, there being a loss of one in the number of council- 
 men, and a gain of one in the number of aldermen. This 
 alteration gave the legislative body greater permanence as 
 the terms of the aldermen had been increased to three years. 5 
 
 Inasmuch as the greater part of the administration duties 
 fell to the council this was an important change, for there 
 was always more or less work in the nature of improvements 
 which, for completion, required a greater length of time than 
 was represented by the life of one council. This increase 
 in the number of long term members introduced greater 
 efficiency by having on the executive committees more mem- 
 bers who were familiar with the unfinished improvements. 
 
 1 Charter of 1836, sec. 4. 4 Act of March 26, 1851. 
 
 2 Charter of 1836, sec. 2. 5 Act of February 8, 1847. 
 
 3 Charter of 1836, sec. 3. 
 
Up to March 20, 1841, the members of the council re- 
 ceived one dollar per day for all regular or special meetings 
 of that body. The question of council remuneration was dis- 
 cussed in the council at different times. A resolution was 
 introduced in 1840 looking to the abolishment of salaries of 
 council members. 1 The resolution was amended so as to 
 include the salaries of all city officers. The measure was 
 hardly to be taken seriously, and was laid on the table. Hut 
 council remuneration was abolished in 1841. 
 
 The powers of the council were enumerated in the charter 
 in detail. These powers may be classified roughly as fol- 
 lows. Powers relating to, city property, finance, health, 
 fire, harbors and wharves, justice, licenses and fees, ordi- 
 nances, police, public offices and officers, taxes and assess- 
 ments, public safety, streets and highways, and public edu- 
 cation. 
 
 This was pre-eminently a period of council government. 
 The mayor held the seal of the city and was the incarnation 
 of its dignity, but aside from his police duties his labors were 
 not onerous, as the greater part of the administrative work 
 was in the hands of the council. The municipal patronage 
 was at the disposal of the legislative department. It created 
 all subordinate offices and appointed their incumbents. ( )n 
 the organization of the council each year it was deluged with 
 petitions asking for appointment to the subordinate offices 
 at its disposal, from city clerk to bell ringer. This was in 
 keeping with the general practice of municipalities at this 
 time, but the weakness of the system is too apparent to call 
 for anv comment. 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 As already observed, one of the reasons for the change 
 from the village to the city organization was fiscal. The 
 taxing powers was limited to one per cent, on the assessed 
 value of the taxable property within the village. This amount 
 of revenue was somewhat augmented by fines and by 
 licenses for taverns and certain other kinds of business. 
 These, however, yielded a very uncertain return, especially 
 was this true in the matter of fines. The borrowing power, 
 too, was limited to the amount of tax for the current year. 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1840, Feb. 12. 
 
This was too restricted for the needs of a growing city. The 
 change in the taxing power under the city charter was a very 
 radical one. | Instead of being limited to a one per cent, rate 
 as before, the council was given unlimited taxing power, a 
 very wide and dangerous liberty. ) This unrestricted privi- 
 lege was not abused, but the rate was usually fixed at a very 
 reasonable per cent. Up to 1840 the rate varied little, but 
 was kept pretty close to a five-mill levy. The rate in 1839 
 was fixed at four mills which was probably too low, for the 
 next year it was raised to seven mills. This was considered 
 a hign rate and led to the passage of an act by the General 
 Assembly limiting the rate for general purposes to five mills 
 on the dollar. 1 
 
 In addition to the tax of five mills on the dollar for general 
 purposes, there was a tax of one mill for public instruction, 
 and the same amount for the purchase of school sites and the 
 erection of school buildings, and the discriminating tax for 
 permanent improvements. 
 
 \ Borrowing power like the taxing power was without legal 
 limit as to amount. The council could borrow for the dis- 
 charge and liquidation of any debt of the city, either present 
 or prospective, or for the redemption of any loan and for 
 interest charges.- The revenues and the property of the 
 city stood as a pledge for the payment of these loans under 
 such conditions as the council might determine uponJ An 
 ordinance for a loan required the approval of two thirds of 
 the members at two different sessions, with a period of two 
 weeks intervening. An unlimited borrowing power in the 
 hands of a municipal corporation is always a questionable 
 power. However the defect which manifested itself soonest 
 in this feature of the charter of 1836 lay in the fact that the 
 council could make a loan without making any provision at 
 the time for its payment. In 1837 a resolution was offered 
 providing for a loan of $50,000 on the plea that certain im- 
 provements were needed, and it would not be good policy to 
 levy a tax for them. 
 
 This course may have been good policy, but it was bad 
 financiering as later history shows, for loans were some- 
 times allowed to run on to time of maturity before provision 
 was made for redemption, which resulted in a burden of ma- 
 turing obligations and called for a refunding of the city's 
 
 1 Act of March 20, 1841. 2 Charter of 1836, sec. 14. 
 
6 
 
 debts. 1 This policy was particularly bad inasmuch as a 
 rapidly growing city has a heavy yearly expense to provide 
 for the demands of needed improvements without bearing 
 the entire burden of those made years before. 
 . /The treasurer had nothing to do with shaping the financial 
 policy of the city. That resided with the council, and was 
 practically dictated by the council committee on finance. 
 
 The sources of revenue were about the same as under the 
 old charter. Licenses began to play an important part in the 
 police regulations, and yielded no inconsiderable revenue. 
 Besides tavern keepers' and grocers' licenses a tax was laid 
 on theaters and shows. The poll tax having been declared 
 "grevious and oppressive" by the state constitution 2 no poll 
 tax could be levied for state or county purposes, but it was 
 levied every year for local purposes. The return from this 
 tax was spent on the public highways. It could be paid 
 either in labor, or in money. The greater part of it was paid 
 in labor. In addition to the revenue which accrued from the 
 general property tax and the other sources already mentioned 
 the market rents and the fees charged for services of a quasi- 
 public nature contributed several hundred dollars annually 
 to the public funds. The greater part of the revenue was 
 derived from the general property, and the discriminating 
 tax. As most property at that time was tangible and there- 
 fore not easily concealed from the eye of the lister the general 
 property tax system was fairly satisfactory. Resolutions 
 were introduced on two separate occasions in 1844 to tax 
 brokers but the necessary support was not secured for their 
 enactment. Looking at the financial records of the city at 
 the end of the first decade we find the receipts stand as fol- 
 lows : 3 
 
 Received from general tax for 1847. .. .$6,880.02 
 
 " inspectors license 375- 
 
 tavern license 22.53 
 
 " sale of cemetery lots. ... 881.34 
 proceeds of hay scales ... 39141 
 
 " proceeds of public docks. 135-49 
 rent of market stalls 543-12 
 
 " other sources 528.53 
 
 Total 9>95744 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1845, July 3. 
 
 2 Constitution of Ohio, art. 12, sec. 1. 
 
 3 These figures were taken from the city clerk's report published in Cleveland 
 
 Plain Dealer, April 12, 1848. 
 
These receipts do not include the school fund which 
 amounted to about nine thousand dollars. There had been 
 overdrawn orders on the general fund which when added to 
 the general receipts made a grand total of proceeds for the 
 year of $13,188.16. The poll tax for 1847 yielded $1200, 
 about two-thirds of which was paid in money and one-third 
 in labor on the highways. The expenditures for the year 
 for general expenses were $11,571.87. Of this amount 
 $2,036 were paid as interest charges on bonds the interst on 
 which evidently had not been paid the previous year. De- 
 ducting the interest charges we have $9,535.04, the amount 
 of general expenditures exclusive of interest, which indicates 
 a fair degree of economy in the financial administration. 
 There was an apparent balance in the treasury at the end of 
 the year of $1,616.29. But as most of this balance was in 
 the form of orders drawn on the current fund and not re- 
 deemed, the treasury was not relieved from embarrassment 
 by the presence of this balance. Money was scarce in this 
 pioneer country, and the collection of taxes in sufficient 
 quantity to meet the expenses of the city government was 
 next to impossible. 1 The general financial crash of 1837 
 added to the confusion and disorganization of local finan- 
 cial affairs. To relieve the local monetary stringency the 
 council authorized the mayor to issue interest bearing treas- 
 ury notes "for the liquidation of debts against the city." 2 
 These notes passed from hand to hand, were tenderable to 
 the collector of taxes, and to the treasurer for licenses. 3 
 Had the council made some slight provision for the redemp- 
 tion of these notes it might have tided the city over the 
 financial crises without serious embarrassment. But as it 
 made no provision for their redemption the notes soon de- 
 preciated in value until they were worth only 62^ cents on 
 the dollar. 4 This depreciation was due not alone to the fact 
 that the treasurer could not pay the notes, but as well to the 
 fact that he was unable to meet the interest charges. 5 In 
 1847 about $8000 of immediate indebtedness of the corpora- 
 tion was in city orders in the hands of the citizens. The 
 depreciated value of these orders was extremely demoralizing 
 to the credit of the government, inasmuch as persons furnish- 
 ing labor or supplies charged from 20 per cent, to 30 per cent. 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1836, July 27. 4 Mayor's Inaugural, 1847. 
 
 2 Ibid, 1836, May 25. 5 Ibid. 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
8 
 
 more than the labor or supplies were worth, and the council 
 allowed the bills. This demoralized condition of finances 
 continued until Henry B. Payne, a member of the council, 
 came forward with a plan to relieve the disorganized condi- 
 tion of the financial department, in I847- 1 His plan was to 
 fund the city's debts by computing the interest on the out- 
 standing orders up to March 15, 1848, to issue new bonds 
 for the amount, one-fourth to be paid March 15, 1848, and 
 the remainder in three equal installments, with interest pay- 
 able annually from the above date. The orders issued for 
 the claims accruing for the general expenses of the current 
 year were made payable March 15, 1848. These orders 
 only, and money were receivable for the general taxes of 
 1847. Mr. Payne's plan was adopted. The finance com- 
 mittee refunded the outstanding orders of the city, and the 
 mayor issued new bonds for these orders on the requisition 
 of the committee. A special tax was satisfied on the tender 
 of money only. This measure introduced some system into 
 the financial administration of the city. The city fathers 
 had learned by experience that the obligations of the cor- 
 poration could be met only by providing a specific fund to 
 meet the same when they fell due. The experience of the 
 first ten years had demonstrated beyond question that treas- 
 ury notes or city orders can not safely be received in pay- 
 ment of taxes unless it be in anticipation of revenue from 
 some other source. The period just treated was marked by 
 retrenchment in salaries of officers, that of the council having 
 been taken away entirely, while the mayor's pay was reduced 
 first, to $395 a year, and then to $100 a year. 
 
