THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE IN MEMORY OF Professor Henry J. Quayle PRESENTED BY Mrs Fannie Q. Paul Mrs Annie Q. Hadley Mrs Elizabeth Q. Flowers ID CITY GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES WITH A CHAPTER ON THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER OF 1897 BY ALFRED R. CONKLING FORMERLY ALDERMAN OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK AND MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK " Municipal Government is Business, not Politics" Motto of People's Municipal League of New York, 1890 " The City for the People" Motto of the Citizens' Union of New York, 1897 THIRD EDITION, REVISED NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1897 COPYRIGHT, 1894, 1897, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. TO THE FOUNDERS OF THE CITY CLUB OF NEW YORK, WHOSE ZEALOUS DEVOTION TO THE CAUSE OF GOOD GOVERNMENT IS HEARTILY APPRECIATED BY ALL PUBLIC-SPIRITED CITIZENS, THESE PAGES ARE SINCERELY INSCRIBED. (iii) PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. IN preparing a third edition, I have added a chapter on the charter for the Greater New York as enacted in 1897. The practical working of this charter will, I think, be watched with intense interest by municipal reformers throughout the United States. The idea of nonpartisan or businesslike municipal government is becoming popular, and in some cities public sentiment for good government has been so strong that citizens, irrespective of party ties, have united to defeat the corrupt political rings that had long plundered these municipalities. Recent examples are Baltimore, New Orleans, and Galveston. The progress of municipal reform is shown by the large number of associations that have been organized to promote it. In January, 1894, the first national con- ference for good city government was held in Philadel- phia. Four months later the National Municipal League was organized in the city of New York. In December, 1894, the second national conference .for good city gov- ernment was held at Minneapolis. The first annual meeting of the National Municipal League and the third (v) v i PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. national conference took place at Cleveland in Mar, 1895. The next annual meeting was held at Baltimore in May, 1896 ; and the third annual meeting took place in May, 1897, at Louisville. The proceedings of the National Municipal League are published in book form, and these volumes are in great demand. Within three years there has been an enormous increase in the num- ber of associations to promote good city government, and now about two hundred such clubs are in exist- ence. Popular interest in city reform is also shown in the constantly increasing literature of the subject and the general discussion of it in all the leading newspapers of the country. A national convention of mayors, councilmen, and other city officials was held at Columbus, Ohio, from September 28 to October 1, 1897, and papers were read by representatives of cities in all parts of the United States. It is obvious that the continuous discussion of all phases of the municipal problem can not fail to im- prove the government of our cities. A. R. C. NEW YORK, October 1, 1897. PREFACE. I PEOPOSE to write a primer, as it were, of the science of city government. I wish to set citizens to thinking. Let them work out their own municipal destiny in the light of common sense and modern science. There is, so far as I know, not one popular book in the English language on municipal government. Mau- rice Block's Paris.: Organisation Municipale is a very entertaining book, written in a dialogue form, which en- ables any French child to understand the government of the beautiful French capital. English and American writers have discussed in book form every phase of po- litical science except popular municipal government. This omission does not wholly account for the faults of city government in the United States ; but, if intelligent men had studied in text-books the science of city gov- ernment as they learn the principles of political econ- omy in high schools and colleges, it is not too much to say that our cities would be better ruled. It is said that " comparisons are odious," but every well-informed person must admit that in comparing American cities with those of the Old World we suffer by the comparison. Take, for example, the oldest large (vii) viii PREFACE. cities in the United States New York, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. No intelligent observer can deny that their governments are vastly inferior to those of Lon- don, Birmingham and Glasgow in Great Britain ; or to Paris, Berlin and Vienna on the Continent. Americans should be eager to learn from the cities and towns of older countries whenever they have any- thing to teach. In all branches of civic administration the local authorities of Berlin have been willing to learn from other cities in Europe, and to adopt whatever im- provements they can apply to their own government. In many respects I think the American people may learn much from them, and I hope we shall soon follow their example. There is in many cities such a suspicion attached to the ordinary city hall politicians that the better class of citizens do not wish to associate with them ; and it will not be denied that most of the members of our City Councils are vastly inferior to those of the national Congress or even of the State Legislatures. It is the duty of good Americans to set about at once to obliter- ate the stigma that is attached to the word alderman. The agitation concerning the municipal problem is comparatively recent. The founders of this Govern- ment took no account of the cities. Now, as I explain in Chapter I, a third of our population reside in cities, and the four largest municipalities contain nearly one tenth of the population of the United States. The municipal problem is becoming a subject of absorbing interest, and is now receiving in the large cities more PREFACE. ix attention perhaps than any other public question. It is a principle of government that a citizen must per- form a certain amount of duty to his State, county, city or town. In certain cities of Europe municipal service is compulsory, and failure to perform it results in an increase of taxation. I commend Chapter XVIII (on elections) to the careful attention of the reader, for good municipal government must rest upon good election laws strictly enforced. At this moment the unsolved problem of " home rule " is under discussion by the Convention to revise the Constitution of New York, and it seems as if the principle will be recognized. But it goes without saying that a city is not ruled by its charter, and unless better men serve in our city halls, home-rule principles and new charters will be of little avail. In the preparation of this volume I have received much assistance from the officials of our chief cities as well as from many personal friends. I desire to record my grateful sense of obligation to my friend, Mr. Lewis L. Delafield, of the New York bar. My thanks are also due to the following gentlemen : Hon. J. B. Eustis, U. S. Ambassador to France; Hon. George F. Parker, TJ. S. Consul at Birmingham ; the late Hon. William H. Edwards, TJ. S. Consul at Berlin ; Hon. Allen B. Morse, U. S. Consul at Glasgow ; Hon. William K. Ackerman, Comptroller of Chicago ; Hon. Ferdinand C. Latrobe, Mayor of Baltimore ; Hon. Edwin S. Stuart, Mayor of Philadelphia; Hon. Charles A. Schieren, Mayor of Brooklyn; Hon. Nathan Matthews, Jr., x PREFACE. Mayor of Boston ; Hon. Cyrus P. Walbridgc, Mayor of St. Louis ; Hon. William S. Cowherd, Mayor of Kansas City; Hon. H. S. Pingree, Mayor of Detroit; Hon. Charles F. Bishop, Mayor of Buffalo; Hon. Caleb T. Denny, Mayor of Indianapolis ; Hon. John B. Mosby, Mayor of Cincinnati ; Hon. L. R. Ellert, Mayor of San Francisco; Hon. P. F. Wanser, Mayor of Jersey City; Hon. Anson G. McCook, Hon. John C. O'Conor, Hon. M. C. D. Borden, Mr. J. W. Howard and Mr. J. Noble Hayes, of New York ; Mr. J. G. Rosengarten, of Phila- delphia ; Mr. Richard H. Dana, of Boston ; and Mr. Moses J. Wentworth and Mr. Thomas F. Judge, of Chicago. A. R. C. NEW YORK, August J, 1894. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES ... 1 II. THE MAYOR 27 III. BOARDS OF ALDERMEN . . . . .40 IV. PUBLIC PARKS . .52 V. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT . . . . . .64 VI. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT 71 VII. POLICE COURTS 84 VIII. EXCISE 90 IX. WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY .... 94 X. STREETS Ill XI. STREET-CLEANING 123 XII. STREET PAVEMENTS- 138 XIII. PUBLIC WORKS 149 XIV. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 160 XV. PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS . . . 163 XVI FINANCE AND TAXATION 168 XVII. MUNICIPALIZATION 177 XVIII. ELECTIONS 189 XIX. THE REMEDIES 208 XX. THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER . . . 221 INDEX 239 (xi) LIST OP AUTHORITIES. For further information on the subject of Munici- pal Government in the United States the student should consult the following works : Municipal Corporations, by John F. Dillon. Public Corporations, by Charles F. Beach. Comparative Administrative Law, by Frank J. Goodnow. Public Debts, by Henry C. Adams. The Municipal History of Boston, by Josiah Quincy. Handbook for Philadelphia Voters, compiled by Charles A. Brinley, with an Introduction by Prof. E. J. James. The Municipal Development of Philadelphia, 1881-1887, by E. P. Allinson and B. Penrose. The City Government gf Philadelphia, published by the Whar- ton School of Finance and Economy. The American Commonwealth (the chapters on Cities), by James Bryce. The Johns Hopkins University Series in Historical and Polit- ical Science (especially the fifth series). Eeport of the New York State Commission to investigate the City of New York, 1877, William M. Evarts chairman. Reports of the New York Senate Committee on Cities, J. Sloat Fassett chairman, 1890, five volumes. The Municipal Problem, by Amos Parker Wilder. The Bibliography of Municipal Government and Reform in the Proceedings of the National Conference for Good City Gov- ernment held at Philadelphia in January, 1894, published by the Municipal League. Sewerage and Land Drainage, by George E. Waring, Jr. Annual Cyclopaedia. The article, Recent Growth of American Cities. This list does not include foreign works. Maurice Block's writings on Municipal Government, especially on the city of Paris, may be studied with advantage. Numerous magazine articles bearing on this subject have appeared in the United States and England since 1890. They are chiefly found in The Forum, The Century Magazine, The North American Review, The Nineteenth Century and The Review of Reviews. (xiii) REMARKABLE EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN CITIES. 1565. St. Augustine, Fla., founded by the Spaniards. Oldest town in the United States. Incorporated in 1824. 1680. Charleston, S. C., founded ; the inhabitants of two towns of the same name removing thither for the purpose. 1686. The Dongan (first) charter of the city of New York granted. 1686. Albany chartered. Oldest incorporated city in the United States. 1691. The William Penn (first) charter of Philadelphia granted. 1730. The Montgomery charter of New York granted. 1790. Public school first opened to girls in Boston. 1791. Washington founded and called the " Federal City " by George Washington. It was incorporated in 1802. 1797. First charter of Baltimore granted. 1809. New Orleans chartered. Founded in 1719. 1801. Completion of the first municipal waterworks in the United States at Philadelphia. 1814. Cincinnati became a city. 1816. Pittsburg chartered. 1822. The first charter of Boston granted ; the town founded in 1630. 1822. St. Louis incorporated. 1830. Detroit became a city. 1831. First street-car service on New York and Harlem Railroad. 1832. Buffalo chartered. 1835. First charter of Brooklyn granted. Other charters in 1855 and 1881. 1837. Chicago incorporated. 1841. First municipal gas-works established at Philadelphia. 1850. San Francisco chartered. 1862. George Opdyke elected as the only Republican Mayor of New York. 1871. Downfall of the Tweed ring in New York, 1872. William F. Havemeyer elected reform Mayor of New York. 1873. A new charter for the city of New York. 1879. Completion of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the first railroad built by municipal enterprise. 1881. Election of a Republican Mayor in Brooklyn (Seth Low). 1882. The new charter for Brooklyn took effect. 1883. Completion of the bridge over the East River, built by the cities of New York and Brooklyn (opened May 24th). 1885. The Bullitt charter for Philadelphia granted. 1886. Uprising of anarchists in Chicago, followed by execution of four and imprisonment for life of several leaders. 1891. Mafia massacre at New Orleans. 1893. Colossal registration and election frauds in the city of New York, followed by numerous indictments, many of the offenders being convicted. (xiv) CITY GOVERNMENT. CHAPTEE I. GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES. A CITY is a municipal corporation. Its chief func- tions are administrative rather than political, as that term is generally understood, and it should be governed like any business corporation. It is legally composed of the inhabitants within its limits; for in one sense every voter may be termed a member of the corpora- tion, and every taxpayer may be regarded as a stock- holder or bondholder. The city possesses, in common with most other corporations, the privilege of elect- ing, by the votes of its members, its own directors or trustees. In most of our American cities the right of the members, or stockholders, to vote is not, as a rule, re- stricted by any property qualifications i. e., it is unne- cessary to be a bondholder or taxpayer to exercise the right of suffrage." In some cities an expenditure for a new public work can not be made without the approval of a majority of the taxpayers. Every member of a municipal corporation may generally hope to become a CD 2 GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES. director. In other words, there is no privileged class of electors and any citizen may, if he please, aspire to office. The director, or trustee, should never forget that he represents, not solely the majority that elects him, but all the members of the municipality. Unfor- tunately, the history of American cities shows that the ordinary officeholder constantly violates, morally if not legally, his oath of office. Mr. James Bryce, in The American Commonwealth, vol. i, page 606, says : " Two tests of practical efficiency may be applied to the government of a city : What does it provide for the people and what does it cost the peo- ple ? " The voter, and especially the taxpayer, wishes an equivalent for the money paid out in taxation, be it a direct tax or a poll tax. The elector of a badly gov- erned city says to himself, " Why are my taxes so high ? " and if no one can give him a satisfactory explanation, he is inclined to vote against the political party or fac- tion in power. Nothing arouses a voter so quickly as touching his "pocket nerve." The American people will stand almost anything except high taxes. A good ex- ample of this fact is shown in the contemporaneous his-, tory of New York and Brooklyn. The tyrannical poli- ticians who for the past five years have governed the city of New York are able to remain in power on ac- count of the low rate of taxation. The assessed valua- tion of realty and personalty is yearly increased by the sum of about $70,000,000.* Hence, although the an- * The increase for 1893 reached the unprecedented sum of 1105,254,253. RATE OF TAXATION. 3 nual expenditures of the city increase, the tax rate slightly decreases. In the newer parts of the town the assessed value of real estate is raised from year to year, so that if the freeholder examines his tax bill he will see that he pays a higher aggregate amount, al- though the tax rate may be lower. This fact, however, does not influence the ordinary elector, for the reason that probably not more than one tenth of the voting population are freeholders. The assessed valuation of the personal property of the average individual does not materially change from year to year. It is a sad commentary on the alleged intelligence of an American urban elector to see him vote annually, on national or State party lines, for a ring that furnishes him daily with evidence of its incompetency, extrava- gance and dishonesty. Suppose, for example, that the tax rate of a large city is low say, 1*25 per cent. i. e., $1.25 on a hundred dollars. If the citizen is reasonably prosperous in his occupation, he will overlook filthy and badly paved . streets, defective sewerage, a scanty and polluted water supply, insufficient public-school ac- commodation for his neighbor's children, a venal police force controlled by the boss of the city, a bribed City Council voting away valuable franchises for a nominal sum, corrupt police magistrates administering justice for the benefit of the ring, the payment of double the market price for supplies in the city departments and a score of other abuses. A mistaken party zeal blinds the ordinary voter to these alarming conditions, which stand as a growing menace to popular govern- 4 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. ment.* Year after year the well-intending partisan votes if he votes at all the ticket of his fathers, re- gardless of change of conditions and the obligations of civic duty, as long as his taxes are apparently not increased. But when the tax rate rises, then the taxpayer rises in his might to defeat his political oppressors. The voters of Brooklyn, at the municipal election of 1893, illustrated this fact when a Democratic majority of 23,000 in 1892 was changed to a Republican majority of 32,000 ; and this political revolution was accom- plished despite gross election frauds and treachery on the part of some of the local Eepublican " statesmen." I wish to emphasize the fact that bad city govern- ment is not a partisan matter : Republican Philadelphia and Cincinnati are as badly ruled as Democratic New York, Chicago and New Orleans. Political reformers are prone to say that the only means of municipal sal- vation is a transfer of power to the opposite party. They begin city campaigns with the cry of " anything to beat the Democrats or Republicans," as the case may be ; but long experience has shown that the mere substitution of one set of politicians for another is not the real remedy. The defective municipal governments of the United States may be partly explained by the rapid growth of cities, and the ignorance, venality and lack of foresight * Mr. Gladstone recently said, " The great danger in a popu- lar government is, that the people may forget the art of gov- ernment." GROWTH OP CITIES. 5 of their rulers. In 1789, when George Washington was first inaugurated, but three per cent of the population lived in cities. In 1800 there were only six cities in the United States with a population exceeding 8,000. The largest city had fewer than 75,000 inhabitants. At that time but four per cent of the American people resided in cities having populations of 8,000 and upward. This class of cities had increased to 141 in the year 1860 and to 437 in 1890. The same cities in 1860 contained six- teen per cent of the population and in 1890 twenty- nine per cent. In other words, about one third of the people of the United States now (1894) live in cities, and the four largest cities contain nearly ten per cent of the entire population. The increase of the urban population is so great that better municipal govern- ment is essential to the life of the nation. The older States show a rapid increase in the urban population. It appears that sixty-one per cent of the population of the State of New York now dwell in cities containing 8,000 persons and upward. The number of urban inhabitants in some of the Western States increases in greater proportion. If these cities are well governed, a vast number of our people are well governed. Excepting Philadelphia, nearly all our larger towns have, for the past ten years, been ruled by the Demo- cratic political party. In Chicago a Eepublican mayor was elected"in 1891, but this was owing to four candi- dates standing for office. The material prosperity of a city depends to some ex- tent on good government. If the city be clean and well 6 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. paved, and provided with beautiful buildings, parks and monuments, it attracts residents of neighboring towns. In England, the country gentleman goes with his family to London for the "season" and in France to Paris. The same practice is common in the United States, but especially in New York and Washington during winter. The well-to-do country family is often attracted to a large city by business and pleasure, by operas, theatres and festivals. The children take ad- vantage of the opportunities for the study of art, music and literature, and for higher education in general. If, then, the chief city of a State is beautified or made at- tractive, the floating population contributes in no slight degree to its mercantile prosperity. But if the city is cursed by a political ring, the inhabitants lose the trade and benefits of a well-governed municipality, and the " boss " is indifferent to their welfare so long as he en- riches himself at the public expense. One cause of high taxation in cities is the exorbitant salaries paid to officials. It is wise to give large com- pensation to but one class of public officers i. e., the judges because, if hot liberally paid, they might be tempted to sell their decisions. The safety of the na- tion and the State, as well as that of the city, depends upon a pure and courageous judiciary. I may, perhaps, add to this class of well-paid public servants the Mayor, especially where he has absolute power to appoint and remove his subordinates and heads of departments. The Mayor of Philadelphia receives a yearly salary of $12,000 and the Mayor of New York $10,000. Ex- MUNICIPAL SALARIES. 7 cepting the President of the United States, several am- bassadors and ministers to foreign countries and the Collector of the Port of New York, there are no offi- cials in the General Government who receive so large a compensation as the Mayor of Philadelphia. Some public officers in the city and county of New York receive very liberal compensation. The annual salary of the Chamberlain or County Treasurer is $25,- 000, but the compensation of his clerks and assistants must be wholly paid out of this sum. The Justices of the Supreme Court are paid $17,500 a year, of which $6,000 is appropriated from the State treasury. The annual salary of the Judges of the Superior Court and Court of Common Pleas is $15,000. The yearly com- pensation paid to other officials of the city and county of New York is as follows: Sheriff, $20,000; County Clerk, $15,000; Register, $12,000; Recorder, City Judge, and Judges of the Court of General Sessions, $12,000 ; Corporation Counsel; $12,000; Police Justices, $8,000. The annual salary of the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey is $10,000. In the large municipalities the deputy commission- ers, clerks and messengers receive oftentimes an ab- surdly high stipend, out of all proportion to the serv- ices rendered. Their pay is much higher than that of corresponding positions in private life. The business hours are rarely more than seven, and in the cities of New York the half holiday is kept throughout the year. Excepting officials that give bonds for the faithful per- formance of their duties (who for self -protection must 8 GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES. employ competent clerks), many of the public servants are men who would not be trusted in a responsible place by any merchant in the community. Concerning the policy of paying no salaries to elec- tive officers, there is much to be said on both sides. The rule seems to be, that the principal unsalaried elective municipal officers are the select and common councilmen of Philadelphia, the couucilmen or upper house of Boston, the councilmen in New Orleans and the aldermen in some of the smaller cities. The excuse sometimes given for paying elective officers is, that they must contribute to a campaign fund. The ordinary taxpayer grumbles more at the high salaries of the officeholders than at any other item of municipal expenditure. This may be explained on the ground that so many city officials are ward " heelers " and are appointed for political reasons. But the worst class of public officers are not usually employed in clerical positions by the municipalities. They are sent to the Boards of Aldermen, to the City Councils and to the Lower House of the State Legisla- tures.* * The reader may be interested in a conversation between a former Governor of New York and a late Speaker of the As- sembly, which the latter recently repeated. to me. It ran as fol- lows : " Governor," said my friend. " why does your party send such scoundrels from the large cities? The loftiest occupation that mankind can engage in is the making of laws. Why don't your people appoint these fellows in the city departments?" "They can't write," said the Governor. "Then why are they not employed in the offices of the city treasurer?" The Executive replied: "Because they will steal the money. We must put them CORRUPT LEGISLATORS. 9 The municipal leaders generally bid for the support of the worst elements, because they know by experience that their influence means thousands of votes. If the police are tools of the ring, the criminals can falsely register and " repeat " at the polls with impunity. It is owing to a colossal and studied system of fraud that the criminal class and their allies govern to a great ex- tent the large cities, and this sad state of affairs will exist as long as the honest citizens refuse to vote to- gether in municipal elections. (See chapter on Elec- tions.) The character of the average city legislator is well known to those who come in contact with him; but for the benefit of the closet student of American munici- pal government, I give an extract from a nonpartisan report on the representatives of the city of New York in the Legislature. The description will generally ap- ply to the aldermen of American cities. The Eighth Annual Record of Assemblymen and Senators from the city of New York, published by the City Reform Club, referring to a very prominent Assemblyman, says : " He received six or seven years' schooling in the public schools of this city. His early associations were not good. He was employed in various newspaper-delivery offices for several years. He afterward became a liquor dealer, then an undertaker, then a liquor dealer again. where they will do the least harm to the taxpayers." My friend hesitated and finally remarked, "Yes, you elect them to the Legislature and City Council, and thus give them a chance to pick the pockets of the property owners by their infamous ' strikes ' and blackmailing measures." 