UC-NRLF The Actual Government of Connecticut NANCT M. SCHOOSMAKEE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/actualgovernmentOOschorich The Actual Government of Connecticut NANCY M. SCHOONMAKER orCiiiaofMkip Published hj National Woman Suffrage Publishing Co., Inc. 171 Madison Avenue, New York Gty 1919 Copyright 1919 Nancy M. Schoonmaker c « •«"••• To The Women of Connecticut who face the new Day and prepare themselves for a larger part in the work of the world. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT FOREWORD NEITHER the author nor the Association for which this little book has been prepared nurses the illusion that a knowledge of the facts contained would constitute an adequate equipment for good citizenship. Our growing appreciation of the value and meaning of citizenship would make any such narrow view impossible. And yet it is felt that men and women should be better informed than most of us are on the subject of our own government. This, we believe, is the first step, perhaps the necessary first step toward our goal of a responsible. enHghtened democracy. It is well known that many a good impulse to right a social wrong has been halted or lost because the bare information as to the method of procedure was not at hand. It is also a matter of common observation that once a subject has been presented to us and our interest aroused, we are apt to go on finding more and more phases which appeal to us and in which we wish to have a share. At no time more than in this after-the-war period, nowhere more than in our own great democracy has it been more important to arouse the people to a sharp realiza- tion of their responsibility in establishing government upon a wider, more just basis. Citizenship can no longer be thought of as an honor or privilege which can be bestowed or withheld at will, accepted or rejected as we ourselves see fit to accept or reject it. If democracy was worth the blood which we have spilt for it and if we mean actually to make it a reality. we will need the help of every man and woman the world over. Our first work therefore is to realize ourselves as parts of our government and to acquaint ourselves with the details of its functioning so as to be able to do our share. It is with the hope that we may. even in a very humble way, be serving this larger end that this little book is put forth. Our purpose has been to avoid technicalities and yet to provide accurate and trustworthy information. The difficulties of doing this have been increased by the fact that no such text had been previously prepared and that the information 4 ' ''VhE 'ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT \&f sdatterecl and hidden in the files which were available. We have endeavored to adapt the material to the use of High Schools, Colleges, Normal Schools, Clubs and any other groups in which an interest in Government could be aroused. We have had especially in mind also that great body of citizens whose enfranchisement may confidently be expected very soon, the women. They have a very large and positive contribution to make to their government; they are full of the divine impulse to help. They need only to have placed in their hands this first tool. We may look with confidence toward the part they will play in the reconstruction of the new world. We have been given substantial help in this rather difficult task by city and state officials who have allowed many questions to be referred to them. Our gratitude also goes in very large measure to Mr. Samuel G. Shaw and Mr. Harrison B. Freeman by both of whom the manuscript was read and suggestions made; to Judge Henry Wade Rogers who read and gave valuable corrections on the chapter on Courts; and to President Benjamin T. Marshall of Connecticut College, who has given us his very generous endorsement. Especial thanks are also due the Hartford Equal Suffrage Association through whose generosity the book was made a gift to the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association. Nancy M. Schoonmaker. Hartford, Conn. January, 1919. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PACE I Ourselves and Our Government 7 II Town Government 15 III County Government 31 IV Borough Government 38 V City Government 40 VI State Government 49 VII National Government 59 VIII Political Parties 76 IX Elections 85 X The Educational System 91 XI Courts 102 XII Taxation 107 XIII New Problems 115 I. OURSELVES AND OUR GOVERNMENT nr^HE need for government arises when people -■■ begin to live in more or less closely knit units or when they produce in sufficiently large quantities to have an excess above their own needs which they wish to dispose of to some other group. If we think back to the early period in human history when the family was the largest unit, we see that whatever government there was centered in the father or mother of the family who dispensed justice or tyranny according to his own impulse or ability. As families gathered together in groups, drawn by various considerations of convenience, safety or friendli- ness, more laws and rules regulating their intercourse became necessary. Men who hunt together and who divide the spoils must have some sort of basis of justice. Men who fight together must learn to submit to authority. Upon these simple human needs rests the foundation of government. Again as the race comes to the time of settled industries, the tribes or families develop a permanent place of residence and devote their time to productive labor. Instead of hunting wild game, they begin to breed and raise domestic animals; instead of searching out wild grains and herbs and fruits, they plant and tend what they desire in some definite area which they have selected. And very soon they discover that, even under these hard and primitive conditions, they are able to produce more than they need for their own use. This excess they attempt to dispose of to other groups whose output has fallen short of their need or o THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT who are perhaps engaged in some other industry. So far this exchange is upon the basis of barter, so much of this product for so much of that. Money is intro- duced, trade increases, the need for more deJSnite regu- lation becomes more evident and imperative. Another stone is laid in the foundation of government. As community life develops, it becomes con- stantly more complicated. More and more questions arise which touch the lives of the whole community and which, therefore, should be settled by the group. All the people are interested in keeping up the roads which make intercourse possible; a common carrier for mail is much cheaper than special messengers for every letter; a central store through which trading may be done is a great convenience. In the larger growing groups a public system of water works and sewerage, a fire department, a common school become necessary. TTius as we develop we find that we have more and more needs in common with our fellow citizens which we can satisfy more effectively and more cheaply by acting together than by separate effort. This social action and control has, in our modern world, grown to such an extent as our forefathers probably could neither have foreseen or felt that they could endure. Our food, our clothing, the conditions of our homes, our treatment of our children, our health and our educa- tion, the wages we work for, all these and many other details of our lives we have found to be matters of social concern and, therefore, justly within the juris- diction of society. There are few men in the world today who live so apart from their fellows as to be able to do without the co-operation of other human beings. We can all of us make our lives count for much more THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 9 for ourselves and render a larger service to humanity if we learn this lesson of necessary social co-operation and adjust our lives to it. Tlie power which seeks to regulate and control this co-operation so that justice may be done to all is what we call government. Government, there- fore, may be defined as the co-operative management of those affairs which can be carried on by joint or social action better than by individuals acting separately. Government, as it works itself out. develops in one of two general directions, toward a more or less wide and general vesting of the power in the people themselves, or toward a centralization of power in the hands of one person or a small group of persons. Popular control, or government by the people, con- stitutes a democracy. A centralization of power in the hands of one person constitutes an autocracy. Democracy is the highest ideal of govern- ment which mankind has conceived. It rests upon the belief that all men are capable of exercising, and should be given, the right to a voice in determining the form of government under which they live. Ideally it means that every citizen has the privilege of voicing his opinion through the ballot and that these opinions must be given due consideration. It implies that all men, high and low, rich and poor, ignorant or learned have something to contribute to the common good which the group cannot afford to do without. The ideal of democracy did not spring full grown into our consciousness. It grew up with com- parative slowness even in our own country. In the early days of our democracy, only about one man in to THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT seven enjoyed this right of participating in the govern- ment. There was a rehgious, a property and an educational quaHfication. We professed to beUeve in democracy, the rule of all the people, but our idea of all the people was all the people who conformed to those standards which we had set up. Gradually, however, our conception enlarged and we established Democracy here in America upon a manhood basis. Women were still left out. But within the last century, we have still further widened our comprehen- sion of popular government and begun to realize that women have something to contribute to community matters and that sex is no logical basis upon which to exclude them. Starting in one of our Western States, the enfranchisement of women has spread over our country until it is safe to prophesy that within a very few years women will be voting all over America upon exactly the same terms as men. In some of the countries of Europe there are still large numbers of the working and peasant population who have never been enfranchised. These people are today awakening to and demanding this right, as are also the women of these countries, and beyond any doubt one of the certain results of the war will be to secure to all the people of all countries a much larger share in their own government than they have ever before enjoyed. It is not alone through the ballot, however, that democracy finds expression. In order to be truly democratic, in the best sense of the word, a country must secure for all its people certain fundamental re- quirements to a sane life. No civilization that does not provide adequate educational advantages for all. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT It that does not put within the reach of all the people opportunities for them to obtain by a rational amount of labor sufficient food, clothing and shelter can hope to stand. In securing these essentials for themselves and others, the people have never found a more potent weapon than the ballot. The ballot should, therefore, mean to all of us an opportunity to contribute to the general well-being of our country. Even in our own country we frequently hear people say that democracy has not been a success. But when asked what they would substitute in the place of it. these critics have no reply. Democracy in the United States has not been as successful as it should be. not because men and women are incapable of governing themselves, but because not enough men and women have troubled to take an active share in it. There is but one cure for a poor democracy and that is more democracy, arousing more people to an active participation in the work of securing good government. Democratic government takes one of two forms: a pure democracy; or a representative form of democracy which we call a republic. A pure democracy is one in which all men and women above a certain age come together and vote upon any or all questions which pertain to their government. The New Ejigland town meeting is the nearest approach to a pure democracy that we have in America today. It falls short of this ideal of democracy when it limits its voters to the male half of the population. A republic, which is another form of democratic government, is one in which voters select 12 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT men and women to represent them in their legislative congresses and to make laws for them. All representative forms of government are not democratic. The representative must be chosen by the people upon some even, justly apportioned basis before a representative government becomes demo- cratic. TTie most autocratic government in the world today is representative in form; so is the most demo- cratic government. In the autocracies, the representa- tives are sometimes appointed by the ruler who then controls their votes; sometimes one district will have many times the representatives another district will be allowed; sometimes the representative enjoys the honor as a heritage from his father, being born to his seat in the governmental body and in no way responsible to the people whom he represents. In a democratic repre- sentative government, or republic, the representatives are elected upon some sort of popular basis, and the people have it in their power to choose the men they want to represent them. The National Government, our States and most of our cities are representative in form, and demo- cratic. The United States is a Republic. The States are little republics included within the nation; the cities are still smaller republics, included within the States. Our National Government is, therefore, a federation or union of smaller units which are them- selves republics and which enjoy a very great degree of individual responsibility and freedom. We will see later how far this privilege of self government extends, what authority the National Government has over the States and in what way it secured its power. We have, as we know, various other divisions in our THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 13 government, such as the county and the town. It may be of help to us to conceive of our nation as the great circle in which all the people and all the divisions are included. Within that circle are forty-eight smaller circles representing the States. Within those States are the smaller circles which we call counties. Within the counties, the smaller circles of the towns; within the towns the still smaller circles of the cities and boroughs. They each enjoy a certain amount of inde- pendence, and yet they are all of them bound together by certain general limitations and requirements from which no one of them may escape. But this does not mean that they are. for this reason, undemocratic. Democracy means freedom for the individual person or unit of government only in so far as that freedom does not encroach upon the rights of others. In studying these units of government, we shall give our attention first to the town. We do this because, although the city or borough is included in the town, the town is really the smallest unit through which, for general purposes, the state government functions; also because we are all of us more or less familiar with the officials, the machinery, the aim and accomplishments of town government. We shall, therefore, be upon ground which is not entirely strange. In studying the government of Connecticut, there is still another reason why we should begin with the town unit, and that is because the town is really older than the state government and has always been regarded as a most important unit the independence of which must be carefully preserved. We shall find, as we take up the study of the various units, that they have, most of them, three de- 14 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT partments or branches through which the government is carried on. These are : the legislative, the executive and the judicial branch. The legislative department makes the laws. The executive department executes the laws. The judicial department interprets the laws, determining what constitutes unlawful conduct or un- constitutional law. Let us, therefore, ask ourselves these two questions about each unit as we take it up : 1 . Is it a pure democracy or a representative democracy? 2. Has it a legislative, an executive and a judicial department ? The nation, the state, the city, each has its body of laws, formulated perhaps at the beginning of its existence, rewritten, altered or added to as the years have gone by. In the nation and the state, this document of lav/s and principles is called a constitu- tion. In the city, it is called a charter. The city charter and the state constitution must in no way in- fringe upon the national constitution. 15 II. TOWN GOVERNMENT TN Connecticut the town is. as we have said, ^ a very old and important unit of government. In 1633 a group of men and women left the Puritan settlers in Massachusetts, drove on farther into the wilderness and set up homes for themselves on the bank of a strange river. That river is what we now call the Farminglon; the town which they settled is now known as Windsor. TThere were probably good oppor- tunities for trading in this nevy territory, for more land was bought from the Indians, the herds of cattle were increased and other groups moved in and settled what we now know as Wethersfields and Hartford. These towns were not yet named, nor was there any definite form of local government. But remember that these early settlers were Englishmen, that they had left their far away homes for the express purpose of seeking religious freedom, and that they were made up of church groups or congregations who wished to hold together. They were aware that in England at this time the town unit, with which they were familiar and which they would naturally follow in establishing their government in America, could become a legally recog- nized unit only when it had or had had a church in which services were held. To satisfy this requirement as well as their own deeper desire for religious ex- pression, they very promptly set up their little churches. The management of the public affairs naturally fell into the hands of the church groups. And it was natural also, in choosing names for their new homes. 16 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT that these men should remember the places with which they were familiar in England. We find that almost all of these early towns were named for some English castle, royal residence or parish. In 1638 these first three Connecticut towns voted upon and adopted the First Constitution of Connecticut. This is a wonderful old document, short, explicit, and liberal. The government which it set up was called a Combination or Confederation of towns for the purpose of preserving the liberty and purity of the gospel and of conducting their civil affairs according to such laws as the people decreed. Our great national constitution was largely built upon the principles set down in this first real written constitu- tion, which proved itself so satisfactory that not until 1818 did the people of Connecticut feel it necessary to adopt a new one. The Charter which the English King, Charles II, granted to Connecticut in 1662 is also a very liberal, though much more long-winded document. A later king, you remember, felt that it granted far too many privileges to the people and made a great effort to withdraw it, but he was not successful. As more and more of the near-by territory came into the hands of the whites and more towns were formed, the people selected a name for their town, to be confirmed by the General Court, and were given equal representation in the General Court itself which that first Constitution provided for. This is the origin of a very important characteristic of the representation still in force in Connecticut, and which we will study later. It is important now because it shows us how the government of the state grew out THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 1/ of and has always given such large recognition to the town. TTiese towns, or townships as they are called in some stales, should not be confused with villages. Towns are units of territory, the outlines of which are determined by the state legislature, little states within the state, enjoying more or less independence and power. They are smaller than the county and larger than the school district. A town's entire territory may be occupied by a city, parts of the city even extending over into the adjoining town, or it might be entirely rural with not even an incorporated borough in it. But in every case, the town government remains at least theoretically active though the more compli- cated city problems have in fact made it necessary to superimpose city officials who have most of the re- sponsibility of carrying on the local government. There is in every town a town hall in which the records are kept, meetings are held and the officials have their offices. TThis property is owned by the town. In order to own and control this and other town prop- erty, it is necessary for the tov^ to be incorporated. This is done through the legislature, after which the town has a legal right to own. buy. sell and rent prop- erty, to borrow and lend money and to levy taxes. The 168 towns in Connecticut have been formed by a process of subdivision, of the older, larger units. This division is also accomplished through the Legislature which must be consulted and must give its consent. The last town so formed was that of Ansonia, which was incorporated from Derby in 1 889. Let us now turn to the details of town gov- ernment, the first unit we are to take up. We find 18 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT first of all that it is a very genuine sort of democracy. If the people in the town do not like a certain law, they have it in their power to change the law. If they do not like the way the laws are executed, they can, any man among them, at the next town election nomi- nate any man they are inclined to for the executive office. In other words the people of the towns make their own laws instead of electing other people to make them for them. Any man who has been made a voter in the town has a right to propose any laws he wishes or discuss any laws which have been proposed. This means that the town government is not representa- tive in form, but is a pure democracy. At least it is the nearest approach to a pure democracy