 In May, 1836, the debt of the city was $23,885. 77, 2 or 
 something near $4 per capita. This was an inheritance from 
 the village corporation and had come about through perma- 
 nent improvements which involved a good deal of litigation 
 and heavy damage claims. The chief additions to this debt 
 in the first ten years under the city charter were $6000 in 
 Academy bonds, and $7,820 in Lake Shore bonds issued to 
 raise revenue to protect and improve the lake front. At the 
 end of the first decade the liabilities of the city stood as 
 follows. 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1847, July 3. 2 Council Proceedings, 1836, May 9. 
 
9 
 
 Academy Lot Bonds at 6 per cent $6,000 
 
 Lake Shore Bonds at 7 per cent 7,820 
 
 Installment on School Lot 264 
 
 Deferred payment of funded debt 7>3 1 4 
 
 Immediate indebtedness 1,500 
 
 Total 22,898 
 
 These figures indicate that the city debt was a fairly con- 
 stant quantity, and that expenditures were not governed by 
 the annual income. The budget had little influence in lim- 
 iting the expenses of the departments. The rate limit was 
 fixed by the state legislature, but this was rendered nugatory 
 by overdrawing orders against the funds, and after a term 
 of years funding the debt by an issue of bonds. During the 
 remainder of this period there was little change in the finan- 
 cial condition until the last three years under the charter of 
 1836. From 1849 to J 852 the debt had more than doubled, 
 being in the latter year about $55,000. The receipts from 
 general taxes were more than doubled too, but the revenue 
 was not sufficient to meet the expenses. The additional 
 expense calling for this increase in revenue was due to 
 additional expenditures in the fire and school departments 
 and for lighting purposes. 
 
 In 1846 the city embarked in railroad enterprise. The 
 question had been voted upon at the spring election and 
 received the hearty endorsement of the voters. Aiccordinglv 
 $100,000 in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati stock was 
 subscribed for, and city bonds to that amount were issued 
 in payment. The next year $100,000 additional stock in the 
 same road was taken. The interest on these bonds was met 
 by annual assessment for interest charges. In 1848 the 
 voters were called upon again to decide on a subscription to 
 the Cleveland and Pittsburgh road. The vote was almost 
 unanimous for the subscription. 1 This road, one hundred 
 miles in length, connected the Ohio Valley with the lake, 
 and passed through rich coal fields. The return from these 
 investments will be discussed later. Besides the benefit 
 derived from these roads through increased traffic th? 
 was another economic result. The protection of the lake 
 front against the encroachments of the water had been 
 
 1 Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 4, 1848. 
 
10 
 
 difficult and expensive. In 1849 tne council sold to the 
 C., C. & C. railroad company a strip along the shore, for 
 which the company paid $15000 in their stock. The city re- 
 served 132 feet in width for landing purposes for boats at 
 the end of the pier, and guaranteed to other railroad com- 
 panies the use of the lake shore, and relieved the city of 
 further expense and anxiety in that direction. The city's 
 interest in railroad investments came to an end under the 
 new state constitution adopted in 1851. The constitutional 
 convention was petitioned to take from cities the power to 
 subscribe for rail road stock. The argument advanced was 
 that it was unjust for those who had no property and there- 
 fore paid no taxes to saddle upon property owners the debts 
 incurred by embarking in railroad ventures. Then too, it 
 was urged that those enterprises added nothing to the value 
 of merchandise and personal property, but only to real prop- 
 erty. 1 But perhaps the fact that some cities came to grief 
 by subscribing to private enterprise was the most potent 
 factor in introducing a prohibitory clause into the state con- 
 stitution of 1851. 
 
 STREETS. 
 
 The old English Plan of caring for the highways by com- 
 pelling the inhabitants to furnish labor 2 was adopted in the 
 village, and continued in the city. The council appointed 
 one or more supervisors to direct the work on the streets. 
 The road tax levied by law was collected by the treasurer of 
 Cuyahoga County who turned it over to the city treasurer 
 to be expended on the streets under the direction of the 
 council. The supervisor was given a per cent, on the amount 
 of poll tax he collected which led .to a pretty careful collec- 
 tion of the revenue from this source. The poll tax furnished 
 about one-fifth of the road funds. All male citizens between 
 the ages of twenty-one and fifty-five years of age were 
 charged with this tax. The expense of grading highways 
 was not so great as in some cities, the soil being of a loose 
 sand, and therefore easily broken up. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF POLICE. 
 
 It was enjoined upon both the mayor and council to pre- 
 serve the good order of the city, but the active police duties 
 
 1 Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 5, 1851. 
 
 2 Allinson & Penrose, "Philadelphia, P. 25." 
 
11 
 
 were vested in the city marshal, who as to tenure of office 
 was independent of both mayor and council, being annually 
 elected by popular vote. 1 But while the marshal was inde- 
 pendent of the council in tenure of office, the council exer- 
 cised more or less direct control over him. It fixed his 
 salary, his bond, prescribed his duties, and its ratification of 
 his deputy appointment was necessary, while it held him 
 strictly to account for the official acts of his assistants, but 
 for his own official acts he was responsible directly to the 
 people. 
 
 The first change in the charter of 1836 introducing immed- 
 iate accountability was in the department of police, by 
 which change the removal of the marshal and his dputies 
 was made a right of the council. 2 Removals could be made 
 only for neglect of duty or other good cause, and the marshal 
 had to be notified specifically of the charges preferred against 
 him and given a hearing in his defense. 
 
 FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The earliest attempts on the part of the city to prevent 
 ravages by fire were the providing of public wells and cis- 
 terns at convenient places. Various fire brigades and hook 
 and ladder companies were organized in different parts of 
 the city. These, as is the case in the infancy of most cities, 
 were strictly volunteer organizations. These continued to 
 be the basis of organization as late as 1862. In 1829 the 
 village trustees had invested $285 in a fire engine. 3 Here 
 historically, we may say, was the beginning of the fire de- 
 partment. 
 
 The council during the first years of its existence passed 
 considerable legislation, mostly of a precautionary nature, 
 such as describing the manner in which stove pipes be in- 
 serted into the chimneys, how combustibles be kept, etc. 4 
 Every household containing one fire place or stove was 
 required to keep "one good painted, leathern fire bucket ;" 
 every household containing two or more fire places or stoves 
 was to keep two such buckets, and one additional bucket for 
 every two additional fires or stoves. 5 
 
 1 Charter of 1836, sec. 4. 4 Act of May 7, 1836. 
 
 2 Act of Feb. 18, 1848. 5 Act of Nov. 30, 1836. 
 
 3 Magazine of Western History, Vol. 4, p. 74. 
 
12 
 
 In 1837 a fire warden was appointed for each ward, and 
 whenever ordered 'by the council made examination of all 
 houses in his ward to ascertain their condition regarding 
 danger from fire. The general assembly of the state encour- 
 aged the organization of volunteer companies by granting 
 privileges and immunities to members. 1 Active members 
 were free from military duty during time of peace, exempt 
 from labor on the highways, and from serving as jurors. 
 After five years of service members were forever free from 
 the above duties so long as they resided within the city. The 
 chief of the fire department received a salary of $150 per year 
 for his services, while the other members of the department 
 received one dollar per day for each day they were in attend- 
 ance to operate the engine. The organization of the depart- 
 ment was vested in the council, but the council was controlled 
 to a great extent by the wishes of the companies, allowing 
 them to suggest names for chief engineer and two assistants. 2 
 This custom was enacted into a law, 3 and the companies 
 then completed their own organization. 
 
 TAVERN LICENSES. 
 
 Under the act of incorporation of 1836 the city council was 
 given authority to grant licenses to tavern keepers, 
 etc. In 1839 the power was taken from the council 
 and lodged in the Court of Common Pleas. 
 There is no hint in the council proceedings nor 
 in the local press of this time as to the cause for this 
 change. But when, in 1845 an effort was made to vest in 
 the council the right to appoint beef inspectors, the mat- 
 ter was referred to a select committee of the council as a 
 subject for report. The majority report was against the 
 measure. As an argument in favor of the report the major- 
 ity affirmed that the transfer of power, from the council 
 to the Court of Common Pleas, to grant tavern liceses was 
 made on the petition of many of the best and most influential 
 citizens of Cleveland. The power was a charter power of 
 the council but was looked upon as interefering with the elec- 
 tions and other insterests of the city government, as it gave 
 the council a dangerous patronage. 4 The change was a dis- 
 appointment, as might have been expected, for there was the 
 
 1 Act of Feb. 8, 1847. 
 
 2 Council Proceedings, 1836, May 18. 
 
 3 Ibid, 1847, August 7. 
 
 4 Majority Report, published in the Cleveland Herald, January 15, 1845. 
 
13 
 
 same temptation to the judge as to the council to have a 
 strong following and to use his patronage to that end. The 
 judicious exercise of the license power was essential to the 
 best interests of the city. The council by its charter was the 
 guardian of these interests, and was charged with the pres- 
 ervation of good order in the taverns and other places of en- 
 tertainment in the city. Yet the police power of regulation 
 by license was lodged in other hands, and was not exer- 
 cised by the council. 1 
 
 For a time the principle of "home rule" was applied to the 
 regulation of the liquor traffic, authority having been given 
 to citizens to determine whether there should be license or 
 no license. Later the council passed a resolution praying the 
 General Assembly to repeal so much of the law as required a 
 vote for license or no license relating to Cleveland, and 
 provide for the appointment of three commissioners by the 
 court, to issue licenses to proper applicants on payment of 
 the license charges. 2 The request was not granted but two 
 years later the essence of the resolution was incorporated 
 in a law. Instead of vesting the appointing power in the 
 court it was given to the council. This change gave the coun- 
 cil an indirect power over licenses by vesting their issue 
 in a board of excise commissioners appointed by the council. 
 License fees ranged from $20 to $100. The license law was 
 omitted from the constitution of 1851. 
 