10 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. Last year he called himself a lawyer and this year a plumber. As a matter of fact, he has recently opened a new saloon at 35 Street. He does not use tobacco, nor drink intoxicating liquors. ... He belongs to the worst class of barroom politicians. He has engaged in street brawls, poses as a fighter and is a typical New York ' tough.' As a legislator he is preposterous. He is dishonest and has been accused upon the floor of the House of using money to defeat certain bills. . . . Al- together he is perhaps the most dangerous man that the city has ever sent to Albany" * Another Assembly- man is thus described : " He was born in New York city, of American parents. He was educated in the public schools and was admitted to the bar. . . . He had no conception of his duties and seemed lacking in ordinary intelligence. ... He associated with and fol- lowed the lead of the most corrupt element in the Legislature. The story of his unsuccessful journey to an interior town, at much personal discomfort in mid- winter, for the purpose of demanding a sum of money for his vote in favor of a bill making a small appropri- ation for a charitable institution, is public property. It is supposed that his simple-minded attempts to strike various interests will prevent his return to the As- sembly." Let me remind the reader that the city of New York is practically ruled by the State Legis- lature. * This Assemblyman formerly kept a saloon opposite the City Prison, which was denounced by the Superintendent of Police as " a resort of thieves." THE COUNTRY MEMBERS. H These illustrations from the American metropolis may be taken as typical of the character of the average legislator from the slums of a large municipality. This quasi-cYimina]. class of city rulers are not always in the majority, but by promising to vote for the local bills of a country member they acquire great power. In fact, the country member, or " hayseed," does not care for the ordinary municipal measure. For example, in the State of New York, what can a member from Cattarau- gus County know of a proposed law relating to the city of Brooklyn, and vice versa ? For many years the salaries of the officials in the city of New York have been fixed by the State Legis- lature. Acts are sometimes drawn providing that a salary may be raised " with the consent and approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment." This is a wise principle of home rule, and in the present state of municipal development and dormant civic pride it is perhaps the best system of regulating the salary list, and hence, to a great extent, the amount of tax to be raised by a municipality. Eeform measures for the better government of cities rarely receive much attention in the Legislature of a State that is ruled by -the rings of the large cities. Bills to abolish grave abuses may never be reported, but as a yearly protest all such bills are beneficial. It never does to remain silent in an American community because, for the present, crying aloud seems hopeless. If the policy of despondent silence had been generally followed, no ballot-reform acts would have been passed, 12 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. for several years ago the mere suggestion seemed to bo an iridescent dream. The comparative cost of municipal government in Europe and America is easy to understand. Any per- son who inspects the annual budget of the chief cities of the Old and the New World will be startled at the economy of the one and the extravagance of the other. The Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, in an article on "Municipal Institutions in America and England," in the Forum for November, 1892, makes an interesting comparison between Birmingham (his residence) and Boston.* He says the total annual municipal expenditure (excepting the appropriations for schools a-nd almshouses) of Birmingham is but $1,GG5,000, while that of Boston is $10,194,000, or more than six times greater than the expenditure of Birming- ham. The two cities have much in common. They have about the same population and both are large manufacturing towns. After discussing the enormous disproportion be- tween the cost of similar municipal services in Eng- land and the United States, Mr. Chamberlain con- cludes, " We may at once dismiss the idea that it is to be attributed to a more liberal franchise," and adds, "the suffrage is more widely extended in Birmingham than in Boston. . . . "A second reason frequently given to account for * An American who resides in Birmingham informs me that the cost of living in Boston is about fifteen per cent more than in the former city. MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S IMPRESSIONS. 13 the extravagance of American city expenditure is the al- leged existence of deliberate dishonesty and corruption practiced on a gigantic scale. In the popularly elected municipalities of England this does not exist and has never existed. It is significant, and perhaps suggestive, that in Ireland there have been well-grounded com- plaints of such practices. The notorious case of Dublin, where the municipality bought inferior paving-stones from Mr. Parnell's quarries at a higher price than was tendered for hetter material by another contractor, and the serious irregularities frequently proved against Irish boards of guardians, are cases in point ; but it is doubt- ful if, since the passing of the Municipal Corporations Acts in 1835, there has ever been a single case in con- nection with any of the corporations under the act, in which there has been any general corruption or malver- sation of public funds or any organized stealing by any political combination. There have been some isolated cases of personal dishonesty on the part of particular officials, just as there are occasionally fraudulent cash- iers in banks or thieving clerks in a mercantile house, but there has been nothing which could be particularly associated with corporate institutions or with their method of management." Official figures in my possession show that the an- nual expenditures of the city of Berlin, which has about the same population as New York, are but half the sum required for the American metropolis, although the German capital is much better governed. "But," it will be said, " the prices of labor and commodities are 14 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. much lower in Europe." As a matter of fact, the chief difference is in the items of rent and wages. Americans are, in many respects, a progressive peo- ple ; but if any one investigates the affairs of the large cities he will conclude that during the past fifteen years municipal reform is almost unknown. Take, for example, the report of the commission of 1877 (of which the Hon. William M. Evarts was chairman), appointed " to devise a plan for the government of cities in the State of New York."* These commis- sioners summed up the defects of municipal rule as follows : "1. The accumulation of permanent municipal debt. In New York city it was, in 1840, $10,000,000 ; in 1850, $12,000,000; in 1860, $18,000,000; in 1870, $73,000,000 ; in 1876, $113,000,000. "2. The excessive increase of the annual expendi- ture for ordinary purposes. In 1816 the amount raised by taxation was less than one half per cent on the taxable property; in 1850, 1-13 per cent; in 1860, 1-69 per cent; in 1870, 2*17 per cent; in 1876, 2-67 per cent. . . . The increase in the annual expenditure since 1850, as compared with the increase of population, is more than four hundred per cent, and as compared with the increase of taxable property, more than two hundred per cent." The commissioners ascribed the bad city govern- ment to the following conditions: Incompetent and * New York Assembly documents, 1877, vol. vi, No. 68, pp. 46. PROPOSED REMEDIES FOR NEW YORK. 15 unfaithful governing boards and officers; introduction of State and national politics into municipal affairs; assumption by the Legislature of the direct control of local affairs; and the following remedies were proposed: 1. A limitation of the power of the Legislature to interfere by special acts with city governments or the conduct of municipal affairs. 2. Holding city elections at a different season of the year from State and national elections. 3. Vesting the legislative powers of municipalities in two bodies a Board of Aldermen, elected by (man- hood) suffrage, to be the Council of each city; and a Board of Finance, consisting of six to fifteen members, chosen by voters who had for two years paid an annual tax on property assessed at not less than $500, or a rent (for either house or rooms) of not less than $250. This Board of Finance was to have practically the exclusive control of the taxation and expenditure of each city, and of the exercise of its powers to borrow money or to contract debts, and was in some matters to act only by a two-thirds majority. 4. Limitations on the borrowing powers of the city, the concurrence of the Mayor and two thirds of the Legislature, as well as of two thirds of the Board of Finance being required for any loan except in anticipa- . tion of current revenue. 5. An extension of the appointing power of the Mayor, the Mayor himself being liable to removal for cause by the Governor. It would have been necessary to amend the Consti- 16 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITI KS. tution in order to introduce all these reform measures. The commission drafted several amendments, but the members of the Legislature would not allow them to be submitted to the voters. The proposed remedies were generally ignored, except in the case of Brooklyn, where some of them have been adopted especially the one concerning the appointing power of the Mayor with excellent results. Fourteen years have passed and the history of New York city repeats itself. In the spring of 1890 the Senate Committee on Cities made an elaborate inves- tigation of the government of the metropolis. They re- ported but little progress and their general conclusions were as follows : "Our investigations result in the conclusions that the chief difficulties which underlie the government of cities in this State are fourfold : " First. Over-legislation and too frequent yielding on the part of the Legislature to the importunities of representatives of the various cities for the passage of special or local bills. In our opinion, the Constitution should be so amended as to protect cities against the power of individuals to appeal to the Legislature, and to protect the Legislature from the necessity of enter- taining such appeals by restricting its power to legisla- tion by general laws. " Second. The absence of a general law for the gov- ernment of all cities in the State, whereby larger powers should be granted to local authorities and the Legisla- ture correspondingly relieved. MANY CHARTER AMENDMENTS. 17 " Third. The absence of complete and accurate in- formation relative to municipal administration, and, as incident to this, the necessity for the enactment of a law which shall require a series of systematic annual re- ports to be filed by each municipality with some proper State officer, setting out with sufficient fullness and de- tail the classes of administrative and financial facts which we refer to hereafter, in order that the Legisla- ture and the people may be enabled to advise them- selves fully, and at all times, with regard to the general condition of the governments of cities, so far as the same can be made apparent by means of an accurate and systematic publication of reports showing the in- debtedness, taxation arid expenditure of such cities. " Fourth. The subordination of city business to the exigencies of State and national politics." In accordance with these conclusions, the Senate Committee of 1890 drafted a series of amendments to the "consolidation act" of New York, yet none of these measures have since been passed by any Legisla- ture. Nevertheless, during the period of 1876 to 1890 the few good amendments to. the laws relating to the city of New York were passed generally in opposition to the wishes of the faction that ruled the city. This was particularly true in 1884. To show the variety of the laws affecting the large cities, I may say that during ten years (1880 to 1889) there were passed 390 amendments to the charter and laws concerning the city of New York and 195 amend- ments to the laws relative to Brooklyn. The variety of 18 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. the forms of government is well illustrated by the fact that, of the thirty-two chartered cities of New York, with populations in 1890 ranging from 1,515,300 to 9,416, the charters of no two cities were alike. Each city also had a different method of bookkeeping, and there was no uniform system of assessment and valua- tion of property for the purpose of taxation. The interference of Legislatures with the affairs of cities was referred to in the annual message of the Governor of New York in 1892. He then complained that Legislatures usurped the powers of boards of alder- men and supervisors, yet he signed two bills for cities at opposite ends of the State which violated the very principle that he professed to advocate ! The great variety in city governments is illustrated by the difference between the charters of the munici- palities of New York and Brooklyn. I give in parallel columns the names of the departments of the two cities: New York. ' Brooklyn. Finance. Finance. Law. Law. Public Charities and Correction. Audit. Taxes and Assessments. Assessment. Police. Police and Excise. Health, Health. Fire. Fire. Buildings. Buildings. Public Works. City Works. Public Parks. Parks. Docks. Public Instruction. Street Cleaning. Collection. Street Improvements. 'Arrears. V Treasury. DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. 19 Of the departments in the city of New York, the heads of all but two, the comptroller or city book- keeper, and the commissioner of street improvements are appointed by the Mayor. Of the appointive depart- ments, only five law, buildings, public works, street cleaning and street improvements are governed by a single head. In Brooklyn, all the departments except the Excise Department and the Bureau of Elections, which is a branch of the Police Department, are managed by a single commissioner. The Excise Department consists of the commissioner of police, who is president of the board, and two excise commissioners. The Bureau of Elections is a bipartisan board of four commissioners. The heads of all the departments are appointive except the city auditor and the comptroller. The Mayor of Brooklyn has more power than the Mayor of New York. The aldermen in New York are chosen by assembly districts, while in Brooklyn some are elected at large and the rest by aldermanic districts. The reader will bear in mind that these two cities are in the same State, but on opposite sides of the East Eiver, and that in the general election of November, 1894, the electors of the two cities will vote upon the long-discussed proposition to unite* them under one government. On the other side of the Hudson lies Jersey City, where the government is very different from that of New York and Brooklyn. In these cities even the boards that control expenditures are different. For 3 20 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. example, in New York the Board of Estimate and Apportionment is composed of the Mayor, President of the Board of Aldermen, Comptroller, President of the Department of Taxes and Assessments and Cor- poration Counsel.* In Brooklyn, the Board of Esti- mate consists of the Mayor, Supervisor-at-large, Comp- troller, County Treasurer and City Auditor. The New York Board of Estimate and Apportionment has for nine years been wholly Democratic. The Board in Brooklyn, under the recent change, contains two Re- publicans and three Democrats. In 1893 the minority (Republicans) had no representation in that body, and during the past eight years a majority of this Board has been Democratic. The power that formerly belonged to the aldermen of New York and Brooklyn is now vested in these ex officio executive boards of the two cities. Many years ago the taxpayers learned that the ordinary Board of Aldermen could not be trusted with the government of the city. When the rings are smashed and when responsible citizens obtain a majority in the Common Councils and abolish or obliterate the stigma attached to the word "alderman," then it is possible that their origi- nal powers may be restored. Let me now turn to Philadelphia, which, up to 1890, was our second municipality both in population and area. A number of the leading citizens of Philadelphia * The last-named official was added to the Board by the act of 1893. THE PHILADELPHIA MEMORIAL OP 1883. 21 presented a memorial to the Pennsylvania Legislature of 1883, denouncing the government of their city in these words : " The affairs of the city of Philadelphia have fallen into a most deplorable condition. The amounts required annually for the payment of interest upon the funded debt and current expenses render it necessary to impose a rate of taxation which is as heavy as can be borne. In the meantime the streets of the city have been allowed to fall into such a state as to be a reproach and a disgrace. Philadelphia is now recog- nized as the worst-paved and worst-cleaned city in the civilized world. The water supply is so bad that during many weeks of the last winter it was not only distasteful and unwholesome for drinking, but offensive for bath- ing purposes. The effort to clean the streets was aban- doned for months, and no attempt was made to that end until some public-spirited citizens, at their own ex- pense, cleaned a number of the principal thoroughfares. The system of sewerage and the physical condition of the sewers are notoriously bad so much so as to be dan- gerous to the health and most offensive to the comfort of our people. Public work has been done so badly that structures have had to be renewed almost as soon as finished. Others have been in part constructed at enormous expense and then permitted to fall to decay without completion. Inefficiency, waste, badly paved and filthy streets, unwholesome and offensive water and slovenly and costly management have been the rule for years past throughout the city government." Philadelphia is now better ruled, but the govern- 22 GOVERNMENT OP AMERICAN CITIES. ment is still quite unsatisfactory and vastly inferior to that of the large cities of Europe. The city of Washington is in some respects the best governed municipality, although the most un-American in form. It is perhaps only fair to say that Washing- ton can not be compared with badly ruled large cities, because it is the national capital. This municipality, with its clean and spacious streets, plentiful parks and fine public buildings, reminds the traveler of European capitals rather than of an American city. The District of Columbia is now, by act of Congress, a municipal corporation. It is governed by a commission of three persons, two of whom must be citizens of the District, and the third an officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army. The supervision of the public works is per- formed by the engineer commissioner. A majority of the commission controls all the departments of the city. The details of the management of certain departments are assigned to one commissioner, but for final action on important matters or disputes a formal majority is necessary. The commission make no laws, all the legis- lation of the District being done by Congress. The government of the city is practically controlled by the Congressional Committees on the District of Columbia. Prior to the creation of the commission for the govern- ment of Washington there were a Governor, appointed by the President and two branches of the city legisla- ture elected by the people. They began a series of ex- travagant improvements and spent millions of dollars for wooden pavements which were out of repair before A UNIQUE FORM OP GOVERNMENT. 23 they were completed, increased a municipal debt to an amount exceeding $20,000,000, and destroyed the city's credit, until its bonds sold at thirty-five cents on the dollar, when Congress interfered and established the present government. This extravagant administration is known as the "Boss Shepherd regime" The only act of the Shepherd ring that may be termed beneficial was the grading of the streets. After the new municipal government was created, the use of asphalt for pavements became general, and Washington is now probably the best-paved city in the United States. The rate of taxation is one and a half per cent on a valuation that is frequently equivalent to the actual value of the property. The General Govern- ment contributes an equal amount to that raised by taxation, and it owns about half the property in the District. The city ordinances and regulations are ex- cellent and are generally enforced. One of the most unique forms of local government is that of Memphis, Tenn. In the proper sense of the word, it has no charter. Under the law of 1879 several municipalities were created " Taxing Districts, in order to provide the means of local government for the peace, safety and welfare of such Districts." The chief char- acteristics of this act were a Board of Fire and Police Commissioners ; a Committee on Ordinances, called the " Legislative Council of the Taxing District," to con- sist of the Commissioners of the Fire and Police Board and the Supervisors of the Board of Public Works; a Board of Health and a Board of Public Works, to 24 GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES. consist of five supervisors. The officers of the district must execute bonds for the faithful performance of their duties. The (elected) President of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners is the executive officer ' of the District and it is his duty to see that all laws are enforced. Hence, there was originally no Mayor, but a president and a secretary of the city of Memphis.* The president is, ex officio, a police magistrate. This pecul- iar form of government has given much satisfaction. In the State of Washington cities of the first class are allowed to adopt a charter that has been formed by fifteen freeholders, who are elected by the people. Such charters may be at any time amended in either of two ways : 1. With the consent of two thirds of the City Council a proposition to amend may be submitted to the people, and if a majority of all the votes cast shall be in favor of the amendments, they shall become a part of the charter. 2. The charter may be amended by any general law of the Legislature. Under the Constitution of Missouri cities of over 100,000 inhabitants may frame their own charters, subject to the Constitution and laws of the State. The new charter of Kansas City was framed by a board of thirteen freeholders, who were elected by the qualified voters. The organic law of California contains a provision for the self-government of large municipalities. The political revolution of Brooklyn in 1893 has dis- closed an alarming condition of municipal affairs. I * The president now bears the title of Mayor. REFORMS IN BROOKLYN. 25 say on page 149 that " the public works of American cities are perhaps the field of more swindling than any other department of the municipality." Brooklyn fur- nishes us with an object-lesson. For example, the Com- missioner of City Works finds nearly fifty sinecures in his department, and he has begun by abolishing these offices, at a saving of $50,000 a year to the city. The result is that he has that additional sum to expend upon actual work for the welfare of the public. Fifty other idlers in his department are marked for early discharge ; and the Commissioner of Public Parks has also dismissed seventy- five men whose only occupation was drawing a salary ! The new Mayor of Chicago (1894) has said that the greatest danger of cities is that of being robbed by their own officials, in the sense of being burdened with ex- pensive and superfluous officeholders. In one month he directed the city treasurer to reduce his salary ten per cent, and transfer it to the general fund. For every sinecure clerk discharged, several men could be put at real work in the parks or on the streets without aug- menting the appropriation by a single dollar. The most deplorable obstacle to the better govern- ment of a city is perhaps the apology of good and prominent citizens for the incompetent or corrupt can- didates of the ring. Even clergymen sometimes mas- querade as such apologists. During the political cam- paign of 1893 in the State of New York clergymen in more than one city spoke in favor of incompetent can- didates for Mayor, and even for higher offices. One 26 GOVERNMENT OF AMERICAN CITIES. preacher said, " Give him another trial." American writers on government are inclined to adopt the max- im, " Principles, not men." In local contests the reverse should be the motto, for we can do nothing without suitable men. Principles do not arouse or inspire the great mass of voters. One honest, competent and cou- rageous candidate for a city office can do more than a thousand pages of principles to fire the hearts of re- spectable electors. The Philadelphia gas ring and the Tweed ring in New York were interesting episodes in the misgovern- ment of American cities, but the scope of this volume does not permit an extended discussion of them. CHAPTER II. THE MAYOE. THE Mayor is the governor or chief magistrate of a city. The word " mayor " first occurs in the year 1189, when Richard I substituted a Mayor for the two bailiffs of London. It is his duty to cause the laws and ordi- nances of the city to be enforced and to appoint and remove commissioners and inferior officers. The power that Mayors possess is given to them by local regula- tions, which vary in different cities. Every incoming Mayor of a large American city is confronted with a municipal problem, which may be briefly described as follows : It is to study the various interests of the city, constantly increasing in area as well as in population ; to minister to the comfort and safety of its inhabitants without the slightest partiality of political party, class, or race ; to scrutinize and, if expedient, to reduce ex- penditures ; and to instill economy, vigilance and rigid honesty into every branch of municipal affairs. In the large cities of Europe the Mayor is not usu- ally elected by the voters, but is chosen by the City Council. The Mayor in some German cities is ap- pointed for life. The city of Berlin is presided over by a " head " (27) 28 THE MAYOR. Mayor (Ober Bilrgermeister) and a Mayor (Biirgermeis- ter). Both officials are paid, the former having a salary of $7,500 and the latter $4,500. In each case the power of election vests in the City Council, who are not lim- ited to members of their own body, nor even to resi- dents of Berlin. But the choice of the City Council (Stadtverordneter Versammlung) for both offices is sub- ject to the approval of the emperor (as King of Prus- sia), who may, without giving his reasons, veto the election of any one who is not in sympathy with him. The present "head" Mayor is Herr Zelle, a Liberal, whose party is opposed to that of the emperor.* In Paris the Prefect of the Seine corresponds to the Mayor. He has charge not only of the city of Paris, but of the immediate vicinity, which would correspond to an English or American county. The Prefect of the Seine is appointed by the Minister of the Interior. In London the Court of Aldermen choose from their number a lord-mayor to serve one year. He has the use of the Mansion House as an official residence, and receives an allowance of $50,000 for his expenses. The history of the election of mayors in American cities is interesting. The Mayor of New York city was * I met Mayor Zelle at the opening of the new City Lunatic Asylum and he afterward conducted me through the stately City Hall, explaining some of the historic frescoes in the corridors. His dignified and courteous manner and his intelligent face indi- cated an ideal personage to serve as the Mayor of the capital of a great empire. 1 was startled at the comparison of Herr Zelle with the then Mayor of New York, who was only a zealous ward poli- tician. HIS MODE OF ELECTION. 29 appointed by the Council, consisting of the Governor and four State Senators, up to 1822 and then was chosen by the aldermen. It was not until 1834 that the Mayor of this municipality was elected by the quali- fied voters.* In Philadelphia the Mayor was chosen by th 9 City Council as late as the year 1839. The Mayor of Boston was, by the charter creating the city, elected by the popular vote. This charter, granted in 1822, allowed the Mayor to be a member of the City Council. f At present the Mayors of American cities are gener- ally elected by the voters. The character of the men composing the Boards of Aldermen and City Councils has so startlingly deteriorated that it would not be safe to allow ordinary City Councils to choose one of their number as the chief executive officer of the munici- pality. The New York taxpayer trembles at the mere suggestion of a " boodle " alderman serving as Mayor even for a single year. Yet perhaps if our Boards of Aldermen were empowered to elect the Mayor, either from their own number or from the general body of citizens, the people would exercise more care in the choice of aldermen. In Jacksonville, Florida (population 12,000), the Mayor and other municipal officers were elected by the * Cornelius W. Lawrence defeated Gulian C. Verplanck by a small majority. f See Dillon on Municipal Corporations, vol. i, chapters v and vi, for an outline of the ordinary municipal charter in the United States. 