that we have in America. In the New England states where the town unit is particularly distinct, women have not been given the right to vote. The New England town falls short, therefore, of pure democracy in that it limits the franchise to half the people. In order to conduct its own affairs, the town needs laws, it needs special officers to execute the laws, and other special officials to determine and portion out justice. The town government has, therefore, three departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative department of the town is not like that of the other units of our government. In the town it is the people themselves and not any body of representatives who make the laws. They do this at the town meetings. Before the regular town meet- ing, held once a year in most of the towns, once in two years in a few of the towns, notices must be posted so that everyone may be informed of the coming THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 19 event. All the people in the town are allowed to attend and it is here that necessary legislation is en- acted. Only those men and women who have been "made voters** have the legal right to take part in the business of the meeting, but very often this is not strictly enforced and anybody present is allowed to propose or speak upon any by-law. At these meetings all the business which concerns the town management is discussed and determined. Besides this, the town officers are elected, the amount of money to be spent by the town is decided upon and the tax rate determined. Special town meetings may be called by the selectmen whenever it is deemed necessary. These must be advertised in the same way as the regular meetings. Most of the towns in Connecticut hold their regular town meeting the first Monday in October. The twenty-five exceptions hold their meetings in November or in the spring, once in two years. At both regular and special town meetings, women are allowed to vote on school and library questions. The town officers elected at the town meet- ing constitute the executive department of town govern- ment. Not all of the towns elect the same number of officials, but in all towns there seems to be a rather generous list of offices to be filled. These offices are usually passed around from one member to another of the community and in time most of the men in a town are called upon to fill some sort of town office. Fortunately for the people out of whose taxes the money would have to come, not all of these officials are paid and some of them are paid only when they are actually at work for the town. This does not involve a hardship for town officers, as the work of 20 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT most of these offices would occupy only a small portion of the man*s time. It is also not an uncommon thing for one man to hold more than one office at the same time. The town clerk, for instance, is ex-officio reg- istrar in which capacity he keeps the vital statistics and issues marriage licenses. He is often also the treasurer. There are several reasons why men are usually glad to accept these small offices. One is that it is usually a proof that they have won the respect of their community, another is that these small offices are often the stepping-stone to some larger, more im- portant position, but surely the most important one is that in office a man or woman has a larger oppor- tunity for serving his government and society than he has out of office. Not all towns elect the same number of officials, but the following is a list of those found in most of the Connecticut towns: Selectmen, usually three, sometimes one, two, four or five. Town Clerk. Assessors, usually three, sometimes two or four or five. Tax Collector. Treasurer. Auditors, usually two. Constables, one to seven. Board of Relief, three or more. Grand Jurors, five or more. Registrars of Voter, two or more. Tree Warden. School Committee, School Visitors or Board of Education. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 21 The day after election the town clerk noti- fies the successful candidates of their election. He also swears in the new officials. Any man who is elected to a town office and who. without good reason, refuses to serve may be fined $5. Women are eligible to serve as members of the Board of Education, School Com" mittee or Board of School Visitors. The selectmen are the most important officials in the executive branch of town government, and are known as the Board of Selectmen. Where there is more than one selectman, the board is what we call bi-partisan, that is the members must be chosen from different parties. The majority of them, two out of three or three out of five, represent the party casting the largest vote; the others, the minority party. This result is secured by allowing each voter to vote not for all the selectmen to be chosen, but for only two out of three or three out of five. Thus the practice of minority representation gives both parties a voice in the government and is essentially democratic. It holds a very fundamental place in the government of Connecticut, appearing in town, city and state boards, commissions, etc., both elective and appointive, and is something of which the people may be justly proud and which they should be most careful to preserve. It may be objected that now since we have more than two political parties, all of the people still do not have representation on these bi-partisan boards. This is true; but it must be remembered that this practice was begun when there were but two parties and was a genuine attempt at democracy such as not many states may boast. It is at all events more demo- cratic than to give all the power over into the hands 22 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT of the majority party. As the new parties grow, it will remain for us to work out some system by which the members of even the smallest of them may have representation in the government. The duties of the Board of Selectmen are in general to see that the laws which have been passed by the people at the town meetings are put into force. They call the town meetings; manage the finances; lay out highways and bridges; build, manage and keep in repair all town property; provide for the care of paupers and orphans; and do whatever they are called upon to keep the town affairs in order. The First Selectman, in most towns the one who received the largest number of votes, sometimes especially nominated for the office, is head of the board and is usually the one in whose hands the chief power rests. It is to him that you would go to take up any matter concerning the town affairs. It depends very much upon the character of the men chosen as to how much or how little the Board of Selectmen do, but as they have rather wide powers, it being within their right on occasions to follow their own judgment rather than the instructions given by the voters, it is highly im- portant that only honest and reliable men be chosen for this office. The town clerk is clerk of the town meet- ings and keeps the town records. In his office all deeds, mortgages and certificates are recorded, as well as births, marriages and deaths. He also issues marriage certificates and burial permits, and grants certain licenses other than liquor licenses. While his office is a necessary one, he has, in fact, very little part in the actual administration of government. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 23 The selectmen and the town clerk also make up the Board of Registration, the body before whom people go to be **made voters." In Connecticut no man or woman can vote until they have been **made/* that is until they have given proof that they can fulfill the qualifications which the state requires, and their names have been entered upon the voting list. The qualifications are: the voter must be twenty-one. a natural bom or naturalized citizen, able to read, of a good moral character, a resident of the state one year and of the town six months. In order to be made a voter, a man or woman makes application upon blanks furnished for the purpose. Upon a certain appointed day or days, he must appear in person before the Board of Registration, who have made up a list of those who have applied to be **made,** and show that he can read and take an oath of loyalty to the state and nation. He is then registered as a voter. He does not have to do this again, unless he moves into another town or in case he has been disfranchised because of a crime. TTie towns of Connecticut have also an elected Board of Registrars composed of one or more Democrats and Republicans whose duty it is to make up and have charge of the voting list, the caucus list and also the roll of personal tax. They go about and have canvassers out to keep themselves informed as to corrections that must be made in their lists owing to removals, change of address, deaths, disfranchisement, etc. It is important that we should ourselves notify this board when we change our address so that we shall be sure to be listed in the ward or precinct where we go to vote. The voting list contains the names of all 24 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT voters, the caucus list the names of those enrolled in the different parties. This list is for the purpose of making sure that only those enrolled in a given party attend that party's caucus. The Board of Registrars sits with the Board of Registration when voters are made, but take no part in the ceremony except to enter the names of the new voters upon their lists. The officials who are perhaps best known to all people in the town are the men who have to do with our taxes, the Assessors and Collector. There are certain limitations of residence, sex, age and education upon the franchise, but these do not apply to taxes. Everybody, old and young, rich or poor, ignorant or wise, male or female must pay taxes on property. A poll or personal tax of $2.00 upon all men between the ages of twenty-one and sixty reaches the very poor or those men too ignorant to be made voters. The agent through whom all this transaction is carried on must, therefore, have come into the horizon of most of us. Most of the Connecticut towns elect three Tax Assessors whose business it is to determine the value of all property within the town limits. They should be acquainted with real estate values and their honor should be above question. At a certain time in the year blanks are issued to all property owners who are required to file with the Assessors a list of all their tax- able property, both real and personal. These lists must be sworn to and in nearly every town and city in the state must be handed in during the month of October. In a few places this must be done during September. There is no obligation resting upon the taxpayer to put a value on his property and if he does, this is a THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 25 mere estimate, supposed to be of assistance to the tax officials, and he does not swear that this is the true value. A failure to file a list within the time required by law results in a ten per cent, addition to the value of the property listed. When the lists are completed the Assessors make up what is known as the tax abstract in which is contained the names of all property owners, the amount of their taxable property, real and personal and its valuation. If anyone feels that he has been un- justly treated in that too high a valuation has been put upon his property, he may go in person before the Board of Relief, three or more men elected for the purpose, who sit the first twenty working days in February, and make his complaint. If his point proves to be well taken, he may have his assessment reduced. The poll and military or personal tax is a fixed amount and is not sub- ject to readjustment by the Board of Relief. The tax rate is fixed by the town meeting or the Board of Finance, the amount to be paid as state and county taxes having been sent in and also the amount which the town has decided to expend upon its own improve- ments and running expenses entering into the calcula- tion. Hiere are one or two points which it is neces- sary to understand with regard to taxation. First, that sometimes it is advisable to leave the valuation of your property to the Assessors. TTiis depends largely upon local conditions, and in every case should be done if you are not sure at what per cent, of its actual value property in that particular town or city is assessed. If your property is of a different character from the rest of the property in the place where it is located, then it is wise to give the Assessors some idea of its value 26 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT by putting your own estimate upon it. Second, that although Assessors are coming to pay less and less attention to the valuation of owners and are assessing property at more nearly its full value, probably a com- paratively small amount of property of the state is assessed at its actual, selling value. While some real estate is actually assessed for more than its market value, property is more often assessed at sixty, seventy or eighty-five per cent. Ignorant of this, people have sometimes even given a ficticiously high value as though pricing it to a prospective buyer, only to be told, when, informed that other neighboring property was valued at a much lower rate, they applied to the Board of Relief, that the Assessors had taken the owner's own word as to the value and no relief could be granted. There is nothing immoral or unjust in having your property assessed at less than its actual value provided the same rate of valuation is applied throughout the town to everybody's property. The injustice arises when through influence or bribery men are able to slip their property in at a very low valuation while other people are forced to pay at a much higher figure. It is also to be remembered that where property is assessed at anything like an equal proportion it makes no difference whether the valuation be high or low. Once the amount to be raised is determined, lifting the valuation of property only lowers the tax rate, or lowering the valuation lifts the rate. In the end it is the same thing. When the value of the property and the tax rate have been determined, it is then the business of the Tax Collector to see that the taxes are all paid in to him. The tax bills are sent out at different times THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 27 of the year in different places, there being a great vari- ation in this respect. One month is allowed for pay- ment without penalty and after that 54% is added the first of each month for the first year the tax remains unpaid. If not paid within the year, it is liened and then interest is charged at the rate of 7% a year. This lien remains on the property until the tax is paid and may be foreclosed at any time by the town or municipality. Anything above the amount of taxes due which may be realized from the sale of the prop- erty will be turned back to the owner. If a man refuses to pay his personal tax. he may be arrested and imprisoned until he works out the anwunt of $2.00. Unpaid personal property taxes are collected through the courts. After the taxes have been collected they are turned over to the Town Treasurer who pays out the money for town expenses upon the order of the Selectmen. He has also to pay over to the County and State Treasurer that portion of the taxes which has been allotted to the town as its share of county and state expenses. Both the Collector and the Treasurer must give bond for the faithful performance of their duty. All accounts which pass through the hands of town officials must be audited by the town Auditors. The business of preserving order in the town rests in the hands of two groups of officials, the Constables and the Grand Jurors. The Constables do police duty. Some towns have only one, some towns have seven, the number depending perhaps not so much upon the number of people in the towns and their evil intentions as upon a pleasant sense of boasting a large 28 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT and gratifying list of officials. Besides making arrests and taking offenders before a Justice of the Peace or Town Court for trial, the Constables serve summonses and subpoenas, writs and warrants, and generally may be held responsible for the safety of persons and prop- erty in the town. They act when they are reasonably certain either from having witnessed it themselves or when they have had a very direct report of a crime or offense. But there are many times cases of crime or misdemeanor upon which no one volunteers to report and to which these constables have not been a wit- ness. It is here that the Grand Jurors step in.* * TTiese grand jurors should not be confused with the grand jury or the petit jury for which the national and state constitu- tions provide. In this state the grand jury for each county is made up of eighteen electors, chosen by the sheriff. Their duty is to inquire into criminal cases submitted to them by the State's Attorney and report their findings to the court. If they believe a person to be guilty they indict him for trial in the court. Only upon such an indictment from them may any one be held to trial for a crime punishable by death. The petit jury is a body of twelve men chosen from the electors of the town. Each town is allowed by statute a certain number of jurors, the number varying in different towns. The selectmen nominate twice this number, one half of whom are then chosen by the Jury Commission. The clerk of the superior court in each county places these names in the jury box from which, before the jury term of the superior court, the court of common pleas, the criminal court of common pleas or the dis- trict court of Waterbury, eighteen or more names are drawn. These men are then summoned to attend and serve at the court. If they fail to do so, they are subject to fine. Twelve of these jurors are selected for each case which is then tried before them. They decide questions of fact, whether or not the person on trial is guilty and, according to the instructions of the judge, of what offense. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 29 They are men, not less than two or more than six, whose duty it is to investigate rumors of crimes and determine whether or not there seeems to be justification for bringing a man up for trial. The Grand Jurors do not themselves actually try men for crimes. Rather they investigate and try cases to see if the man himself should be brought to trial. They may, for this pur- pose, summon witnesses and gather evidence in the usual way. If they should decide that a crime or misdemeanor or violation has been committed, they will then take the case and the offender before a Justice of the Peace who conducts the trial, the Grand Jurors acting as prosecutor. Where there is a town, borough, or police court in a town, the prosecuting attorney takes the place of the Grand Jurors, but the Grand Jurors are still elected though they have no duties and are not even sworn in. In the City of Hartford all power was taken from the Grand Jurors in 1875, but the town has gone on electing its six Grand Jurors ever since that year. The School Committee or School Visitors or Board of Education are men and women elected to have control of the schools. The Connecticut school system is a complicated one, and varies in different towns and cities. A special chapter will, therefore, have to be given to it. The principle of minority representation is observed in the nomination and election of selectmen, auditors, constables, board of relief, grand jurors, registrars of voters and school boards or committees. The judicial branch of town government is small. The Justices of the Peace are town officials, but they are elected at the state, not the town elections, 30 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT for a term of two years. They issue warrants and writs and hear minor criminal and civil cases. Appeal from their decision may be taken to a higher court. In the towns that have larger cities, Justices have very little to do, most of their power having passed into other hands. A few of the Connecticut towns have a Town Court, the judges of which are appointed by the General Assembly for a term of two years. The town court may displace the justice's court, and it in turn may be displaced by a city, borough, or police court. 