 POOR RELIEF. 
 
 The charter gave the council authority to provide for the 
 relief of the poor, but nothing was done in the way of build- 
 ing a city poor house until 1849, a ^ which time the council 
 was authorized to levy a tax for one or more years for the 
 purpose of erecting and maintaining a poor house for the 
 poor and indigent of the city. 3 The care of the poor had de- 
 volved upon the township trustees. The city had leased to the 
 township, grounds within the city limits for the erection of 
 a poor house. In as much as nineteen-twentieths of the ex- 
 pense of erecting and maintaining the institution fell upon the 
 citizens of Cleveland, the township trustees presented the 
 lease and the poor house to the city, praying the authorities 
 
 1 Cleveland Herald, November 28, 1845 3 Act of March 13, 1849. 
 
 2 Council proceedings, 1848, Jan. 9. 
 
14 
 
 to accept it, as they could care for the poor better than the 
 township. The only condition of surrender was that the city 
 should take care of its own poor. The council accepted the 
 condition and the gift. 1 . There was a general increase of 
 pauperism at this time owing to the financial depression of 
 1837, There were many depending on the poor relief who 
 were able and apparently willing to work but work was not 
 to be had. 2 This charge brought a revulsion. The council 
 refused to vote the budget. Finally on the recommenda- 
 tion of the mayor the council voted the annual budget with 
 the proviso that no part of the general tax be devoted to 
 the support of the poor, that the return from tavern and 
 grocers' licenses and fines be appropriated to that purpose. 3 
 This sentiment prevailed, and the council voted the annual 
 budget. The refusal of the council to vote the budget was 
 not because it objected to caring for the poor, but because 
 it was averse to having this function depending upon the city 
 government. On the refusal of the council to perform these 
 duties the township trustees again took up the burden. 4 The 
 whole weight of .the work was not thrown upon the trustees. 
 The council took measures for the building of a city hospital 
 where it might take care of the sick. 
 
 The cholera had found its way to the city and precaution- 
 ary measures were necessary to guard against its ravages. 
 The hospital was put under the management of the board of 
 health which was in reality a council committee. This ar- 
 rangement continued for about twelve years, when the city 
 built a city poor house. The entire management of this in- 
 stitution was vested in a board of trustees, the council hav- 
 ing the right only to make the tax levy. 
 
 SANITARY REGULATIONS. 
 
 The sanitary regulations of Cleveland first took the form 
 of council ordinances. The marshal and his deputies were 
 expected to exercise vigilance as they made their rounds over 
 the city. The superintendent of markets looked after the san- 
 itary condition of the stalls and grounds. Butchers and 
 venders of meat were to be cleanly clad, while dogs and of- 
 fensive animals were to be kept out of the market stalls. The 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1837, April 19. 3 Council Proceedings, 1838, June 0. 
 
 2 Ibid, 1838, Jan. 31. 4 Ibid, 1839, July 25. 
 
15 
 
 first board of health in the city was appointed in 1836 by the 
 council, and consisted of the mayor and four other members 
 of the legislative branch of the government. 1 The board of 
 health was not a permanent agent of administration, but was 
 allowed to pass out of existence when the cause for which 
 it was created was removed. It was not called into existence 
 again until the fear, or actual presence, of some infectious 
 or contagious disease called for sanitary regulations. 
 
 The General Assembly in 1850 empowered the council to 
 organize a board of health, from which time the board be- 
 came a permanent institution, and an agent separate from 
 the council. The council was still represented on the board 
 through its clerk, who was also clerk of the board of health. 2 
 Executive concentration was sought by naming one of the 
 members "acting members" and paying him for his services. 
 
 Street cleaning, .which is an important item in producing 
 good sanitary conditions, did not receive much attention. 
 Owners and occupants of lots abutting certain streets were 
 to clean these streets, lanes and sidewalks thoroughly, once 
 a fortnight, from April to November. Superior street which 
 was the pricipal business street was to be cleaned every 
 Friday morning. The dirt collected in heaps by the property 
 owners was carted away at the city's expense. 
 
 PUBUC FRANCHISES. 
 
 The problem of dealing with private corporations under 
 the first charter did not carry with it many difficulties, for 
 corporations had not yet taken on such proportions, and did 
 not perform such an important part in the affairs of the city 
 as at present. Among the first franchises granted to pri- 
 vate corporations was that granted in 1849 to tne Cleveland 
 Gas Light and Coke Co. The city has kept a tighter hand on 
 its gas companies than on any other corporation to which it 
 has given privileges. 
 
 In consideration of the privilege of laying pipes in the 
 streets the council demanded that the rates for gas furnished 
 the city should not exceed the rate current in Cincinnati or 
 Buffalo, and that the price to citizens must not exceed three 
 dollars per thousand feet. The contracts with the company 
 were entered into by the city for terms of ten years, at the 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1836, June 9. 2 Council Proceedings, 1850, April, 18. 
 
16 
 
 end of which time the price of gas was again subject to revis- 
 ion. By reserving the right to fix the maximum price of gas 
 the city has kept the rate down to reasonable figures when 
 compared with other cities. This mode of dealing with the 
 gas companies did not yield public revenue, but the reduc- 
 tions in the price of gas resulted in considerable saving to the 
 municipality in the lighting of its streets and public places 
 as well as to the citizens in domestic consumption. 
 
 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The early schools of Cleveland were not pubic institu- 
 tions. There was no regular system of schools and no legal 
 provision made for their maintenance until the adoption of 
 the charter of 1836. There were schools of a semi-public 
 character under the village organization. Some of the citi- 
 zens in their private capacity had raised a sum of money 
 ($198.70) to build a school house. The trustees of the vil- 
 lage in 1817 reimbursed these citizens out of the public funds 
 and assumed sole control of the school house. 1 The trus- 
 tees then rented the house to a duly qualified teacher who 
 managed the school in accordance with his ideas of a system 
 of education. 
 
 The school conducted in this building was free only to 
 those children whose parents were too poor to pay for in- 
 struction. 
 
 Being authorized by the charter of 1836 to provide for the 
 organization and support of common schools, the council be- 
 gan its work in 1834 W leasing buildings for school purposes 
 until the necessary school buildings could be erected. The 
 General Assembly fixed the maximum limit of tax for school 
 purposes at one mill on the dollar, county valuation. The 
 council levied but a half mill, which returned $2830. The 
 expenditure for tuition for this year was $700 or about five 
 dollars per pupil in attendance. The balance of the fund 
 after paying for fuel was applied to the liquidation of the 
 debt incurred in the erection of school buildings. 
 
 The management of the schools was then vested in a board 
 of school managers, appointed by the council. The district 
 was the basis of representation on the board, there being one 
 member from each district. The districts at first were made 
 
 1 Freese's Early History of Cleveland Public Schools, p. 5. 
 
17 
 
 coextensive with the wards. These, as necessity arose, were 
 subdivided. 1 The spirit of decentralization impaired the ef- 
 ficiency of the early schools. There was no central authority 
 liy which uniformity could be established either in the meth- 
 ods of instruction and organization or in the text books used. 
 The creation of the office of superintendent of instruction by 
 the General Assembly in 1853 was designed to bring about 
 centralized management, but his efforts for a time were baf- 
 fled when he attempted to unite classes in the same grade. 
 A cry went up from the local districts about their wards, 
 their districts, their rights to a full grown school. 2 
 
 Previous to the appointment of a superintendent of in- 
 struction an attempt had been made to secure centralization 
 of management and responsibility by making one of the 
 members of the board "acting manager" to whom was dele- 
 gated the supervision of the "ordinary affairs" of the schools, 
 and who received a small stipend for his services. 
 
 A. rather peculiar functionary of this time was the school 
 r. Visiting- committees consisting of three members 
 from each ward, 3 appointed by the council on recommenda- 
 tion of the school managers made occasional visits (usually 
 once a year) to the different schools in the city, and reported 
 in the council on the condition of the schools, and the action 
 of the board of managers. These visiting committees were a 
 sort of connecting link between the people and the council. 
 They were usually the best educated men of the wards, and 
 were selected because of personal fitness. When the number 
 of schools was small this system of management worked 
 fairly well. Hut when the number of schools had greatly in- 
 creased, the demands upon the time of the acting manager 
 were greater than he could respond to, as he received only 
 $300 a year for his sevices. The visiting committee, which 
 ved no compensation for its services, would not give 
 the time to their duties necessary to examine carefully the 
 condition of the schools. The appointment of a general sup- 
 erintendent of instruction became necessary. Of this of- 
 ficer I have already spoken. The arrangement made by 
 the board of managers was simply a transfer of the duties 
 and salary of the acting manager to the High School Prin- 
 cipal, who performed the duties of both principal and super- 
 
 1 Charter of 1836, sees. 19, 21. 3 City Ordinances, 1856, p. 200. 
 
 2 Freese's Early History of Cleveland Public Schools, p. 24. 
 
18 
 
 intendent. In the subject of education the Western Reserve 
 has been second to no other section of the State, especially 
 is this true of public school facilities. Cleveland has the 
 distinction of establishing the first High School in Ohio. 
 This institution was created at the suggestion of the mayor 
 in 1846. The school during the first year was open to boys 
 only, but a department for girls was opened the next year. 
 The advent of the High School created a great ferment. The 
 matter was without precedent in the state, and, it was urged 
 bv the hostile faction, was without warrant of law. A special 
 committee of the council took the subject under advisement. 
 The majority reported adversely, declaring the High School 
 illegal and its support as a public charge inexpedient. The 
 dissenting member brought in a minority report and took the 
 opposite stand. The minority report was adopted and the 
 High School was continued the next year on the same basis 
 as before. 1 During the winter the General Assembly enacted 
 a law authorizing the council to establish and maintain the 
 High School. 2 This act removed all vestige of doubt as 
 to the legality of the school. In addition to the public school 
 work of the city an industrial school was established by the 
 council in 1856. 
 