30 THE MAYOR. City Council, which was appointed by the Governor, under the law of 1889. This act was passed for a partisan purpose, so that the Republicans, including many negroes, who cast the majority of the votes of Jacksonville, should not rule the city. It is perhaps the most flagrant violation of " home rule" in recent American municipal legislation. The act of 1889 was amended in 1893, so that the Mayor, comptroller and treasurer are now elected by qualified voters, under an elective system modeled after the Aus- tralian plan. The first election was held July 18, 1893, and elections are henceforth to be held biennially. The Mayor's salary is but twenty-five dollars a month. The Mayor's term of office varies from one to four years. In Boston and Providence, and in the smaller cities, the term is one year. In Philadelphia his term is four years and he is not re-eligible. In St. Louis and New Orleans the term is four years. In New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, Detroit and most of the other large cities, the Mayor holds office for two years. The term is three years in Cincinnati and Buffalo. The Mayor of the city of New York had formerly the control of the police force and was a police magis- trate, holding court daily. He is still a magistrate, but for many years he has not exercised a magistrate's powers. Up to 1884 the law provided that " the Mayor shall nominate and, by and with the consent of the Board of Aldermen, appoint the heads of departments and all commissioners, except as hereinafter otherwise THE POWER OF CONFIRMATION. . 31 specially provided." This power of confirmation of the Board of Aldermen was so grossly abused that the May- or's nominees could rarely, if ever, be confirmed with- out making a bargain with the Common Council. In many instances members of the Board of Aldermen were bribed, either by money or by patronage and privileges, to confirm the nominees of the Executive. By the act of 1884 the confirmatory power was wisely taken from them, so that the Mayor has now absolute power of appointment, but he can not remove an official without the consent of the Governor. The charter of the city of Brooklyn allows the new Mayor to appoint the heads of departments, upon the theory that he will thus be re- sponsible for the acts of his appointees. Mr. Seth Low, who was Mayor from 1882 to 1886, before making ap- pointments, pointed out, in his inaugural address, this provision of the charter and said that the acceptance of an appointment at his hands would be evidence to the community that the appointee had assured the Mayor that his resignation could be had whenever the Mayor asked for it ; in other words, Mayor Low had the city of Brooklyn for a witness in case of need. There is some difference of opinion in the United States concerning the wisdom of giving the Mayor abso- lute power of appointment and removal. The theory on which American government is founded is that the upper branch of an Assembly should consent to the appointees of the executive officer. It is so in the national Government, where the Senate confirms the President's nominees. In many of the States the upper 32 THE MAYOR. legislative body has the power of confirming or reject- ing the Governor's nominees for State offices. This principle in cities is perhaps good in theory, but it is bad in practice. The character of the men who now compose an average City Council is so bad that they can not be trusted with the power of confirmation of the Mayor's nominees. That is especially true where, through a division of the respectable voters of a com- munity, the Mayor belongs to a different political party or faction from that of the majority of the Board of Aldermen. During the years 1887 and 1888 the people of New York had, under the administration of Mayor Hewitt, a much better class of departmental officers than could have been appointed under the old law, which required the Common Council to confirm the Mayor's nominees. Mr. Hewitt appointed generally men of high standing in the community, who conducted their departments strictly upon business principles and who would mostly have been rejected by the Board of Aldermen, for during the first year of Mayor Hewitt's term only four of the aldermen were in the habit of sustaining his veto mes- sages ; and in his second year only one alderman uni- formly approved of his executive acts. I think the experience of American cities will show that it is wise to give the Mayor absolute sway. He should be the king or monarch of the city, and, with the great power and responsibility given to a Mayor as in the city of Chicago the taxpayers and good citi- zens, if they will consult their own interests, will vote HIS POWER OF REMOVAL. 33 together and elect a suitable man. If grievances exist in Chicago, the citizens apply to the Mayor for redress. The objection to giving a Mayor autocratic power of removal is that commissioners or inferior officers be- longing to an opposition party might be promptly removed by an incoming municipal magistrate.* I would slightly strengthen the title of a meritorious offi- cer by allowing him a hearing upon formal charges. If the official were incompetent, it would be easy to prefer charges and public sentiment would sustain a Mayor in removing such an officer. On the other hand, depart- mental officers that have served several years should not be removed by an incoming Mayor simply to provide for a political place-hunter. All officials of lower grades should be irremovable except for cause. In certain cities opposition to the political ring that misrules the town can not be crystallized without the assistance of some officeholders. It is deplorable that the taxpayers and the respectable electors can not mani- fest sufficient civic pride to rise in their might, organ- ize and vote down a corrupt "ring"; and it is a sad commentary upon the supposed intelligence of Ameri- can voters that they must look to the opposition office- holders to aid them in organizing a movement to de- pose extravagant or corrupt municipal rulers. "When, in the city of New York, it is suggested to overthrow Tammany Hall, the question is asked, " Who * The Legislature of New York, in 1894. passed a bill giving to the Mayor of the metropolis power to remove the heads of departments, but it was vetoed by Governor Flower. 34 THE MAYOR. would govern the city better than Tammany?" The answer is, "Any business or professional man with a fair knowledge of human nature, who has been success- ful in private life, and who is known as courageous and honest in the community, could, if elected Mayor, gov- ern the city better." The most important movement in a misgoverned city is to elect a competent and disinterested citizen as Mayor, assuming, of course, that he has the absolute power of appointment and removal. He can then rub off the barnacles from the municipal ship and appoint suitable men in all the departments. If he be intelli- gent and honest, he will thus be enabled to insure a beneficent administration, whatever may be the atti- tude or degree of honesty of the remaining municipal officers; whereas if he be a corrupt official, his pos- session of unlimited power enables the voters to fix with certainty the responsibility for maladministration. When the requirement prevails that the Mayor shall not appoint without the consent of other officers, or where his powers are otherwise limited, the responsibility can not be fixed with certainty, because it is divided. The true test of a Mayor's ability and capacity is in his appointees. If they are successful men in the vari- ous walks of life, his administration will, generally speaking, be successful. On the other hand, if a Mayor selects men who have been indicted or have narrowly escaped indictment for various crimes men who are the companions of criminals it is safe to say that his administration will be a failure. A NONRESIDENT MAYOR. 35 The apologists for bad Mayors say that public offi- cers should not be judged by their previous lives. Such apologists refer to vicious men under indictment who have been appointed to high municipal stations and who have conducted their offices for the sole purpose of strengthening the political ring that governs the city. As an illustration of what a successful business man could do in municipal government, let me cite the case of Joseph Chamberlain in England. Mr. Chamberlain was a successful manufacturer in Birmingham. He served thrice as Mayor, and introduced so many im- provements in that municipality that Birmingham is to-day one of the best-governed cities in the world. It is usual in American cities to select residents for all elective offices, and the cry of " carpet-bagger " is raised when a nonresident is "nominated or appointed to office. In the city of New York residents of New Jersey have occasionally been appointed to office, and this practice is generally objectionable, for the reason that the nonresident does not consider the welfare of the city, his sole purpose being to get the salary. It would be wise to require that nominees and appointees should reside simply in the State. If, for example, in the State of New York, John Doe has been a very suc- cessful Mayor in the city of Buffalo or Rochester, he should be eligible to election for Mayor of the city of New York ; for it would be safe to assume that if he were a prominent citizen in Buffalo or Rochester, he would be tolerably familiar with the government of the city of New York and would promote the welfare of 4 36 THE MAYOR. the State. So, also, in Pennsylvania, if the Mayor of Pittsburg had been a very satisfactory municipal of- ficer, he should be eligible as Mayor of Philadelphia. This idea is not popular among politicians, but it is only false sentiment that condemns it. In Germany a Mayor may be selected from any city. For example, Herr Zelle, the present " head " Mayor of Berlin, came from the city of Magdeburg. He proved his capacity while Mayor of that city to such an extent .that he was called to Berlin. His predecessor made his reputation as Mayor of Breslau before he served in Berlin. The great desideratum in American cities is a com- petent, fearless and honest man to serve as Mayor ; and such persons are always objectionable to any political ring that governs the city. American cities are usually cursed with a " boss " that is, an unofficial person who controls the dominant political party or faction, and who selects a man that becomes his political puppet, and governs the municipality for the benefit of the organization and not for the good of the taxpayers and residents. When one political party has a safe ma- jority, a low type of ward politician is selected as Mayor. In certain cities the respectable voters can occasionally unite and elect a desirable person. For examples, in 1881, Mr. Seth Low, a Kepublican, was elected Mayor of Brooklyn, overcoming a usually ad- verse majority of about 10,000 and served a second term. In Newport, Rhode Island, Mr. John Hare Powel, an Independent Republican, was thrice elected SOME IDEAL MAYORS. 37 Mayor, the third time against his protest. He declined a fourth nomination. The office sought the man and not the man the office. Again, in Brooklyn, Mr. Charles A. Schieren was chosen Mayor in 1893, by the better class of voters, in spite of the previous majority of the ring (see page 4). In regard to the selection of appointees, the citizen must remember that all Mayors are human. They may not select the very best available man for every office, and they will occasionally appoint a friend, who, though not a first-class man, would be at least honest and rea- sonably efficient. It is safe to conclude that a " citi- zens' " Mayor, who has been successful in private life, and who has earned the respect of the community, will always be a great improvement over the tool of a polit- ical "boss," who is elected simply to strengthen the party organization, without the slightest regard to the public welfare. A good Mayor may be re-elected against his protest. His personal interests may prompt him to resign, but the public interest may demand his continuance. Hence he should be re-eligible. In certain cities Chicago, New Orleans, and some of the cities of New England the Mayor presides at the meetings of the Board of Aldermen. The general rule seems to be that the Aldermen or City Council choose the president of the Board from their members. In the city of New York the presiding officer of the Common Council (called the president), since 1885, has been elected on a general ticket. His term formerly 38 THE MAYOR. was one year, but by the law of 1892 it became two years. He is, ex officio, a member of the executive boards to appropriate money, open new streets and im- prove the city generally. The vice-president is elected by the Board of Aldermen. In France the Mayor pre- sides at the meetings of the City Council, except when his accounts are inspected or discussed. Owing to the peculiar character of municipal gov- ernment, the veto power of the Mayor should be more extensive than that of the President of the United States or the Governors of the several States. As a general rule, a measure may be passed over the veto of the Executive by a two-thirds vote. In the city of New York, where " the expenditure of money or the laying of an assessment, the lease of real estate or franchises " is involved, a three-fourths vote is necessary; with spe- cial appropriations a four-fifths vote is requisite, and in no case can a veto be overridden by a less vote than was necessary on its first passage. I would suggest that a four-fifths vote of the Board of Aldermen or local Legislature be necessary to over- ride the veto of the Mayor in ordinary cases ; and where an ordinance involves the appropriation of money or a franchise, a unanimous vote of the City Council should be required to nullify the Mayor's veto. This sugges- tion is based upon the theory that the power of the Mayor should be absolute. An example of the corrupt acts of a City Council was shown in New York in 1884. It was proposed to grant a franchise for building a surface railroad in THE "BOODLE" ALDERMEN. 39 Broadway. An honest alderman moved that the fran- chise be sold at auction. The corrupt members of the Board voted down the measure and disposed of this very valuable franchise for an insufficient sum. The Mayor vetoed the ordinance and all but two aldermen voted to pass the measure over his veto. The matter was exposed by an investigation of a committee of the New York State Senate in the spring of 1886 ; and the result was that twenty-two out of twenty-four alder- men were indicted for bribery. If a unanimous vote had been necessary to override the mayor's veto in this case, the city of New York would not have been swindled and the infamous scandal would have been avoided. As examples of the vetoes of the executive officers in the two chief cities of New York, I give the follow- ing : Out of 920 ordinances and resolutions passed by the New York Board of Aldermen in 1887, Mayor Hewitt vetoed 285. Forty-eight of these measures were passed over his veto. During the two terms of service of Mayor Low in Brooklyn only two vetoes were overridden by a Common Council, "which, for three years out of four, was politically antagonistic to him by a large majority. CHAPTER III. BOARDS OF ALDERMEN. THE London County Council is organized under the Local Government Act of 1888. It consists of 118 elect- ed councilors, who hold office for three years and of 19 aldermen who are chosen by the Council for the term of six years, one half (ten or nine as the case may be) retiring every three years. The councilors, unlike Members of Parliament, are elected under the system of "one man, one vote." The Council can choose aldermen either from its own number or from outside, and the latter practice has been followed hitherto. Of the councilors, four are elected by the city of London, while the remaining 57 electoral divisions of the me- tropolis elect two members each. The elections of the first London County Council were held January 17, 1889. The first chairman was the Earl of Rosebery and Sir John Lubbock succeeded him. Some of the members of the County Council are also members of Parliament. The Council was elected, not on national issues, as Americans would say, but out of regard for their capacity to govern the metropolis upon business principles. The members are classified as " Progressives " and " Moderates." The chairman, (40) THE PARIS MUNICIPAL COUNCIL. 41 vice-chairman, aldermen and councilors receive no re- muneration for their services, the only member that is paid being the deputy chairman, who has a salary of $7,500 a year. The three chairmen are elected annually. The City Council (Conseil Municipal] or Board of Aldermen of Paris " consists of 80 members, who rep re- sen t 20 districts, each district * having four councilors. They serve for three years, with an annual salary of $1,200. They are elected in the spring at an election separate from that held for members of the national Legislature. They meet in the beautiful Hotel de Ville. The chairman (president) is elected by the Council. The sessions of the City Council are at- tended by the chief officers of the municipality. At a table in front of the president's desk are seated the Prefect of the Seine, the Prefect of Police each of whom has a secretary with him and the Director of Public "Works (Travaux de Paris). These city officers are interrogated if a councilor wishes an explanation of the details of their departments. In the city of New York the heads of departments are entitled to seats in the Board of Aldermen. They can discuss public measures, but they have no right to vote. This privilege has, I think, never been exercised certainly not for many years. I would suggest that the Boards of Aldermen in American cities should always provide seats for heads of the departments, so that they can be called to account if they do not properly per- * There is a sort of Mayor for each district (arrondissemenf). 42 BOARDS OF ALDERMEN. form their duties. In opposition to this view it may be urged that business men, who have been appointed commissioners in the various departments by " reform " Mayors, would hesitate to appear before a Board of Aldermen opposed to them politically and be subject to a constant cross-examination. A merchant, that con- ducts a public department upon business principles, and who has had no practice in public speaking, could easily be embarrassed by a lawyer alderman, and would hesi- tate to attend the meetings of the Common Council. Still, this matter might adjust itself, and it may be assumed that another commissioner would come to the rescue if his modest associate should be confused by a sharp-tongued alderman. The Municipal Legislature of Berlin has two houses, a Magistracy and an assembly or Council. The Magis- tracy (Magistral) consists of 34 members, who are elect- ed by the City Council, but each magistrate must be approved by the chief president or civil governor of the Province of Brandenburg, whose official residence is in the city. The magistrates do not occupy the same chamber as the City Council. They have the sole power to initiate civic legislation and to pass laws and ordi- nances for the government of the corporation of Berlin. The City Council consists of 126 members (Stadtver- ordneten), who are elected for the term of six years from forty-two districts of the city (three from each district) by manhood suffrage, in the same way that representatives are chosen for the Prussian Parliament. One third of the councilors retire every two years. THE LEGISLATURE OP BERLIN. 43 The City Council has no legislative power, but may recommend to the Magistracy matters that need legis- lation. The latter body, if it approves, enacts any measures that may be needful to accomplish the de- sired object. Of the 34 magistrates, 17 are expected to devote their entire time to the service of the city and receive salaries ranging from $1,750 to $3,750 a year. The magistrates are chiefly men that have served for some time as City Councilors and who have shown special fitness for administrative duties. Although the Magistracy and the City Council, in their corporate ca- pacities, act independently and resemble the upper and lower houses of a Board of Aldermen, yet in general administrative work, which, as in the United States, is conducted by committees, their members mingle and have equal votes. The chairmen of the committees for the several departments are generally magistrates and a paid magistrate presides over the principal committees. The English system does not permit two legislative chambers. Of the 302 municipal corporations now ex- isting in England and Wales, not a single one has a second chamber. All of them have the aldermanic ele- ment, but the aldermen are an integral part of the Council, as is also the Mayor. The Scotch and Irish systems are slightly different from the English, but they resemble it in the matter of vesting the whole municipal authority in one Council. In the local gov- erning bodies of Great Britain the members generally serve without pay, excepting the Mayor, who receives a salary commensurate with the dignity of the office. 44 BOARDS OP ALDERMEN. The town of Birmingham, England, is so well known to Americans that I give a brief account of its govern- ing board. The municipal government is conducted by a Council consisting of 54 councilors and 18 aldermen. Three councilors are apportioned to and elected by each of the eighteen wards of the city, and each councilor is chosen for three years, the elections being arranged so that one third of the councilors (one in each ward) go out of office every year. The aldermen are elected by the members of the Council for the term of six years. They are generally chosen from among the councilors, although any citizen is eligible to the office. No prop- erty qualification is required for any member of the Council. The Mayor is chosen for one year by the Council and not by popular vote, but he is re-eligible for any number of similar terms. The Mayor presides at the meetings of the Council, and is, ex officio, a mem- ber of all committees. (For further information con- cerning Birmingham, see J. T. Bunco's History of the Corporation.) In Glasgow the City Council consists of 75 mem- bers, who are elected for the term of three years. Of the twenty-five wards, three councilmen represent each ward and one of them goes out of office every year. The lord provost, or Mayor, is elected by the Coun- cil, and serves for three years. The Council chooses from its number 15 bailies or magistrates, each serving three years. These magistrates hold the police courts. The Council also appoints and controls the police force. There also sit in the City Council with full membership THE COUNCIL OP GLASGOW. 4.5 the lord dean of guild and the deacon convener. The lord dean of guild is the presiding officer of the Board or Court of Guild, which consists of one representative of the different artisan trades, and has the entire super- vision of all buildings. No building can be erected or repaired unless the plans are approved by this Court. They also control the sanitary regulations and their power is beyond appeal. The deacon convener is Presi- dent of the Trades Council or House of Glasgow. This house is composed of one delegate elected from each trade to wit, drapers, butchers, bakers, etc. Glasgow has always been a tradesmen's city, and this is their rep- resentation in the municipal government. The city of Mexico is governed by 20 aldermen and two syndics, who are elected for the term of one year. There is but one chamber of the Municipal Council in Mexican cities and the members serve commonly with- out salaries. In the United States the form of the municipal Legislature varies in different States. It consists usu- ally, in small cities, of a single chamber. In Philadel- phia, St. Louis, Baltimore, Louisville and generally in the cities of New England and Pennsylvania, there are two bodies. In New York city there were formerly two houses, called the Boards of Aldermen and Assistant Aldermen ; the latter were afterward termed council- men. Excepting Buffalo, all the cities of New York as well as Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Detroit and Indianapolis have now only one legislative chamber. The dual form of municipal council is in accordance 46 BOARDS OP ALDERMEN. vith the views of the founders of the republic. This idea is embodied in the national and State Constitutions, but it has been discarded in the government of the two largett municipalities in the United States New York and Chicago. A bicameral City Council will not in itself produce better results and it is always a large additional expense for the taxpayers.* The term of an alderman varies from one to four years. In Boston, and generally in the smaller cities, the term is one year. In New York, Cincinnati, San Francisco and St. Louis, and in the lower house or Common Council of Philadelphia the term is two years. In Philadelphia the term of the select council- men or the upper house and in Buffalo that of the councilmen or upper house, is three years. In New Orleans the term of the councilmen is four years. The Board of Aldermen or Common Council should be elected with the Mayor, so that they may represent the same political party. This is now done in New York and New Orleans. For many years the terms of the aldermen and assistant aldermen in New York have varied from one to two years. The Legislature of 1892 changed the term of an alderman from one year to two years. Aldermen are elected either at large or by districts. There is much to be, said of the two systems. Candi- dates elected on the general ticket are scrutinized by * The annual appropriation for the Board of Aldermen of the city of New York is $88,000. HONEST LEGISLATORS NEEDED. 47 the electors, while district aldermen are generally sim- ply the confederates of ward politicians. For example, the Five Points in the city of New York send a Five Points candidate to the Common Council. This voting precinct of the metropolis is inhabited largely by the criminal classes, and the representatives from this dis- trict, both in the Board of Aldermen and in the State Legislature, have often been protectors of the criminal classes, and, in some cases, criminals themselves. Popular distrust of the aldermen in the city of New York has led to the gradual transfer of the powers of that body to the executive boards. The only important power remaining is " to regulate the use of the streets, highways, roads and public places by foot passengers, animals, vehicles, cars and locomotives." The great desideratum is honest and competent legislators. With such men in power the precise form of city government is not vital. The Commonwealth may initiate measures. When it does so, let them be confirmed by a majority of the Municipal Councils and receive the approval of the Mayor. The cities in nearly all the States are practically governed by the Legisla- tures. Some exceptions are Missouri, California and Washington, where self-government, or "home rule," has in recent years been established (see page 24). The more difficult it is to enact statutes and ordi- nances, the better for the people. Capitalists and cor- porations may object to this system, on the ground that they must bribe, or at least try to bribe, a majority of two bodies instead of one; but, if their schemes are 48 BOARDS OF ALDERMEN. meritorious, a little delay is not generally a serious mat- ter, and they are almost certain to pass eventually. The Board of Aldermen of New York gave illustrations in the years 1887, 1888 and 1891 of the ultimate passage of meritorious measures, where the corporations sternly refused to use money improperly. In the last case the trades-unions came to the rescue, for the application was for a great public improvement. The modern class of municipal politicians maintain that a city should be ruled by a private syndicate in other words, they think the taxpayers should "see" them before any legislation or privilege can be obtained. Of late years " boss " rule has taken the place of al- dermanic bribery where a franchise of great value is involved. Since 1888 the Boards of Aldermen of New York and Brooklyn have been " ordered " by a political "boss" to give away valuable privileges or franchises, for which large sums were offered. These cities have been swindled out of just the amount that has been refused by a venal Council, and the stigma already attached to the aldermen of these cities has been increased. In a few instances where aldermen would not pass an ordinance without bribery, the " boss" has been appealed to, and he has ordered the number of members necessary to make a majority to vote for the measure, on Mr. Tweed's principle of " pandering a little to the moral sense of the community." It is not too much to say that for several years the City Councils of New York and Brooklyn have contained a large majority of members who are either corrupt, or under the influence of an THE REMEDIES. 