31 III. COUNTY GOVERNMENT * I ^HE County is the next larger unit above the town through which the state functions. These divi- sions, let us remember, grew up because the people within them found that they had certain needs and con- ditions which were not perhaps identical with those in other parts of the state and which it would be an advantage for them to handle as a distinct unit. But it is easy to see that when we have two units of govern- ment extending over the same territory, as a county and the towns included in that county, some sort of balance or division of authority must be decided upon. It is interesting to notice that this is a problem which different states have solved differently. In the New England states the town has retained by far the larger part of the authority and importance; in the states just south and west of New England, town and county seem to have reached a much more even apportionment; while in the southern states, the town has vanished completely and the counties have no subdivisions through which the state acts. It may be remarked in passing, however, that there is in fact no need for a strong local govern- ment in both town and county, and the preference for one or the other is largely a matter of inherited pre- judice. Besides being less important than the towns, the counties of Connecticut are also less democratic. TTie county officials are all except one appointed, the 32 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT important ones by the State Legislature or by the Judges of the Superior Court, the minor ones by these more important county officials themselves. The one officer who is elected is voted for at the state elections but only by the people in the county where he is run- ning. TTie laws that govern the county are made by the State Legislature. The taxes of each county are determined by the members of the General Assembly who come from that county. Thus it is a very indirect part that the people of the county have in county gov- ernment, and we may think of this unit as one which has not governmentally escaped from the domination of the state. Officials who are not chosen by the people are not responsible to them, and the county officials may therefore feel themselves very independent of the people's wishes, a condition which should not arise in a democratic government. We have said that the county laws are passed by the State Legislature. This is because the counties themselves neither hold county meetings for the purpose of passing their own laws and electing their own offi- cials, nor do they send representatives to any county body to pass their laws for them. In other words, the county has only two of the branches of government which we have found in the towns. The Counties of Connecticut have no Legislative Department. But though the county may be a compara- tively unimportant unit of government, and though it passes no laws for itself, it still has to have executive officers who will put into effect those laws which the state hands down to it. The chief executive officials of the county are the County Commissioners three of THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 33 whom are appointed for each county by the State Legislature for a term of four years. They have not very wide or important duties, other than to have charge of all county property, the jail, the county home for children, the county building, etc.; to see that the towns maintain good roads; to appoint certain officials; and to issue liquor licenses. This control of the liquor privileges gives them a great deal of influence and power, and opens a very wide door for corruption. The Commissioners must make an annual report to the Secretary of the State as to the condition of the jail and prisoners and must file accounts of all receipts and expenses. TTie County Treasurer is appointed by the County Commissioners for a term of two years. He too must give bond and must keep accounts of county taxes, fines and forfeitures, receipts and expenses, furnish- ing an annual statement of all money handled by him. It is through him that the taxes which the people pay in the towns are carried up to the county and appor- tioned for the various county expenses. All the bills which the treasurer handles and pays must be audited. For this work, the members of the two houses of the State Legislature who reside in or represent the various districts of a given county appoint two men from their own number, one from the Republican and one from the Democratic party. These County Auditors verify the accounts of the Commis- sioners, the Jailer and the County Treasurer, before the bills can be paid. The one elected officer in the county is the Sheriff who is chosen at alternate state elections for a 34 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT term of four years by the voters of his own county. He is elected in November, and takes office the following June. But though elected by the people, he is by no means free to act independently of the appointive officers. He may appoint the County Jailer, but must secure the approval of the Commissioners. He may also appoint his own deputies and must receive and execute writs and summons. His chief duty, however, is to act as peace officer, and see that order is generally maintained. To this end he may make arrests without warrant, summon the militia and, when he with his deputies and this military body are still not able to restore order, he may ask aid of the state. He has charge of the county jail and the prisoners who are there ; he must attend upon the courts when they are in session and at this time has charge of the jurors, the witnesses and the prisoner. He must also carry out the orders of the court. In Hartford County the Sheriff has special duties of attendance upon the State Legis- lature when the General Assembly is in session. The Sheriffs in Connecticut must give bond, are paid a salary and receive fees upon certain occasions. This practice of paying our officials by fees is again a source of corruption and has perhaps tended to make the office of sheriff more desirable. In progressive governments there is a strong tendency away from this fee system. Each county has a Coronor, appointed by the Judges of the Superior Court, at the recommendation of the State's Attorney, for a term of three years. He must be a lawyer and must give bond. It is his duty to appoint a Medical Examiner in each town. The Medical Examiner must investigate all cases of sudden or suspicious deaths. If he determines that there are THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 35 no evidences of a crime, he allows the b)ody to be taken for burial. If he suspects a crime he reports to the Coronor who must then himself make an investigation. To assist him in this he may summon a jury of six electors. TTiey may bring to trial anyone whom they believe has had a part in the crime. The Judges of the Superior Court also ap- point a County Health Officer for each county, an attorney at law with the power of a grand juror, who in turn appoints a physician in each town to act as Town Health Officer. These local health officers are ap- pointed for four years and have in their charge those matters which concern the general health of the com- munity. This does not mean that people receive from him free treatment. But if he discovers any practice which might be injurious to the public health, it is his duty to report the offense to the County Health Officer who can then institute legal proceedings against the offender. Such things as careless or unsanitary handling of garbage, unclean practices about the water supply, etc. would come under his jurisdiction. The Judicial Department of the county is also very much under the domination of the state. The Superior Court, which is a state's court, sits in each county according to a calendar arranged by statute, and the judges of this court appoint a State's Attorney for each county. This officer gives bond and is ap- pointed for two years. He practices in the state courts and must make an annual report of all the money he has handled through his office. A Clerk of the Court, an Assistant Clerk and a Court Stenographer are also appointed by these same judges. 36 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT A Court of Common Pleas sits in all the counties except Tolland, Windham and Middlesex. Cases may be carried up to this court by appeal from the lower city and borough courts. In the three counties that have no such Court of Common Pleas, appeal must be made to the Superior Court. The judges of this court are appointed by the State Legislature. The counties of the state are divided into Probate Districts in each one of which there is a Pro- bate Court and a Probate Judge. These districts do not all coincide exactly with the outlines of the tov/ns, but in general they do so. The Probate Court handles the property of deceased persons, minors, insane and incompetent persons and sends dependent children to the various county homes and commits insane persons to asylums. The judge is elected biennially for a term of two years, being one of the very few members of the judiciary in Connecticut who is elected by popular vote. A well established tradition of government is to hold the judiciary aloof from party politics and popular control, but there is in our day a growing tendency toward a popular control through election of judges as well as of other officials. The County Commissioners of each county also appoint Prosecuting Agents, from one to nine, who are paid by fees instead of a salary and may be removed by the Commissioners for failure in their duty. They are appointed for two years. Their duty is especially to prevent the illegal sale of spiritous liquors. They must prosecute such offenders and must make a monthly report to their Commissioners. It is well to notice that one reason such great care is taken to prevent this illegal THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 37 or unlicensed sale of liquor, is that our tax on liquor which we collect through this license system is one of the very large revenues of our government. Without this source of revenue our taxes might be considerably increased, but there is still a good deal of jDopular doubt as to the moral right of supporting our government through licensing an article that causes as much human woe as do intoxicating liquors. ^ IV. BOROUGH GOVERNMENT A S more and more people gather in a community, -^ ^ they may feel that some of their affairs could be better handled jointly than by them as individuals, so they may decide to be incorporated as a borough. They submit a petition to the General Assembly, or Legislature at Hartford which grants them the right to incorporate. This incorporated borough then has the right to assess borough taxes and to spend money for any improvements which are decided upon. Usually the borough government takes a representative form, that is certain men are elected to represent and legislate for the inhabitants of the borough. In a few cases the borough retains the more democratic form like that of the town, and the people themselves, at borough meet- ings, pass their laws and manage their affairs. There are twenty-three boroughs in Connecticut. As boroughs grow into larger units, they usually secure from the Legislature a new charter and become a city. Some boroughs have three departments of government, but usually the judicial department is handled by that branch of the county government. In most of the boroughs of Connecticut the following officers are elected annually for a term of one year: Warden. Burgesses, usually six, sometimes less. Bailiff. Clerk. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 39 Treasurer. Assessors. Collector. Auditors. The warden and the burgesses make up the legislative department of the borough, and pass such ordinances as are required. The warden, who is the chief executive officer, thus has a share in the two departments. As a legislator he sits with the burgesses and has a vote on all questions; as an executive he is responsible for the proper conduct of the borough government. The bailiff's position and duties correspond to those of the sheriff and constables. He may make arrests without warrants and must see that order is pre- served. The other borough officers, clerk, treasurer, assessors, collector and auditors correspond in general with those same officers in the other units of government. The Borough of Naugatuck has consolidated with the Town of Naugatuck and retains some of the officers from each unit. It has bailiffs and not con- stables; it has a warden and burgesses and also select- men and other officers who act in the double capacity for borough and town. The borough form of government is becoming less popular in Connecticut and very few boroughs have been incorporated in recent years. Boards of Finance, established in many of the towns, are proving adequate for the handling of such matters as formerly came under borough dispensation. 40 CITY GOVERNMENT INHERE are nineteen cities in Connecticut, in which live more than one-half of the people of the state. The body of laws and principles upon which a city government is supported is larger and more elaborate than that of the borough because, as more and more people gather together in a group, they find it wise to handle more and more of their affairs in common. Also there is more need of restraints upon acts which perhaps in themselves, in less closely united groups, might not be harmful. We must remember that the aim of all government is the greater good of the greater number, and where our personal desires conflict with this, it is our duty to restrain ourselves, and the government's duty to see that we are so restrained. The health of the people of a borough will not need to be so guarded by laws as will the health of the people of a city, be- cause in a borough there is apt to be more space, air and light and less danger of contagion and unhealthy conditions. So the streets of a small borough require less care than the streets of a great city. There is need of a more elaborate system of sewers, a larger police force, larger schools, more parks, better provision for the unfortunate in a city than in a borough. All these things come under the provision of the city charter or city ordinances. The charter of a city contains those general laws by which the people have decided to govern them- selves. The other laws which are passed by the legis- THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 41 lative department of the city are called ordinances. These ordinances must not conflict with anything con- tained in the charter or the laws of the state. The city obtains its charter from the General Assembly. When a group of people wish to become incorporated as a city, a charter commission, composed of a number of men. writes out a charter which is then submitted to the General Assembly. It is within the power of the Gen- eral Assembly to grant or to withhold from the people the right to vote on this charter. It may also determine what vote, whether large or small, will be necessary for the adoption of the document, and may order certain sections of it struck out or other laws written in. With their consent, the charter then goes back to the people to be voted upon and may usually be passed by a simple majority vote, though sometimes other much more diffi- cult conditions have been imposed with the probable intention of preventing its adoption. There may be a wide difference of opinion among the people themselves as to the wisdom of be- coming a city. Those outside the limits of the borough or group may object to the larger tax which city gov- ernment would impose while those nearer the center of the group may feel that any improvements which are put in will be for the general good and will increase the value of all near-by property, thus basing their appeal upon both civic pride and self-interest. It is only right, therefore, that the final decision should be left with the majority of the people. Cities very often keep a charter for a great many years. In this case, from time to time, occasions will arise where the provisions of the old charter will be seen to conflict with the more modern needs and 42 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT opinions. The people will, therefore, wish to change their charter, and they may do so with the permission of the State Legislature. The consent of this body is, however, not always easy to get, and an actual hardship has often been put upon the people of a city when the large number of representatives from other districts who perhaps had little sympathy with the new needs have refused to countenance the desired alteration. There is a very wide difference in the charters of the cities of Connecticut, but certain general laws are followed by all of them. The cities of Connecticut all have the three departments of government, the legislative, the execu- tive, and the judicial. They each have a mayor. But here the differences begin. Some cities have two boards which make up their legislative department, some have only one. Some city elections are held annually, some are held biennially; some in the spring, some in the fall; some in the even years, some in the odd. In passing laws which relate to the cities of the state, the Legislature must therefore legislate for each one separately. Sometimes in other states, cities are divided into classes according to the population, and can thus be legislated for in groups. This legislation which the state does for the cities limits the powers of the cities in various ways. For instance, cities may not involve themselves too deeply in debt. They may not issue bonds for improvements beyond a certain amount. They may not own and control their terminal markets and storage plants, without a special grant from the Legislature. In some states, they may not even decide whether or not intoxicating drinks may be sold within the city limits. In fact the city has only those powers THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 43 which the slate, through the Legislature, has granted to it. TTie tendency, however, is toward a freer and more autonomous city government. Some states have granted the cities what is called "home rule.** These cities then have very large powers. They may even give the municipal franchise to their women. One such city in Florida had a woman occupy the mayor's chair. At the town elections the men of the city who have been made voters elect the city officials. These vary in different cities, but most cities have the fol- lowing : Mayor. Common Council made up of Aldermen or Councilmen, or both. Clerk. Assessors. Collector. Treasurer. Comptroller. Some cities elect a number of other officials, and they all have a number of appointed boards and commissions to assist in the government. There are in the state several cities whose outline coincides with that of the town in which they are situated. These cities have both city and town officials, and though their elections and caucuses are still called town elections and town caucuses, the town government has in fact given way very largely to city government, and the town officials have in reality very few duties and very little power. Such offices as Town and City Clerk. Town and City Registrars of Voters, Assessors, Board of Relief. Collector, Treasurer and Auditors are then usually merged and filled by one set 44 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT of officials, in this case usually being known as town rather than city officials. This is but another evidence of the respect in which the old unit of the town is still held. For the convenience of voters, the city is usu- ally divided into wards which in turn may be further divided into precincts or districts, in each one of which polls or voting places are opened. A vote must be cast in the precinct in which the voter claims a residence. All the city officials except the members of the Board of Aldermen, Board of Councilmen, and in certain cities the school officials may be voted for by all the people. The Aldermen and Councilmen are elected from the different wards or districts and may be voted for only by those who live in that district. But here again we find a wide difference in the cities. Some cities elect one alderman from each ward; some one from each ward and a given number at large, elected by the vote of all the people; some cities elect two or more from each ward in different years; some smaller cities are not even divided into wards and elect their entire Common Council at large. In those towns and cities where the old district school system still obtains the voters in each such district elect their own school officials. The Legislative Department of the city is made up of one or two boards, the Aldermen and the Councilmen, known as the Common Council. This body meets usually once or twice a month and passes the necessary ordinances for the government of the city, always within the limits set by the charter. After they have been passed, these ordinances must be made public through the press a certain number of times before they THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 45 are enforced. The ordinances cover such points as the use of streets, parks, public buildings, etc. The Com- mon Council levies the city taxes, may borrow money under certain conditions provided by the state, and apportions the city funds to the various departments. Where there are two bodies, they may meet in joint or separate session. Some cities provide only for joint sessions, in which case there seems to be little reason for discriminating between the two bodies. In other cities, for all ordinary business the two boards meet separately, and all ordinances originating in either body must be passed by the other before they can be- come a law. After an ordinance is passed by the Conunon Council, it goes to the Mayor who may sign it, veto it, or allow it to become a law by taking no action. In case of a veto, the ordinance may go back to the council and if it is then passed by a two-thirds vote, it becomes a law without the Mayor's signature. Tlie members of the Common Council are divided up into various standing committees, the mem- bership of which is determined by the council. When bills are introduced they are referred to the appropriate committee which acts ujxjn them before they come be- fore the whole body. This is a method of saving time and enables the council to accomplish much more business. The aldermen are also asked to serve on a number of special conmiittees. to some of which they are appointed by the Mayor, to others by the Board of Aldermen. The Mayor is the chief executive of the city. He is elected, in most cities, for a term of two years, by the voters of the entire city. It is the duty of the 46 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT Mayor to see that the business of the city is properly administered. His position is similar to that of the head of a large business concern, and he should therefore be not only a man of the highest integrity but one who has business ability and experience also. He presides over one of the city legislative boards, but has no vote, though he has, as we have seen, the power of the veto. He may call special meetings of the Common Council, and is in frequent consultation with the heads or super- intendents of the various departments. He also sends a message, usually once a year, to the Council, in which he makes certain recommendations and suggestions. But again, though it is customary for the Council to give these suggestions their consideration, they are not obliged to follow them. Thus, though the Mayor may, theoretically, have a share in the legislative work of the city, it may prove to be a very empty honor. TTie Mayor of a city also has very large appointive powers. It is necessary that the government of the city be divided up into various departments, the heads of which and sometimes other members are ap- pointed by the Mayor. TTie Department of Education, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Park Department, the Water Department, the Health De- partment, the Street Department, etc., etc., are some of these divisions, each one of which has its head and its number of minor officials. This large appointive power gives the mayor great political influence, and in the hands of an un- scrupulous man might bring serious harm to the people. But though this possibility exists, there is still to be noticed a very strong tendency in modern government toward the election of fewer officials and the enlarging THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 47 of their responsibilities. One reason for this is that a very long ballot has been found confusing to the voter who cannot possibly inform himself about so large a number of candidates, a fact which the corrupt politician soon found out and used to his advantage. This is in line also with another reform, the effort to lift city government entirely above party politics. Party platforms and principles concern themselves chiefly with national policies and issues, and these have nothing at all to do with city government. At the national and state elections men become much wrought up over these