 The city provided buildings and equipment and a small 
 yearly monetary contribution, which varied somewhat on 
 either side of $3000. The industrial school was aided a good 
 deal by private benevolences, especially by the Children's 
 Home, and Children's Aid Societies. In fact the entire man- 
 agement of the industrial school was vested in the trustees of 
 the children's Aid Society. The small farm tilled by the in- 
 mates of the school provided a large part of the subsistence 
 for the support of the institution. The trustees, as far as 
 possible, secured homes for the unfortunates in their charge, 
 among citizens of the community. The school during the 
 first eighteen years of its existence enrolled more than 5000 
 pupils. 
 
 Occasional changes were made in the size of the board of 
 managers but the election of the board remained a function 
 of the council up to 1859. After this date the board of edu- 
 cation was elected by popular vote. Under the old regime 
 the board had little independent power in the management 
 and direction of the financial affairs of the schools. Aside 
 
 1 Council Proceedings, 1847, April 15. '2 Act of Feb. 18, 1848. 
 
19 
 
 from the hiring of teachers the board stood to the council 
 much in the relation of a committee, having power only to 
 recommend. The board certified to the council the tax levy 
 but the council used its judgment about accepting the certi- 
 fication. The board could make no expenditure of money 
 for any school or school building without authority from the 
 council. By a change made in 1864 the board was empow- 
 ered to determine the tax rate and their action was final, the 
 council having no power to revise. 1 . Four years later the 
 board was given full control of all public money raised for 
 school purposes. 
 
 After the change was made which threw the board of edu- 
 cation open to popular election the school system became 
 badly mixed up with ward politics. The boards were large, 
 containing at one time twenty-five members. In the early 
 days of the school system, when the boards were chosen by 
 the council, men were chosen because of personal fitness. 
 They were men of liberal education, graduates and represen- 
 tatives of Dartmouth, Williams, Jefferson, Brown, Hamilton, 
 Yale, Union and Oberlin. 2 The first acting manager was a 
 graduate of Dartmouth, and served on the board of education 
 lift ecu years. 3 Under the elective system the board degen- 
 erated, not so much because it was elected by popular vote 
 as because it was a large board and was without a respon- 
 sible head. Men of fitness on the board were few, and men 
 with long experience in the work were fewer. The average 
 length of membership from 1882 to 1892 was not more than 
 a year and a half. The effect of frequent changes and large 
 boards will be discussed under the reform movement. 
 
 'Hie standard of scholarship in these schools stood high 
 when compared with the public schools of other large cities 
 of the state, while the cost per pupil has been considerably 
 less. 
 
 When the cost for tuition in Cleveland was $14.17 per 
 pupil the cost at Cincinnati was $17.40, 
 
 An important adjunct to Cleveland's Public School Sys- 
 tem is the manual training school. This local institution has 
 its origin in a stock company incorporated in 1885, with a 
 capital stock of $25,000. A building was fitted up near the 
 Central High School where the boys might learn the use of 
 
 1 Act of March 25, 1864. 
 
 2 Freese's Karly History of Cleveland Public Schools, p. C9. 
 :: I'n-cse's Early History of Cleveland Public Schools, p. 76. 
 
20 
 
 tools and machinery, and receive instruction in mechanics, 
 physics, chemistry and mechanical drawing. The General 
 Assembly granted permission to the school board to levy an 
 annual tax of one-fifth mill for the support of the institution. 
 A charge of $5.00 per term is made to each pupil to pay for 
 materials used during the term. The institution has been 
 rather popular among the boys. In 1888 out of a class of 75 
 boys who entered the Central High School, 48 of them began 
 at the same time a course in manual training. 1 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE GOVERNMENT OK mis iV.Kion. 
 
 This we may call the formative period of the municipal 
 government. Settlers came together here from different 
 states of the east and from foreign countries bringing with 
 them the ideas of local government prevalent in their former 
 homes. These ideas underwent more or less modification by 
 coming in contact with opinions of different shades. The 
 result was a government containing much that was common 
 to cities in the older states, and some things which were 
 adaptations of older institutions to new conditions. There 
 was no conscious attempt to copy any existing form. but 
 the institutions of government were a growth out of pe- 
 culiar needs. The earliest corporate organization was set 
 adrift by the state to work out its own institutions and des- 
 tiny, being comparatively free from state interference. There 
 is apparent a tendency on the part of the state toward the 
 close of the period to extend a stronger central control over 
 the municipal affairs. 
 
 The division of administrative functions between the ex- 
 ecutive and council was apparent, but the preponderance of 
 power was with the council. In finance the government was 
 characterized by close restriction on the part of the state, fol- 
 lowed by full local liberty, which again brought its opposite 
 policy of state restriction followed by a chaotic condition of 
 financial affairs, a disregard of budgetary provisions, and an 
 era of municipal debt-making. 
 
 The latter part of the period is characterized by munici- 
 pal support to railroads and public enterprises which laid 
 the foundation for future development and greatness. 
 
 1 I have treated the school system connectedly because the organization of the 
 schools was not affected by the Act of 1852. 
 
21 
 
 A 
 
 Furtheremore there was the division of the council into 
 the executive committees, which, as governmental functions 
 increased, developed into separate executive departments 
 with on or more commissioners in charge. The commission- 
 er or board system did not reach its full development until 
 after the adoption of the municipal organization act of 1852. 
 The wants of the city during most of this period were simple, 
 and the machinery for supplying them partook of the same 
 nature. Judged by the standard of that time the affairs of 
 tin- city were fairly well managed. We will now consider 
 the changes which took place after the adoption of the con- 
 stitution of 1851. I 
 
PART II. 
 
 CLEVELAND UNDER GENERAL LAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION ACT OF 1852. 
 
 It was now almost fifty years since the constitution of 
 1802 was drafted and adopted. Political, economic and 
 social conditions had undergone radical changes in the half 
 century just closing. 
 
 The management of urban affairs had developed into 
 an intricate problem, a problem which the constitution mak- 
 ers of that time were not able to solve, though a brave at- 
 tempt was made at its solution. Several delegates to the 
 constitutional convention of 1851 were satisfied that a 
 change in the method of legislation for cities would work 
 no harm at least. 1 
 
 Corporations, especially those of a private nature, had 
 rapidly multiplied. A belief was made manifest 4< that all 
 the corporations of the State could be as well regulated by 
 general as by special acts of incorporation by some classifi- 
 cation of cities by the number of inhabitants or by some 
 other manner which might be thought prudent by the legis- 
 lature." 2 
 
 There was no loud and emphatic call for change from 
 any quarter. The provisions under the constitution of 1802, 
 for the government of cities had worked no injustice to the 
 governed for the correction of which the delegates to the 
 convention of 1851 had assembled. In all the speeches de- 
 livered in this convention on the subject of municipal gov- 
 ernment there is an entire absence of charges that the sys- 
 tem of special laws tend to produce or foster local evils. 
 The cities were fairly well governed if measured by the 
 standard of that time. The change was sought not so much 
 to improve municipal government as to strengthen the gen- 
 
 1 Convention Debates, 1850, vol. 1, p. 304. 
 1' ('.invention Debates, 1850, vol. 1, p. 304. 
 
23 
 
 eral interests of the state. The evils to be corrected came 
 not from municipal corporations, but from private corpo- 
 rations. ''Three-fourths of the legislation for several years 
 past had been been responsive to the petitions of men who 
 came up asking to be associated for certain specific purposes 
 with certain powers guaranteed them." 1 So much time 
 was consumed in the consideration of the private matters 
 that little time was left for business of a more general na- 
 ture. That these private corporations could be just as well 
 organized under general laws was pretty generally believed. 
 Why should not municipal corporations be included? The 
 committee on corporations other than banking, in their in- 
 dividual capacity were not positive on the subject, but all 
 were willing to make the experiment, or at least to make a 
 unanimous report to the convention. 2 
 
 There was a feeling that it would have a tendency to im- 
 prove legislation affecting cities, as all laws being 
 general in their application would have the careful consider- 
 ation of all members of the legislature. 3 The debate on 
 the subject of corporations was long and was characterized 
 by a good deal of fervor, but almost the entire discussion 
 related to private corporations. The sentiment in favor of 
 general laws prevailed, and the constitution received the 
 ratification of the people. 
 