49 autocrat who remains in " politics " for the purpose of enriching himself and his friends. Where a Council is so venal or hoss-ridden as the average Board of Aldermen in our large cities, What shall be done to better it ? To find the proper remedy is perhaps the gravest element in our municipal prob- lems. A foreign observer would naturally say that the people of New York city were not fit for self-govern- ment, for the reason that, despite the scandals of the Board of Aldermen of 1884, they elect substantially the same class of men every year. This view is not entirely correct. In the metropolis, like other cities, the bal- ance of power is generally held by the worst class of men, who are not always criminals. New York is gerry- mandered by the dominant political faction, and this grasping autocracy, controlling the police force and most of the elective machinery, thrust annually upon the voters a lot of unsuitable and oftentimes incom- petent candidates, who are certain of election in all but four or five districts. There is no hope for improvement until proportion- ate representation is established, and until the voters, roused by a slumbering civic spirit, see the annual increase of municipal expenditure, scrutinize the char- acter of the candidates and vote for the best men, re- gardless of party fealty. I close this chapter with a quotation from Mr. Andrew D. White's instructive article in The Forum for December, 1890 : " The city halls of these larger towns are the ac- 50 BOARDS OP ALDERMEN. knowledged centers of the vilest corruption. They are absolutely demoralizing, not merely to those who live under their sway, but to the country at large. Such cities, like the decaying spots on ripe fruit, tend to corrupt the whole body politic. As a rule, the men who sit in the councils of our larger cities, dispensing comfort or discomfort, justice or injustice, beauty or deformity, health or disease, to this and to future gen- erations, are men who in no other country would think of 'aspiring to such positions. Some of them, indeed, would think themselves lucky in keeping outside the prisons. . . . Few have gained their positions by fit- ness or by public service ; many have gained them by scoundrelism ; some by crime. ... It has been my lot also to have much to do with two interior Ameri- can cities of less size one of about 100,000 inhabit- ants, the other of about 12,000. In the former of these I saw a franchise, for which a million dollars could easily have been obtained, given away by the Common Council. I saw a body of the most hon- ored men in the State go before that Council to plead for ordinary justice and decency. I saw the chief judge of the highest court of the State, one of his associate judges, a circuit judge of the United States, an hon- ored member of Congress, two bishops, the president and professors of a university, and a great body of re- spected citizens urge this Common Council not to allow a railway corporation to block up the entrance to the ward in which the petitioners lived and to occupy the main streets of the city. They asked that, if it were allowed CORRUPTION AND SERVILITY. 51 to do so, it might be required, in the interest of human life, either to raise its tracks above the streets or to pro- tect the citizens by watchmen and gateways, and to pay a fair sum for the privilege of cutting through the heart of a populous city. All was utterly in vain. I saw that Common Council, by an almost unanimous vote, pass a bill giving away to this great corporation all this fran- chise for nothing, so far as the public knew, and with- out even a requirement to protect the crossings of the most important streets ; and I soon afterward stood by the mutilated body of one of the noblest of women, be- headed at one of these unprotected street crossings while on an errand of mercy. So, too, in the smaller of these two interior cities, while the sewerage and the streets were in such bad condition as to demand the immediate attention of the Common Council, I saw the consideration of these interests neglected for months, and the main attention of the Council given to a strug- gle over the appointment of a cemetery-keeper at a salary of ten dollars a week. All, who know anything of American cities, know that these cases are typical. The loss in money is bad ; the loss in public health is worse ; but worst of all is the loss of character the corruption and servility thus en- gendered." CHAPTER IV. PUBLIC PARKS. A GREAT defect in American cities is the small number of public parks. I mean that insufficient space is set apart for this purpose. Parks are the poor people's pleasure grounds and may be called the safety- valves of the city. The public health depends largely upon them. If the poorer population and the chil- dren of the tenement houses have some public place where they can breathe pure air and take exercise, they will have better health, and they will expend their seem- ingly vicious energy in the open air, which otherwise might lead to their appearance in a police court. The following table gives the population and the num- ber of acres devoted to park purposes in our chief -cities : Acres. Population. New York 6,000 1,513,501 Philadelphia 3,000 1,044,894 Chicago 2,148 1,098,576 940 806,343 St. Louis 2,100 460.357 2,100 446,507 Baltimore 777 434,151 San Francisco 1,180 297,990 Cincinnati 390 296,308 Buffalo 620 254,457 Washington . 1,000 229,796 Kansas City 970 132,416 Indianapolis 354 107,445 60 41,742 (52) PRINCIPAL PARKS OP THE WORLD. 53 If we compare the area devoted to park purposes in American cities with those of Europe, we find that the cities of the Old World are generally better provided with public breathing-places. For example, take the following list : Acres. Population. London 22,000 4,306,411 Paris... 172,000 2,480,000 Berlin 5,000 1,767,000 Vienna 8,000 1,423,000 Glasgow 475 678,000 Birmingham 264 478,113 Amsterdam 800 417.539 Dublin 2,000 254,709 Brussels 1,000 183,833 The following shows the superficial area of some of the principal parks of the world : Acres. Bois de Boulogne, Paris .*. . . 2,158 Pare de Chaumont, Paris 62 Regent's Park, London t 472 Hyde Park, London 388 Kensington Gardens, London 210 St. James's Park, London 91 Thiergarten, Berlin 630 Pelham Bay Park, New York 1,700 Central Park, New York 840 Jackson Park, Chicago 586 Lincoln Park, Chicago 400 Fairmount Park, Philadelphia 2,648 Prospect Park, Brooklyn 516 Forest Park, St. Louis 1,372 Belle Isle, Detroit 700 Eden Park, Cincinnati 209 Franklin Park, Boston 467 The Common. Boston 50 Public Garden, Boston 24 54 PUBLIC PARKS. The history of public parks in the city of New York may be taken as a specimen of the movement for public parks in the United States. In 1853 a bill was intro- duced in the Legislature to establish a public park in the city of New York. It was called the Central Park, for the reason that it is about the geographical center of Manhattan Island. Prominent taxpayers of the city of New York appeared before the Committee on Cities and opposed the project. These gentlemen argued that their money would be squandered in laying out beauti- ful grass plots planted with flowers and shrubbery, be- cause the rabble would overrun these places and ruin them. Notwithstanding the selfish opposition of these wealthy taxpayers, who owned country seats where they spent the warm weather, the act was passed, and the work on Central Park was begun. Chapter 616, Laws of 1853, authorized the taking of land for the park be- tween Fifty-ninth and One Hundred and Sixth Streets. Chapter 771, Laws of 1857, established a park commis- sion. Chapter 101, Laws of 1859, extended the park from One Hundred and Sixth to One Hundred and Tenth Streets. It was further proposed to establish a sort of Champs Elysees on Fifth Avenue, between Madison Square and Central Park, a distance of about a mile and a half. It was suggested that this thoroughfare be made a wide avenue lined with trees and a sort of park approach to the first large public park in the United States. But the taxpayers of those days were very shortsighted ; in fact, they displayed the usual lack of foresight which is THE NEW YORK PARKS. 55 the bane of American cities. They did not anticipate the rapid increase of population and accordingly they defeated the plan to improve Fifth Avenue. In 1884 an act was passed by the New York Legis- lature to create new public parks. It was argued that this was the time to acquire land for park purposes, lest it should become too valuable if further delay were made. It was enacted that several new parks should be established, but the nearest proposed site was about seven miles from the densely populated district of Manhattan Island. Since the passage of the law about $10,000,000 have been expended in buying parks at the tipper end of the city of New York. In 1887, at the suggestion of Mayor Hewitt, an act creating small parks in the city of New York was passed. It was soon decided to take the block known as Mulberry Bend for park purposes a block about 200 by 600 feet, containing a little less than three acres. Proceedings were begun, and it is only now (July 1, 1894) that the title to the Mulberry Park block has been vested in the city. In other words, it has taken seven years to select and acquire title to a site for a small park in New York, not to speak of the time re- quired for razing the buildings and laying out the grounds. I dwell upon the experience of the city of New York as a forerunner of what has been done and what will be done in American cities for public parks. The plan of laying out small parks in the tenement- house districts should be supplemented by small public 56 PUBLIC PARKS. playgrounds for children. It has been suggested that a lot about 50 by 100 feet should be bought adjoining all public schoolhouses. This lot should become a sort of public-school park, with an entrance from the street. It could be used by the school-children during recess and fry the children of the neighborhood at all other times. Light athletic games should be encouraged, such as tennis, handball, swings and seesaws. A gym- nastic apparatus might be added and a tent could be erected on hot days in summer. It may be said of these public playgrounds in the densely populated districts that the noise and shouting of the youngsters would become a nuisance. But that matter would soon adjust itself, for the noise would be confined only to the daytime, or it would certainly cease early in the evening. The janitor of the school- house could attend to the public park without addi- tional compensation. In 1892 it was suggested to establish a children's playground in the southwest corner of Central Park. The commissioners reported that the expense would be about $100,000, and, after thorough discussion in the public press, they decided to abandon the plan. It should be said that a portion of Central Park is made a public common on Sundays and holidays that is, the public has the right to roam over the grass on those days. An American in Europe notices at once the differ- ence between the management of the public parks in the New and in the Old World. In the United States there is generally a park police and the parks are THE CENTRAL PARK SPEEDWAY. 57 strictly managed. For instance, citizens are not allowed to fall asleep on the benches in the parks. The traveler in Paris and London sees that much more freedom is allowed in those cities. The Central Park in New York has been jealously guarded. At various times attempts to invade it have been made by the National Guard, by turfmen and by other classes. For instance, in 1888, a bill was introduced in the Legislature to allow the Na- tional Guard to parade in Central Park, but through the protest of Mayor Hewitt it was defeated. In 1892 an act was passed permitting the park commissioners to lay out a driveway or road for the speeding of horses, on the west side of Central Park, at an expense of nearly $2,000,000 ; and the act was promptly signed by the Governor before citizens could protest against it. I was then a member of Assembly, and, if I remember rightly, the Governor signed the bill ten minutes after it passed the Senate. A storm of protest was at once raised in the city of New York ; indignation meetings were held and a sort of campaign committee was organ- ized. Committees of citizens for and against the bill went to Albany and were heard by the Committee on Cities. Within three weeks after the passage of the act the law was repealed, partly at the command of Tam- many Hall, for the leaders of that organization, then in control of the city, feared public opinion and issued orders to their members in the Legislature to repeal the law. In the United States the citizens do not know that a 58 PUBLIC PARKS. public park is really a good investment. The land ad- joining the park increases rapidly in valuation ; a supe- rior class of buildings is erected, and the city in the end is the gainer, for the reason that, with the great increase of the assessed valuation, to say nothing of the employment it gives to wage-earners, a public benefit results. The example of Princes's and Sefton Parks at Liverpool is a case in point. Where a section of a city is undergoing transition that is, where tenement houses are torn down, and warehouses, factories and large stores erected it is not wise to establish a large park, for the reason that the dense population is rapidly moving away, and the proposed park will soon be too far from the homes of the very class for whom it was laid out. The experience of Paris is worthy of careful study. The Emperor Napoleon III improved the densely popu- lated districts, and where miserable and vile dwellings were inhabited by the most destitute class of citizens, he ordered these dwellings to be removed and laid out beautiful parks, planted with flowers, shrubs and trees. He created many breathing-places well supplied with benches for the accommodation of the public. He also made the point that, where a dense and excitable popu- lation was demanding work and inclined to riots, it was wise to give them employment, provided the work was necessary and was warranted by the financial con- dition of the municipality. Napoleon I erected arches in certain squares. Paris is now the pleasure city of the world and for- MuSIC IN THE PARKS. 59 eigners from all countries, especially from South Amer- ica, make their home there. The permanent leisure population of foreign birth in Paris is probably larger than in any other city. This feature of Paris is owing to the policy of Napoleon III and largely to the num- ber of public parks and parkways. Skillful architects should be employed to lay out public parks and their management should not be intrusted to the ordinary ward politician, who is in- clined to enrich himself, or to propose improvements for the purpose of helping some contractor who belongs to his political organization. A small public park can often be established at slight expense by using a V- shaped lot, formed by the intersection of a diagonal avenue with a longitudinal street. There are a few such parks in the city of New York, although they were closed to the public until 1887. Eleven such parks had been locked, when Mayor Hewitt suggested that they be opened. Short paths were laid out with- in these parks; flowers and shrubs were planted and benches placed inside them. The observer may see the children from the tenement houses now using these parks with great advantage. In American cities music is provided at public ex- pense on Saturdays and in some cities on Sundays. In Europe the bands of the standing army, which are, of course, paid for by taxation, perform in the public parks very frequently. -In the Eepublic of Mexico the Plaza is a great public resort, and a band of good military musi- cians plays several times a week. Our Mexican neigh- 60 PUBLIC PARKS. bors take a more philosophical view of public parks than we do. The public parks in the United States are not always sacred that is to say, they are sometimes in- vaded by railroads. For example, in New York, the elevated railroad has long since erected its tracks in Battery Park on the water-front of the lower part of the city. This corporation obtained a license from the park commissioners to erect pillars for an elevated track within the park. They never paid for the use of it, but now the structure has remained in Battery Park so long that the convenience of the public demands that the tracks shall remain. The grass under the tracks has been ruined and the desolate strip of ground extending through the entire length of the park is an eyesore and an outrage upon the taxpayers. Still, on the principle of " what can't be cured must be endured," these tracks must remain ; but the experience of the city of New York with the elevated railroad should be a warning to the residents and officials of other American cities to refuse all such permits. The track of the Sixth Avenue line of the elevated railroad ends on the southern boundary of Central Park. Citizens have said in public meetings that the elevated road should be allowed to cross Central Park, but public opinion in opposition to this has been so strong that no set of politicians has ever been willing to license the Elevated Railroad Company to erect its tracks across that beautiful pleasure ground. In American cities a portion of the public parks is WATER-FRONT PARKS. 61 set apart for athletic games and several large fields in Central Park were formerly reserved for boys of the grammar schools, but now children from all kinds of schools are allowed to use a large meadow for baseball, lacrosse and football. Of late years the so-called North Meadow has been used for lawn tennis and about forty courts have been laid out and are used by persons of all ages. A pond in a public park is beneficial. In summer it is used for boating and in winter for skating. In sea- board cities it is desirable to lay out a public park on the water-front, although this idea is rarely carried out. The Riverside Park, on the Hudson in the city of New York, is perhaps the largest " water-front " park in America. Then there are small parks along the water- front, such as Battery Park, Corlears Hook Park, Co- enties Park and East Eiver Park. Pelham Park also fronts on the water and is now the largest park in New York. In Philadelphia the famous Fairmount Park runs along the bank of the Schuylkill. In Chicago, Jack- son, Park (where the World's Fair was held in 1893) and Lincoln Park are two beautiful parks on the south and north sides of the city, extending along the lake front. It is argued that land is too valuable along the water-front of a city to be used for park purposes; but in that case it is not too much to demand that a few small parks, one block in area, should be scattered along the water-front. In London political meetings are held in the public 62 PUBLIC PARKS. parks e. g., Hyde Park where a hundred thousand working people sometimes assemble and listen to so- cialistic speeches. The public parks in the United States are rarely if ever used for political meetings, although there has been a demand from the Socialists of the city of New York to be allowed to use the public parks for such purposes. At a hearing before the Committee on Cities in the Senate in 1892, they were offered the use of those public places which were covered with asphalt, which meant the small squares at the intersection of streets like Paradise Park, which is a triangle about 100 by 50 feet, covered with asphalt, at the intersection of two streets. This was not satisfactory to the dele- gates and their application was denied. In some cities the City Hall is erected in a public park ; in others, it is on a business street, with no ground around it. It is well to erect public buildings, such as courthouses, city halls and schoolhouses, with- in public parks, or at least to have a small space of ground around them. The most unique attraction in the public parks of the United States is probably the new aquarium in Battery Park, New York. Under the law of 1892 an appropriation of $300,000 was made. The aquarium will occupy the site of the old Castle Garden, the well- known former immigrant depot. It is the only free municipal aquarium in the United States and it is be- lieved to be far superior to anything of the kind in the world. There are aquariums at Coney Island and other ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY. 63 similar resorts, but they are quite unlike that in Battery Park. Zoological and botanical gardens are rare in Amer- ican cities. Central Park, in New York, and Fair- mount Park, in Philadelphia, have zoological exhibits or menageries. There are beautiful botanical gardens at Washington and St. Louis. The new zoological park at the national capital will be one of the finest in the world. The best known in Europe are the famous " Zoo " at Regent's Park, London, and the Jardin des Plantes and the Jardin d' ' Acclimatation in Paris. At present a company has a charter to lay out a botanical garden in the city of New York. The Arnold Arbore- tum, a sort of public museum of trees, is a unique fea- ture of the park system of Boston. The metropolis of the world, which is also one of the oldest large cities, is still increasing the number and area of the public parks. During the past four years one thousand acres have been added to the park area. It is said that the ratepayer (taxpayer) contrib- utes more cheerfully for the cost of small parks than for any other purpose. The plan of common gardens or lawns in the rear of London private houses, like those in Prince's Gate, should be introduced in Amer- ican cities. CHAPTER V. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE fire service in American cities is generally the best managed and most efficient of the various branches of the municipal governments. This is rendered neces- sary by the large number of frame and poorly constructed buildings within the city limits and by the regulations of the insurance companies. It was not until 1871 that frame houses were for- bidden to be erected in New York, excepting a small portion of the upper wards of the city. Since 1885 every wooden or frame building damaged by fire or otherwise to an amount greater than half of the value thereof has been ordered to be taken down. In Chicago and Philadelphia wooden houses, excepting sheds not over sixteen feet high, are forbidden to be built. Ex- perience proves that where the fire department is very inefficient the insurance companies either refuse to in- sure or establish rates that are practically prohibitory. Accordingly, the property holders compel the city au- thorities to establish an efficient fire service. It is true of some cities that the scant water supply may result in a general conflagration without any fault on the part of the firemen. Up to 1865 the fire departments in the (64) GREAT CONFLAGRATIONS IN CITIES. 65 large cities were generally composed of volunteers. In- ducements were held out to able-bodied citizens to join the fire brigade by exempting them from jury duty. In those days a fire-engine house was somewhat like a social or political club. In the city of New York the volunteer firemen oftentimes united and became a power in ward politics until the establishment of the paid fire department, May 4, 1865. The system of salaried fire- men was gradually introduced into other large cities. Since the abolition of the volunteer fire departments in the large municipalities there have been no very de- structive conflagrations, except in Chicago and Boston. At various times more than half of certain American cities have been burned. The principal conflagrations were those in New York city, 1835 and 1845; Troy, N. Y., 1862; Portland, Me., 1866; Chicago, 1871* and 1875 ; Boston, 1872 ; and Pittsburg, 1877. In some cities the Mayor has power to order the destruction of buildings by explosives or otherwise to prevent the spread of a conflagration. The remarkable efficiency of our municipal fire de- partments is largely on account of the general exclusion of "politics" in their administration. The larger cities have usually fire commissioners. If the chief of the department is a strict disciplinarian, he will recommend the promotion of firemen on their merits and dismiss delinquents without regard to political influence. For many years the city of Brooklyn had a fire service that * A careful estimate fixed the value of the property consumed in this conflagration at $350,000,000. 66 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. was cursed by politics, and the insurance companies raised their rates so high that the property owners com- plained bitterly. In fact, some underwriters refused to insure at all. The members of the ring asked the in- surance men to prefer charges against the fire depart- ment. They refused to do so and simply said they could not afford to insure. A short time ago, in Chi- cago, the fire marshal happened to be a man who was too efficient and too independent to suit the " statesmen for revenue only," and it was arranged to remove him. The underwriters, however, announced that rates would go up twenty-five per cent if such a step should be taken, and public feeling ran so high that even the Chi- cago ring was influenced by it, and this capable public servant was retained. Until 1870 conflagrations in the city of New York were announced by the ringing of a bell in several parts of the city. The police always attended fires, but the sound of the fire bell was a signal for every thief and burglar in New York to turn out. Accordingly, the system of placing electric alarm boxes on telegraph poles or lamp-posts was adopted. For many years the telegraph poles in New York were used, but now the alarm boxes are generally placed upon lamp-posts, with red glass on one side of the globe. The growth of a large city with constantly diminish- ing water pressure is well shown in New York. When, in 1842, the Croton Aqueduct was finished, the pressure upon the pipes at the surface of the ground in the lower part of the city was more than thirty pounds to the THE NUMBER OP FIRES. 67 square inch; in 1852 it was twenty pounds; in 1862 but three pounds. In 1882, during the daytime, it was practically nothing, as the water would merely flow out of the pipes at the ground surface. This was owing to the gradually increasing use of water for purposes other than for fire extinguishment. It is unsatisfactory to compare 'the number of fires in our rapidly growing cities with those of the well-built and well-governed cities of the Old World. In the larger American cities there is no limit to the height of the so- called fireproof buildings, whereas in the cities of Ger- many the general rule is that the height of the build- ing shall not exceed the width of the street upon which it stands. In New York city all buildings exceeding eighty-five feet in height must be fireproof. I give one comparison. In 1882 the number of fires in London was 1,926. In proportion to the population, New York should have had 650 fires, but the report for that year shows that there were 1,530. The engine houses, apparatus and firemen of New York are, in many respects, superior to those of Lon- don. The late President of the New York Fire Depart- ment, Henry D. Purroy, says, in his article in The Forum for December, 1886, that the time required to place upon the street a fire apparatus in London varies from one to four minutes, while in New York it is from ten to fifteen seconds. The fire departments in Amer- ican cities are not organized like those of Europe. Even in England the departments are not uniform. For instance, there are in London about 600 paid fire- 68 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. men, while in Liverpool the duties of the fire brigade are performed by the police. In Paris and in many other Continental cities the firemen are a quasi-mili- tary organization, which is not cursed by politics. In Berlin the fire department is under the control of the State. It consists of nearly 900 men, under the com- mand of a " firemaster in chief." There are but 18 engine houses, but each house is large, and generally contains both engine and hook and ladder, and often- times an open omnibus to convey the firemen to the conflagration. In Philadelphia, which is one third smaller than Berlin, there are 55 engine houses and nearly 700 men. The annual appropriation for the Philadelphia Fire Department is $653,521, while that of the Berlin brigade is but $375,000. The great confi- dence of the citizens of Berlin in their fire department is illustrated by what occurred in 1873, when I was living in that city. A friend of mine was playing cards in a five-story apartment house, when a fire broke out on one of the other floors. The players continued the game while the firemen were at work and the flames were soon extinguished. The system of steam pipes and hot-air furnaces for heating houses is not in general use in Europe, which, of course, diminishes the danger of a conflagration. The fire engines of Europe are usually inferior in size and power to those of the United States. It is, in fact, unnecessary to introduce the American water tow- ers into the large European towns. Water towers were first used in 1879. LIMITED WATER SUPPLY. 