party issues, and city or town elections are usually held at other periods of the year for the express purpose of preventing this feeling from entering into the choice of city officials. Cities elect various other officials, such as clerk, assessors, collector, treasurer, auditors, etc., who share in the executive work of the government. TTie judicial department of the city is made up of a Police Court and a City Court. Some cities have both, some call their court either one or the other. The Police Court is in session daily and it is in here that ordinary offenders are taken for trial. The City Court sits either on certain days or as cases are assigned to it for trial. The judges of both these courts are appointed by the State Legislature. A new form of city government has been tried out in various states, but has not yet been under- taken in any of the Connecticut cities. This is the Com- mission Form. Instead of electing a mayor and alder- men and councilmen, etc., the voters elect from three to five commissioners, sometimes with a mayor, to whom the entire management of the city is turned over. 48 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT Sometimes these Commissioners hire a City Manager, a man trained for the work. These experiments have proven very successful and few of the cities that have adopted such a plan would go back to the old method. It is evidence of the growing sense that a city is in fact a great business enterprise and its affairs need to be placed in the hands of competent, trained, experienced men. VI. STATE GOVERNMENT ' I ''HOUGH we may be perhaps more conscious of -■' the smaller units of government in their relation to our own lives, the fact is that our well being depends far more upon the state government than upon any other. For it is the state back of these smaller units which gives them power to maintain peace and provide for the common defense, to assure justice and equality of treatment to all of us. The term. "Sovereign State,** gets its significance from the large power which the state exercises over the people and the political in- stitutions within its bounds. It is the state which deter- mines how many and what officers shall be elected; it also decides who shall vote to elect those officers, and when the vote shall be taken. It has the right upon certain conditions to remove certain officers. And the power of the state goes even farther. It passes the laws which guard our personal and property rights, which regulate inheritance and control corporations. It has authority over state banks; it regulates the sale of liquor; supervises the general health, education, the care of dependents and delinquents, finally exercising a very large power over all of us also in the matter of taxation. Each state has, let us remind ourselves, a body of laws and principles upon which it rests and from which it derives its power. TTiis is called a con- stitution. A state constitution is written by a body of men elected for the purpose, called a Constitutional Convention, and is referred back to the people who vote 50 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT to accept or reject it. Connecticut has not had a new constitution since 1818. There is a growing feeling that states should adopt new constitutions more frequently, as in our swiftly moving world, legislation which was adequate when it was laid down, may within a decade become obsolete and act as a deterrent upon some good and needed movement. It is possible to amend a state constitution. The method by which this is done in Connecticut is to have a bill calling for such a change passed by both houses of two successive legislatures and then referred back to the people who must ratify the proposed amendment by a majority vote. In some states the large majority vote which is required, together with the provision that only at very long intervals may the constitution be changed makes any constitutional amend- ment practically possible. The State Government takes the form of a Republic rather than of a Pure Democracy, and has the usual three departments. Legislative, Elxecutive and Judicial. The Legislative Department of the state is called the State Legislature or General Assembly. It is made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. These two bodies meet for regular session in their respective chambers at the state capitol, every other year, in odd-numbered years, on Wednes- day after the first Monday in January. They remain in session until all business which comes before them is completed, usually adjourning in the late spring. Under the constitution they must adjourn not later than June. A special session may be called by the Governor at any time and place he sees fit. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 51 The State Legislature passes the general laws by which the people of the state are governed. There are. however, various limitations upon this body. In the first place the United States Constitution sets certain limits upon the power of the states. For in- stance, no state may make a treaty with a foreign power, or coin money, or levy import or export duties. These things are the exclusive privilege of the national government. The State Legislature is also limited in its power by the State Constitution. TTie individual also has certain rights of person and property with which the state may not interfere. TTius even the "Sovereign State** is not by any means absolute in its power, as of course it should not be in a democratic government. The method of procedure in passing a bill through the legislature is as follows: A bill is intro- duced into either one or both of the houses, when it has its first reading. It is then referred to a committee. The various committees are made up of members of the Legislature who examine and pass upon the bills which are referred to them, deciding whether a given bill shall be favorably or unfavorably referred to the whole body. When the bill is reported out of the conmiit- tee. it is given a place on the calendar and comes up for its second reading. It may at this time be amended and sent back to the committee for reconsideration. It must be printed and laid on the desk of each member before it comes up for a third reading, after which the vote is taken. If it passes, that is, receives a majority vote, it is referred to the other house where it must go 52 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT through the same process. After its passage by both houses it goes to the governor for his signature. If the governor vetoes it the Legislature may pass it over his head by a bare majority vote. Bills sometimes become laws by the governor's failure to sign them within a given time. The Connecticut State Senate is made up of thirty-five members, elected at the state elections for a term of two years. The entire territory of the state is divided into thirty-five districts, from each one of which one senator is sent. Only the people living in a given senatorial district vote for the candidate in that division. This division into districts is made by the state legisla- ture, presumably upon a basis of population, so that each senator may represent approximately the same number of people. But party politics has played a very large part in determining the outline of the districts. By a process known as "gerrymandering,*' the party in control may lay out the districts so as to make each one embrace enough favorable territory to swing elections. A glance at the map of the senatorial districts of Con- necticut leaves one wondering in what other way such a district as the fourteenth or some of those in the cities could have secured their remarkable shape. The Connecticut House of Representatives has two hundred and fifty-eight members, elected for two years. Instead of, as is done in most of the other states, dividing the state up into districts according to population and sending a representative from each, Connecticut allows her towns to be the basis of her representation in the lower house of her state legislature. The general rule is that towns have two representatives, THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 53 without regard to the number of people in the towns. This is the old law. In 1874 this was revised so that as other towns were incorporated, they should have but one representative, until their population reached 5.000; after this they should have two. The repre- sentation from the old towns was not changed. This system of representation is but another evidence of the importance in which Connecticut holds her towns. But it can hardly be called a just basis. Such towns as Hartford and New Haven, with their large cities, have no more representation in the lower house than has the town of Union which by the 1910 census showed a population of barely 350. It gives the rural districts a very great power over the cities, and since rural com- munities are apt to be of the two far more conservative and less tolerant of changes and innovations, the cities very often have great difficulty in securing the passage of reform bills which would undoubtedly be of great service. Also this system acts as a check against any reform of the system itself. The small, thinly settled towns would undoubtedly resist having their number of representatives reduced. They would be just as un- willing to see this done in a negative way by having the number sent from the more populous districts increased. There would seem to be no way out of the difficulty except by a change in the constitution or the adoption of a new one, and as this again would have to be referred to these same rural voters, it is highly probable that they would accept no constitution that contained a clause reducing their representation. It must be noted, however, that in Connecti- cut one branch of the General Assembly, the Senate, is elected on a population basis. This gives the city a 54 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT preponderance of power, the City of New Haven, for instance, having four senators while the whole County of Tolland has only one, but still nothing Hke so just a portion as if both houses were based upon population. The Lieutenant Governor is ex-officio Presi- dent of the Senate, presiding without a vote except in case of a tie; the House of Representatives elects from among their own number a presiding officer, called the Speaker, who has the right to vote in all cases of ballot- ing. Although the members of both houses are elected for a term of two years, the legislature meets in regular session only every other year for a term of a few months. It must adjourn not later than June. This provision is said to have grown out of the necessity the members felt to get back home in time to attend to their farm work. It may also have been partly due to their desire to save themselves from too lengthy debates. In this greatest political unit, the state, which passes most of the laws which govern our lives, it will of course be necessary to have a number of competent executives. For the purpose of carrying out her laws, Connecticut elects the following officers, all except the Attorney General for a term of two years. Governor. Lieutenant-Governor. Secretary of State. Treasurer. Comptroller. Attorney General, elected for a term of four years. Besides these officials, Connecticut has also a number of other appointive executive officers as well as a great many Boards and Commissioners. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 55 The Governor is the chief executive officer of the state. He is elected at the fall state elections for a term of two years and takes office on Wednesday after the first Monday in January. He has very large powers. In general his duty is to see that the govern- ment of the state is properly conducted. But through his messages to the Legislature, in which he recom- mends certain measures, he may also have a share in the legislative work of the state government. He is Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia; he may call the Legislature in Special Session, he may also adjourn the Legislature in case of a disagreement between the Houses which is blocking legislation; he may veto bills; he may grant reprieves; he signs com- missions; he nominates various judges; he appoints several of the State Commissioners. He is in all the person who may be finally held responsible for the good or bad administration of the state laws. The Lieutenant-Governor fills the Governor's chair in case of the Governor*s absence or death. He also presides over the Senate and. as is also the Gov- ernor, is an ex-officio member of the State Board of Education. The Secretary of Slate has charge of the state public records, publishes the State Register and Manual, receives the reports as to the amount which candidates have spent on their elections, and administers the oath of office to Legislators. The State Treasurer has charge of the State*s moneys. He must prepare biennially an estimate of how much the state will need to carry on its work for the ensuing two years. He must make an annual report 56 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT to the Governor who lays this report before the Legis- lature at its next session. The State Treasurer receives from the town treasurers the proportion of the taxes which are to be used in conducting the government of the state. He also has the management of the School Fund and of the Agricultural College Fund. He is ex-officio a member of various Boards. The Comptroller must sign all warrants for payment of state funds. He keeps the state's accounts and is also a member of certain Boards. The office of Attorney General was created in 1 897. He represents the state in all its legal matters, gives legal advice to either branch of the Legislature, and appears, in suits and civil proceedings, for the sev- eral elective state officers, state boards and commis- sioners, etc. He is elected for a term of four years, and makes a biennial report to the Governor. The Boards and Commissions of the execu- tive department are a very important adjunct. Con- necticut has at present more than sixty of these boards, some of them appointed by the Governor, some nomi- nated by the Governor and this nomination confirmed by the Legislature, some appointed by the Legislature, some appointed by the judges of Superior Court, some made up of the Legislators themselves who are ex-officio members. Some of the important ones are : The Com- pensation Commission, State Board of Health, State Board of Education, Bank Commissioner, Tax Com- missioner, Insurance Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission, Highway Commissioner, State Board of Agriculture, Board of Pardons, State Board of Char- ities, State Police, Civil Service Commission and many THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 57 others, down even to a Board of Examiners of Barbers and Elxaminers for Elmbalmers. The mere Hst of these will give us perhaps, a better idea of the immense amount of business which our State Government has to conduct. But in spite of this fact, there is a growing feeling that the political state, in the new order which we shall see established after the war. may give place to some other entity, or at least be called upon to share much of its power with something resembling an indus- trial state. No department of the state has a greater hold upon the smaller units than the judicial department. That old conviction that the judiciary must be kept apart from the people is probably the basis of the state control of the courts, by which the authority becomes farther removed from the people and popular control. The Court of Common Pleas which we have given a place under the judicial department of the county, is in fact a state court. So is the Superior Court which holds session in each county. The Governor appoints the judges in both these courts, eleven for the Superior Court for a term of eight years. As we have seen, this Court appoints a State's Attorney for each county, and many of the other county officials. The Superior Court Judges are, by virtue of their office, members of certain boards. The Supreme Court of Errors is the highest state court, with a Chief Justice and four Associate Judges, all nominated by the Governor and appointed by the Legislature for a term of eight years. Cases are appealed to this court on questions of legal procedure, that is, this court only determines whether or not a case has been conducted without error, in the lower court. 58 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT In case of error, this court orders a new trial. The state is divided into three judicial districts, in each one of which according to prearranged schedule this court holds session. Cases must be tried in that district in which they have come up for their first trial except when by the special consent of the court they are allowed to come up in another district. A case in which there had been violent local feeling might be one which would be granted such a change of venue. 59 VII. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT nr^HE source of authority back of a democratic -*• government, let us remember, is the people. This union of states which makes up our Nation was formed for the purpose of providing the colonies with greater power in their international affairs and also of regulat- ing trade and political intercourse between the states. The states were therefore in the position of delegating only such powers to the Nation as they believed were necessary, and regarded themselves as the source of the Nation's authority. This question of deciding how much power the Nation should have and how much should be retained by the states was at that time a delicate one. TTiere were at the time two strongly opposed factions. The one. led by Alexander Hamilton, taking very little pains to conceal their contempt for the com- mon people and convinced that popular government could only mean government by a selected few of the people, naturally took the position that there must be a strong controlling power at the center. Opposing them, was the other group who, under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, conceived of democracy as some- thing which could be actually put into practice. With a deep faith in the people's power to govern themselves, this group stood out for states* rights, holding that it would be worse than folly for the people of this new world to place upon their necks the yoke of a strongly centralized power which might become as oppressive 60 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT as the autocratic government from which they had es- caped. There was also considerable jealousy among the states themselves. TTiey each saw the possibility of the central power slipping into the hands of some other state which would then become dominant. Through the compromise of all these factions and fears, the people finally determined to grant to the national government only such powers as were essential to the union, and our present form of government was adopted. The effect of these various compromises are, however, evident in more than one of its details. But the question of how much or how little power the central government should have was not finally settled at that time. It was revived and fought out again in the Civil War. But we are coming to realize that it is one of those questions of government which can never be finally settled. As conditions change, our point of view does and should shift with them. The present day tendency undoubtedly is toward a much more strongly centralized government, more and more power in Washington, and less and less in the state capitol. Whether this will prove to be a temporary war condition from which we will react when peace is re-established, or a permanent tendency of our government yet remains to be seen. No point of our government is more interest- ing to study than this relationship of state and nation. Nowhere has this federation idea been so completely and satisfactorily worked out as here in the United States. And it is, of all the peculiarities of our govern- ment, the one which the people of other nations have the most difficulty in understanding and appreciating. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 61 As the basis of our national government we have that great document, the United States Constitu- tion. We can not be too appreciative of the principles which it embodies and of the men who wrote it. Their difficulties were enormous. The conflict of interests and opinions which they had to consider, the fact that there was no other similar government in existence upon which they might found their work made their task doubly hard. They had to guide them only their own deep and sincere purpose, such experience as they could gather from the state governments and as much of the English theory of government as they felt could be embodied into the constitution of a free country. Glad- stone has said of it that it is **the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.** It was not, as we could surely not have ex- pected it to be, entirely without defects and omissions. But changes were very wisely provided for. At the first session of the first congress held after the constitution was adopted, twelve articles or amendments providing for the greater security of the rights of men were pro- posed and adopted. Since that time, five other changes have been made in the constitution, each one only an elaboration of the principles of right and justice laid down in the original documents. But though it was recognized that changes should be possible, they were not made easy of accom- plishment. The necessary procedure is: the resolution embodying the proposed change or amendment may be introduced in either of the two houses of the national legislative body. Congress, and must receive a two- thirds favorable vote from both houses. It must then be submitted to the states, three-fourths of which. 62 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT through their state legislatures must ratify it. The Governors of the states must see that it comes up to be voted on by the state legislatures. Some amendments must be ratified by the states within a given time, upon others there is no such time limit. The question is sometimes raised as to whether a constitution is a help or a hindrance to a democratic government. On the one hand it lies back of the legislators, and prevents them from becoming a "sovereign body'* ; on the other hand it tends to tie the present generation sometimes perhaps too firmly to principles and theories of government which might have been entirely adequate and just a hundred years ago and yet not all suited to our own needs. The National Government is, as we know, a Republic. Each state has its proportional representa- tion in the legislative halls at Washington. We find in our National Government also the three great depart- ments. Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The Legislative Department is made up of two Houses, similar to those of the states, the Senate and the House of Representatives, called the United States Congress. Members of Congress are elected at the November elections. They are recognized as members the following March fourth, but do not meet in regular session until the next December. On the first Monday in December in the odd-numbered years, the new Congress holds its first or long session. They continue in session usually until late spring or summ.er. They meet for a second, short session again in December, the first Monday, in the even-numbered year, and adjourn on March 4th, when the next new Congress comes into THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 63 existence. One Congress thus exists for two years and has two regular sessions. The President may call an extraordinary session of Congress before December or after Congress has adjourned during the summer. The House of Representatives is made up of members elected every two years by the voters of the states. Each member presumably represents a certain proportion of the papulation, at present something over 200,000. This is determined by Congress which decides, after each census that must be taken every ten years, how many Representatives there shall be. and then apportions this number among the states. Each State Legislature divides its state up into Congressional Districts, from each one of which a member is sent. If there is not this requisite population in the whole state, one Representative is still allowed. Connecticut has five Representatives. A Representative to Congress must be twenty-five years old. must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years and must be a resident of the state from which he is sent. The Senatorial representation is not upon the population basis. All states have the same number of Senators, two from each State. They are elected by the people for a term of six years. It is so arranged that only one-third of the Senate may be elected any one year. By this provision two-thirds of the Senatorial Body are experienced in the conduct of their affairs. Senators were formerly elected by the State Legisla- tures. In 1913. by a Constitutional Amendment, the direct popular election of Senators was provided for. A senator must be at least thirty years old, and have been a citizen not less than nine years. 64 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT This double basis of representation in the two houses of the national government is another evidence of the compromises made by its founders. The fear which the smaller states had that in case the representation was upon a population basis the larger states would have a controlling power over the smaller or more thinly settled ones was met by the agreement to have the representa- tion of the upper house equal from all states. Also the objection that short term elected officials, such as the members of the lower house, would put the government too much into the hands of the people was provided for by giving the senators a much longer term and having them elected not by the people but by the representatives from each state. The powers of Congress are large. It may levy and collect taxes, though a revenue bill must originate in the Lower House ; it has exclusive power to declare war, to raise an army and navy and provide for their support, and to regulate commerce. Congress also determines the conditions of naturalization and immigration; it controls our postal system and grants copyrights and patents; it coins our money and may borrow or lend money. It also governs the District of Columbia. Bills are introduced cOid passed through Congress in the same way as through the State Legisla- tures, from their first reading referred to a committee, from the committee back to the House or Senate for the second reading, to come up again for the third reading and the vote, after which if passed by a majority they go to the other house to pass through the same process, after which they may be signed or vetoed by the Presi- THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 65 dent, allowed to become a law by his failure to act, or in case of a veto passed by a two-thirds majority over his head. Questions of much larger importance come up before the national than before the state legislative bodies, and men should feel it an even greater honor and responsibility to represent the people of their state in this larger way. TTiey should not. however, forget that they should in no way serve the interests of their own locality when such service conflicts with the greater good of the whole nation. Men have not always remembered this, and the records of Congress are by no means clear of legislation which, while perhaps benefitting a very few, can hardly be thought of in any other way than as robbery of the great mass of the people. Securing large appropriations of public fimds for the unnecessary improvement of some obscure water way. for handsome government buildings in small towns and cities — these are some of the ways in which money has been misused for the purpose of securing, from the people "back home.** a more generous endorsement or re-election for the legislator who put the matter through. This corrupt practice has become so conmion that we have invented a name for it, calling it "pork barrel** legislation. It is often possible to work such measures through by the various men trading support for their various measures, one congressman pledging his support of the other's bill if the favor will be returned. Also there is little doubt that the congressman's privilege of franking or sending, free of postage, copies of speeches, which have been printed at government expense and sometimes never even delivered in Congress, has been grossly misused for re-election purposes. 66 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT The most important official in our govern- ment is the chief executive, the President. Elected for a term of four years, he stands as the official representa- tive before the world of our great nation. He is en- dowed with very wide powers and authority, which are, however, by no means absolute, for not only is he elected by the people to whom he is, therefore, responsible, but he is also limited in what he may do by Congress and by the National and State Constitutions. As a nation we may be extremely proud of the men we have chosen for this high office. They have not all been men of equally great endowments, but never once have we had a presi- dent whose honor might be questioned or who has in any way been false to the great trust we have reposed in him. As chief executive, the President is the one finally responsible for the administration of the national government in all its departments. He is Commander- in-chief of the army and navy; he makes treaties with foreign nations, though these must be ratified or ap- proved by the senate; he appoints, again with the con- sent of the senate, our ambassadors to foreign countries, our public ministers and consuls, the judges of the supreme court, cabinet officers and many other less im- portant officers; he commissions all officers of the United States; and receives ambassadors and ministers sent to us by other governments. Besides his duties as executive, the President also has a share in the legislative work of the national government. He influences legislation chiefly through his messages to Congress which it has long been the custom for him to send once a year, a document con- taining information, which he might suppose Congress THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 67 had not yet received, and recommending certain legisla- tion. This message has usually been read by someone else, generally before a joint session of the two houses. In more recent years as we have grown less afraid of merging the legislative and executive departments, our presidents have sent messages to Congress much more frequently. And our last president has further broken precedent by going himself to read the message which he wished given to Congress. There are also other ways in which the President may have a share in legislation. He may call special sessions of Congress for the con- sideration of special business and he may adjourn Congress if the members cannot themselves agree upon a time for closing the session. And finally he may sign or veto the measures which Congress has passed. In the judicial department also the President has some power, though far less than in the other two. Here his power is confined to granting certain reprieves and pardons and commuting the sentence of those who have offended against the United States. TTiis power may not, however, be used in cases of impeachment. The election of our President is conducted in a peculiar manner, for although in a way he is elected by the people, we still use a method which at the time it was instituted was meant to hold this elective power in hands thought to be more trustworthy. Instead of voting directly for the man who has been nominated at the great national party convention, we elect men whom we call presidential electors and these men choose our President. Each state is entitled to as many presi- dential electors as it has members of the two Houses of Congress. Connecticut, therefore, has seven electoral votes. These electors whom we have elected at the 68 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT November presidential elections meet at the State Capitol on the second Monday of the following January and cast their vote for the President. When this method was adopted, it was thought that these men would exercise their own judgment in the choice of the chief executive, but the electors are at present no more than a machine which registers the popular vote. But one point to remember is that though these electors may have been elected by a very heavy majority, there will still be only this given number of votes cast for the President. The electors of a state, while not required by law to do so, are expected to vote for the same can- didate. The number of electoral votes a President receives may be no indication of the number of popular votes cast, the greater number of which may actually have been given the unsuccessful candidate. There is a movement toward the abolition of this method and the adoption of direct nomination and election of the President. No President has ever served more than two terms of four years each, but there is no law against this. A President must be a natural-born citizen, at least thirty-five years of age. The Vice-President who exists chiefly in order to take the President's place in case of death, has few powers or duties. He presides over the Senate, but may appoint no committees and may vote only in case of a tie. His qualifications must be the same as those for the President. The President has, to assist him in the execu- tive work of the government, a Cabinet made up of ten officials, each at the head of his separate department. These men are chosen by the President himself, but their appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 69 They act as advisors to the President, not only in their own department but in the matter of his general jDolicy also, and are chosen from among men whom the Presi- dent feels are in sympathy with his aim. Each cabinet member is supposed to make himself an authority upon those matters over which his department has dispensa- tion, and to hold this information at the disposal of the President, to whom alone he is responsible for the con- duct of his work. For, curiously enough, our cabinet officials are in no way responsible to either Congress or the people. It rests with the President alone to use them or to remove them. By many, this is thought to be a great weakness in our system. A better way. they hold, would be to require our cabinet officials to attend the sessions of Congress and be ready at all limes with expert information or advise as to the matters which come under their department. Also, it is sometimes argued, these officials should not be appointed for the term of office of the President, but should be held responsible for the way in which the business of the government is carried on and should perhaps automat- ically fall if what they recommend does not receive endorsement from the elected representatives. This would be somewhat like the system in use in England and by many it is thought to be the better way. Our cabinet system seems to have grown up in a rather curious manner. Although the division of the executive side of the government into various depart- ments has been provided for in the constitution, and although Congress has from time to time, as the need arose, created these departments, there is nothing in the constitution which establishes the heads of these divi- sions as £in advisory council to the President. They 70 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT seem to have grown into this position gradually, as the need was felt for them. But actually, as such, the cabinet has no legal position. This leaves the President in no way legally bound to consult them or to abide by their advice, though it is customary for him to do so. The most important division of the executive department is the State Department, with the Secretary of State at its head. He is also recognized as the head of the cabinet. His chief responsibility is the conduct of foreign affairs. All those matters in which our gov- ernment contacts with other foreign governments are handled through the Secretary of State. He conducts all foreign negotiations, receives foreign representatives, presents them to the President, carries on the corres- pondence with our representatives in other countries and issues passports. Certain domestic affairs are also con- ducted by him. Communications between the states and the national government are carried on through him. He is given the custody of the great seal of the United States, and also of our national laws and treaties. His department, like all the others, is sub-divided into various bureaus. The next department in rank is that of the Treasury, with the Secretary of the Treasury at its head. Its chief concern is with the finances of the nation. This secretary studies the probable revenues and ex- penditures of the government, submits an annual report to Congress which presumably is the basis of their ap- propriations and imposts, though we have not actually worked out a system of national budget making which is anything like adequate. He also superintends the collection of revenue and the coinage and printing of our money. This department also receives all money paid THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 7l into the nation, issues warrants for the payment of money, redeems the notes of the national banks and has general charge of all the money belonging to the nation. The War Department never seemed more important to us than it does at present. TTirough it, the Secretary of War has control of all the military affairs of the nation. In times of great military crises, it is of the most vital importance that he be a man of power and judgment. He is responsible for the proper equip- ment and maintenance of the army, for our forts, fortifications and camps, for the transportation of our soldiers and the vast machinery by which our military affairs are conducted. He has, to help him with the purely military side of the work, a large number and variety of officials. There has been always a wide diversity of opinion as to the size of the standing army which our government should keep. And although at the time of the great war we had more men under arms than we ever thought would be possible, this fact may by no means be taken as proof that the civilized nations will always feel obliged to set aside great numbers of men from the common industries to serve as a guard against aggressive neighbors and to maintain peace. If the ideals which we are fighting for are ever accomplished and a family of nations, similar to our family of states, is established, we may hope to find ourselves forever done with arms. In times of peace, the Department of War conducts, through its engineers and its explorers, great improvements and undertakings, all of which aim to benefit humanity. The Department of the Navy came into existence only when that department of the government 72 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT became so large and important as to make necessary its separation from the War Department. As its name implies, this department has in charge our war vessels, their construction, manning and equipment and the general ordering of what shall be done with them. It is also responsible for our docks and navy yards, our military academy and naval observatory. As in the War Department, the various divisions or bureaus have men of official rank in the navy at their head. The Attorney-General, as legal advisor to the President, existed officially long before his Department of Justice was created. It is only as the affairs of our government have become more complicated that we have needed this department. Through it, the Attorney General cares for the legal matters of all other depart- ments, and has general supervision over United States District Attorneys and Marshals. It is a very large department and the work it carries on is of the utmost importance to the government. With no one of these departments do most of us contact so familiarly as with the Post Office Department, of which the Postmaster-General is the head. When we realize the enormous business of con- ducting the entire mail service of the country as well as the great mass of mail that goes into foreign countries and comes to us from them, of the number of post-offices in the United States and the great army of men and women employed in the handling, the distribution and carrying of our mail, we begin to get some idea of the amount of work which this department does. Through it the arrangements are made for transporting our mail by land and sea, for our rural free delivery and parcel THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 73 post, and the direction and inspection of our great postal system. The Department of Interior, under the direc- tion of the Secretary of Interior, performs a number of functions. It has charge of the public lands of the United States, those great tracts which from time to time we have added to our territory, but which have been divided into territories and states. At the time of their division, it was the Department of Interior that made the surveys of the various units. This department also controls those sections of open land which, in the western states are open for occupancy to those wishing to secure small holdings. TTie Bureau of Education is another branch of this department, collecting statistics as to the condition and progress of education in our country, and striving in every way to improve it. A separate Department of Education with its Secretary a Cabinet member has been proposed and no doubt, will eventually be created. Through the Pension Bureau, another very large piece of work comes under the control of the Secretary of Interior. It pays out enormous sums for the care of disabled soldiers and sailors. We also care for our Indians through this department, purchasing and distributing food, examin- ing their condition, providing schools and other aids through which we attempt to lift them up to civilization. And finally, it is through the Department of Interior that patents are granted and the geological surveys of forest lands and mineral resources are made. Thus, it will be easily seen that no one of these executive divi- sions is more busy or has a greater variety of functions than this one. 74 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT The Department of Agriculture, headed by its Secretary, was established for the purpose of giving scientific and expert help to our great mass of rural population. It also, through its bureau of animal indus- try, looks after the animal life, inspecting both the live animals and the meat and working to prevent disease. The weather bureau is another important section of this department. The Secretary of Commerce through his Department looks after our commercial affairs, at home and abroad, inspects our light-houses and steamboats, has charge of the immigration service and the bureau of statistics, and once in ten years takes the census. Hiat branch of it which is designed to supervise the trades and occupations, in which the vast army of the workers are engaged, has finally grown so large that a few years ago it was necessary to create a separate department to handle this branch of the work. The Department of Labor was created to protect the wage earners, to look after their interests and see that justice is given them. The United States also has its Judicial Department. This is composed of three classes of Federal Courts, to which cases may be carried from the State Courts, or in which cases may be tried involv- ing different States. The territory of the United States is divided into nine great Judicial Circuits. Each one of these is in turn divided into Judicial Districts. A Circuit Court of Appeals is held in each of these nine Judicial Cir- cuits, presided over either by an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court or by a Circuit or District Judges. A District Court is held in each Judicial District, pre- THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 75 sided over by a District Judge. Federal Judges are appointed by the President, with the Senate's approval, for life. The Supreme Court sits in Washington, tries not the criminal but the law. to determine when laws are constitutional or when a trial has been properly con- ducted. Only in cases concerning foreign ambassadors and in those in which the State is involved does this court have original jurisdiction. It has a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, appointed by the Presi- dent, with the approval of the Senate, for life. 76 VIII. POLITICAL PARTIES \X7E have in America what is called a bi-partisian ^^ government, that is a government in which there are two great political parties. Other political parties, have, as we know, grown into more or less prominence and importance, but thus far the great power of the States and of the Nation has always rested in the hands of one of the two great parties. A political party is a group of men and women who believe in the same general principles of government and who have united for the avowed pur- pose of securing control of the government and of put- ting into practice those principles which they profess. They have been for many years