 The General Assembly at its session in 1852 took up the 
 l)u rden of providing for the organization of corporations 
 under general laws, and passed the General Municipal Or- 
 ganization Act on May 3, 1852. This act divided the cities 
 of the state into two classes. Those with a population ex- 
 ceeding twenty thousand inhabitants were deemed cities 
 of the first class, while all others were deemed cities of the 
 second class. 4 
 
 The direct limitations upon the powers of cities which 
 by the authority of the constitution the General Assembly 
 was enjoined to impose were restrictions of the power of 
 taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, 
 and loaning their credit. 5 
 
 As the municipal organization act did not become a law 
 till May 3, 1852, the spring elections had already been held. 
 The act did not take effect till April, 1853. By that date 
 
 1 Convention Debates, 1850, vol. 1, p. 305. 
 
 2 Convention Debates, 1850, vol. 1, p. 304. 
 
 3 Convention Debates, 1850, vol. 1, p. 306. 
 
 4 Act of May 3, 1852, sec. 41. 
 
 5 Constitution of Ohio, 1851, art. XIII., sec. 6. 
 
24 
 
 the population had sufficiently increased that Cleveland 
 became a city of the first class. The effect of the change 
 from one class to the other, or more correctly the change 
 from the old organization to the new may be seen in the 
 great increase in the number of offices filled by popular vote. 
 The officers elected by the people in 1852 were mayor, alder- 
 men, treasurer, marshal, sexton and councilmen. In 1853 
 the electors were called upon to choose mayor, police 
 judge, police clerk, prosecuting attorney, commisioner of 
 water works, directors of infirmary, three street commis- 
 sioners, marshal, auditor, treasurer, solicitor, fire engineer, 
 harbor master, sexton, superintendent of markets, sealer of 
 weights and measures, city weigher, civil engineer, two trus- 
 tees (councilman) from each ward, and the ward assessors. 
 Besides these there were the township officers consisting of 
 the constable and justices of the peace. Surely this was a 
 ticket which must have gladdened the soul of the most 
 democratic citizen. The law makers though they had got- 
 ten rid of special legislation by this act, but in less than 
 four years after its enactment the legal profession found a 
 loop hole through which laws could be passed, general in 
 form, though special to all intents and purposes. The re- 
 sult of this has been the passage at every session of the 
 General Assembly of a great many special acts under the 
 guise of general laws. 
 
 The most glaring defect of the Act of 1852 lay in the fact 
 that it sought to bind round the cities of the state a mu- 
 nicipal strait jacket. When the patient became feverish it 
 succeeded in breaking the bands. Instead of organizing 
 the municipal corporation on principles the most general 
 possible, and leaving to each city the greatest amount of 
 local autonomy, the liberty to formulate its government to 
 suit the conditions incident to geographical position, eco- 
 nomic and social development, the Act of 1852 went into a 
 minute enumeration of powers. 
 
 The two most noteworthy points under the Act of 1852 
 were the lessening of the powers of the mayor, and the rapid 
 multiplication of boards as the administration of affairs be- 
 came more complex and difficult. The mayor became a sort 
 of perfunctory signing agent for the municipality. He became 
 less of a police officer having been relieved of police court 
 duties through the election of a judge of police court. 
 
25 
 
 He still performed such duties when the police judge was 
 unable to be present, or incapacitated for duty. 1 
 
 Under the old charter the mayor exerted a good deal of 
 influence in the directing of affairs. Being president of 
 the council he always appointed the standing committees as 
 has already been noted, and his recommendations were giv- 
 en respectful recognition. 3 Under the new charter the may- 
 or was entirely separated from the council. Altho by a later 
 act 3 he was again made the nominal president of the leg- 
 islative body he rarely exercised this prerogative. The coun- 
 cil president appointed the standing committees, therefore 
 the position of mayor in the council was one of official dig- 
 nity rather than of real power. It was evidently expected 
 that the mayor would be a more or less influential member 
 of the committees on which he was a representative, but 
 whatever influence he exerted there was due to his person- 
 ality, and not to his executive position. That the mayors 
 keenly felt their importance in the management of the affairs 
 of the city, and that their authority was more nominal that 
 real may plainly be seen in Mayor Flint's farewell address 
 to the city council in April, 1863. Said the mayor : "It is 
 generally assumed that the mayor has some authority over 
 the different officers and department ; but under our char- 
 ter his sole power is to dismiss one or all the subordinate 
 police, which extreme power of dismissal, however, mere 
 enmity towards the marshal, who, by law, is constituted 
 their superior, forbids him to exercise, except the marshal 
 desire it. This having a so called executive officer with 
 power to execute nothing of any particular import, either 
 to check reckless expenditure or to put a stop to unneces- 
 sary additional indebtedness or to compel under penalty the 
 faithful performance of plain duty by the different officers 
 of the several departments may be good policy, but it is full 
 time it should be more generally accepted as an undeniable 
 fact that our Executive officer is practically without real 
 executive powers, the only proper measure of his official re- 
 sponsibility." However, the mayor's position became some- 
 what strengthened after the first decade. The saying, that 
 the remedy for democracy is more democracy had found its 
 fulfillment in throwing almost all the offices open to pop- 
 
 1 Ordinance of June 14, 1854. 3 Act of April 5, 1856. 
 
 2 Council Proceedings, 1838, June 6. 
 
26 
 
 ular suffrage and the subsequent restriction of popular 
 choice to the more general officers of the city government. 
 There began to be a slight gravitation of power toward the 
 chief executive though there were with one exception, the 
 usual checks and balances exercised over his newly acquired 
 powers by the council. His general superintending func- 
 tions were emphasized by a new act. 1 In the appointment 
 of civil engineer, 2 fire engineer and park commissions 3 the 
 mayor's power was co-ordinate with that of the council, 
 while in the appointment of the chief fiscal agent the mayor's 
 power became absolute after i889. 4 The early extention of 
 the term of office of the mayor to two years was an im- 
 portant step in strengthening the executive department of 
 the government. The mayor was made a member of the 
 board of health, improvements and revision, and was a sort 
 of chief of police. 
 
 CITY COUNCIL. 
 
 The composition of the council was slightly changed, 
 the office of alderman being abolished. As both kinds of 
 members under the old charter had composed but one 
 chamber this change was of little importance so far as its 
 effect on legislation was concerned. The council was com- 
 posed of two members from each ward, one retiring each 
 year. Having half the members retire each year gave the 
 same continuity to the life of the council as classifying the 
 aldermen under the old charter. 
 
 Setting aside the judicial function as a constant quantity 
 and always falling to the courts, the older functions of the 
 city government, we may say, were divided between the 
 executive and legislative branches of the government. 
 
 As the powers of the executive were diminished under 
 the new charter, it follows of course, that those of the leg- 
 islative branch were increased. The most far reaching 
 change introduced has already been noted in connection 
 with the mayor, that which transferred the appointment 
 of standing committees from the mayor to the presiding 
 officer of the council. As much of the business of the coun- 
 cil, both of the legislative and administrative nature was ex- 
 ecuted in committees that was an important change. 
 
 1 Act of April 5, 1856. 3 Ordinance of August 22, 1871. 
 
 2 Ordinance of May 21, 1867. 4 Revised Statues, 1890, sec. 1766. 
 
27 
 
 The extension of old, and the creation of new, institu- 
 tions had its source in the council. The creation of such 
 subordinate offices as were needed for efficient administra- 
 tion was a power of the council, and it was with them to de- 
 cide whether the office be made elective or filled by council 
 appointment. There was no uniform rule, sometimes the 
 one method prevailed, sometimes the other. All powers not 
 delegated to other agency by the charter resided with the 
 council. It exercised a regulating power over all other offi- 
 cers and departments and except in cases where limits were 
 set by the General Assembly (and these were rare) set lim- 
 itations upon the powers and authority of the other de- 
 partments. The municipal patronage of the city was di- 
 vided between the council and the boards in its ultimate dis- 
 tribution, but primarily most of it was at the disposal of 
 tin 1 council. 
 
 The effect of this policy of council distribution of pat- 
 ronage has been the same throughout American munici- 
 palities, and has tended to corrupt and render unsavory the 
 legislative branch of the government. 
 
 ANNEXATION OF OHIO CITY. 
 
 There grew up on the west side of the Cuyahoga river a 
 settlement which developed into a city. It received its 
 charter of incorporation as such a few days before Cleve- 
 land received hers, and was christened Ohio City. 
 
 These two cities were bitter rivals, and at one time en- 
 gaged in a pitched battle, the cause of which was objection 
 on the part of the west siders to the construction of a bridge 
 across the Cuyahoga river. Fire arms were displayed. A 
 field piece was posted on the Cleveland side to rake the 
 bridge, but the west siders got possession of the field piece 
 and spiked it. 
 
 Men on both sides were seriously wounded. The dis- 
 pute was finally settled by the court. 1 The existence of these 
 two separate municipalities on opposite sides of the river 
 with the intense hatred of each for the other was a grave 
 hindrance to the transaction of business in which they were 
 mutually concernd. Agitation for union had been on for 
 some years. The proposition had been voted on and de- 
 
 1 Council Proceedings 1836, Nov. 7. 
 
28 
 
 feated. It was not till 1854 that the rivalry and hostility 
 between the two places had so far subsided that they decided 
 to be merged into one corporation. 
 
 On June 6, 1854, Ohio City became the eighth, ninth, tenth 
 end eleventh wards of Cleveland. This increased the city 
 about one-third both as to territory and population. Accord- 
 ing to the terms of agreement Cleveland assumed all of 
 Ohio City's indebtedness which was about $60,120 in bonds 
 already due or falling due in 1864. It was stipulated by the 
 commissioners on annexation that no benefits to accrue to 
 Cleveland from the indebtedness incurred or assets received 
 from railroad investments should ever enure to that part of 
 Cleveland which formerly comprised Ohio City. And in turn 
 Ohio City was free from any obligation arising from indebt- 
 edness on railroad stock. Any surplus after paying indeDt- 
 edness was to be expended in the purchase of narks and 
 public grounds in Cleveland east of the Cuyahoga river. 1 
 
 This stipulation was not carried out, but the railroad sur- 
 plus was appropriated to the liquidation of the w r ater works 
 indebtedness. This increase in population and in territory 
 necessarily called for an extension of the machinery of gov- 
 ernment. This was about the time when Cleveland began 
 to make rapid strides in material advancement. Industrial 
 enterprise every year attracted large bodies of laboring men 
 and their families. This growth in population and wealth 
 was followed by marked institutional development in the 
 city's government. 
 