69 In a rapidly growing American city defective build- ings are often erected. Even in the older cities specu- lative builders erect flimsy structures of brick or stone, which fall almost like a card house in a general con- flagration. The streets in European cities are usually much wider and the buildings are more readily acces- sible to the firemen. The water supply of American cities is often scant, owing to the rapid increase of population and the tendency of the local authorities to adopt a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish policy so far as the construction of new or enlarged waterworks is con- cerned. The very moist climate of the British Isles renders the buildings less combustible than those in the United States. Droughts often occur during hot Ameri- can summers, and in autumn the buildings are unusu- ally dry and burn like tinder in the event of a fire. It will be remembered that the terrible fires of Boston and Chicago occurred in autumn. In the large cities there is generally a pension fund for members of the uni- formed force who are found to be disqualified, physic- ally or mentally, for performance of their duties. I take the following facts from Mr. Frank L. Laird's interesting chapter on the Bureau of Fire in the De- partment of Public Safety of The City Government of Philadelphia, published in 1893 by the Wharton School of Finance and Economy of the University of Philadel- phia : " The history of the Fire Department in the city of Philadelphia begins almost with the settlement of the State. ... In 1718 the city acquired its first fire engine, buying it for 50, of Abraham Bickley, an 70 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. alderman and member of the Common Council. . . . Philadelphia's first volunteer fire company was organ- ized at the suggestion, if not under the leadership, of Benjamin Franklin. It was known as the Union Fire Company, and was organized December 7, 1736. . . . The middle of the present century had passed, and Philadelphia firemen, like those of other cities, were still pumping laboriously on the old-fashioned hand engine. But, about 1857, a Cincinnati man, named Latter, came East to exhibit the product of his genius a steam fire engine. It was more than the people of Boston and New York could bear and they brickbatted the engine and hooted its inventor. . . . The machine was cumbersome and in many points defective ; but it showed the possibilities of the steam fire engine. Ac- cordingly, the Philadelphia Hose Company proposed a prize for the most practical plans for such an engine. Several were submitted and the prize was finally awarded to Joseph L. Parry, who still lives in Phila- delphia. A contract was immediately awarded by the Philadelphia Hose Company for the construction of an engine after Mr. Parry's model, and in 1858 was fin- ished the ' Pioneer,' Philadelphia's first steam fire en- gine, which has won many laurels in contests with the fire, engines of sister cities. . . . The volunteer (com- panies) system was abandoned in 1870, and the con- trol of the fire department assumed by the municipal authorities." CHAPTER VI. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE police force of American cities is generally or- ganized upon a different system from the police of Europe. In Great Britain it is founded on a civil plan ; and on the Continent of Europe it is organized on a military basis. The discipline in the police force of European cities is better than that of American cities. In the first place, the police of Europe are a military organization; secondly, they have, to a great extent, the recognition of the sovereign or State ; and, thirdly, the subject of politics is not allowed to poison the efficiency of the guardians of the peace. The personnel of the Felice Department of London is as follows: The metropolitan police is composed of 15,099 officers and men and 334 horses, for which the annual appropriation is $6,437,550. There is also the city police, consisting of 988 men, whose yearly com- pensation is about 8570,000. The number of men be- longing to the municipal police of Paris is 8,174, and the annual appropriation is $4,370,926. In Berlin every member of the police force is an ex- soldier of good record. This accounts for the unusual excellence of the police. Unlike American cities, the (U) 72 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. police force of the German capital is divided into two departments, the day watch and the night watch. The regular police, who are charged with the preservation of the public peace, the detection of crime, and the en- forcement of corporation ordinances, are solely under the control of the State; the municipal authorities maintain a force of night watchmen, whose duty is chiefly to protect the property of the citizens.* The Berlin force consists of 4,500 policemen, and their uni- forms are made by convicts. The police of Vienna (population 1,423,000) is com- posed of 2,800 officers and men. In Glasgow the yearly expenditure is $858,350 for a force of 1,347 men. On the Continent of Europe, the police are usually armed with swords and revolvers, and mounted officers are much more numerous than in the United States. In some cities, as in Paris, the police commonly carry mus- kets with fixed bayonets when on guard duty. The progress in the police of our large municipali- ties is perhaps greater than in any other department. Many years ago life and property were very insecure in the city of New York. The police force was practi- cally a political " machine." The famous Five Points in the Sixth "Ward of the city was the terror of the citizen, chiefly on account of the political and badly disciplined mob which were called the police force. In 1857 the Republican party controlled the State of New York, but the Democratic party, as usual, dominated the city, and it was then that tbe power of the Com- * See James Pollard, A Study in Municipal Government. METROPOLITAN POLICE DISTRICT. . 73 monwealth was exercised to control the local affairs of the metropolis. A metropolitan police district, as well as fire and health districts, was created, and the admin- istration of the police department was vested in a board of five members, who were appointed by the Governor. The Metropolitan Police District consisted of the coun- ties of New York, Kings, Westchester and Eichmond.* The Mayors of the cities of New York and Brooklyn were under the law of 1857 (chapter 569) ex officio members of the Board of Metropolitan Police. The citizens resisted the enforcement of the police act, and the struggle that followed between the old Municipal Police and the new Metropolitan Police ended in bloodshed. The Court of Appeals decided, however, that the Legislature had not exceeded its constitutional powers ; and the people of New York, seeing that the conflict was hopeless, abandoned all further opposition. Under the new administration the police force became well disciplined and effective. The law of 1864 pro- vides that there shall be four commissioners, whose names are mentioned in the act. In 1870 the Metropolitan Police act was repealed, and the new law provided that the Board shall con- sist of four commissioners, to be appointed by the Mayor. Concerning this department Mayor Hewitt, in his message to the Common Council in 1888, said : * By the act of 1860 the towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica in Queens County were added to the territory of the district ; and the number of commissioners was changed from five to three. 74 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. y " The only obstacle in the way of an efficient adminis- tration of the police is to be found in the constitution of the Board of Commissioners, which consists of four members, two of whom belong to each of the great po- litical parties. It was organized as a non-partisan board ; but as a matter of fact, from its very constitu- tion, it is nothing more or less than a partisan board. The patronage of the department is notoriously divided between the commissioners, and a large part of their business has been in the past to satisfy the claims of the two political parties whom they represent. It is fatal to the police that politics should enter either into its com- position or its administration. There is no way, so far as I can see, to get rid of this evil but to place the manage- ment of the police in the hands of a single commissioner, to be appointed by the Mayor, and to hold office during his pleasure. " A competent and honest commissioner would, in all human probability, have a permanent tenure of office. There has been no Mayor in my day who would dare to confront public opinion in case he should remove such an officer from his position. On the other hand, the fact that the acts of the commissioner would be thus subject to the supervision of the Mayor would insure a conscientious discharge of duty." With a bipartisan board worthless officers are kept on the force by the constant and infamous " tie " vote. For example, two Democratic members may vote to dismiss a captain or an inspector, and the two Repub- lican members may vote to exonerate him. In this CORRUPTION IN NEW YORK. 75 way some of the worst kind of officers remain in the department. The New York police force consists of one superin- tendent, with a salary of $6,000 ; four inspectors, each receiving $3,500 ; 38 captains, with salaries of $2,756 ; 168 sergeants (exclusive of 37 detective sergeants at headquarters), with salaries of $2,000 ; and 174 rounds- men and 3,401 patrolmen. The roundsmen receive $1,500, and the patrolmen, under the law of 1894, are classified into five " service " grades, with salaries rang- ing from $1,400 to $1,000. There are 15 surgeons at $3,000 each, 79 doormen at $1,000 each and 22 matrons at $720. The annual appropriation for the police force in 1893 was $5,309,886. The municipal police of New York was perhaps once the best in the United States ; but, under the recent rule of the party now in power, it has become badly demoralized and many of its members are corrupt. A special committee of the Senate is now (1894) investigating this department; and it is sworn testi- mony that an applicant must pay, either by political assessment or otherwise, for appointment, and an officer must contribute an enormous sum, either to the "ring" or to the commissioners, for promotion. Accordingly many members of the force, of all grades, extort money from certain classes of citizens in return for a license to violate the laws and ordinances with impunity. In 1893 86,488 persons were arrested by the police (see p. 85). The ordinances of Paris are strict, and the traveler rarely sees goods on the sidewalk. In one narrow Y6 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. street I saw two bags of charcoal on the sidewalk. I asked a policeman if that was not a violation of the city ordinance, and he replied : " Yes, sir ; but if the po- lice enforced all ordinances strictly, one could not walk in the streets of Paris." There is in New York (as in other large cities) a police pension fund, which is made up of fines and fees paid for licenses to sell liquor. The excise fees amount to $300,000 annually. The New York law provides also that after twenty years of service a policeman may be retired on half pay, whether disabled or not. Po- licemen may serve longer, but when the force is ruled by a partisan board the commissioners may compel a meritorious officer to retire in order to make room for one of their favorites. Nearly every year bills are introduced in the Legis- lature to increase the pay of the police, and such a bill became a law in 1894. The police of New York generally act as a unit in politics for those legislators who favor them and hence have tremendous power. The Bureau of Elections in New York city should be separated from the Police Department. It should be managed by a bipartisan board of two commissioners, to serve without salary (as in the Board of Education), and there should be a secretary with a reasonable compensa- tion and with paid clerks. Since 1889 the Police Board of New York has been a partisan body. There was, until July 14, 1894, but one Republican in the commission. During the session THE PHILADELPHIA FORCE. 77 of the Legislature of 1894 several bills to reorganize the commission were introduced. One bill provided for a bipartisan board of four members and an extension of the power of the superintendent; another .suggested a single head ; another proposed that four police commis- sioners shall be elected, of whom not more than two shall belong to the same political party. The first named bill was passed, but was vetoed by Governor Flower. The police force in certain cities is governed as fol- lows : In Chicago it is ruled by a single head. Under the city charter of 1872 the absolute control of the police department is vested in the Mayor. He appoints all officers and men. An incoming Mayor may promote, degrade, or discharge any member of the force. As a general rule, however, this official transfers most of the responsibility to the superintendent of police. Neither the Bureau of Elections nor any other of the municipal or county bureaus is in any way connected with the local police department. The total number of men em- ployed in the Police Department of Chicago is 3,205. In Philadelphia there is a single-headed bureau (which is a branch of the Department of Public Safety) under a director, who exercises all powers and is ap- pointed by the Mayor. There are no police commis- sioners, and there is no bureau of elections. The sheriff issues a proclamation for elections. The election offi- cers in each precinct are chosen by the people, and the ballots are furnished by the county commissioners. The police have nothing to do with elections except to pre- 78 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. serve the peace. The law requires an officer to be in the polling-place during the canvass of the votes for the purpose of preserving order. During the year 1893 57,297 persons were arrested in Philadelphia. The annual salaries paid in the Bureau of Police are : superintendent, $4,500 ; 5 captains, each $1,900 ; 1 captain of detectives, $1,900; 12 detectives, each $1,450 ; 2 detectives, each $1,200 ; 1 fire marshal, $1,800 ; 33 lieutenants, each $1,475 ; 84 street sergeants, each $1,250; 40 patrol sergeants, each $1,040; 108 house sergeants (telegraph operators), each $1,040; 17 police matrons, each $600; 1 police surgeon, $1,800. There are 37 district surgeons, who are called only when a prisoner requires medical or surgical aid. Patrolmen the first year receive $2.25 a day ; the second year,$2.40 ; thereafter, $2.50. The patrolmen, as well as all appli- cants of a higher grade, must pass a civil-service exami- nation. A yearly allowance of $40 to purchase a uni- form is made to each patrolman. While the population of Philadelphia is 1,044,894, the police force consists of but 2,223 men. In Chicago, with a population of 1,098,576, the police force num- bers 3,205 men. The police force of Brooklyn (population 957,163 in 1892) is composed as follows : commissioner of police, salary $5,000 ; 1 deputy commissioner, $4,000 ; 1 super- intendent, $5,000 ; 4 inspectors, $3,500 ; 22 captains, $2,700 ; 88 sergeants, $1,750 ; 60 detective sergeants, $1,750; 50 roundsmen, $1,200. The 1,300 patrolmen receive $800 the first year, $900 the second year, and THE CINCINNATI PLAN. 79 $1,100 the third year. There are 12 police matrons, each receiving a salary of $800. The total number of officers and men is 1,526. There are four election com- missioners two Eepublicans and two Democrats. (See p. 19). In St. Louis (population 460,357 in 1890) the Police Department is governed by four commissioners, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. The Mayor of St. Louis is, ex qfficio, president of the Board. There is no bureau of elections. The annual salaries of the different grades of officers are as follows : chief of police, $3,500 ; captains, each $1,800 ; sergeants, each $1,200 ; patrolmen, each $1,000. The force consists of 803 men. In Cincinnati (population 296,000 in 1890) the Board of Police Commissioners is composed of four electors of the city, who are appointed by the Governor. Not more than two members belong to the same polit- ical party. Two of the commissioners, of different po- litical faith, are appointed to serve two years; and the other two, also of different political faith, are designated to serve four years. After the expiration of the term of the commissioners designated to serve two years, all appointments made by the Governor are for four years. The Mayor is a member of the Board, and hence no tie votes are possible. The Board of Elections is composed of four citizens, who are appointed by the Governor on the same principle as the Board of Police Commissioners. The annual sala- ries are as follows : police commissioners, each $1,000 ; 80 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. superintendent, $5,000; inspector, $1,800; chief of de- tectives, $1,800 ; detectives, each $1,500 ; lieutenants, each $1,200 ; sergeants, each $1,080 ; patrolmen the first year receive $70 a month, the second year $75, the third year $80, and the fourth year $85. The num- ber of men on the Cincinnati police force is 478. In Minneapolis the executive power of the Police Department is exclusively vested in the Mayor. The Bureau of Elections is independent of the Police Depart- ment. No civil-service examination is required. The entire force consists of only 218 men, although the population in 1890 was 164,738, and the area is 53-33 square miles. In New Orleans the Police Department is under the management of the Board of six Police Commissioners, created by the act of the Legislature in 1888. The superintendent is the executive head of the force and is subject to the orders of the Mayor ; but the Board has power to pass resolutions regarding the enforcement of any law, as well as to make regulations for the general government of the force. The police do not supervise elections. All applicants must pass a civil-service ex- amination. In Detroit (population 206,000) there is a bipartisan board of four commissioners, who are appointed by the Mayor for the term of four years. There are 429 mem- bers of the force. In Boston there are three commissioners, who are appointed by the Governor. According to the report of the Philadelphia Police SETII LOW'S OPINION. 81 Department of 1893, the average cost of the police serv- ice of Boston, per head of population, was $2.81 ; that of Philadelphia was $1.93 ; that of Chicago was $2.42 ; that of St. Louis was $1.62 ; and that of New York was $2.89. New York pays more per capita for the police force than any of the eight largest cities of the country. Of all the methods of ruling a police force by a Board the Cincinnati plan is, I think, the best; for there the Mayor (an elective officer) may prevent a tie vote, and the electors can hold him responsible for the condition of the department. The chief objection to a bipartisan board is, that if one commissioner changes his politics there is no way of removing him, unless there be in the statute a provision that any commissioner who joins another organization forfeits his office by that act. Seth Low, in opposing a bipartisan police board for New York, says: "Until it becomes wise to place an army under the charge of four generals it can not be wise to place a police department under the control of four men. . . . The founders of this republic com- mitted all the great administrative offices of the Gen- eral Government to a single head. Our cities do not show their wisdom in departing from this practice. They rather illustrate their lack of wisdom, which is the more evident from the fact that they depart from instead of following so great an example." The advo- cates of a bipartisan board of police suggest that in the trial of officers for neglect of duty too much responsi- bility would be fixed upon a single commissioner. This is a specious argument, but it is not well founded. The 82 THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. trial of offenders by a so-called nonpartisan board re- sults in the vicious tie vote, which, as I have explained, prevents the dismissal of worthless officers and men. In European cities the police department is gen- erally governed by a single head. In London there is a commissioner of police ; in Paris a prefect of police ; in Berlin a president of police. Where a police depart- ment is poisoned by politics the officer is afraid to do his duty. He can be transferred and hounded by fines and complaints until he is obliged to resign. The se- curity of his place on the force should prompt the offi- cer to do his duty in the belief that he is affected by neither political party. He should be afraid of no one seeking revenge because he had enforced the law against a politician. A police officer under indictment should be suspended from duty and receive no pay. This would prompt a district attorney to bring the offender to trial speedily. In 1893 a police captain in a lower ward of New York was indicted for constant neglect of duty. He was simply transferred to another precinct. Three patrolmen were indicted for extortion from ped- dlers of push carts. They were admitted to bail, and continued to serve on the force. In 1894 the Superin- tendent of Police of Jersey City was indicted for neglect of duty, and remained on the force. A system of police telegraph or signaling has long been used in cities. In New York the Herzog Teleseme system is adopted. This consists in placing, upon lamp- posts, boxes that any citizen can use for the sake of giving an alarm in case of a riot or an emergency. A STATE POLICE FORCE. 83 In Philadelphia the Gamewell system has been intro- duced. So far as a municipal police board is concerned, I have said that the Cincinnati plan seems to be the best. But the system of making the police force a depart- ment of the municipality is wrong. The American people should learn a lesson from the governments of Europe and place the police departments under' the supervision of the State. The police power belongs to the Commonwealth. The true remedy for the existing evils of the police boards of cities is to remove the de- partment from politics and make it a branch of the State government under the control of one official. No police commissioner should stand for office, and it is forbidden by law in New York. The Governor should appoint the commissioners throughout the State, as is now the custom in several of the large cities. CHAPTER VII. POLICE COURTS. Isr the United States there is no uniform method of appointing or electing police magistrates. In some States they are appointed by the Governor e. g., Massachusetts and Maryland. Even in New York the system differs in various cities. In the great metropolis there are fifteen magistrates appointed by the Mayor for a term of ten years, and receiving an annual salary of $8,000. These police judges are generally zealous ward politicians. Some are reputable citizens, ami the contrast between their patient and intelligent method of holding court and the political semicriminal con- duct of their associates is remarkable. Three of them (or one fifth of the whole number) have been indicted for different offenses; and another, on two occasions, has narrowly escaped indictment. For twenty "years they were prohibited from practicing law; but in 1892, after a change in the Legislature of the State, a law was passed, despite determined opposition, allowing police magistrates to practice in the courts. Some of the judges often absent themselves from the city, and twelve efficient lawyers, serving as justices, could con- duct the business of the courts. Brooklyn has six judges, Albany has two, and (84) BETTER MAGISTRATES NEEDFUL. 85 Rochester, Schenectady, Troy and Hudson have but one police magistrate. In these cities they are elected, with terms of from one to ten years and receive salaries from $600 upward. In New York probably three fourths of the people who are brought to the police courts to obtain justice are too poor to employ legal counsel, unless it be one of the "shyster" lawyers who practice only in these courts. They must depend upon the magistrates to preserve their rights. At least 100,000 persons appear before the police magistrates annually. Of this num- ber 86,488 were arrested by the police in 1893. The remainder are those who appeal for warrants or for pro- tection from their oppressors. The police magistrate is generally an absolute autocrat in the cases that come before him. He has discretionary power, and hence it is difficult to impeach a magistrate for an abuse of authority. Moreover, it would usually be easy to ob- tain a squad of witnesses to commit perjury in the event of proceedings for impeachment in the Court of Common Pleas. The high character of the men that should fill these positions was well set forth by Mayor Hewitt in his message of 1888. He said : " I do not assert too much when I declare that the position of a police justice is more important to the community than that of a judge of the Court of Appeals. The latter finally settles the law, but the former applies it in the first instance in nearly all cases affecting the life, liberty and property of the citizens." 86 POLICE COURTS. The decisions of the New York police magistrates, especially in election cases, depend largely upon the presence of some anti-ring lawyer. If a man of stand- ing appears in behalf of the accused, a majority of the magistrates are inclined to be careful in their rulings. Now that twenty Good Government Clubs have been established in New York, it would be well for each club to detail a lawyer to attend the police courts daily, especially during political campaigns, and to scrutinize the decisions of the magistrates, with a view to their removal or impeachment if there is ground for such a proceeding. The difference between the government of the chief cities of Europe and the United States is perhaps shown more strongly in the class of men who serve as police magistrates than in any other matter. A su- perior class of men occupy these places in Europe. In Birmingham, England, the magistrates are leading citi- zens and receive no salary. The clerks of the police courts receive ample compensation, and examine the prisoners and witnesses, but the judgments are pro- nounced by the magistrates. (See p. 44.) Concerning the new class of men that must come forward to govern American cities, I know of no field of municipal reform so promising as that of the police courts in the large cities. If, after constant agitation for municipal reform, the police magistrates should be- come a superior class of men, it might then be well to introduce the British system of ex afficio magistrates that is, aldermen or city councilors who serve without CHICAGO POLICE JUSTICES. 