recognized by the States and the Nation and laws have been passed which regulate their organization and practices. The public officials are nominated and elected through the machin- ery of political parties; policies and principles are formulated by them and theoretically at least the gov- ernment is administered along the lines laid down in the party platforms. The two political parties which have the largest part in our government are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, each of them having sprung from an older party whose principles these more modern ones are supposed to have inherited. The Republican Party sprang from the old Federalist Party which, at the time of the founding of our nation, held that the government should be strongly THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 77 centralized, the balance of power resting with the Nation rather than with the States. The belief back of this principle was that the people were themselves unfit for any large share in their own government and that the carefully chosen men at Washington would be far more capable of administering it for them. This idea was, of course, a direct heritage from Europe where the theory of a governing class has for so long been an accepted one. It would by no means be just to charge our present Republican Party with having retained this distrust of the people. Another distinguishing vital principle which the Republican Party has always professed is that of a high protective tariff, a certain fixed rate of tax or tariff, set by Congress and charged upon manufactured articles brought into our country from other parts of the world. The theory is that our home industries need protection against the products of other countries where labor is cheaper and the standards of living are not so high. Though this, theoretically, may seem to be a protection to the farmer who produces the raw materials and to the factory workers who manufacture them, pro- tective tariff has proven itself of far more benefit to the large manufacturer than to any one else and for this reason has been more widely indorsed in the North than in the southern agricultural states. In former years the tariff issue was the main one upon which political party battles were fought out. It has become, however, largely a theoretical issue as have many of the other professed differences in these two parties. The Democratic Party had its origin in the old Anti-Federalist Party which held that since the National Government was one of delegated powers 78 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT from the States, the States should therefore retain the balance of power. It professed a large faith in the power of the people to govern themselves and made its first appeal consequently to the less well-to-do and less conservative. The Democratic Party also professed a belief in free trade, not that imports should be admitted entirely free of any tax, but that a small tax for revenue only should be levied, that is, only a small sum which should be contributory to the up-keep of the government, through which, of course, the privilege of the importer was secured. This policy appealed much more to the agrarian than to the manufacturing class and therefore found its largest support in the South, because the owners of the great plantations would find a better ex- port market for their raw materials provided the articles made from these products had free entrance back into the United States. Thus from the beginning party conviction has been more or less a matter of personal advantage and chance location, the men from the North who profited by the principles of Republicanism being almost unanimously Republican, the men from the South whose fortune and well-being depended upon the principles of Democracy, belonging almost all of them to that party. The actual difference today between the two parties is very slight. Foreign statesmen such as Bryce can find no distinguishing characteristics. Many times in its history the Republican party has advocated a measure which was clearly a movement toward States Rights, many times it has reduced and readjusted the tariff on certain articles. So the Democratic Party has more than once directly set itself to oppose some THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 79 measure which was expressive of States Rights; also it has lifted the "revenue only'* tariffs till they were hardly to be distinguished from the larger protective ones. Even the party leaders are not very convincing when they try to formulate the differences. In fact, both of these two parties may be said to exist primarily for patronage, the offices, the honors, the salaries which are to be distributed among the members. The one advantage which we, the people, may be said to gain from having the two parties is that in case of too flagrant corruption or mismanagement we may try the expedient of putting in the opposing party which will at least for a time disport itself in a more seemly manner. One party can be said to be no more corrupt than the other but any party which holds power loo long and begins to feel itself entirely secure in its place is apt to degen- erate somewhat from the high ideals of social service. The Prohibition Party came into existence at a much later period, having sprung up in 1672 and having since that time grown to be a factor in state and municipal politics. It began with the one avowed pur- pose of doing away with the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor but its platform now contains many other valuable planks. The Progressive Party was made up of men and women who broke away from the old parties, chiefly from the Republican, in 1912. It advocated many modern reforms and its platform was a distinct advance from those of the two older parties. It has for various reasons, now gone out of existence, but any reform party which reaches the proportions attained by the Progressive Party is very sure to act in a liberalizing way upon the more conservative party organizations. 80 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT The Socialist Party, also one of the late political organizations, came into existence here in 1 900. It advocates a very large popular control of the govern- ment, professing a profound faith in the people. Gov- ernment or municipal ownership of natural resources, such as waterways, public lands, forests, etc. and of public utilities, such as streetcars, railways, telephones, etc., are some of the things for which this party stands. There is much in the management of this party and in some of its more advanced theories which is today in disfavor, but it is still highly probable that our after- the-war program will include some of the economic and industrial reforms which the Socialist Party has advo- cated. In fact, both of the two great parties have already adopted some of these reform measures and modified their platforms more along the lines of this party of protest. The organization of these nation-wide Politi- cal Parties is elaborate and complicated. It differs somewhat in the different parties, but the general outline is similar. It is carried on through a series of commit- tees and conventions, reaching from the town to the national unit and through which presumably every man in the state is reached. Such an organization has very great power which may be used well or badly. No more flagrant example of the misuse of a very elaborate and splendidly complete organization may be cited than that of Tammany Hall in New York. Tammany influence reaches down to the last man in every ward where the Ward Captain is supposed to have working under him street representatives who are in touch per- sonally with every man who is enrolled in the party or who might possibly be induced to enroll. This great THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 81 influence has been secured through the generous dis- tribution of patronage and other less evident attentions, such as groceries or a load of coal. The National Committee of each party has on it one member from each state, chosen at the National Convention by the delegates from that state, to serve during the four ensuing years. The chairman of this committee, though nominally chosen by the members, is in reality usually selected by the presidential candidate. He is a man of the widest possible acquaint- ance with the politicians and the political situation throughout the entire country, one well acquainted with the exact purposes of his party and between whom and the presidential candidate there is sympathy and under- standing. He is finally the man upon whom rests the responsibility of the campaign. His purpose, in con- junction with the National Committee, is to elect his party candidates. To this end he keeps as closely in touch as possible with the men of influence in his party, arranges to secure and to expend the large sums neces- sary for conducting such a campaign, for speakers throughout the country, for all manner of rallies and open meetings by which the individual voter may be influenced. Perhaps the most spectacular piece of work they do is to arrange for the great National Party Convention, held usually in the summer before the elec- tions. To this Convention each state sends twice as many delegates as it has representatives in both houses in Washington.* When assembled this Convention is, * This basis of representation has been slightly al- tered in the Republican National Convention. 82 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT therefore, a very large one and only some great hall will be adequate for its meeting place. The delegates to this National Convention have been selected at the state conventions and must present their credentials and be recognized before they are seated. One or two of the Western States have sent women delegates to the National Conventions and they have been recognized and seated. The chief business of the National Conven- tion is to nominate a candidate for the offices of Presi- dent and Vice-President and to formulate the Party Platform. The party platforms change from year to year and it is in the National Convention that these changes are made. Each party attempts to feel the pulse of the people and determine what changes or reforms or new policies would be popular at the time. These "planks" are incorporated in the party platform and nominally at least are expressive of the principles which the members of the party and the officers they elect will seek to put into force. Strict adherence to the planks of a platform is, however, by no means uni- versal. And the public, aroused perhaps at the time of the election to a real interest in such matters, too often allows its interest to wane and does not hold the officials up to any high standard of loyalty to the platform upon which they have been elected. Thus the blame for misgovernment does not rest entirely upon the officials but touches the electorate as well who owe to their com- munity both uprightness and vigilance. The candidate for the President and Vice- President are nominated usually by some one selected for the task who, in an elaborate speech, outlines the qualifications of the man he proposes. There are apt THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 83 to be several names proposed for each office, and occa- sionally it happens that an unexpected candidate is nominated. But as a rule the matter has all been care- fully planned out before the meeting, the qualifications of the men studied, the influence of the different states measured. The candidate is nominated by a vote of the Convention, after which he is officially notified of the honor which has been bestowed upon him. In his speech of acceptance, he makes a definite statement of the policies he will advocate. Each state has its State Committee and State Convention corresponding in the main to the National Committee and Convention. In Connecticut the State Central Committees of the various Parties are made up of thirty-five members, one from each Senatorial District, elected by the convention for a term of two years. The delegates to the State Convention are upon a basis of representation similar to that of the National Convention, twice as many representatives from each town as the town has members of the Lower House and two additional representatives from each senatorial district. The main business of the State Central Com- mittee is to manage the Ceunpaign of the candidates for state office and to gain the control of the State govern- ment. Upon their good judgment and skill in handling men and in meeting opposition, the fate of the election may turn. The State Convention nominates the candi- dates for the various elective state offices and also writes a state platform which, besides in general endors- ing the national platform, touches also upon matters of local concern. The state platform is not apt to be a docu- 84 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT ment of any very great importance. The main party issues are presumably national in significance, and as we follow elections and party issues from the larger to the smaller unit, we find that the personality of the can- didate, friendships and other interests aside from party ones are large factors in local elections. Besides these two main committees and con- ventions each party also arranges for a number of smaller, minor committees and conventions, each one of which is responsible for its division of the work. Among these are the Congressional Campaign Committee, a national organization made up of one member from each State; in Connecticut probate district; county and town committees. The members of these committees seek always to extend the power and influence of their party. In the cities and towns that have several voting precincts, the work is placed in the hands of ward, precinct and sometimes street leaders. These are usu- ally men of strong local influence who may be trusted to handle the voters and show returns. It is here that perhaps the greatest amount of political corruption creeps in. as DC ELECTIONS PP LECTIONS in Connecticut, are, as we have seen, ^^^ held at various times in the spring or fall for the purpose of choosing men for National, State and local offices. The most important election in our government is that at which we choose our President. And yet there is. strictly speaking, no National election. All national officers must therefore, be elected at State Elections. The only part which the Nation plays in the matter is that Congress fixes the dates on which our national officers shall be elected. So also the Nation through its Constitution and its law making bodies decides what constitutes citizenship, that is. the condi- tions upon which foreigners may be naturalized, but the entire question as to who may vote has been regarded as a matter for the States to determine. Thus in some of our States a man does not even have to become naturalized in order to vote. He is given this privilege if he has declared his "intentions.** that is. taken out his first papers. So also it has been within the province of the States, by changing their Constitutions, to enfran- chise their women. By the Fifteenth Amendment of our United States Constitution however. States were, you remember, forbidden to deny the right to vote to any one on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. We have learned that in order to vote in Connecticut, a man or woman must "be made** by the Town Board of Registrars. This gives the male 86 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT registered voter the right to vote at the town, city, state and national elections. Women, we remember, may vote only on school questions ; and in some of the cities where the School Boards are appointive, there are no officials for whom women may vote. Men who realize the power of the ballot and who are conscientious in the exercise of it, are not con- tent with voting at the final elections. They wish also to have a voice in selecting the candidates. They can do this only by taking part in the Caucus. Some states hold Primaries where the candi- dates are chosen, some states have what is called the convention system such as we have seen at work for the nomination of Presidential candidates. In Connecticut, except in a few towns, the old Caucus system is adhered to. In order to take part in the party Caucuses, men must not only have been made voters, their name must also appear on the caucus or party list. As the parties are always eager to enroll new members, placing one*s name on the party list has been made a very sim- ple and easy process. After having been made a voter, the man or woman has only to notify the Registrars of his wish to join the party he selects. He may do this at any time but must do it within a stated time before any given election if he wishes to be allowed to attend the caucus which precedes that election. Once a year, or in some towns twice a year, a few weeks before the election, the Boards of Registrars hands to the Town Clerk a corrected list of voters. No more names may be added before the ensuing election. If a man wishes to change from one party to another he has only to notify the Registrars but this too before the corrected THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 87 lists are handed in. Only those whose names appear on the caucus list will be allowed to vote in the caucuses, but those who have been admitted have the right both to nominate and to vote. This places the pwwer abso- lutely in the hands of the people. But strangely enough, the people have not always troubled to hold to this power. They have all too frequently grown careless and indifferent and not even bothered to attend the caucuses. In this way the power which should be the people's has slipped into the hands of the party boss. Although the people may nominate whom they choose, what actually happens in most cases is that a small group of keen men who have a very definite end in view, make up the list of candidates before the caucus meets and rush the list through; these names very often are ac- cepted because nobody else has troubled to nominate better men. Like all other faults in our democratic government this can only be remedied by the people themselves. They have it in their power at any time to rid themselves of party bossism and run their govern- ment to suit themselves. In towns in which there are cities the control of the caucuses has passed even farther out of the people's hands. Small ward caucuses are held and from these delegates are sent to the town caucus. In the actual matter of nominating city officials only these chosen few delegates can, therefore, have any part. This has a peculiar significance for the women who can theoretically vote on all school questions and who may be enrolled on the caucus lists. So long as they can vote for only this one set of officials no ward wishing to have a share in the nomination of all candi- dates, would send a woman as delegate to the town 88 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT caucus. Until they have won their complete enfran- chisement they can therefore do no more than vote for candidates in whose nomination they have had no share. There are always a certain number of men in every community who are not fully in accord with any of the political parties. They feel that they cannot honestly enroll or become a member of any party. They can, of course, vote at the final election without enrolling but this gives them, even in the States that have Primaries, no voice in the selection of candidates. But there is a very wide-spread feeling that party enroll- ment is not actually binding, that a man is not under obligation merely because he has enrolled in a party and voted in the party primary, to vote for that party candi- date at the election. Other men, however, feel that this practice would not be quite honest and these men do not enroll or vote at primaries. It is possible, however, for these Independent Voters to nominate a candidate by petition, that is, a certain number of voters sign a petition asking that the candidate be nominated. The Independent Voter is a growing factor in all elections, and as more and more we remove party politics from city and local govern- ment these Independent Voters will grow in power. They are not, as we might guess, regarded with great favor by the machine politician. We may remind ourselves again that the States determine who may vote; the Federal Govern- ment decides who shall have the right to become a citizen. In no State can a man under twenty-one vote. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 89 In Connecticut only citizens may vote. They must have resided in the State one year, in the town six months. A foreigner may become a citizen of the United States in the following manner. He must have lived in the country five years continuously and in the State one year. He must be able to write his own language, to read and speak English and be of good moral character. He goes to a federal court, the United States District Court or Superior Court, where he renounces his allegiance to any foreign power. He is then given his "first paper/* but is still a foreign subject. It is worth noting that in nine of our states this class of men. not yet citizens and therefore exempt from the draft, enjoy the full privilege of voting at all elections and upon all questions that are submitted. This action was probably taken in those days when the states wished to encourage the immigrant to come in and settle and when no one foresaw the possibility of large groups of enemy aliens enjoying the franchise which had been denied to native American women. Not less than two years or more than seven years after he has secured his first papers the applicant for citizenship must go again before the court and file in his own handwriting a petition of naturalization. In this he gives his name, residence, date of birth, occupa- tion place from which he emigrated, etc. These state- ments must be verified by two witnesses who are them- selves citizens and who shall testify that they have known the applicant for five years, know him to have lived in the United States continuously during that period and in Connecticut for one year and that he is of good moral character. Ninety days later he goes 90 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT before the court again, is examined by the judge, re- nounces allegiance to any or all foreign states or powers and takes an oath of loyalty to the government of the United States. He is then given his certificate of citizenship. Only white persons and negroes may be- come naturalized, not members of the yellow race. Unmarried women may become naturalized in the same way as men do. Hie married woman becomes naturalized automatically through her husband. She may not become naturalized independently of him. An American woman loses her citizenship when she marries a foreigner. Voting is the direct method by which people take a part in their own government. It is an essential to democracy. The actual time expended in casting a ballot is very little. All good citizens, men and women who derive benefits from the government, should be conscientious in informing themselves as to the candi- dates and the issues and unfailing in the exercise of this precious democratic right of voting. 