 POUCE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The police department remained in a rather rudimentary 
 condition for at least two decades after the adoption of 
 the city charter, and the legislation for some time after the 
 law makers set about solving the police problem is an ex- 
 hibition of good intentions and a failure to realize the same. 
 The way in which the police problem was taken up indi- 
 cates doubt and uncertainty as to where to vest the authority, 
 and to whom the department should be responsible. The 
 frequent structural changes in the department indicate 
 plainly a good deal of dissatisfaction. At first it was left 
 with the council to decide whether the chief of police, his 
 lieutenants and the night watch be appointed by the mayor 
 
 1 Mayor's Annual Message, 1S5G. 
 
20 
 
 or elected by popular vote. After two years of experiment- 
 ing the mayor, who was the nominal head of the police force, 
 was authorized to appoint the chief of police and his assist- 
 ants with the advice of the council. The police force at this 
 time consisted of a chief, lieutenant and two day policemen. 
 
 The night force was composed of twenty men. The size 
 of the force varied somewhat from year to year. A spirit 
 of retrenchment occasionally seized the mayor and council. 
 Their economy in the police administration on such occa- 
 sions took the form of reduction in the size of the force. In 
 1859 the mayor deemed the office of lieutenant superfluous 
 and therefore allowed it to be vacant the entire year. The 
 night force was reduced to two-thirds its former size. The 
 administration by this move saved about $2200 in salaries. 
 This was a remarkably small police force considering that 
 Cleveland at this time had a population of 60,000 and was 
 scattered over a large territory. 
 
 The civil war had some influence on the police organiza- 
 tion. Cleveland having been designated as a point for the 
 collection and drilling of troops the police problem became 
 a more difficult one to deal with. There was a considerable 
 number of men whose sympathies were with the Southern 
 Confederacy. The presence of recruits in the city had a 
 tendency to exicte the turbulent spirits to outbreaks of 
 violence. However, by increasing the force peace was pre- 
 served moderately well, though there were one or two ser- 
 ious outbreaks. 1 
 
 The force was reduced somewhat after the removal of the 
 troops, but the fear of raids from the south, and from Con- 
 federate refuges and sympathizers in temporary residence 
 in Canada, 2 necessitated the maintainance of a force some- 
 what larger than was maintained under normal conditions. 
 
 The economic conditions resulting from the war made a 
 revision of the laws governing police administration neces- 
 sary. 
 
 The department was running in debt rapidly, owing to 
 two causes. First, on account of the higher wages paid to 
 policemen, the result in part of depreciated currency, Sec- 
 ond, on account of the necessary increase in the size of this 
 force. The department had been running ahead of its in- 
 
 1 Mayor's Annual Message, 1862, p. 7. 
 
 2 Cleveland Annual Report, 1865, p. 7. 
 
30 
 
 come for several years. The receipts for 1858 were $9,730 
 while the expenditures were $14,571. 
 
 Again in 1865 tne receipts were $20,322 while the ex- 
 penditures were $48,924.* These figures indicate the need 
 of radical change in the source of the police fund, or in its 
 distribution. There were defects in the fundamental law 
 governing police administration. 
 
 The authority of the marshal gave him discretionary pow- 
 er to discharge persons committed for non payment of fines. 
 The frequent exercise of this power on the part of an ex- 
 ecutive officer rendered nugatory the judgment of the 
 courts. 2 The General Assembly took up the police problem 
 in 1866. 
 
 As already indicated there was need of change or revision 
 in the laws governing police administration, but the action 
 of the General Assembly was characterized by extreme 
 partisan spirit. The result of its police legislation could not 
 long abide. The state legislature provided for a metropoli- 
 tan police board composed of the mayor ex-officio and four 
 commissioners appointed for a term of eight years, by the 
 governor of the state. This law was dictated by purely 
 partisan motives. The Democrats were in power in the lo- 
 cal government, while the Republicans were in the majority 
 in the state government. The Republicans saw an oppor- 
 tunity to wrest some of the political machinery from demo- 
 cratic control and they seized the opportunity. . This legisla- 
 tion of course could have no permanence, and was repealed 
 by the next General Assembly in 1868. The organization and 
 control of the force was still vested in a board of commis- 
 sioners but the board was made elective. One noteworthy 
 point in the power of this board was its absolutism in the 
 estimating of expenses. 
 
 There was a maximum limit fixed by the law, but the 
 council had no power of revision so long as the estimate was 
 kept within this limit. Under the change made in 1868 
 the city was divided into four districts, in each of which a 
 police commissioner was elected by popular vote. Vacancies 
 in the police force were filled by promotion from the lower 
 ranks according to merit. The police funds were derived 
 principally from general taxation, supplemented by the pro- 
 ceeds from the police court. This part of the annual budget 
 
 1 Cleveland Annual Report, 1865, p. 7. 
 
 2 Cleveland Annual Report, 1865, p. 9. 
 
31 
 
 like that of every other department was utterly disregarded. 
 
 The statutory rate was scrupulously observed, but ex- 
 penditures were not governed by the amount of funds in the 
 annual budget for police purposes. 
 
 In 1856, which may be taken as an average year, the 
 conditions not being extraordinary, the receipts from gen- 
 eral taxation for the police fund were $10,483. The pro- 
 ceeds from the police court were $5,425, which made a total 
 of $15,908. The expenditures in the department were $19,- 
 718. Therefore, there were overdrawn orders on this fund 
 to the amount of $3,810. Of this amount $2,424 was a de- 
 ficit inherited from the previous year. The deficit increased 
 every year. At the end of 1861 it was over $10,000. This 
 deficit was probably due in large measure to the increasing 
 cost of labor. It was not until after the close of the war 
 that the receipts and expenditures of the department were 
 brought into any kind of adjustment. The police expenses 
 constituted about one-fifth of the entire budget. Extrava- 
 gance and unsystematic administration were partly respon- 
 sible for annual deficits, but the revenue was insufficient for 
 the actual needs of the department. The rate for police 
 protection was governed to some extent by the rate de- 
 manded for other cities. But no other city in Ohio has its 
 population so widely dispersed as Cleveland, therefore the 
 expense of providing adequate police protection was, and 
 still is, greater in proportion to the number of inhabitants 
 in Cleveland than in other cities of the state. 
 
 The department for several years had a very unsavory 
 reputation. First hand, positive proof against the morality 
 of the force is not to be had, but the fact that receivers 
 and sellers of stolen goods could do business in the city for 
 years and were known both at home and abroad should be 
 unknown to the police force; that damaging charges made 
 by a "notorious criminal' on trial in a neighboring city, 
 against several members of the force were not investigated 
 by the department; that detectives coming from other 
 places to look up stolen goods absolutely refused to consult 
 with the local force lest the receivers should be notified to 
 hide the goods ; that after the term of one of the police com- 
 missioners had expired he acted as secretary protem of 
 the board at a meeting in which the resignations of two 
 members of the detective force against whom the charges 
 had been made were accepted, thus putting them beyond the 
 
32 
 
 reach of an investigation 1 , forces upon the student of Cleve- 
 land municipal affairs the conclusion that the police force 
 was not all that could be desired. A wide spread belief that 
 the police force stood in with a gang of thieves wrought a 
 gradual change in the personnel of the board of commis- 
 sioners. The force was reorganized and some changes 
 made. The experience of a few years demonstrated the 
 fact that an efficient police force must have centralized 
 management. In 1883 the police commissioners placed the 
 entire management of the force under the control of the 
 superintendent thereby breaking up the old method of in- 
 terference with the members of its force by the commission- 
 ers as individuals. 2 
 
 The department was materially strengthened in 1886 by 
 the introduction of the patrol wagon. The policy of the 
 department has been to provide one policeman for about 
 each seven hundred inhabitants. This means that patrolmen 
 is some of the outlying districts must cover a beat of four 
 to seven miles. The proper patrolling of the city with the 
 regulation number on the force is an impossibility. 
 
 FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 In 1862 the volunteer plan of organization was completely 
 changed. It is hardly necessary to spend the time to inquire 
 why, since the volunteer fire company has always been pro- 
 nounced unsatisfactory after a trial. The organization of 
 the department was put into the hands of the council, 
 though there was a noticeable tendencv to make the mayor 
 the responsible head of the department. An important 
 change inaugurated in 1864 by the introduction of the tele 
 graph system, and the complete reorganization of the de- 
 partment by the introduction of steam engines and a paid 
 service. In 1867 the fire engineer was made an appointee 
 of the council on recommendation of the mayor, which was 
 equivalent to appointment by the mayor. 
 
 The complete reorganization of the department was then 
 delegated to the chief engineer and the council committee on 
 fire and water. They appointed new men to the force, and 
 discharged such as proved unfaithful or inefficient. 
 
 The management of the department indicated great lack 
 of economy and financial foresight. In three years (1870 
 
 1 Mayor's Annual Message, 1874, p. XXX. 
 
 2 Mayor's Annual Message, 1883, p. XXI. 
 
33 
 
 73) it had overdrawn its funds more than $200.000. While 
 some extensions of the service had been made they were 
 not sufficient to warrant such an increase of indebtedness. 
 The most objectionable feature was that it was made with- 
 out warrant of law by overdrawing funds. The extrava- 
 gance and wastefulness of the department were the cause of 
 its reorganization in 1874. The reform in the department 
 was begun in the fashion in vogue, by creating a new com- 
 mission. The board of fire commissioners established in 
 1874 was composed of the mayor, chairman of the council 
 committee on fire and water, and three members selected 
 by the concurrent action of the mayor and council. 1 Coun- 
 cil approval was required in all contracts greater than $500 
 in amount. Xo officer or member was to be appointed or 
 removed on account of religious or political opinion, nor to 
 participate in the political campaigns or conventions of any 
 political party. 
 
 The difficulty is always to sustain a reform movement. 
 Relaxation of vigilance was followed by reaction. The evils 
 of the board system manifested themselves here earlier than 
 elsewhere. As is pretty sure to be the case where there is 
 no responsible head, the management of the department was 
 Unsatisfactory. Charges of irregularity were brought up. 
 A council committee was appointed to investigate. They re- 
 ported that they had found no intentional wrong doing, 
 only lack of business methods, engine houses built without 
 written contracts, and without letting them to the lowest 
 bidder. A second committee was appointed which brought 
 in a very damaging report against the department, such as 
 the mutilation of books, false reports, building telegraph 
 lines for outside parties with materials owned by the city. 
 The report was referred to the newly organized board which 
 reported back that it had no authority to look into the work 
 of the previous board, so there the matter ended. But some- 
 thing had to be done. There had to be a remedy provided 
 against such abuses and irregularities. The remedy hit 
 upon was that of making the board more democratic. 
 