87 compensation, and who act as police justices. In the summer of 1893 the conduct of one of the Brooklyn police justices, concerning the case of foreign officers who were attacked by street ruffians, was so outrageous that the Mayor sent an apology to the offended persons. In Illinois police judges are practically appointed by the Governor, as in Massachusetts. There are in Chicago forty-eight justices of the peace, having a term of office of four years. A justice must be rec- ommended to the Governor of the State by a majority of the judges of the Cook County Circuit and Superior Courts. If approved by the Governor the name of the proposed justice must be sent to the State Senate, which accepts or rejects him. It being necessary for these three tribunals to pass upon the names of the justices, a good class of men fill the places. They are usually lawyers, and their jurisdiction is limited to suits where the amount involved does not exceed two hundred dol- lars. From these justices of the peace the Mayor of Chicago selects as many police magistrates as may be necessary, and the city pays their salaries. The Mayor can at any time revoke his appointments and name other justices to act as police magistrates, but those once appointed usually continue to hold the office. The police magistrates and other justices rarely practice . in the courts, though there is no statute to prevent them if they are lawyers. In Massachusetts the magistrates are appointed for life by the Governor of the State. They can be removed only by " the Governor with the consent of the Council, 88 POLICE COURTS. and upon the address of both Houses of the Legislature." In Boston the police magistrates are called judges of the municipal court. There are a chief justice, with a salary of $4,300, also four associate justices receiving $4,000 each, and one special justice at $4,000. These magistrates are well paid ; for the justices of the Su- preme Court, the highest court in the Commonwealth, receive only $7,000 annually, the chief justice having $7,500, with $500 for traveling expenses. The police judges of Boston spend nearly all their time in court. These courts have a limited civil as well as criminal jurisdiction, but no juries. The police magistrates are absolutely free from politics after appointment, and there never has been a breath of suspicion that they are corrupt. As the Governor can ask nothing of them after appointment, on account of their independent po- sition, he does not appoint party workers, although the places are sometimes awarded to able lawyers who have supported the political party in power. Many appoint- ments have been made regardless of political services. In Berlin, Paris and Birmingham there are central courthouses both for the criminal courts of record and for police courts. In each case prisons are in the build- ings or contiguous to them. The central criminal court- house system is good for cities of moderate size, but in large cities it involves the maintenance of a number of transports or " Black Marias," to convey the prisoners from the district police stations to the central court- house. In the city of New York there are eight police CRIMINAL COURTHOUSES. 89 courthouses, in various parts of the city, and a new central building for the criminal courts of record (called the General Sessions) has just been completed. It ad- joins the central City Prison, or " The Tombs." The poorer portion of the population depend upon the minor civil and criminal courts for the enforcement of their rights and liberties, and impartial administration of criminal justice is one of the highest aims of municipal government. CHAPTER VIII. EXCISE. THE subject of the sale of liquor is not strictly a matter of municipal administration; but enforcement of the liquor law is such an important matter in cities having a large foreign population that brief reference should be made to it. The police force in large cities is often corrupted by the liquor dealers that is, the police are paid to allow the sale of liquor during the entire night or on Sunday. Public sentiment in towns and villages is strongly in favor of temperance, and in some States, like Maine and Iowa, a prohibition law remains on the statute book, although it is not strictly enforced. Public opinion in cities containing a large for- eign population is in favor of allowing the sale of liquor on Sunday, and in the city of New York the law has been defied for many years. Constant violation of the excise law compels Germans and other foreigners to look upon the city government with contempt instead of respect. When these newcomers see a police force and other city officials bribed to allow the sale of liquor, they must necessarily have a very low opinion of our institutions. The President of the Police Board of the city of (90) SUNDAY OPENING. 91 New York testified recently before a legislative com- mittee that for several years a practice had existed among policemen of accepting bribes from liquor sellers whom they detected violating the excise law. The police commissioners passed a resolution condemning the bribery, and abolishing the so-called spy system, so that weak policemen might not be tempted. The Presi- dent added that he hoped this disapproval of black- mail would abolish the evil, and he believed that, to a large extent, it had done so. In England saloons are closed during church hours on Sunday. In France the saloons are open on Sunday, and the revenue from the sale of liquor goes to the State instead of to the city. In 1893 a bill was introduced in the New York Legislature to submit to the people the question of Sunday opening. It was strongly opposed by evangel- ical associations and the Excise Reform Association of the city of New York, and never was reported. It seems a feasible solution of the problem in large cities to submit to the voters the question, " Shall the public sale of liquors be allowed on Sunday?" If this ques- tion could be settled, it would take away from the police force the chief source of corruption. The brewers and liquor dealers hold the balance of political power in some cities. Philadelphia is one of the few large cities that have adopted a strong high license law and it has proved satisfactory. When the new excise law took effect, in 1888, the number of retail licenses was reduced from 92 EXCISE. 5,573 to 1,343 i. e., one license to every 747 people. The ratio in 1894 was one to 677. There is much to be said on both sides concerning the subject of high license. The great desideratum is to have the liquor traffic properly controlled. It would be well to enact a law to the effect that only one license to sell liquor should be granted for every five hundred inhabitants, which would prevent undue multiplication of saloons. It has been suggested to sell liquor licenses to the highest bidder rather than allow a person to take out a license for a definite fee ; that is, the place, not the person, should be licensed. The law might be en- forced by providing, that the second breach should nullify the license, and that the same place could not be relicensed within a year. There is in New York State a law prohibiting the sale of liquors to minors, yet it is rarely enforced. In 1892 a Jaw was passed whereby no saloon could be placed within two hundred feet of a church or school- house, and there are in the city of New York many churches and schools within about two hundred feet of a liquor saloon. In 1887 and 1888 a Republican Legislature passed high-license bills applying only to the larger cities of the State, but they were vetoed by Governor Hill. In 1892 a new excise law was enacted, allowing a limited number of so-called all-night licenses in the city of New York. The law provided that the action of the Excise Commissioners must be approved by the Board of Al- dermen, but this act was repealed in 1893, and the ALL-NIGHT LICENSES. 93 power is now vested wholly in the Board of Excise. On January 1, 1894, there were in New York 8,968 licenses, or one for every 200 inhabitants, paying an average license fee of $200. The total receipts were $1,747,860, or $431,140 less than Philadelphia receives from only 2,179 saloons. In Pittsburg the liquor traffic is regulated by high license and local option ; in Boston, by high license, numerical enumeration and local option; in Chicago, by high license only ; in St. Louis, by local option and high license ; in Detroit, by local option ; in Minneapo- lis and St. Paul, by high license, with prohibition of saloons in residential quarters ; in Atlanta, by local op- tion and high license ; in the larger cities of New York, by low license only. It is not my purpose to discuss the subject of drunk- enness, but investigations have shown that a strict en- forcement of a practicable liquor law decreases the amount of intemperance. The municipal authorities of the United States would do well to adopt the ordinance of Berlin, to the effect that a saloon keeper forfeits his license if he allows a customer to become intoxicated more than once in his saloon. The true solution of the liquor problem is, perhaps, to abolish the system of licensing, with the discretionary power it allows to the grantors, and substitute the system of taxing liquor, by which there is no chance of favoritism. CHAPTEE IX. WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. WATER. It is impossible to over-estimate the impor- tance of an abundance of pure and wholesome water for a city. The ownership of waterworks varies in different cities, both in the Old and in the New World. In Lon- don the water is supplied by private companies. In Birmingham and Glasgow the waterworks belong to the city. On the Continent of Europe the State performs generally what is done by private companies both in England and in the United States. The waterworks of Paris are owned by the city. In Berlin the water supply now belongs to the cor- poration, but it was not until 1873 that the munici- pality took the waterworks under its control, and great public benefit has followed the change. The peculiar feature of the water supply in Berlin is, that the water is sold to the residents like gas that is, by meter and this system has been found to work well. In the United States the larger cities own the water- works, as a general rule, but the smaller cities and towns are often supplied with water by private parties or incorporated companies. (94) THE CROTON AQUEDUCT. 95 The city of New York is supplied by the well-known Croton Aqueduct, one of the largest in the world. Its length is thirty-eight miles. This public work was finished in 1842, and its original flowing capacity was about 90,000,000 gallons a day. (See page 66.) The cost, including the Croton Dam and Reservoir, was $8,575,000. This aqueduct was built by a referendum, chapter 256 of the laws of 1834 providing that the proposal to construct a new aqueduct be submitted to the voters of the city. A law was passed in 1883 to build a new aque- duct from the Croton River watershed to the city of New York. This stupendous public work became a harvest for politicians ; large sums of money have been squandered upon it, and much of the work had to be done over. The defective work was, in part, owing to corrupt inspectors and engineers, who approved work that was not only contrary to specifications, but done in a most scandalous manner. Several sections were renewed, and suits for colossal amounts were brought by the contractors against the city, but they were for- tunately defeated. Throughout the Croton watershed many farmhouses had been erected close to Croton River and its tribu- taries, so that the drainage of houses and barnyards went into the river and polluted the water supply of the great city. Accordingly, a stringent law was passed in 1893, giving the Commissioner of Public Works plenary powers to remove all offensive buildings. The New York Academy of Medicine undertook to perfect this Croton 96 WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. watershed bill. Their representatives went before the Legislative Committee at Albany and suggested cer- tain necessary amendments. They quoted the experi- ence of water companies in Europe, especially in Eng- land ; but they were prevented from citing foreign cases, because one of the demagogues on the committee said : " We don't want to hear anything about England ; we can make laws for ourselves." In other words, this nar- row-minded statesman wished to spend millions of the city's money without regard to the principles of hy- draulic engineering and sanitation, and he ignored the tried and successful methods of other countries. American physicians, scientists and jurists are very glad to learn from their brethren in foreign lands, but the American politician believes that the science of government and the construction of public works must be carried out on the " spread-eagle " system, without regard to the knowledge and experience of older coun- tries. When the committee of the New York Academy of Medicine went to the Mayor of the city to protest against some objectionable features of this watershed bill, he replied, " I am afraid the doctors are going into politics." The total length of the new aqueduct is thirty-two miles. It had cost, up to March 1, 1894, $28,083,000, ( and it is now calculated that $35,000,000 will be ex- pended before the aqueduct and storage reservoirs are completed, or about three times the amount of the original estimate. It is thought that the new aque- duct will pay for itself out of water rents in about ANNUAL WATER CHARGES. 97 forty years. The total daily capacity is 315,000,000 gallons. In New York the regular annual rents vary accord- ing to the frontage of buildings e. g., a four-storied house twenty-two and a half to twenty-five feet wide, occupied by one family, is charged eleven dollars. A three-storied house twenty-five to thirty feet in width pays twelve dollars, while a five-storied house sixteen feet and under is charged eight dollars. There is an extra rate of one dollar per year for each additional family. Some of the extra and miscellaneous annual rates are as follows : Bakeries : Three dollars. Barber Shops : From five to twenty dollars each.* Dining Saloons : From five to twenty dollars each.* Horse- Troughs : For each trough, and for each half barrel or tub on sidewalk or street, twenty dollars. Laundries : From eight to twenty dollars each.* Liquor and Lager Beer Saloons : Ten dollars each. An additional charge of five dollars is made for each tap or wash-box. Soda, Mineral Water and Root Beer Fountains : Five dollars each. Water- Closets and Urinals: To each building on a lot, one water-closet having sewer connections is allowed without charge ; each additional water-closet (for each seat) and each urinal will be charged two dollars per * In the discretion of the Commissioner of Public Works. 98 WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. annum, whether in a building or on any other portion of the premises. In the city of New York water meters are provided for hotels, stores, stables, factories and public edifices, but not for private dwellings. Where the water supply is scant, there is great advantage in using water me- ters ; but in the case of private dwellings or tenement houses it seems better for the public health to allow the inmates an unlimited supply. Water measured by meter costs ten cents per one hundred feet. The fairest and most logical method of water charges is by meter. Large reservoirs are common in American cities. For example, the new reservoir in Central Park, New York, has an area of 106 acres, and its capacity exceeds 1,000,000,000 gallons. In Chicago the water supply is owned by the city, and is obtained from Lake Michigan. Cribs have been constructed several miles from the shore, the principal one being four miles distant. The sewage from the city, up to a recent period, has been drained into the lake. Hence the reason for constructing the cribs at a great distance from the shore. A scientific system of sewerage is now in course of construction, whereby the drainage will be sent westward by a canal to Illinois Eiver. (See page 156.) The corporation of Philadelphia owns its water- works, and the Fairmount Works on the Schuylkill furnishes the chief source of supply. Many small cities in the older States are supplied by private com- panies. I know of a city that had originally an option KATES OP PRIVATE COMPANIES. 99 of purchasing the waterworks, but the authorities neglected to exercise it, and now this municipality suffers from the exorbitant rates of a private corpo- ration. In Philadelphia the rate for a dwelling with a hy- drant in the yard and a faucet in the kitchen, or having either alone, is five dollars a year. Additional charges are made in dwellings for other connections. The price per water meter in factories is thirty cents per 1,000 cubic feet. In Chicago the frontage rates are a little higher than those of New York, and the special or-class rates are about the same. The water charges of private companies in different cities vary so much that I have not space to give de- tails ; but as a rule their charges are based upon the number of faucets or places to draw from. In New- port, R. I., the annual rate for the first faucet in dwelling-houses occupied by one family is seven dollars ; when the house is occupied by more than one family, one faucet only being in use for all, each family pays six dollars. The rate for the first water-closet (self- closing) is five dollars, and for each additional water- closet four dollars. The price is the same for bath- tubs. There are, of course, special rates for hotels, boarding-houses, stables, markets, factories, public bath- houses, etc. The city of Albany, N. Y. (population 100,000), affords a good illustration of selfish ring rule concern- ing the water supply. The people of Albany drink 100 WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. practically the sewage water of the city of Troy, six miles distant. Instead of tapping the pure water of the Hudson by the construction of an aqueduct not exceeding fifteen miles in length, or obtaining a sup- ply from the neighboring hills, the water ring of Al- bany steadily refuses to furnish the inhabitants with water suitable for drinking. The supply is, of course, abundant, for the city fronts on the Hudson, and the water is pumped up from the river, the greater part of the city being upon an undulating plateau about one hundred feet above the stream. In New Orleans the waterworks belong to a private corporation, of which the city owns a certain number of shares. Accordingly, the Mayor, treasurer, and com- missioner of police and public buildings are ex officio members of the board of directors. The waterworks of Kansas City, Mo., were built by a private company, under a contract giving the munici- pality the right of purchase at the end of a term of years. In 1894 a bitter and protracted legal struggle was finished, whereby the Circuit Court of the United States decided in favor of the city by giving it pos- session of the waterworks, and fixing the purchase price at $2,714,000. As in other public undertakings, it is well in grant- ing a franchise or charter to a water company that the city should reserve the right to buy out the stock- holders ; but, before that right is exercised, the question should be submitted to a vote of the citizens. The city of Glasgow, Scotland, which has a model GLASGOW AND LONDON. 1Q1 municipal government, has lately purchased the water- works. The supply comes from Loch Katrine, and it has proved a paying investment for the corporation. It is urged by " Progressives " in London that the great metropolis should buy out the water companies. Mr. John Burns, M. P., who is also a member of the London County Council, thus speaks of the London water supply : " What a different tale does London tell from the municipal enterprise of Glasgow on this ques- tion ! London has to pay a tremendous price for its timidity in grappling with its proper work. London pays $8,500,000 for water that costs the companies only $3,500,000. This surplus of $5,000,000, or two thirds of the London County Council's rate-earned income, is the exaggerated rent of ability and interest that private companies are allowed to take from Londoners for a water supply that is rightly the corporate property of the people whom they supply." * The water supply of London is so scant that no waste is permitted. Water is measured and paid for. Every family bargains for the necessary number of gal- lons daily, and the amount is placed in tanks. At noon the supply from the water main is shut off. The city of Birmingham, England, did not own its waterworks until 1876. It is so common for private corporations to construct waterworks in Great Britain, that in 1882 some London capitalists attempted to con- struct waterworks for the city of New York. They pro- * The Nineteenth Century, April, 1892. 102 WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. posed to take the water of Ramapo River, about thirty- five miles from New York, and conduct it through a system of pipes to the city ; but the proposition was re- jected by the commissioners of the sinking fund. In 1880 an English company obtained a concession to erect waterworks to supply the western suburbs of Vienna. It seems that the cheapest way to supply the inhabit- ants in a city or town with a satisfactory water service is by a well-guarded and equitable franchise granted to a private corporation, with prices regulated by ordi- nance. It is then known in advance exactly what has to be provided for and paid. On the other hand, when the municipality owns the works the constant appropri- ation paid out of the tax-levy, for various necessary but oftentimes unnecessary purposes, makes the total cost greater, although the rates to private consumers may appear lesl on the water bills than those that would be paid to a private corporation in a similar city. Municipal ownership of waterworks is constantly growing more popular. When they are thus owned the average citizen seems to feel a sort of joint proprietor- ship in " our water plant," and the local politician uses the patronage which the operation of the works affords, as well as the contracts required for repairs and im- provements, to advance his own interests, politically and perhaps sometimes financially. GAS. Illuminating coal gas was invented in Bir- mingham, England, and that city since 1875 has owned the gas works, which now yield a yearly profit of $125,- 000. In 1814 gas-lighting was introduced in London, MUNICIPAL GAS-WORKS. 1Q3 and English companies soon obtained permission to supply Continental towns with gas. In London there are several companies ; but the price is regulated by the market value of coal and the rate of wages, and the city gets the benefit of the bargain. According to Mr. John Burns, the municipal gas-works of Glasgow yield a yearly revenue of $265,000. He says, " London, in con- trast to this prosperity, allows its lighting to yield over $5,000,000 profit to private firms." * Paris is supplied by a private company, which di- vides its profits with the municipality, as a considera- tion for the franchise. Gas was introduced in this city in 1815. Municipal gas-works are quite common in Germany. At present (1894) thirty German towns own their gas- works. In Berlin the use of oil lamps for public and domestic lighting was continued until 1827. In that year a British company, which had already obtained contracts in other German towns, obtained a franchise for supplying gas to Berlin for the term of twenty-one years. Before the expiration of this concession the corporation of Berlin, being satisfied that the growth of the city and the large profits of the English company warranted the construction of municipal gas-works, built in 1847 a gas establishment, and refused to renew the concession. The British company instantly reduced the price of gas per thousand cubic feet from $2.40 to $1.20, and the latter also became the price of the municipal * The Nineteenth Century, April, 1892. 104: WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. gas. The corporation of Berlin receives from the city gas-works an annual profit of $1,300,000. "With the improved methods of manufacturing gas, the price has been reduced, and the American house- keeper may wish to know that the net price per thou- sand feet in Berlin is now ninety-six cents for private consumption. Berlin is, with the possible exception of Paris, as well lighted at night as any other city. In 1883 the corporation of Berlin granted to a pri- vate company a franchise to supply electric lights, and the principal streets are now illuminated by electricity ; but it is too expensive to be adopted by the general consumer. It may interest commissioners of public parks in American cities to learn that in Berlin no gas mains are laid in the public gardens, on account of possible damage to trees and shrubs by tearing up the ground. Electricity and petroleum lamps are used for the illumi- nation of the public parks.* Few American cities own gas-works. Exceptions are Philadelphia, Danville, Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Eichmond and Charlottesville, Va., Bellefontaine and Hamilton, Ohio, Duluth, Minn., Henderson, Ky., Wheeling, W. Va. and Sonoma, Cal. Gas was introduced in Philadelphia in 1835. It was made by a private company, but the municipality reserved the right to buy out the stockholders. This * I have taken these facts from A Study in Municipal Gov- ernment (the Corporation of Berlin), by James Pollard. THE PHILADELPHIA GAS RING. 1Q5 was done in 1841, with the motive of keeping the gas- works out of politics, by vesting their control in a board of twelve trustees, each serving for three years. They were appointed by the City Council, but when the Council tried to obtain control of the works the courts were appealed to. A decision was made to the effect that the board, as trustees of the bondholders, could not be interfered with until the last of the bonds, issued under this arrangement, had been paid off, and it was not until 1855 that the city authorities were able to break up this political gas trust.* The price of gas in Philadelphia is now one dollar per thousand feet. In Boston and Detroit the price is the same, while in Cleveland, Ohio, the cost is but eighty cents, which is probably the lowest of any Amer- ican city. Municipal gas-works are not popular in the United States, owing to the general prejudice against a city's engaging in anything but what are commonly con- sidered strictly governmental matters. A corrupt ring is almost certain to be formed, if the supply of gas, electricity, etc., be controlled by the city government. This feeling grows out of the general principle that the best government is that which rules least. The gas in the city of New York is supplied by private com- panies, the principal of which is known as the Consoli- dated Gas Company, having a paid-up capital of $35,- * See the chapter on the Philadelphia gas ring in Bryce's American Commonwealth. 106 WATER, GAS 'AND ELECTRICITY. 430,000. In 1886 the Legislature passed a law to reduce the price of gas to $1.25 per thousand cubic feet, and the corporations complain that it is absurd to regulate by law the price of their product without regulating also the price of the items that compose the cost, such as labor, coal, naphtha, etc. In the event of a strike, or increase of wages, or a rise in the price of coal, the companies would, of course, be compelled to supply gas at a greatly reduced profit, if not at an actual loss, and these companies maintain that for the public to obtain the most satisfactory results, a fair return on the capital should be allowed, and an illuminating and purity standard established. Then the price to the customers should be increased or decreased according to the cost of manufacture i. e., when the company is able to re- duce the cost of gas, the greater part of such reduction should go to the consumer in a lower price, and a small portion of such reduction should go to the company in the shape of increased dividends. In case of increase in the cost, the reverse of this system should be fol- lowed. This will always make it to the interest of the company to reduce the price, which is virtually the London plan. Large profits have been made by Amer- ican gas companies. Electricity has superseded gas in many American cities and towns, as well as in some of the large cities of Europe ; but it is dearer than gas, even if the illu- minating power of a given number of gas lamps and electric lights be considered. ELECTRICITY. About 1883 electricity began to be AN ELECTRIC-LIGHT "COMBINE." 1Q7 used extensively for lighting the streets of the large cities. The first companies naturally obtained a monop- oly, but others were soon formed, and they attempted to compete for the illumination of streets. The city of New York affords a good illustration of the original monopoly of electric lighting. For several years two companies supplied electricity at exorbitant prices. They were receiving seventy cents a night for each elec- tric light, when other companies offered to furnish the same light for twenty-five cents. In 1887 a desperate struggle took place, as several companies attempted to compete with the two companies that supplied the me- tropolis with electricity, and a " combine " was formed in the New York Common Council. The attorneys of the would-be competing companies appeared before an aldermanic committee, but their applications were re- fused. The committee declined even to report the reso- lutions granting them a franchise. Accordingly, one of the honest members of the Council moved to discharge the committee from further consideration of the sub- ject ; but after a long debate his motion received but four votes against fifteen. The newspapers at once raised the cry of " Boodle ! " and for several weeks the subject was agitated. Meanwhile the bosses of the two Democratic factions in the city wished to avoid the scandal of the Board of Aldermen of 1884, which had just been made public, and summoned the refractory members of the " combine" and advised them to vote to allow the other electric-light companies to compete. The power of the press on this occasion was, I think, 108 WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. shown more clearly than in any other case of late years. One Democratic journal published a chart of the alder- men, and compared them with the city fathers of 1884, two of whom were in Sing Sing, some in Canada, and others awaiting trial. It closed the article in these words : " Do these new scoundrels wish to follow J and M to Sing Sing, or do they intend to invoke a vigilance committee and lynch law here in this orderly and patient city ? " After a struggle of nearly a month the "combine" was broken, and, of the twenty-four aldermen, all ex- cept two voted to give the other electric-light compa- nies the right to furnish electricity to the city and also to private individuals. The Mayor promptly approved the resolution. The bids for supplying light to the city for the current year were postponed until the other electric-light companies were allowed to compete. Dur- ing the agitation the original companies reduced their bids from seventy to fifty cents a light. The gas com- mission, consisting of the Mayor, comptroller and com- missioner of public works, finally received bids as low as twenty-five cents a night for each light. The contracts were then drawn, and, from a calculation which I have made, the city saved about $68,000 a year on account of the reduced cost of supplying electricity.