91 X. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM l^ROM the very early days of its history. Connecticut -*" has shown a keen appreciation of the value of schools. An old school law in Massachusetts, order- ing every town in which there were more than fifty families to set up a school, points out that only in this way could that **oId deluder. Saten.** be overcome. We find Connecticut, two or three years later, adopting a similar law. **in order that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers.'* This was the beginning of compulsory educa- tion, limited, let us notice, by the phrase. **to the extent of ability.** "Perfectly to read the English tongue, and knowledge of the capital law,** were the require- ments. The object of the grammar schools in towns of more than one hundred families was to fit "youths** for the university. This depth of learning was not thought consistent with womanly virtue and modesty. There was. at this time, seldom more than one group of families in a town. In settling they had naturally remained within fairly easy reach of one another, of their little town hall and of their church. For remember that these early groups are to be thought of rather as congregations, their religious liberty the strongest motive that had impelled their departure from the mother country, this church which they had set up the greatest power in their new life. The schools when they were established were naturally set up in the shadow of the church. But as population increased and 92 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT other families came to live in other parts of the town, it proved inconvenient and sometimes quite impossible for the children of these more remote families to attend school regularly. Youths so situated could not be trained for the university, the old deluder, Saten, was not being adequately resisted; the graves of the fore- fathers threatened again to swallow up learning. So another school was set up, in another part of the town, each of these portions of the town being taxed to sup- port its own school. This was the beginning of the school district. This system of dividing towns and counties up into school districts spread over many of the states and seems to have fastened itself very firmly upon the people. No doubt it served the early fathers well, no doubt the line of pupils who have passed through it would mount up into a mighty army, and yet today it is conamonly regarded by educators as obsolete and in- adequate as well as unjust because it many times gives to children far less than they in justice have a right to demand of society. For where the district system still prevails, each district levies its own tax, determines the standard of its own school and thus the poorer dis- tricts are many times actually not able, or perhaps not sufficiently awake to the needs, to provide adequate school facilities. The trend therefore, is toward the consolidation of the school districts, with some sort of public provision for taking the pupils to and from school. Something more nearly approaching an equal school tax rate could in this way be established and tax payers would not, as they often are now, be tempted to juggle with boundaries in order to slip out of a district in which the taxes are high into one where they are low. Also, THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 93 the combined lax of several districts would equip a really adequate school and provide a higher grade of teacher. There seems, in fact, no argument against the move- ment and yet because it means frequently a slight increase in the school tax. usually a temporary increase which could be dropped once the larger equipment was secured, the movement toward the consolidated school has had to fight its way almost inch by inch. The schools of the district were and are in the hands of a district school committee, elected by the voters of the district. But this did not mean that the town released its authority. There was a set of town school officials who were also in charge. A plan for the division of authority was worked out. The district committee had charge of the school prop>erty, the school finance and the appointment of teachers. The school visitors, the. town officials, examined the teachers before they could be appointed by the District Committee, determined the courses of study, selected the text books and made the general rules by which the schools in the town were regulated. The system is evidently a cumbersome one, so cumbersome that Connecticut in spite of its love for inherited forms, has finally been induced to abandon it. By a special act of the Legislature in 1 909, every town in the State not having within its limits a city or borough or district organized by a special act was required to put its schools under town management. There are also several boroughs and cities which have voted to adopt town management of schools, leaving in Connecticut at this time less than ten towns where the district system is retained. 94 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT This adoption of town management means that the district school offices no longer exist, that the town school committee has entire charge, that all of the town schools are supported by appropriations made at town meetings. It has resulted in lifting the standard of the schools and in equalizing the advantages in the different sections. It is possible in either a town or city, by a special act of the Legislature, to organize a school dis- trict under the control of a Board of Education. Hart- ford still retains the old school district plan with a Board of School Visitors made up of nine elected members who appoint a Superintendent of Schools. It has also a High School Committee composed of five elected members. The principle of minority repre- sentation is observed in both these bodies. Bridgeport and New Haven each have a Board of Education, an elected body in Bridgeport, in New Haven appointed by the Mayor. The town school committee may have three, six or nine members, either men or women. They hold office three years, where there are six or nine, one-third being elected each year ; where only three members, the three are elected at one time, every third year. This committee must choose its chairman and secretary and may appoint a school visitor from cimong its members or it may appoint any qualified person it selects as Super- intendent of Schools. Towns employing less than twenty teachers do not usually have a Superintendent of Schools. Sometimes such towns combine and have one Superintendent for two or more towns. Sometimes they avail themselves of the State's offer to furnish a Superintendent. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 95 These Committees have entire authority in school matters and act in co-operation with the State Board of Education. They determine how the schools shall be managed and disciplined, what studies shall be taught and the length of school day. etc. TTiey also have general management of the school building, they hire and examine teachers, they keep a list of all chil- dren between the ages of four and sixteen; they must visit all schools in the town once in so often and must make proper reports to both the State and the town. TTius the men and women who make up this committee have very large authority and may be a great factor for good in their community. Only intelligent men and women of the highest character and of good judgment should be elected to this office. The State Board of Education is made up of the Governor and the Lieutenant-Governor, ex-officio members, four members appointed by the State Legis- lature for a term of four years and one member ap- pointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, for a term of two years. The Board appoints a Secretary and determines his salary and may hire any necessary clerks to assist him. This Board has general supervision and control of the educational interests of the State. They may direct what books shall be used, though this is usu- ally left in the hands of the local school authorities. They keep informed as to the condition and progress of the schools throughout the state and seek to improve the educational methods and the efficiency of the teaching staff. To further this end, they hold teachers* and school officers* meetings where instruction in new meth- ods is given and general plans for improvement are dis- % THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT cussed. They receive the reports from the town school officials and must themselves make an annual report to the Governor. They also have charge of the normal and trade schools. The State Board also, upon the request of a town or towns which employ not more than twenty teachers, will appoint a State Superintendent or Super- visor whose salary is paid by the State. Many of the towns have availed themselves of such supervision. Towns which employ between twenty and thirty teach- ers may have such State supervision, but must pay half the Superintendent's salary. The larger towns elect and pay their own Superintendents. The State Super- visors must visit the schools in their districts twice a month and aid the local school authorities in every way possible. Connecticut does not require towns to main- tain High Schools but any town may vote to do so and at present about half of the towns have them. The funds for the equipment and for the running expenses of such schools are levied at town meetings. In the towns which do not have the consoli- dated schools a High School Committee is elected with powers and duties similar to those of the District Com- mittee. This Committee is bi-partisan, with three, four or five members. In consolidated districts the High Schools are under the control of the Town Committee or of the Board of Education. But the children in towns that do not main- tain High Schools should not be deprived of the advan- tage of this higher training. To prevent this the State has passed a law requiring the town to pay the whole or any required part of the tuition fee of any child residing THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 97 with his parent or guardian in the town and who, with the written consent of the Town School Committee, at- tends an approved high school in another town. An- other statute, passed a few years later, requires the town also to pay the reasonable and necessary transportation of such children. Two-thirds of this tuition and one- half of the traveling expense is, however, paid back to the town by the State. Evening Schools must be held in town or school districts having ten thousand or more inhabitants. These schools are intended for the use of those children over fourteen (at which age the law allows them to begin work) who may still desire further instruction. In towns where such evening schools are maintained it is illegal to employ any person over fourteen and under sixteen who cannot read and write, unless such person can prove by a certificate from the teacher that he is a regular attendant at the evening school. The State allows the town $2.25 for each person instructed in these schools. Towns may be relieved of the obliga- tion to establish evening schools at the discretion of the State Board of Education and any town not required to keep an evening school, may vote to do so. The Town or District Committee or Board of Education must see that proper facilities, buildings, equipment, teachers etc., are provided for such schools. Connecticut has established and maintains four large Normal Schools at which teachers are trained. There are no tuition fees in these schools but the students must file written statements of their inten- tion to teach in the public schools of the State. The school officers of each town furnish to the State Board names of persons whom they recommend for admission. 98 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT Each town having a tax valuation of not more than one and one-half million dollars is allowed one scholarship pupil whose board to the amount of $130 the State pays. Trade Schools are also maintained by the State in certain districts, in which both evening and day classes are held. Instruction is given in the regular trades. Children in temporary homes or in the county home must also be provided with suitable educational advantages. The expense of such instruction falls upon the county and the general management is in the hands of county officials, but the State retains a strong direct- ing authority over such schools. Connecticut is rich also in its colleges. The State controls and partially maintains Storrs Agricul- tural College at which two scholarship students from each county are maintained by the State. Yale, Trinity, Wesleyan and the Connecticut College for Women are among the institutions of learning which have been a great factor in the life of the State. The public schools of the State exist for the benefit of all the people. It is only just therefore, that they should draw their support from the people. We have seen how the districts or towns or cities levy what is called a school tax. All property owners are subject to this tax whether they have children or not. Towns must expend at least twenty-five dollars a year for each pupil. In 1917 the General Assembly passed a very fair and comprehensive pension system, based on the contributory principle, for public school teachers. In addition to the amount raised by the local THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 99 school tax, the statr allows $2.25 annually toward the education of each child between the ages of four and sixteen in the district. Seventy-five cents of this sum is drawn from the school fund. Connecticut schools also draw a small revenue from what is called the town deposit fund. In 1837 the United States had a surplus revenue which it divided among the States. Connecticut put this sum aside and requires that the income from it be used for the up-keep of the schools. Free Text-books are not obligatory through- out the State, it being left to the town to decide whether or not text-books shall be supplied without cost to the pupils of the public schools. A large number of the towns have directed their School Committees to pur- chase the required books and lend them to the pupils. free of charge. Connecticut has for many years had compul- sory education. Children are future citizens and it is therefore the duty of the State to see that the children are not robbed of the advantages which would equip them in some degree at least for taking part in our demo- cratic government. Parents and guardians are required to keep children between the ages of seven and sixteen in school during the hours and terms in which the public schools are kept open. The only exceptions that can be made are where children above fourteen years of age can pass certain prescribed educational tests and it can be shown that it is necessary for them to go to work. Both employees and parents are held liable for allow- ing other children to leave school and begin work dur- ing school hours. Where the parents of children are too poor to provide clothing suitable for their children to wear in school, the selectmen of the town may be 100 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT called upon for assistance. Truant officers are also provided in the State for the purpose of seeing that chil- dren do not remain away from school. A special school for boys and one for girls are provided for disobedient and truant children. The State does, in fact, show a very deep conviction that no department of its government is more important than that of the schools. In fact no country that allows its children to be robbed of educational ad- vantages, that even in times of great emergency consents to lessening the years of study and forcing the immature into the industrial struggle, can hope to hold a high place in the civilized world. To use up our child force in industry, to suffer it to go in want, to remain indifferent when the educational facilities we provide are inade- quate, is to have a share in criminally gambling away our futurities. Every community needs a constantly growing ideal as to what is needed in the way of schools. Beyond question many marked changes are needed in our educational system. Just what these changes will be it is not possible to predict. But they will undoubtedly be along the line of giving more and not fewer advantages to our children. Perhaps we shall reduce the hours they spend over books and intro- duce more practical training; perhaps we shall become more generally aware of the need, the necessity of healthy, supervised play so that our city children will not have to be turned out to their games in the track of automobiles and trucks; perhaps we shall know the folly of trying to teach children who are hungry and shall feed the starving bodies before we offer a feast to their little brains ; perhaps we shall come to realize that just as we offer free education to all children and it is THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 101 no disgrace to accept it, so we must also offer care for their physical well being, of teeth and eyes and lungs. In that day we shall have begun to build a new world and we shall have begun at the foundation where all true beginnings must be made. In all this work no one surely is more inter- ested, more willing and should be more powerful to help than women. It is of all departments of government the one in which women do have and should have the largest share. TTie teaching personnel is. as we know, made up almost entirely of women, perhaps too much so. but women must aim for a larger share in the administra- tive work of the schools also. There can no longer be any doubt that women are capable of this work, but they shall have, each one of them, to begin to think of themselves as somehow vitally responsible for the wrongs and errors of the present system before it will be possible for the mother of the race to be of such service as she has it in her to be by taking an active share in the direction and management of the schools. 102 XL COURTS TN considering the judicial department of the several -■- units of government we have come in contact with a number of different courts. Let us now gather our scattered facts together and see how one court is related to another. First of all it is important that we remember that there are two great classes of courts. Federal or United States Courts and State Courts, each deriving its power from the constitution of the respective unit which it represents. Following the plan we have adopted, we will begin with the lowest Connecticut court and trace the judicial department of government as it grows and develops, finally reaching the highest tribunal in the land, the United States Supreme Court. The lowest court in Connecticut is the Justice's Court presided over by a Justice of the Peace, a town official, elected at the state elections for a term of two years. This court has jurisdiction over petty civil and criminal cases but the decisions are almost always subject to appeal to the higher courts. It is in this court that ordinary small offenders are tried. If you wished to have anyone arrested your process would be to go to a Grand Juror who, upon his oath of office, writes the complaint to a Justice of the Peace who issues a warrant to the Constable or Sheriff. This officer must then serve the warrant, make the arrest and take the offender before the Justice who decides whether he may furnish bail (security paid to THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 103 the court and held to guarantee the offender's attend- ance at the trial) or if he must be held in custody until the case is called. Criminal cases are those which in- volve more or less violence done against the peace, law or order of the community ; civil cases have to do with personal and property rights. A criminal case in which the taking of life or other serious offense is to be tried, may not come before this first minor court of the Justice; civil cases involving more than $100 also are outside this court's jurisdiction. It is the duty of the Justice and of all higher judges in hearing a case to direct the proceeding accord- ing to definite well defined processes of law. If the prisoner pleads guilty the judge fixes his punishment according to the law which specifies the exact punish- ment for each offense. It may be fine or imprisonment. If, on the other hand, the prisoner declares that he is not guilty, a question of fact has arisen and the case is tried before a jury. This is the petit or trial jury, twelve men or women (in the western states women also serve on juries) residents of the county in which the offense has been committed. The cases that are tried in the Justice's Court come before juries only when they are carried up to higher courts. In towns which have consolidated with the city, such as Hartford. New Haven and others, the Justices have very little to do. Police and City Courts have almost entirely displaced the Justice's Court, the procedure of the two being very nearly identical. Like the Justice's Court these are in session throughout the day and are the courts before whom the small offenders in the city are hailed. Some few of the cities have both a city and police court but these and all other Connecti- !04 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT cut towns as well, continue to elect their justices whether they need them or not. Some boroughs have a Borough Court corresponding to this City Court. The next higher court is the Court of Com- mon Pleas held in five counties, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Fairfield and Litchfield. This court has civil jurisdiction in cases too large to come before the Justices or the Town, Borough or City Courts and is intended to relieve the pressure of work which would otherwise fall upon the Superior Court. It also has appellate jurisdiction of cases coming to it from the Justices* Courts or from City Courts. There is, besides these, one special District Court held in Waterbury. The Superior Court is in reality a state court but its sessions are arranged upon the basis of the county. It sits in each county for certain terms accord- ing to a pre-arranged calendar and cases appealed from the lower courts are brought here for trial. As with the Court of Common Pleas it also has original juris- diction over cases too large for the lower courts. The highest court in Connecticut is called the Supreme Court of Errors. The state is divided into three judicial districts for each one of which this court holds session at stated times in some convenient place in the district. Only cases on appeal may be taken to this court, the trials being entirely a question of error of law in the lower court and not one of the guilt or innocence of the individual. Federal courts have jurisdiction over such cases as cannot, for one reason or another, be tried in state courts. These are questions that have to do with the constitution, laws and treaties of the United States, with maritime matters, with controversies between THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 105 citizens of the same state claiming land under grants from different states, with ambassadors and pubHc ministers, controversies between two or more states and other similar conflicts. In any of these cases the fullest justice and uniformity of decision could hardly be ex- pected from the state courts. The lowest federal court is the District Court. TTie entire territory of our country is divided into ninety judicial districts each one of which has its District Court. Connecticut constitutes one of these districts. There is above this court a United States Circuit Court of Appeals. The territory of the United States is divided again into nine judicial circuits in each one of which a circuit court is held. There are four judges in the Second Circuit; five judges in the Seventh Circuit and five in the Eighth Circuit. All others have three. Connecticut is in the second circuit. Cases may be brought to this court from the District Court and in a certain few instances may be appealed from this court to the Supreme Court. The Court of Claims, consisting of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, holds session once a year in Washington for the purpose of hearing claims of private persons against the government. The United States Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in our government. It was directly created by the constitution by which its jurisdiction was also defined. It has original jurisdiction in cases affect- ing ambassadors and in cases where a state is a party. Other cases can come before it only on appeal when, as with the Supreme Court of Errors, it determines whether or not a fair and correct trial has been had, the matter of guilt or innocence not entering in. 106 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT All Federal Judges are appointed to office for life and may be removed only upon impeachment. This has, in some instances, kept men in office after they had, because of age or disease, lost their faculties. Twice Federal Judges have become insane but still retained their office because no legal method for remov- ing them had been provided. 