 In 1876 the board was made to consist of the chairman of 
 jthe council committee on fire and water, together with four 
 citizen members elected by popular vote, for a term of four 
 years, one term expiring each year. 
 
 1 71 O. I,. 38. 
 
34 
 
 This continued to be the plan of organization until the 
 change under the federal plan in 1891, except that during 
 the four years under the bicameral experiment the alder- 
 manic chairman of the committee on fire and water was a 
 member of the board. In 1888 some precautionary steps 
 were taken by the enactment of a system of building regula- 
 tions, and by the appointment of a building inspector and 
 assistants by the mayor and council. 
 
 WATER WORKS. 
 
 The city in 1854 took the steps necessary to furnish the 
 citizens with water. There was great need of an increased 
 water supply. The buildings at this time were mostly made 
 of wood. Fires were numerous, so numerous as to lead to 
 the conclusion that they were of incendiary origin in many 
 cases. Being obliged to depend upon reservoirs filled from 
 wells near at hand sunk for fire purposes, the fire depart- 
 ment was hampered in its effort to arrest the progress of 
 fire because of inadequate water supply. The rapid growth 
 of the city and the consequent necessity of digging new 
 wells and building new reservoirs to furnish an adequate 
 supply of water was becoming an important item of expense. 
 Besides the ravages by fire resulting from insufficient water 
 facilities, sanitary conditions called' for a new source of 
 supply. 
 
 The soil of the lake region is a loose sand which al- 
 lows water to filter through quickly. Under this sand is a 
 layer of clay which is almost impervious to water. These 
 strata have an upward slant from the lake. The higher 
 portions of the territory being built up, a constant filtra- 
 tion from the cesspools in the elevated portions of the city 
 tended toward the lower portions near the lake, and rend- 
 ered the water of the wells extremely filthy. Even in the 
 construction of sewers this seepage became very obnoxious 
 to workmen in the public works department 1 and was det- 
 rimental to health. Application was made to the General 
 Assembly in 1854 for permission to issue bonds for the con- 
 struction of water works. Permission was given with the 
 referendum condition. The question was submitted to pop- 
 ular vote, and an emphatic decision in favor of a bond issue 
 
 1 Engineer's Report, 1862, p. 30. 
 
35 
 
 was rendered. The credit of the city was good, and the 
 bonds were disposed of at a fair premium. The work of 
 construction was immediately begun. In two years the 
 work had advanced to such a stage that the city was able to 
 furnish lake water for the state fair which met at Cleve- 
 land in 1856. The issue of $400,000 in bonds was not suf- 
 ficient to complete the plant. There had been expended 
 up to Jan. i, 1856, $345,644. 
 
 There was needed yet for the completion of the work 
 $140,000. Another bond issue of $100,000 was voted. The 
 whole issue of $500,000 was sold at such a premium as to 
 avail $523,038 after paying all expenses of issue and sale. 1 
 The interest on this fund for the first year had to be met 
 by general taxation, but when the system was constructed 
 the tax was levied on the taxable property adjoining or 
 bounding upon streets through which water pipes passed.-' 
 Private aid was given in the extension of distributing lines. 
 The department not having the necessary funds for exten- 
 sion work, in order to avail themselves of the water facili- 
 ties some citizens advanced the cost of pipes and of laying 
 them. The trustees gave them a rebate on the water rent 
 equivalent to seven per cent, on the cost advanced, and re- 
 served the right to assume possession of the pipes on pay- 
 ment of their original cost. 3 According to the terms of an- 
 nexation of Ohio City in 1854 the Cleveland investments in 
 railroad stock were not to be used in that part of Cleveland 
 west of the Cuyahoga river, but were to be used for park- 
 purposes on the east side of the river. The authorities 
 did not carry out this agreement, but obtained the consent 
 of the General Assembly to create a sinking fund to which 
 they appropriated the proceeds growing out of their rail- 
 road investments. 
 
 This fund was set apart to pay the principal of the water 
 works bonds which had been issued. The $550,000 set 
 apart in 1862 had increased in 1875 to $1,761,543.44 which 
 was more than enough to pay the entire water works debt. 
 As the dividends and returns from the railroad stocks had 
 been sufficient to pay the subscriptions, we may say the 
 water works plant cost the taxpayers no direct outlay, ex- 
 cept for interest. The policy of the department has been 
 to make the earnings of the plant pay the cost of extension 
 
 1 Trustees Report, 1857. 3 Trustee's Report, 1857. 
 
 2 Act of April 1, 1856, sec. 26. 
 
36 
 
 as well as the operating expenses. The interest charges 
 were met in part by the earnings. The water tariffs were 
 arranged on a graduated scale favorable to the large con- 
 sumer. .The cost when a less quantity than 500,000 cubic 
 feet was consumed in six months was about one mill per 
 cubic foot; those consuming a greater quantity paid about 
 one-half mill per cubic foot. The cost for an eight room 
 house was about twelve dollars per year. The source of 
 the water supply is Lake Erie, and as this is the termination 
 of the sewage system, and was for many years the dumping 
 ground for the city's garbage the water supply became 
 very much contaminated. In order to secure a purer supply, 
 work was begun in 1869 on a ^ a ^ e tunnel which was pushed 
 out nearly two miles under the lake bed. This tunnel was 
 completed in 1874 at a cost of $325,000. The effect ex- 
 hibited by analysis on the quality of water was as follows : 
 In 1873 s hd matter held in solution 240 parts in one mill- 
 ion. In 1874, 131 parts in one million. 1 . 
 
 Another tunnel was constructed later, and a third is un- 
 der course of construction, and when completed will ex- 
 tend almost five miles out under the lake bed. Through the 
 two tunnels completed the city pumps its water. The plant 
 has a capacity of 25,000,000 gallons daily which means over 
 one hundred gallons per inhabitant. The entire cost of 
 water works plants up to 1898 was $8,833,471. In return 
 for this the city has always had an abundance of water, 
 reasonable rates, and the net annual returns are about 5^/2 
 per cent, on the entire cost of construction. 
 
 The control and administration of the water works de- 
 partment was vested in a board of three trustees elected by 
 popular vote ; board continuous. This board was given au- 
 'thority to manage the entire business of the plant, furnish 
 supplies of water, collect water rents, appoint all necessary 
 officers and agents, determine their salaries and term of 
 service. It made monthly reports to the council of re- 
 ceipts and expenditures and an annual report for the bene- 
 fit of the public. In its relation to the central organ, the 
 council, the board was almost independent. The outside 
 control over the department was only a council power to 
 appoint a committee to examine the books. Said Mayor 
 j-'arley: "Of the water works department but little is 
 known, as it is as near a close corporation as could be de- 
 
 1 Trustee's Report, 1874. 
 
37 
 
 vised. Its salaries are high and not subject to approval by 
 the council. Its employees are numerous, and expenditures 
 for various purposes very great. Yet that department 
 handles its own funds without other scrutiny and draws 
 from the treasury in lump for pay rolls that do not pass 
 through the same channel of investigation so wisely im- 
 posed upon other departments." 1 
 
 The sewerage system was a correlate to the water works 
 system. The sewerage system was necessary both from a 
 sanitary and an economic point of view. As the two were 
 thus intimately connected the construction of both works 
 was supervised by the board of improvements so as to en- 
 sure the greatest degree of economy and avoid conflict of 
 authority. The main sewers were constructed from funds 
 obtained by loan, while all lateral sewers were made by 
 special tax upon property benefitted. A later law made 
 the cost of constructing main sewers a charge upon abutting 
 property, but in no case could the expense exceed two dol- 
 lars per foot front. The excess was paid out of the sewer 
 fund of the corporation. 2 
 
 HEALTH AND SANITATION. 
 
 The department of health and sanitation, the germs of 
 which appeared under the first charter in the torm of 
 council ordinances, is being perfected by experience. The 
 department was reorganized in 1866, and the board made 
 to consist of the mayor, city marshal, director of the infirm- 
 ary, city physician, and chairman of the committee on health 
 and cleanliness. The health officer was appointed by this 
 board and held the office during its pleasure. He was as- 
 sited in his duties by policemen appointed by the mayor, 
 and known as the sanitary squad. 
 
 Ten years later the board of health was abolished, and its 
 duties transferred to the police commissioners. 3 This was 
 an experiment which proved unsatisfactory because the po- 
 lice commissioners as a rule were not men who were com 
 petent to direct sanitary administration. In 1880 the old 
 system was re-established. 4 The board as constituted under 
 its re-organization was appointed by the council. 5 The 
 
 1 Cleveland Annual Report, 184, p. 10 4 Ibid, 1882, p. 27 
 
 2 Revised Statues of Ohio, sec. 2384. 5 Act of March 29, 1880. 
 
 3 Codified Ordinances of 1877, p. 172. 
 
38 
 
 defect of the former system was remedied by appointing on 
 the new board a number of physicians of reputation. One 
 of the earliest fruits of the efforts of the new board was 
 the abatement of nuisances emanating from packing, rend- 
 ering and .fertilizing establishments on Walworth run, from 
 which a sickening stench found its way into the business 
 and residence portions of the city. Precautionary meas- 
 ures were required of manufacturers of commodities the 
 production of which was injurious to the health of the pro- 
 ducer, factories had to be thoroughly cleansed within cer- 
 tain specified periods. Employers of females were required 
 to furnish them with chairs and allow them to sit down 
 whenever the nature of their work would permit. The 
 plumbing of all new houses is thoroughly inspected by the 
 plumbing inspector before it is covered or in any way con- 
 cealed. During 1887, 327 written notices were served on 
 plumbers and sewer builders giving notice that their work 
 was unsatisfactory. 
 