* Prof. J. R. Commons, in the chapter on Munici- pal Monopolies, in his book on Social Reform and the Church, after discussing the comparative cost of * I was then a member of the Common Council. ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS. 109 water and gas, says: "Electric lighting shows even more startling comparisons. The average cost per light per year, of arcs operated by twenty-three cities, is $53.04. Making the very liberal allowance of twelve per cent on the total cost of plant and buildings, for interest, depreciation and taxes, the average cost is $86.64, and at an allowance of seven per cent the cost is only $75.64. But twenty-nine private companies, under substantially similar conditions, and for the same lights, receive an average of $106.61 from twenty to forty per cent higher than public cost." Since 1886 electricity has been largely used as a motive power in American cities. In New York the Board of Aldermen of 1888 authorized the Fourth Ave- nue Railroad Company to use electric motors on its line. Since then the overhead or " trolley " wire railway has been introduced into many of our cities and towns. This form of electricity is much cheaper than horse- power, and is called by the sensational newspapers of the day " the dividend-paying and death-dealing " trol- ley railway, on account of the large number of serious and fatal accidents. The trolley wire is noisy, and it has invaded some of the finest streets in American cities. The city of New York is almost the only large city where the trolley system is not extensively used. In the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards, or so- called annexed district, the overhead electric wire is used as a motive power, but the trolley railway has not in- vaded Manhattan Island, except for a short distance on 135th Street, between Harlem River and the Eighth HO WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY. Avenue Elevated Railroad, and extending along Third Avenue from Harlem Bridge to 129th Street at the steps of the Elevated Eailroad station. In a city like Albany, N. Y., the trolley has been advantageous on account of the steep grades and wide streets. The authorities of some municipalities in the West- ern States encourage the construction of waterworks and gas-works and electric-lighting plants by exempting them from taxation for a limited period. CHAPTER X. STREETS. THE streets of a town or city belong to the public, and they should not be taken possession of by a corpo- ration or an individual without just compensation. The improper use of the roadways and sidewalks of streets, f especially by corporations, is the most frequent source of municipal corruption in the United States. (See page 50.) The giving away of franchises to street railway, omnibus and ferry companies, or at least the granting of them for a very insufficient sum, is the bane of our cities. (See page 176.) Yet it must be remem- bered that many of these franchises were granted to cities in their infancy, and for some years the returns were very moderate. Now, with a rapidly increasing number of surface railways in parallel streets, the com- petition is so great that the profits of the companies are comparatively small. When the franchise is granted in consideration of a percentage on the gross receipts, the competition is injurious to the city treasury when the competing companies do not pay the same stipulated percentage; but where, on the other hand, a tax or license fee of $50 is paid for two-horse cars, and one (ill) 112 STREETS. of $25 for one-horse cars, the gross receipts are of lit- tle consequence to the city. Considering the insufficient revenue that the city derives, some municipal reformers will suggest an in- crease in the annual percentage or a reduction of the rate of fare. If an amendment to reduce the rate of fare is proposed, the companies at once use every pos- sible means (legal and illegal) to defeat the measure. The weak point is in the original charter. If a clause is introduced to the effect that a company should pay a greater percentage upon the amount of its receipts, or reduce the fare at the end of, say, twenty years, or if every ten years the percentage should be increased, the city would receive the benefit. I do not advocate general municipal construction of tramways until a better class of men are elected to rule the cities, but I suggest that in all future grants of franchises the municipality should reserve the right of purchase in street railroads, the matter to be decided by popular vote at a charter election. In fact, franchises should not be sold, but leased for a term not exceeding thirty years. The small sum of $230,000 is paid annually for the use of the streets of New York by surface railroad companies. Of this sum nearly one half is paid by the Broadway Railroad, which in 1893 substituted cable power for horses. There is a precedent for reducing the fare in the case of the New York Elevated Railroad Company, which in 1878 began to run its trains for a fare of ten cents (except during commutation hours) ELEVATED RAILWAY DUES. ] H3 between the two termini of the city a distance of about seven miles on the east side and about nine miles on the west side. In 1886 the fare was reduced to five cents. The West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway Com- pany, which built the first elevated railway through Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue in New York, was required to pay "a sum not exceeding five per cent of its net income ... as a compensation . . . for the use of the streets." In 1871 the New York Ele- vated Eailroad Company purchased at foreclosure the line of the original company. This company, and its successor, the Manhattan Railway Company, paid to the city five per cent of its net annual income till 1890, the aggregate amount being $268,493.75. These pay- ments were afterward discontinued, and the litigation that followed was ended by the decision of the Court of Appeals, in June, 1894, in the case of " The Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of New York against the Manhattan Railway Company " (see 143, New York Reports, page 1). This decision was a prac- tical victory for the railway company, the court hold- ing that only a portion of the Ninth Avenue line was liable to pay a percentage of the net income, and that no liability for such percentage applies to the Third Avenue route. The companies owning the Second and Sixth Avenue routes have never been obliged, under their charters, to pay anything for the use of the streets. In Brooklyn, the elevated railroad was erected in 1888. The company has paid nothing to the city for ' 114 STREETS. the franchise, and no license fees are paid for running the cars. An elevated railway has been completed re- cently in Chicago. The franchise was granted on con- dition that the city shall receive a yearly license fee of $50 per car, whether the cars are run or not. In Paris and Berlin there are belt railways (elevated and depressed in places) in the outskirts, and this plan might be judiciously adopted in American cities that are not bisected by large rivers. The rivers of these two European capitals are so narrow that bridges ean easily be built at moderate expense, though the many substantial bridges (generally of stone) over the river Seine, at Paris, were built at great cost, and are a con- stant source of expense to the city. An electric ele- vated railroad has been erected lately in Liverpool. Since the scandal of the New York Broadway Rail- road, in 1884, a law has been in force compelling the sale of such franchises to the highest bidder, and the re- sults of this law are excellent. In Cleveland, Ohio, the system adopted is to grant a franchise to the company making the lowest bid concerning the cost to the citi- zen of the article supplied, whether it be transportation or gas. It might be possible to combine the two plans, so as to yield a sure and reasonable revenue to the mu- nicipality, and at the same time to give to the public better and cheaper facilities. In estimating the revenue from franchises for rail- roads or ferries, the gross earnings of the owner or licensee should be the basis of municipal income ; the use of the term " net profits or net earnings " opens the FRANCHISES IN BERLIN. H5 door for legal juggling. The contract with the city should further provide proper means for arriving at the gross earnings at stated intervals and under severe pen- alties, even to the point of forfeiture of the franchise, in any case of evasions of taxation and of the payment of city dues or debt of any kind. There are comparatively few street-car companies in the city of Berlin, yet the corporation receives from them $300,000 a year for the use of the streets, and the stock pays a handsome dividend. The law provides that street franchises must be sold at auction and a per- centage of the yearly profits be paid to the city. In Berlin the concessions of surface railway companies run usually thirty years, and four per cent of the gross earn- ings must be paid to the corporation. The street fran- chises are confirmed by the aldermen, and it is unneces- sary to obtain the consent of the abutting owners. The rails are carefully laid on granite sleepers, and the cars run very smoothly. In the State of New York a charter for a street rail- road can not be granted without the consent of the owners of one half in value of the adjoining property. If they refuse permission to lay the tracks, application may be made to the Supreme Court, which wilL appoint three disinterested persons to determine, after a hearing of all parties interested, whether the railway ought to be built. The royal police of Berlin supervise the street traffic and inspect the h,orse cars and stages. A certain num- ber of passengers are allowed to be carried, and when 116 STREETS, the seats are filled a sign, " Besetz," meaning " full," is displayed, as in Paris and in other Continental cities. Iron posts are placed on the curb line at convenient in- tervals for stopping-places (Halte-stelle) of the horse cars. To show the perfect control that the municipality of Berlin has over the surface railway companies, I may say that they are obliged to pay the city for removing the snow on their tracks, and to contribute a portion of the expense of sprinkling the streets in which their rails are laid. It may almost be said that the surface railway com- panies own the streets of our great metropolis. In win- ter the companies brush up the snow in the gutter, to the great annoyance of citizens. They never think of watering or cleaning the roadway between their tracks, but, on the contrary, they sprinkle sand on the smoothly worn stones for the benefit of their horses. The example of Glasgow is worthy of imitation by every municipality in the United States. Mr. John Burns * says : " On its tramways Glasgow has even a better record than on its water and gas. The corpora- tion has built thirty-two miles, which it had previously leased to a company, but the lease will not be renewed again in 1894. Three per cent has been paid to the corporation for redemption of the original debt con- tracted for building the lines ; four per cent has been paid by the company for renewals; $750 per annum * The Nineteenth Century, April, 1892. THE USE OP VIADUCTS. per mile has been paid by the company as rent. In twenty-one years $2,450,000 has been paid by the com- pany, $750,000 more than the total cost, exclusive of an average of eight per cent dividend taken by the com- pany in that period." In European cities the space under viaducts is gen- erally used for business purposes e. #., the Vincennes viaduct at Paris and the central part of the Stadtbahn or municipal railway of Berlin. The arches near the termini of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge are rented as warehouses, stables, shops, etc. (See p. 179.) The viaduct of the New York Central and Hudson Eiver Railroad Company in New York is not rented for mercantile purposes. The Pennsylvania Eailroad Company leases to individuals for storage the brick arches of the viaduct in Philadelphia, receiving there- for a moderate rent. One of the best examples in the world of the utili- zation of space above a sunken track is seen at the well-known Place 'de VEurope in Paris. The line is laid in a deep cut and extends into the heart of the city at the St. Lazare Railway station. A short distance beyond the passenger depot is an enormous " floor bridge," that covers the depressed track, from which radiate streets bearing the names of the capitals of Eu- rope. This structure should serve as an object lesson to railroad constructors in the New World. The chief underground railways in the United States are the de- pressed track in Fourth Avenue and the tunnel of Park Avenue (which is used by horse cars) in New York, the 118 STREETS. Baltimore and Potomac Railway tunnel at Baltimore, the sunken track at New Haven, Conn., and the tun- nels under the river at Chicago, through one of which pass double lines' of cable road. The subject of grade crossings in cities and the ele- vation of railway tracks next demand attention. This problem is more serious in Chicago than in any other large American city. Here is the most conspicuous example of lack of foresight on the part of the au- thorities of a rapidly growing municipality. It is very difficult to estimate the expense of raising or sinking the tracks, the chief indeterminable item being land damages. I have heard of a calculation as high as $100,000,000 ! The Municipal Council has allowed the corporations to construct large terminal railway stations in the very heart of Chicago, and many grade crossings are still used, to the great injury of persons and prop- erty in the adjoining streets. It is to be regretted that the termini were not removed to the outskirts of the city after the great fire of 1871. It now seems as if the fairest way to solve this grave problem would be to adjust equitably the burden of cost between the par- ties benefited. Concerning this subject the late Mayor Harrison, in 1893, said : " We must not ask the impos- sible, or we will get nothing. In destroying grade cross- ings, we must not at the same time destroy the rail- roads. The closing of certain streets does not mean the abandonment of those streets. The city will re- serve the right to make the railroads open them again Some time." If any streets are closed, many suits for GRADE CROSSINGS IN CITIES. H9 damages may be brought. Visitors to the World's Fair must have noticed the raised tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad Company on the embankment for two miles north of Jackson Park. The line was elevated enough to clear all streets ; but the company owned a strip of land about two hundred feet wide adjoining the line, and hence had no land damages to pay. In Jersey City the Pennsylvania Eailroad Company finished the work of elevating its tracks in 1893, and in the same year the municipal authorities considered a pe- tition to raise the roadbed of the Erie Railway. Many small cities and growing towns are crossed by steam railroads at the street surface. Their local authorities should learn a lesson from Chicago. In the construc- tion of new railways, grade crossings should be for- bidden, and the expense of avoiding them, either by bridges or cuts, should be divided between the railroad company and the city, except in the case of railroads already in operation.* The use of the sidewalks and roadways of streets varies greatly in European and American cities. There are special ordinances in most municipalities. In gen- eral, it may be said that the municipal authorities of Europe allow the sidewalk to be used for the pleasure or amusement of the citizen, while in the cities of the United States the ordinances are strict, but are rarely enforced, against merchants who deposit goods and * In the State of New York 86 persons were killed and 112 injured at grade crossings during 1893. 120 STREETS. signs of all kinds upon the sidewalk. In New York members of the dominant political party are allowed to violate the ordinances with impunity. (See page 75.) In Paris it is customary to deposit merchandise on the sidewalks within the stoop line. On the boulevards tables and chairs cover this space in front of restaurants and cafes. In some German cities more than half of the sidewalk is thus used. A railing sometimes surrounds the tables. I have seen in Geneva, Switzerland, the entire side- walk, in front of a cafe, occupied by musicians. In fact, a regular concert was given during the evening, the police keeping, at a distance, a. crowd of several hundred persons. Wooden settees are found on the broad sidewalks of the Parisian boulevards. In Paris flowers and newspapers seem to be the only kinds of merchandise that are sold in stands or stalls on the sidewalk. These stands must not interfere with the business of a shopkeeper who sells the same kind of goods, and hence they are required to be at a certain distance (about one hundred yards). The owners pay the city a nominal sum for each square metre of surface occupied by the stand. On the boulevards newspapers are generally sold in ornamental kiosks, which are often covered with theatrical advertisements. The city of Berlin receives from the lessees of ad- vertising pillars (Anzeige-Saille) an annual revenue of $64,000. Illuminated signs for places of amusement are displayed on the Grand Boulevard of Paris. The city does not charge a fee for the sign, the owners pay- REFUGES AND SIGN-BEARERS. 121 ing only the cost of the gas used. In streets with very narrow sidewalks lamp-posts are sometimes placed in an intersecting street on a line with the house fronts. The gas lamps are occasionally placed upon brackets fast- ened to the houses. Eefuges i. e., small raised spaces in the middle of a street to enable pedestrians to avoid passing vehicles are seen in the principal thoroughfares of London, Paris, Birmingham and other cities. They are gen- erally provided with lamp-posts and lighted by elec- tricity or gas. I never have seen " refuges " in Ameri- can cities. Pedestrian advertising sign -bearers frequent the principal streets of European cities. The signboards are fastened to the shoulders and carried above the head so that they do not obstruct the sidewalk, like the " sandwich " signboard men who were formerly seen in New York. Citizens complained of the " sandwich " men so much that the superintendent of police, in 1888, issued, at my request, an order forbidding these per- sons from walking in the streets, and they have since worn coats painted with advertisements. The most noteworthy street obstruction in the United States was, perhaps, the bridge (called the Loew Bridge) erected in 1872, by a special act of the Legislature, across Broadway and Fulton Street, at their intersection, in the city of New York. It was built of iron, with staircases at each corner, at a cost of $14,500, and was erected for the alleged convenience of the public in crossing Broadway, which was crowded 122 STREETS. with vehicles, often making a block at that point, and in winter was sometimes covered with slush more than ankle deep. It was used chiefly by countrymen, who were often photographed on the bridge. A merchant at the northeast corner of the bridge sued the city for damages to his business, and recovered $10,000. The structure was removed soon afterward. In some cities an avenue in the residence quarter is reserved during certain hours for pleasure vehicles, as in a public park. Notable examples are the beautiful Michigan Avenue and Southern Boulevard in Chicago, about five miles long; Commonwealth Avenue in Bos- ton, and West Seventy-second Street, New York. For several years an effort has been made to exclude busi- ness wagons from upper Fifth Avenue in New York ; but the measure has met with so much opposition during three sessions of the Legislature and in the Common Council that it has thus far failed to pass. CHAPTER XL STREET-CLEANING. CLEAN streets are necessary for the comfort and health of the residents of a city, and a smooth paving surface facilitates, of course, the cleaning of streets. This branch of city government is conducted much better in the large cities of Europe than in the United States. In New York the streets were formerly cleaned by a bureau of the Police Department ; but the system was found unsatisfactory, and in 1881 a separate depart- ment of street-cleaning was created by act of the Legis- lature. This measure was opposed by a member of Assembly from New York city, on the ground of " patronage " ; but his course was not approved by his constituents, and he was defeated at the next election. The street-cleaning departments of our cities are rarely adequately equipped for doing their work well. Either the appropriation is too small, or contracts are let, or made without public letting, in violation of law. Jobs are given to " ring " contractors, who charge ex- orbitant prices. So far as the benefit to the citizen is concerned, this money might as well be stolen as wasted. The one offense is a crime, the other, a neglect of duty or incompetency. (123) 124: STREET-CLEANING. With the possible exception of London the annual appropriation for street-cleaning in New York far ex- ceeds that of any other city in the world. The amount allowed for 1894 is $2,367,390. The commissioner asked for $3,138,930, or nearly $1,000,000 in excess of the appropriation for 1893. Of the above-named sum, $340,000 was set aside for final disposition of material. About 1,700 sweepers are to be employed. In New York 382 miles of streets are swept daily (except Sundays). The following are the expenditures for street-cleaning in other cities : Paris, $1,700,000 ; Berlin, $550,000; Vienna, $690,000; Birmingham, $150,000; Glasgow, $460,630 * ; Philadelphia, $562,594 ; Brooklyn, $555,000 f ; Boston, $730,000. In an American municipality the department of street-cleaning is, perhaps, the most difficult one to ad- minister properly. The streets of New York are now kept cleaner than those of several other large cities, and yet their condition is far from satisfactory to the resi- dents, in spite of the enormous sum expended for clean- ing them. It seems almost impossible to find a suit- able commissioner of street-cleaning. His qualifications should be great. He must be honest, of large experi- ence in managing men, quick in action, of tried execu- tive ability, and in good health, so as to inspect the streets. The work of inspection must be given chiefly * Deduct for the sale of manure, etc., $127,100. f The separate appropriation for the removal of garbage is $123,000. THE IDEAL SUPERINTENDENT. 125 to his deputy. There are hence indoor and outdoor duties. He should have no " politics " in his office. A retired officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army, or an experienced and successful contractor, would make an ideal superintendent of a department of street- cleaning. It is difficult to overestimate his necessary qualifications ; for if the streets be filthy, it becomes a nuisance to the entire population, as well as all strangers in town, while if the docks or schoolhouses or city hall be badly constructed, they affect only a portion of the residents. The women in some cities have endeavored to enforce the laws and ordinances concerning street- cleaning, by forming ladies' health protective associa- tions, and their efforts deserve high praise. On the principle that street-cleaning is similar to house-clean- ing, it has been proposed to appoint woman inspectors of streets, on the ground that they are more vigilant than men and less liable to be influenced or controlled by politicians. In Berlin the sweepings are collected into shoots or gullies, which are placed along the street at intervals of 200 feet ; and the water-courses also run into these gul- lies, the water passing into the drains by connecting pipes. The solid matter sinks to the bottom, from which it is taken at night and removed by the con- tractors. The streets are swept chiefly at night. With regard to this part of municipal work, a simple and suggestive matter presents itself to the Berlin vis- itor. He can not fail to observe that the scavengers are clad in overalls, which gives them a tidy appearance, 126 STREET-CLEANING. and prevents their ordinary clothes from being soiled. With an official cap on his head and a belt round his waist, the Berlin scavenger feels that he is a public serv- ant. The municipality claims no credit for providing this dress. On economical grounds ftlone such expendi- ture is fully justified, and it is an example of cleanli- ness set to the community. Our average street-sweeper carries to his home the dust and dirt of the whole day, and dirt makes dirt, as is shown in the houses of the poor. The Berlin scavenger on reaching home removes his canvas overalls (for his ordinary clothes are not soiled by his day's work), washes his face, neck and hands ; and then is ready to enjoy his fireside, or go with his wife and child to some neighboring garden or park. The cost of cleaning the streets of the large Euro- pean cities should interest the urban American tax- payer. In Berlin the annual appropriation is $550,000. (See page 124.) The principal streets are cleaned on Sundays as well as on weekdays. On Sundays 31,427 square metres of street surface are swept, and on week- days 8,221,855 square metres. (A metre is about 39 inches.) The sweepers work from 11 A. M. to 6 P.M. in summer, and from 8 A. M. to dark (about 4 p. M.) in winter. The city furnishes overalls consisting of a blue jacket, white trousers and cap. The workmen buy their own boots, except those who work in the sewers. If taken sick in the performance of their duty, they re- ceive from the city an allowance at the rate of $75 to $125 a year. In 1893 the personnel of the street-clean- ing force was thus : 72 foremen, with daily wages of 90 THE PARISIAN SYSTEM. 