107 XII. TAXATION /^NE of the first rights with which a unit of gov- ^^ ernment is empowered, is that of levying taxes for its maintenance. The theory upon which taxes are based is that of proportionate payment according to the amount of worldly goods we possess. It is presumed that the more property one owns the more he will need and use the services of his government in affording him protection in his rights and therefore, the more he should pay into his government. Also the more opportunities for human happiness he enjoys, the more able and will- ing he should be to contribute to a government which aims to secure these blessings to others. Thus far our system of taxation is sound in theory but has grown and developed and may be seen to be working itself out in ways that are many times manifestly unfair. A very large human element enters in and we may by no means be sure that justice is always either the aim or the accomplishment of our system of taxation. Great volumes have been written, men have given their lives to the working out of a more just method but thus far, though it is as we can see a sort of penalizing of industry — the more one works and saves the more taxes he must pay, — though we are most of us not quite blissfully content when the tax question comes up, no better system has sufficiently recommended itself to us for us to have adopted it. As a rather grim piece of business we regard it, and once a year when the tax bills come we go grimly forth to 108 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT pay them and then make up our minds to forget it till next year. But they are not easily forgotten. They seem in fact particularly powerful in impressing us — in scarring our memories, and as politicians very well know there is no richer mine in which to prospect for votes than that of golden promises of reduced taxes. There seems to be no word in our language more fraught with power than this one. In the minds of not a few of us an unaccountable inversion seems to have taken place and we think of our government as existing for the purpose of taxing us rather than of our taxes as a necessary but very subordinate adjunct of our govern- ment. There are at least two points in regard to taxes that we need to make clear to ourselves. Though we pay them, usually, most of them, in one lump sum, they are assessed by the various units co-operating one with another — against us, we sometimes think. The state, the county, the town, the city each one files its claim of what it will need to conduct its business, these various sums are added and we, the people, are asked to meet them. We meet them very directly, a direct tax upon our real property and upon our personal possessions called real property tax and personal prop- erty tax. Real property may in this case be defined as evident, definite fixed possessions such as land, houses, factories, etc., those things quite apart from us, which we may own but which we cannot carry about with us. Personal property covers the wide remaining field of our other, portable possessions, household furniture, jewelry, carriages and horses, even stocks and bonds, all those things which we might, metaphorically, carry about with us in our vest pocket and which are presum- THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 109 ably attached to our persons and quite capable of being transferred from one city or state to another according as we ourselves seek out and find a convenient place where the tax rate is not too high. Actually, of course, we do not have to carry such possessions with us in order to bring them under the gentler assessment of this more friendly neighborhood. The furniture may remain in our city homes, our bonds may rest in the strong box of the city bank but when we take ourselves off to our country shacks where "nature provides and taxes are low/* all this personal property is supposed to flit away with us to meet more charitable treatment than that meted out by city government. A second point which we need to make clear to ourselves in regard to taxation is this: after the government has sought out all these several kinds of property and laid its assessment upon them it is still not through with us. It catches us by an indirect tax also. And this, presumably, we pay without knowing it. The indirect taxes are levied by Congress, collected through a system of duties, imposts and excises and are used for the support of the National Govern- ment. The most remarkable thing about the indirect tax is that it is this shiftable blessing. The man who hands out the money to the government for this indirect tax is acting merely as a loan agent. He advances the money, all of which he refunds very handsomely to himself after he has recollected it more or less indirectly from us, the people. Again we meet the old truth that we, the people, always pay. The duties or imposts through which the National Government collects its tax are that sum charged for permission to bring foreign goods into our 1 10 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT ports and put them upon our markets. This is deter- mined by law, exactly what articles are subject to duty and how much, and this money is paid by the importer to the government agents, but it is, of course, added to the selling price of the article so that the importer incurs no loss from it. The National Government also obtains large revenues from a second form of tax, excises. This is a sum charged for the manufacture, sale and consump- tion of certain articles within our own country. Liquor and tobacco are the two commodities from which in ordinary times most of our internal revenue is derived, but oleomargerine, perfumes, cosmetics and various other articles not in the class of necessities are also sub- ject to this tax which must be paid before they are put on the market, usually by stamps which the manufac- turer must purchase from the government and affix. But again this amount is m.erely added to the selling price. In unusual times and for such purposes as financ- ing a war or paying off v/ar or other national debts this excise tax may be laid upon many other articles. Besides these federal taxes. Congress in 1916 passed the income tax bill, a law providing for certain levied per cents, upon all incomes. Many men and women who own no property yet have a large income from their profession or occupation. It is only fair that these people should pay their portion for the support of their government. But the income tax as it wa^ passed and amended applies to incomes from all sources and is an additional tax, not a substitute for the regularly levied direct tax upon real and personal property. TTie original bill provided for a tax upon incomes of married couples above $4,000, of single persons above $3,000, THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 1 1 1 The 1917 amendment reduced this personal exemption to $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. An additional surtax is also added upon incomes of $7,500 and above, the per cent, of this increasing as the income rises. All but five of our states have some form of inheritance tax, varying as to conditions, rate and amount of exemptions in different states. The provision in Connecticut is as follows: To husband, wife, parent, grand-parent, descendants, adopted parents or children or their descendants. I %. $10,000 to $50,000; 1% . $50,000 to $250,000; 37^. $250,000 to $1,000,000; 47^. above $1,000,000. To brother, sister, their descendants, step- child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 3%, $3,000 to $25,000; 57r. $25,000 to $50,000; 67^. $50,000 to $250,000; 7%, $250,000 to $1,000,000; %% above $1,000,000. To others more remote 5%. $500 to $50,000; 6%. $50,000 to $250,000; 77^. $250,000 to $1,000,000; 87o above $1,000,000. The federal inheritance tax is levied upon estates exceeding $50,000. The rate does not depend upon the relationship of the beneficiary and runs from 1% to 257o. TTie poll and military or personal tax is another method by which Connecticut levies a tax. All men between the ages of twenty-one and sixty are taxed $2 a year. The poll tax list, containing the names of all male persons in the town, is made up by men ap- pointed by the Registrars for that purpose. The bill for 112 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT this tax is sent to each man in January and must be paid during February. Failure to pay makes one Hable to imprisonment. In only a few of the states is this poll tax in operation. It is a form of direct tax. The method of assessment and collection of taxes in Connecticut has been given in the chapter of Town Government. Another word of explanation might be of advantage. County Taxes are assessed once in two years by the State Legislators from each county. Each town's quota of state and county taxes is determined from the Town Treasurer's report of the Grand List — list of all property — and of the receipts from taxes, by the State Board of Finance and Equalization, made up of the State Treasurer, Comptroller and Tax Com- missioner. The Town Treasurer must pay the county's quota of the collected taxes to the County Treasurer by the 1st day of September, the state's quota to the State Treasurer by the 1 0th of November. City, borough and school tcixes are not al- ways included in the general list and the bill which we receive annually. They may be collected at a different time of the year, and the bill may be sent separately. A general school tax is usually laid upon the city or town applicable to all the people in all the wards. To this is added any special tax for the different districts according to the number of new school buildings or any other special expenditure which has been made for each district. The amount of this special school tax is deter- mined at the district school meeting. The Board of Finance has reconmiended a School Equalization Tcix but it has not yet been adopted. A few of the cities have special tax districts THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 113 made for other purposes than for the collection of school taxes. In some cities, usually those which have been consolidated from two or more smaller cities, each dis- trict will have undertaken some special improvement for which the people in only the one district are and should be taxed. Some of the states have been districted for taxes throughout their entire territory. In Connecticut, except for the instances noted, the town division is used as the basis of the tax district. Let us once more state, in bare outline, the process and dates by which taxes are collected; taking Hartford, the state capitol. as our model. Tax list must be filled out and sworn to between October 1st and November 1st. Assessors make out tax roll by February Isl. Board of Relief sits the first 20 working days in February. Board of Finance sits in March and sets tax rate. They report back to Common Council who must act before April 1 st. Rate-maker then makes out bills, in rate book, of every person's school, city, and sinking fund tax and turns these bills over to collector. Collector sends out bills July 1st. Must be paid by August I st or J/2 of I % per month is added. Taxes are paid in the Town Treasurer's office. Tax bill is lien on property, without record, one year from date tsix is due. 1 14 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT Collector then files in town clerk's office this lien which continues life of tax. Delinquents notified December 10th. The following April Collector must report all unpaid taxes to Corporation Counsel. He brings suit. At end of three years, property is sold for taxes. 115 XIII. NEW PROBLEMS. TF this brief survey of the government of Connecticut ^ has done anything for us, it should have shown us that there is much in the legal provisions and in the gov- ernmental ideal of the state of which we may be proud. The adherence to the ideal of pure democracy in the town government, the way in which minority repre- sentation has been preserved in the elective and ap- pointed boards of the local and state government, Con- necticut's share in forming the national constitution through her contribution of the two-house representa- tive plan and indeed her example in having been the first unit on the continent to adopt a written constitution — all this gives the little state of Connecticut a very high place in the political history of the United States. But such an honorable past should be much more than a mere matter in which we take pride and of which we may. on occasions, become boastful. Its chief value lies in the obligation which it places upon us to lift up our own governmental ideals and activities to that high standard which was set for us in the past. We must not fall below the fathers. If they believed in the precious principle of democracy, we, with the growth of years and the larger opportunity of seeing those principles worked out, should believe twice fer- vently; if they sought to put democracy into practice, we, with a more developed social consciousness, should lend even a larger part of our effort to that end; if they had a fine gift of loyalty and support to make to n6 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT the national government, we should in even greater measure, be willing to sink our peculiar differences and give ourselves over to the support of the larger ideals of union which our nation is now seeking to adopt. This will perhaps carry us afield, apart from the ideals which our fathers adopted. They, in their time, saw no larger ideal than that of the nation. So deeply did they feel the differences between themselves and other peoples that they pledged themselves to the principle of separateness, remaining apart from entang- ling alliances. But just as the state, come to its time of self-consciousness in those days, was willing to surrender somewhat of its power and become one of a group to form a larger union, so in our day is it not incumbent upon us to lead on ahead of their ideal and be willing to surrender somewhat of our nationalism in order that a larger union of the peoples of the earth may be accom- plished? To become an essential part not alone of a nation but of a world is the goal of present-day de- velopment. The European nations have never found it easy to comprehend this union of states which we have set up here on our continent, able to preserve the indi- vidual character of the states and yet together to pre- sent such a solid national front. But we have held always that it could be done, that we were, in fact, doing it. And undoubtedly much of the richness of our American life comes from the fact that we have been able to preserve our state individuality. That there has gone into our union a thrifty New England, a romantic South, a reckless West, a prideful Massa- chusetts, a Kansas, "raw and stripped for action," a Wyoming that so early learned the value of its women THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 117 — these have made us what we are and should every one be counted a precious contribution. But though these differences will probably be in some measure pre- served, is it not evident that above them there has grown and should continue to grow a very deep sense of our oneness ? We recognize this unifying influence of our nation well enough in its effect upon the foreigner, hav- ing long since grown boastful of our almost superhuman power to melt down differences in this great cauldron of America and to make good democrats of the worst and the best of them that come to us. But the older, deeper differences between ourselves, while certainly not so essential and likely to cause trouble as differences between foreign peoples, we have imagined were still constituting a basis for disagreement which it is not easy to forget. We have in mind that answer of the lady from Boston to the suggestion that it was high time for the West to have its turn at controlling the national government: **But they don't know what we want.** Her **we** was a good deal like that of the old fathers, whose "we, the people** meant the people who were like us. who believed as we did in religion, who had as much money and education as we had. That in con- sequence the franchise was limited to one man in seven was a detail which they overlooked. Though Connecticut, at certain periods in her early history, had been among those New Elngland states that threatened to secede from the Union — at that time such a threat brought no particular odium — in the criti- cal days of the Civil War it stood faithful to the Fed- eral Government. It recognized the value of the larger unit and the importance of preserving it. What- 118 THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT ever economic or trade interests may have been back of those disagreements out of which the war grew, the war itself, the suffering and sacrifice of it, stripped the ideal and left it pure and bare. They fought to preserve the Union, putting state differences aside. And the victory they won was a victory for the larger union, larger than the men of those days realized, a more complete union than we ourselves knew until this later war came to give us proof of it. When we joined forces with the Allies and placed the whole wealth and man and woman power of the nation back of the fagged forces of England and France and Belgium and Italy and Russia, undoubt- edly a new significance was given to our union. We were ourselves almost surprised to find North and South, East and West so fully and completely in ac- cord. We were one people, united to secure a great moral as well as military victory. Democracy — the ideal which we had cherished always, to which, we boasted, we had given especial significance — was in danger. We must go forth to see that it vanish not off the face of the earth. As one man we rose and gave ourselves. It was a moment of high uplift for our souls. We moved as those whose eyes were filled with the glory of the Lord. We understood humanity; we comprehended brotherhood. The lowly, the oppressed, the suffering, they were our charges. We must see that world justice was established. We cared not for color or race or creed or sex. We claimed a kinship with all of them. We had wiped out our nationality and set up a newer, broader better ideal. We were one with mankind. We were brothers of all men. THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF CONNECTICUT 119 And now that the war is over, we find our- selves suddenly and sharply confronted with a question — this question: Did we mean it and if so how far? Did we mean that henceforth we are to be brothers to all men? Did we mean that we, the people of Con- necticut, are able and willing to think of ourselves as members of a larger union given over to the purposes of justice and peace? Are we willing to sink any offen- sive differences not of states but of peoples and nations and to declare for a social world, linking ourselves as individuals, as a state, as a nation, in a larger union of world peoples? Upon our answer to these questions will depend the future history not alone of Connecticut, but of the world also. Whether we wish it or not. whether we realize it or choose to ignore it. our hand, our voice is necessary in the building of the new world. Let us see to it. for the sake of the world no less than for our own sake that we are not found wanting. Our fate and that of the world are indissolubly bound to- gether. With the new world standing, we will stand also ; with the world gone back to the old pre-war stand- ard, we also go into the pit. These are some of the new problems which the men and women of the world and of Connecticut will be called upon to solve. And the solution will finally be expressed through this machinery we call gov- ernment. It is in looking toward this great end that the study of our own Connecticut government should be given especial significance. 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