 The penetration of sewer gas into the houses has given 
 rise to no small amount of annoyance. The outlet of the 
 main sewers being the lake and the river they are exposed to 
 the strong north and north-west winds. The tremendous 
 force exerted upon the interior of these sewers by the winds 
 is sufficient to drive the sewer gas through the traps into the 
 residences. This sewer gas nuisance has been overcome 
 in large measure through ventilating the main sewers by 
 means of perforated lids covering the manholes. These re- 
 lieve the gas pressure by allowing the gas to escape into the 
 streets. 1 
 
 Considerable attention has been given to the inspection of 
 the food supply. This work is done by special inspectors 
 and their efforts have been attended by good results, which 
 have been most noticeable in the quality of milk in regard 
 to adulteration and dilution. These inspectors have been 
 giving special attention to milk depots, butter, meat and fish 
 markets, groceries, ice cream factories, restaurants, ice and 
 filters. 
 
 How to dispose of the city's garbage has, for a long time 
 been a vexed question, and only within the last year has it 
 come to any thing like a satisfactory solution. The plan for 
 a time was to dump it into the lake, but since the lake is the 
 
 1 Cleveland Annual Report, 1887, p. 11. 
 
39 
 
 source of the water supply that plan became objectionable. 
 The method next adopted was to have it removed outside of 
 the city under contract, but the garbage man went the 
 rounds only on request sent to the health officer. Very few 
 availed themselves of their opportunity, but either burned 
 their garbage or threw it on the ash heap. 
 
 Ai shed was erected at an out of the way place where 
 garbage from provision stores, fish markets, etc., could be 
 taken and be hauled away every day by the contractor, but 
 this became a nuisance to workmen in the vicinity. It was 
 finally enacted that swill and garbage at every household be 
 deposited in earthen or galvanized iron vessels and had in 
 readiness for the scavenger when he called. The garbage 
 is now removed by a fertilizer company to their plant, and 
 made up into land fertilizer. The city produces from 75 to 
 150 tons of garbage daily. 1 The local streams have an im- 
 portant relation to the sanitary conditions of Cleveland. 
 The system of sewerage adopted by the city government 
 gave it what was equivalent to two open sewers. These 
 were the Cuyahoga river and the Walworth run. The form- 
 er extends the entire length of the city from south to north, 
 the latter traverses the western portion from west to east. 
 The Cuyahoga river has a drainage area of about 1000 
 square miles. The river for the last thirty miles of its 
 course flows to the northwest and empties into the lake 
 at right angles with the shore lines, about mid way between 
 the east and west limit of the city, and divides it into two 
 nearly equal districts. It is a very crooked little stream es- 
 pecially near its mouth. From a point which is not more 
 than two and a half miles from the harbor in a direct line, 
 the river in its meandering course traverses a distance of 
 five miles in reaching the harbor. During the dry months 
 of the year the flow of water in the river is so slow that 
 under the most favorable circumstances it takes nearly two 
 weeks to displace the volume of water contained in the 
 channel between the southern limits of the city and the 
 mouth of the harbor. 2 This causes the river to become a 
 good deal of a stagnant pool. In planning the sewer system 
 only such portions were turned into these channels as could 
 not well be provided for otherwise. But a large part of the 
 
 1 Health Officer's Report, 1895, p. 644. 
 
 2 Cleveland Annual Report, 1895, p. I^XV. 
 
40 
 
 house and surface drainage from a considerable area found 
 its way to these natural outlets. 
 
 In addition to this the "filth from the slaughtering hous- 
 es, oil refineries and manufactories" which are situated on 
 the banks of these streams was discharged into these chan- 
 nels. The hot sun of the summer caused a stench to rise- 
 from this filth-impregnated water. Some of the solid mat- 
 ter sank to the bottom of the stream and remained there un- 
 til it was stirred up by the action of some large steamer, 
 and after giving off its noxious odors sank again to the 
 river bottom only to rise again at the first opportunity. 
 Then, too, in time of an ice gorge at the mouth of the 
 river, the ice of the lake prevents the egress of the ice in 
 the river. When the river ice breaks away it is "forced by 
 the current under the lake ice until it reaches such a depth as 
 to plow up the concentrated filth at the bottom of the river 
 in the lake "just at the river's mouth." This filth finds its 
 way out toward the water pipes and is distributed through 
 the city. 1 
 
 There is always a good deal of sickness in the spring re- 
 sulting from this cause. 
 
 Street, cleaning by its relation to health belongs to the 
 health department, but this was in charge of the city com- 
 missioners. On account of the width and length of the 
 streets, cleaning, paving and sewering are important items 
 of expense. Street cleaning up to 1884 was done under con- 
 tract, and was generally unsatisfactory especially on dirt 
 streets owing to the difference in the character of the var- 
 ious streets, and different portions of the same street. No 
 general specifications could be drawn up to meet the re- 
 quirements, and render the contract system satisfactory. As 
 there were at this time but about 55 miles of paved streets, 
 and 280 miles unpaved, the cleaning of the latter was some- 
 thing of a problem. Not even the paved streets werL kept 
 clean. "About the only difference," said Mayor Farley, 
 "under the old method of cleaning, between a dirt street 
 and a paved one is the depth of the mud." 2 . The 
 frequent criticism in the local press indicate that the streets 
 never have been kept in a good sanitary condition. Some 
 allowance must be made for this on account of the heavy 
 expense borne by the city for the maintenance of bridges. 
 
 1 Mayor's Annual Report, 1880, p. 29. 
 
 2 Cleveland Annual Report, 1883, p. XVI. 
 
41 
 
 If the annual outlay for this purpose could be added to the 
 street cleaning fund the streets could be kept in the best of 
 condition. 
 
 BOARD OF IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 The council under the charter of 1852 was relieved of a 
 good deal of responsibility in the matter of public improve- 
 ment. This work was delegated to the board of improve- 
 ments, composed of the mayor, civil engineer, and a board 
 of three city commissioners. By a later act the elective 
 membership was reduced to one member. 1 This board 
 supervised the cleaning, repairing, improving, sprinkling 
 and lighting of the streets. Initiative in matters of public 
 improvement was entirely with this board. The council 
 could make no improvements unless recommended by this 
 board, but the board could authorize improvements to the 
 i- \ tent of $300 without the action of the council. In recom- 
 mending improvements the board estimated the cost charge- 
 able upon the city, and the amount to be assessed on abutt- 
 ing property. Monthly estimates of funds required to pay 
 for improvements ordered by the council were submitted 
 to that body with the design of keeping the expenditures 
 within the income. The efficiency of this board was crippled 
 by the constant changes. The civil engineer was the import- 
 ant member. In eight years prior to 1864 there were eight 
 changes in the office. The peculiarity of the situation was 
 that the same men were elected to the office more than once, 
 but not for consecutive terms. This was a most imprudent 
 policy, for it was a difficult matter to get hold of the details 
 in improvements in the course of construction and about to 
 be constructed. In the construction of improvements there 
 was not an intimate relation between the board of improve- 
 ments, the council, and the legal adviser of the city. Dur- 
 ing periods of prosperity and real estate speculation street 
 improvements and openings were projected without refer- 
 ence to future results, and in the end the city became in- 
 volved in serious litigation. The board of improvements 
 with a mere quorum of three members attempted to order 
 improvements. The court held that it was not sufficient for 
 a mere quorum to order improvements which the law had 
 imposed upon five members. 2 The action of the board of 
 
 1 Act of March 1, 1861. 2 Ohio State Report, New Series, No. 28, p. 545. 
 
42 
 
 improvements and council gave occasion for the appoint- 
 ment of a tax commission to look into the legal aspect of 
 tax levies. Extensive improvements had been made prior 
 to 1874. The collection of the tax was enjoined by the 
 court. In the cases enjoining the city from the collection 
 of taxes for special improvements the lower courts decided 
 in favor of the city, but the Supreme Court decided against 
 it. In making a reassessment part of the levy was put upon 
 the general duplicate, with a view to conciliating the abutt- 
 ing property owners, but they immediately instituted pro- 
 ceedings when an attempt was made at collection. The 
 board of equilization appointed to apportion these special 
 taxes in 1874 transcended its authority in increasing the 
 amount by $9,000 as estimated by the board of improve- 
 ments. Their action was confirmed by the council. Pro- 
 ceedings were immediately begun to restrain its collection. 
 The plaintiff in his petition set forth fourteen grounds upon 
 which the assessment was illegal and void. The law 1 as 
 amended in 1873 was the first in Ohio which authorized 
 the assessment of improvements upon property benefitted 
 without reference to frontage or the value of the abutting 
 property as assessed for taxation. This case involved the 
 subject of "special benefits." The court granted a perma- 
 nant injunction on the ground that some of the steps were 
 illegal. 2 These illegalities in assessment gave rise to the tax 
 commission which was created to examine the legal side of 
 assessments. After this there was less litigation over street 
 improvemnts. 
 
 1 Municipal Code of Ohio, 1869, sec. 539. 
 
 2 Ohio State Report, No. 34, pp 551 et seq. 
 
VITA. 
 
 Charles Snavely was born Nov. 6, 1864, near Massillon, 
 Ohio, His elementary education was received in the dis- 
 trict school. He taught one of these schools from 1886 to 
 1888. In September of 1888 he entered the preparatory 
 department of Otterbein University at Westerville, Ohio. 
 In 1890 he entered the freshman class of this college, and 
 received the degree of A. B. in 1894. From 1894 to 1896 
 he was engaged in public school work in Massillon, O. In 
 October of 1896 he entered the Johns Hopkins University 
 as a graduate student in History, Economics and Politics, 
 and spent three years in that institution. 
 
 In June, 1900, he was elected professor of History and 
 Economics in Otterbein University, where he has remained 
 up to date. 
 
 UNIVERSITY ) 
 

 

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