127 cents; 530 workmen, 78 cents; 170 workmen, 66 cents; 150 boys, 60 cents. The boys wash or flush the asphalt streets. In Paris the sum of $1,700,000 is expended for street-cleaning. It will be observed that the amount is more than thrice as much as in Berlin, but the French capital has nearly a million more inhabitants, and the city authorities have been compelled lately to raise the wages of scavengers. The director of the Board of City Works informed me that the annual increase of wages amounted to 1,800,000 francs, or $360,000. The chief items for street-cleaning in Paris are : Wages of about 3,000 workmen, $1,085,000 ; removal of mud and refuse, $390,000 ; cost of drawing the sweep- ing machines, $70,000 ; cost of material, $41,000 ; street watering cost of drawing the watering carts, $70,000 ; purchase and maintenance of material, $26,000. The city owns the watering carts, and the contractors, by a system of public letting, provide horses and drivers. A special appropriation is made for the removal of snow and ice by contract, and for salt to be thrown into the streets. The asphalt and wooden pavements are sprin- kled with sand when covered with ice. The lowest daily compensation paid to any employee on the street- cleaning force is 92 cents. The street-cleaners in Paris and Berlin use a rubber mop on the asphalt and wooden pavements, similar to that used on the decks of vessels. The French call it a raclette, the Germans a schieber. In Paris the manure in the principal streets is 128 STREET-CLEANING. brushed up, placed in a wheelbarrow, and thrown into the sewers. It floats and finds its way to the Seine Kiver. In London and Birmingham manure is collected by boys and thrown into orderly bins on the curb-line, which are emptied at night. The same practice is com- mon in German cities. In the United States it is customary to allow ma- nure to remain all day in the streets, except where the street is cleaned by private contract. The general ref- use is swept up in piles and shoveled into a city cart that comes along several hours later. In the city of Berne, the capital of Switzerland, women sprinkle the streets and then sweep up the refuse with birch brooms. In Paris the janitor of a building is held responsible for the condition of the street in front of it, and he is arrested if rubbish is found on the sidewalk or roadway after the street has been cleaned. The Parisian hose-sprinklers might be advantage- ously adopted in American cities. The little machines consist of iron hose or tubing, with several leathern joints, on runners. The workman fastens the end to a hydrant, turns on the water, and, holding his finger over the nozzle, throws a spray of water on the street surface. These sprinklers are constantly shifted, and when not ( in use are folded up and placed on the curb-line. They are much used in warm weather on the chief thorough- fares, especially on the Champs- ~fily sees, where they ex- cite the admiration of the American traveler. The street-cleaners of Paris use disinfectants sul- LAVATORIES AND HYDRANTS. 129 phate of iron, chloride of lime and phenic acid. They give a first cleaning to the public urinals early in the morning, and at about eleven o'clock a complete clean- ing and disinfection. It should be said that public urinals are found at convenient points on the curb of the business streets, and are probably far more numer- ous in Paris than in any other city. There are public lavatories in the streets of Berlin and London. In the latter city they are underground. They are kept scru- pulously clean, each one being in charge of an attend- ant. It is now (1894) proposed to establish public lava- tories in New York. The cleaning and watering of streets are much facil- itated by an abundance of hydrants throughout a city. If the water supply is plentiful, the streets can be flushed frequently, and this should be done daily, or even twice a day in warm weather. The general use of small hydrants in Paris is the secret of clean streets. A hydrant is often at the top of the grade of a gutter that extends several hundred feet to a sewer, and the run- ning water carries along waste paper and light refuse to the sewer opening. In some parts of Paris a small double hydrant is constructed on the curb, and the street is so graded that the water may be turned either way by a small obstruction, such as a gunny bag. I have seen a workman sweep the washings along with his birch broom to the mouth or shoot of the sewer. The Parisians have a proverb that says, " Nothing in the Seine everything in the sewer." I know of no Ameri- can city wherein the streets are regularly flushed. 130 STREET-CLEANING. In Vienna the streets are kept perfectly clean by the corporation, but there is an annual appropriation of $100,000 to pay a private company for collecting, sweep- ing up and carting away the snow. Good pavements affect only a part of the residents, but clean streets and the proper removal of refuse have a direct effect upon the whole population. Any citizen can judge whether it is properly done. This work is unlike that of the finance or law department of a mu- nicipality, the details of which are so complex that only an intelligent person can, after careful investigation, un- derstand them. A great obstacle to clean streets in large American cities is the street obstructions, especially the habit of encumbering the streets with vehicles not in use. This practice is not allowed in the large cities of Europe, nor even in some of the small cities of the United States. The city of New York is the worst example. Owing to its insular position it being a long, narrow island real estate has become very valuable in the lower wards too valuable to be used for stables and coach-houses. The law forbids the storage of trucks in the public streets, but the evil has long existed, upon the principle that " what can't be cured must be endured," hence few formal complaints are made. The local authorities con- sider it a necessary evil. Moreover, no political party would incur the hostility of the many thousand carmen and truckmen. These *' dead " trucks are a great obsta- cle in the way of street-cleaning. It has been suggested that where residents store trucks in the streets they STORAGE OP TRUCKS IN STREETS. 131 should sweep the surface under and around them. This is good in theory, but it is doubtful if the rule could be uniformly enforced. In the smaller cities, where real estate is not very valuable, stables and courtyards may easily be obtained for the storage of trucks. In London, Berlin and Paris vehicles do not encum- ber the streets, for there are plenty of courtyards to hold them. Moreover, the narrow rivers in these foreign cities are crossed by many bridges, and the carman may easily reach a stable in the suburbs. The truckman in European cities would as soon think of leaving his purse as his vehicle in the street. The disposal of refuse is rarely done properly in American cities. Old-fashioned methods like those of a border town are generally adopted. It is simply a phys- ical task. Money and able-bodied laborers are all that is required. Although it is one of the simplest branches of civic administration, there is none that more directly affects the inhabitants. There is no other public work for which the people are so willing to pay. The ordi- nances of New York provide that the garbage shall be separated from the ashes. This is done in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo and Washington. In San Francisco and New Haven the householders separate ashes from garbage. Ash -barrels are not left' standing on the side- walks of thoroughfares in Philadelphia and Boston. They are collected and emptied from the back yards and alleys. In St. Louis garbage and ashes are gath- ered at night, by contractors, with covered carts. In Detroit the citizens dispose of ashes, but garbage is col- 10 132 STREET-CLEANING. lected by day in covered wagons. In Indianapolis the night-soil is buried. It should be borne in mind that the inhabitants of a city are living in a very artificial state. Primeval man did not need local laws and ordinances, but the residents of cities must observe these two legal maxims : " The safety of the people is the supreme law," and " Every one must so use his own as not to injure another's." The farmer may throw rubbish out of his window with- out annoying his neighbors ; but in a city, if ashes and garbage be dumped in the street, it becomes a nui- sance, and the offender is arrested and fined for violat- ing the corporation ordinance. Citizens should culti- vate the same habits in the street as in the household. The sidewalk and the street should be kept as clean as the parlor. The adult inmates of tenement houses could greatly aid the officials of the department of street-cleaning if they would only obey the city ordi- nances. Few citizens realize the importance of clean streets in relation to the public health. I know of cases in Paris where servants have been arrested for sweeping the dust of a balcony on a passer-by on the sidewalk. In the poorer portions of a city it is difficult to clean the streets, for the habits and customs of the resi- dents of the tenement-house districts are so bad and slovenly that an immense corps of officials would be required strictly to enforce the ordinances concerning ashes and garbage. The dwellers in tenements are usu- ally the poorest and most ignorant class of foreigners, who do not know that it is against the law to throw DESTRUCTORS IN BIRMINGHAM. 133 ashes and rubbish into the street. It seems cruel to arrest these offenders and to imprison them if they are unable to pay a small fine; but heroic treatment is necessary to compel obedience to the law. The punish- ment of on,e serves as an example to others in the neigh- borhood. In New York the officials of the street-cleaning de- partment excuse themselves on the ground that the members of the police force do not show sufficient zeal in arresting offenders. Where the spoils system of ap- pointments prevails, the street-cleaning department is certain to be inefficient. "Where laborers are appointed for political reasons, sufficient care is not taken in their selection, either as regards age or physical ability. Moreover, a partisan supervisor or labor " expert " will not compel the performance of the best work on the part of the laborers. During my recent visit to Birmingham I inspected the " destructor," or establishment for burning refuse. In reply to my question whether the workmen were Liberals or Conservatives, the manager said he knew nothing of their politics. He simply demanded a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. The slag from these destructors is sometimes used for building, and I saw a small house that was made of it. All the refuse would be thrown away in an American city, but a portion of it in Birmingham is converted into the so-called " pou- drette " manure, and sold for fertilizing at $30 a ton. The system of burning garbage has just been intro- duced in a few American towns. At the World's Fair 134 STREET-CLEANING. grounds in Chicago the garbage was disposed of in an Eagle crematory. In Montreal a destructor is used. The most successful English types of destructor are those of Mawe, Fryer, Warner, Healey and Whiley. In 1893 a law was passed allowing the city authori- ties of Yonkers, N. Y., to erect a crematory at a cost not exceeding $16,000. The street-cleaning commis- sioner of New York adheres to primitive methods of disposing of garbage. It would perhaps be better to erect destructors than to cart the many tons of garbage to scows along the water-front to be towed out to sea by contract. Some of this rubbish has drifted ashore on the beach in front of the hotels at Coney Island, and the proprie- tors have sued the city for damages. A crib has lately been built at Eiker's Island, in the East River, to con- tain the city's refuse. A dishonest or careless con- tractor has often dumped refuse in the lower bay of New York, to the great injury of navigation. In cities built on alluvial plains like Chicago, Indianapolis or New Haven the sale of garbage, to be used as a fertilizer by the residents of the suburban farms and villages, should yield a substantial revenue. There are now fifty-five towns and cities in England in which garbage and solid refuse are destroyed by burn- ing, and 570 furnaces are employed for this purpose. The amount of ashes to be collected depends partly on climate. For example, in New York, Boston and Berlin much more coal is burned by a given number of citizens than in London or Liverpool. ASHES AND GARBAGE. 135 Municipal authorities in the United States should study the ordinances relating to ash-barrels and gar- bage cans in Paris, Berlin and Vienna. In the average American city the inhabitants are much annoyed by the frequent appearance of ash-cans on the sidewalks at all hours of the day. It is common to overload these cans, so that the refuse falls on the sidewalk or pave- ment. The traveler in European cities never sees an ash-box. I was in Paris five weeks without seeing a garbage or ash-can except when I arose early one morn- ing to go to the central market. The receptacles for refuse are emptied soon after daybreak. In Paris the big wagon of the cantonnier comes along, and the house- holder is fined if he does not take in his emptied ash- box by seven o'clock. These big tin boxes are familiarly called " Poubelles," after the late Prefect of the Seine. A different man, called the cliiffonnier or ragpicker, gathers waste paper in bags and paper boxes.* As in American cities, it is customary to distribute handbills in the streets of Paris, and the business thoroughfares are sometimes covered with them. In Berlin the ash-boxes are kept in the yards or courts of the apartment and tenement houses. The lid is fastened to the stone or brick wall of the yard, and the city ashman enters the yard, carries the receptacle to the cart on the street, empties it, and replaces it under the lid on the wall, in place of leaving the box or barrel in the middle of the sidewalk, as in the city of New York. * Thick manila-paper bags have just been tried in New York. 136 STREET-CLEANING. In Vienna the driver of the city ash-carts blows a whistle at a certain hour of the day, when the house servants bring out the garbage or ash -receptacle to the curb-line. The carts are covered, and the ashes are dumped in at the side. Curtains are fastened to the framework, which are pushed back while the ashes are emptied, and they prevent the ashes and dust from fly- ing in the face of passing citizens. Then the servants return the box to the yard. In Glasgow garbage and ashes are deposited in small stone or brick recesses in the rear of the houses and carted away by night. The residents of American towns are entitled to better service methods in the removal of ashes and gar- bage. In New York the ordinance requires that the ash-barrel shall be placed within the stoop line of the house both before and after emptying,* and that sepa- rate receptacles must be provided for ashes and gar- bage. The ashmen receive higher compensation than is paid for corresponding manual work in private life, and it is not too much to ask them to come within the area of private dwellings and into the yards of tene- ment houses and carry out and return the ash-barrels, as in Berlin. Wooden or metallic covers for ash-carts should be used. Canvas covers can not be put on until the cart is filled. The result is that the ordinary American ash- man is a nuisance. There is no uniform hour for col- * I have for several years noticed that this ordinance is rarely obeyed, and the city ashmen, being appointed for political reasons, are not dismissed for a constant refusal to do their duty. ASH-CARTS. 137 lecting ashes in American towns. In some cities e. g., Boston the ash-carts go out at night, while in New York and Philadelphia the work is done by day. The municipal authorities in Germany virtually say to the citizens : " We respect the liberty of the subject, but we deny the liberty of the subject to make himself or his home a source of danger to the health or life of his neighbor." In the United States the Federal offi- cials supervise the persons of the immigrants who arrive from foreign lands with the germs of disease upon them, but after landing on American soil the same im- migrants enjoy, among other inestimable privileges, that of becoming pestilential to their fellow-citizens. CHAPTER XII. STREET PAVEMENTS. THE laying out of streets in cities is more properly the subject of a book on engineering that is, the regu- lating, grading and paving of streets is more a work of the engineer than of the municipal officer. Bad pave- ments mean filthy streets, for it is more difficult to clean a street that is improperly paved than a smooth, well- paved surface. (See page 123.) It- is unfortunate that the streets of our large towns have been controlled gen- erally by the local ring, with the sole object of enriching themselves and favored contractors, regardless of the rights of the residents. The poor pavements in large cities are often caused by the careless work of gas or electric-lighting compa- nies, or by persons who have permits to remove the pavement. City authorities should be very exacting concerning the proper replacement of all pavements torn up by citizens. On the other hand, it may be said that, where the State has given a charter to a company to lay gas mains or electric-light wires or pipes for heat- ing or any other purpose, the right to remove a pave- ment should always be exercised, regardless of the cost (138) RESTORATION OP PAVEMENTS. 139 to the city. The defect in the city of New York is that the companies do not replace the pavement properly, and the observer may notice how the arch of a street pavement, from curb to curb, has been broken by care- less restoration of a part of it. The only method by which these parties can be com- pelled to perform fully their duty of restoration of the pavement is to require them to procure from the proper city official an estimate of the expense of replacement, to be followed by a compulsory cash deposit in the city treasury of the cost of each portion of pavement to be torn up ; this deposit to be returned when the munici- pal representative shall have approved the restoration of the pavement, and, in case the work is not properly done, the money to be used to remedy any defects. For many years American cities were paved with the primitive cobblestone, giving a very rough and unsatis- factory surface. Then the Euss pavement was intro- duced, followed by the Belgian pavement of granite blocks or trap-rock blocks. The use of wood as a pave- ment was afterward adopted, and the cities of Washing- ton and Chicago were largely paved with wooden blocks. (See page 22.) This wooden pavement proved a source of danger, for in October, 1871, a great conflagration in Chicago took place, and a few blocks of street pavement were burned. About the year 1867 several streets in New York were paved with wood or Nicholson pavement, but it was not durable, especially in Fifth Avenue, where the traffic is very heavy. The boulevards of Paris and the streets in 140 STREET PAVEMENTS. the West End of London are paved chiefly with wood, but it is skillfully put down, and when the blocks are worn out on the upper side they are reversed and reset. The newest and most satisfactory pavement is as- phalt, which was introduced in Paris in 1854, on the Rue Bergere. The idea originated perhaps in the French capital, where revolutions were frequent, and the rabble were in the habit of tearing up stone pavements and making a barricade of them, behind which they planted cannon. The use of asphalt was suggested as being both smooth and no more expensive, and now many miles of the streets of Paris are paved with asphalt. The use of asphalt is also common in other cities, but especially in Berlin, where eighty-five miles of this pavement are in use. In Paris, and in most cities, a conglomerate or cement foundation underlies the asphalt. The city of Washington may be called the pioneer in asphalt pavements in the United States. Here the streets are wide and well paved. There are few heavy trucks and wagons, as in the large cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, and hence the wear and tear on the asphalt pavement is not as severe as in the large seaports. Moreover, Washington being an inland town, the climate is not as damp as in the cities bordering on the ocean. Asphalt pavement is now largely used in nearly all American cities. Buffalo has 162 miles of this pavement. It should be well washed every day in order to remove the manure that clings to the surface. The Boards of Aldermen generally control the sub- ject of street pavements, and gross frauds have often FRAUDULENT CONTRACTS. occurred in connection with them. In some cities a contractor is unable to pave a street without blackmail, either from the Board of Aldermen or from the ring that misrules the city. In the days of Tweed, in the city of New York, contracts were worth twenty per cent to the aldermen that is, a contractor was obliged to allow the Board of Aldermen to extort one fifth of the price as a condition precedent to paving the streets, and the city paid the difference. Sometimes the contract for street paving is so low that there is no blackmailing balance for the aldermen. A notable case occurred several years ago in New York. The demands of the aldermen were so exorbitant that the contractor was likely to be ruined. Accordingly he made a statement that he had "discovered" a large ledge of rock underneath the street surface, which would require blasting and excavating, and thus increase the amount of the contract price. Hence the contract was amended, and each corrupt alderman received so much from the contractor, who, for their mutual benefit, " dis- covered " solid rock in the alluvial soil. In the city of New York new pavements are paid for by an assessment on the abutting property owners, while repavements and maintenance are paid for by a general charge on the city treasury. Where an assess- ment is vacated through some technicality, the cost comes out of the city treasury in violation of the spirit of the law. The pavements of Paris are not always uniform. In the residential streets the roadways are sometimes 142 STREET PAVEMENTS. covered with macadam, with stone blocks on each side extending a distance of about three feet from the curb- line. Where horse-car tracks are laid in macadamized streets, stone pavement is put down between the rails. While the thoroughfares of Paris are generally well paved, the authorities use their discretion and save expense in the 'case of "out-of-the-way" streets and squares, where there is little or no travel. For ex- ample, in the open space surrounding the Pantheon the pavement consists of large and well-worn stone blocks, which are now out of repair. On the heights of Montmartre some of the roadways are covered with rough blocks, and the streets are almost as dirty as those in the ordinary American city. The stone pave- ment of the Place du Carrousel should be improved. The total length of the streets of Paris is about 600 miles. During the repavement of a street, only one half of the breadth of the roadway is closed, so as to allow travel on the remaining surface. In Philadelphia the street-car companies are com- pelled to keep in repair the pavement from curb to curb of the streets they use. They repaved in 1893, 50-39 miles of streets. In New York and Baltimore they must care for or maintain only the space between the tracks and two feet beyond in each direction. The poor pavements in some of the streets of Philadelphia are owing to the objections of the street-car companies to repairing at their own expense. In a rapidly grow- ing city the Philadelphia plan would retard the exten- sion of surface railways, but it is reasonable to compel REPAYING BY CAR COMPANIES. 143 the railway companies to keep the entire street in re- pair in the older parts of the city. The street-car companies of Cleveland, Ohio, are required to pave the space within their rails, including that of the surface between their double tracks, and as far as one foot outside of the outer rail. In some Continental cities the space or street around a cathedral and a hospital is paved with the noiseless asphalt. During the hours of divine service on Sunday in London the coachmen are required to walk their horses while passing a church. Societies have been organized in several cities for the purpose of preserving the pavements, and, inasmuch as the agents of each society are unable to examine all streets, citizens are called upon to act as volunteer in- spectors and report all cases of defective pavements and dangerous sidewalks. The proper officials are then notified, and the necessary repairs are made. In Philadelphia there are 31 miles of turnpikes and 821 '14 miles of paved streets, which are covered with the following kind of pavements : Cobblestone* 264*2 miles, or 31 percent. Rubble 114 miles, or 13 - 4 per cent. Block 208'4 miles, or 24-4 per cent. Vitrified brick 49'6 miles, or 5 - 8 per cent. Sheet asphalt 78'2 miles, or 9'2 per cent. Block asphalt 18-97 miles, or 2-2 per cent. Macadam 114'2 miles, or 13'4 per cent. Granolithic 4-67 miles, or -6 per cent. * The further use of cobble is forbidden. 144 . STREET PAVEMENTS. There are 1,590 miles of sidewalks, chiefly of brick. The following materials are also used : concrete, stone, brick and stone combined, wood and asphalt. In Brooklyn there were up to January 1, 1894, 410^ miles of paved streets, which are classified as follows : Cobblestone 275-425 miles. Belgian , 35-268 miles. Granite , 86-748 miles. Concrete 13-075 miles. In New York there are now (May, 1894) 405-06 miles of street pavements, which are composed of the follow- ing materials : Specification granite 153-67 miles. Specification trap 62-81 miles. Belgian trap 66-93 miles. Square granite 21-82 miles. Asphalt 52-26 miles. Macadam 20-80 miles. Cobblestone. . -27 miles. Total 378-56 miles. The total length of pavements in the annexed district is twenty-six and a half miles, of which fifteen and a quarter miles are of trap block and about eleven and a quarter miles of granite block. This is wholly on a sand foundation, excepting the pavement on Third Avenue. There is no cobblestone, except on the pave- ment laid by the Union Railway Company between its tracks. The cost and durability of pavements differ so much in the various cities that I have space only for a general statement. COST OP GRANITE AND ASPHALT. 145 At present the paving materials most commonly used in the large cities are asphalt and granite. As a rule, the business portion of the chief cities has been repaved with granite, and asphalt is now laid 'in the residential streets. The cost per square yard of Trinidad Lake asphalt upon a six-inch concrete base varies from $2.38 in Washington to $3.60 in Boston. In Philadelphia, Bal- timore and Buffalo it averages about $2.70. This pave- ment is generally guaranteed for a period of from five to fifteen years ; i. e., the contractor keeps it in order during that time without extra charge. The asphalt pavements of New York are now guaranteed for fifteen years. This guarantee increases the cost from seventy cents to $2.00 per square yard. The average price in the metropolis has been about $3.79, but of this amount only seventy per cent is paid on completion of the work. No further payment is made till the end of the sixth year after completion. Then, if the pavement has been kept in good order without expense to the city, three per cent is paid, and a similar sum in each suc- ceeding year to the end of the fifteenth year. The cost of granite per square yard is as follows : In New York it is $2.80 on a sand or gravel founda- tion, and on a concrete foundation it varies from $3.50 to $4.00. In Philadelphia granite blocks with gravel joints cost $2.50, and granite blocks on a concrete foundation and with pitch joints cost $3.85. The price of vitri- fied bricks on a concrete foundation is $2.20. 146 STREET PAVEMENTS. In Boston the cost, including grading, of granite pavement upon a six-inch concrete base with pitched joints, is from $4.56 to $4.66 ; it is, upon a gravel base with pitched joints, from $3.02 to $3.27 ; and upon a gravel base with sand joints, $3.05. These pavements are guaranteed for six months by the contractor. In Baltimore the Belgian block pavement laid upon a heavy sand foundation costs from $2.75 to $3.00. Medina sandstone is largely used in Buffalo, Roches- ter, and Cleveland, and to a slight extent in Chicago. In the first-named city 120 miles of this pavement have been laid. This stone is less durable than granite, but it is also less noisy and affords a more secure footing for horses. Its cost per square yard on a concrete base is $3.60. Out of 1,007 miles of paved streets in Chicago, 648-38 are of wood. The price of this pavement is ninety cents per square yard, and it lasts about seven years. These wooden blocks are cut wedge-shaped, and hence can not be reversed and reset, as is customary in Paris. For further information concerning the cost of pave- ments in the large Eastern cities, the reader is referred to the valuable report of the Street Paving Commission of Baltimore, made to the Mayor and City Council, May 21, 1894. The " life " of a pavement depends on the amount of traffic upon the street, and the nature and degree of perfection of the foundation. It is impossible to give accurately any definite length of time that a pavement will last. DURABILITY OF PAVEMENTS. 147 Asphalt pavement has been used for such a short period in the United States that only an approximate estimate of its durability can be given. On a portion of North Broad Street, Philadelphia, street asphaltuin after eight years' use is apparently as good as when put down. A patch of Trinidad asphalt on Fifteenth Street, Washington, laid in 1879, is now (1894) in per- fect condition, the repairs having been inconsiderable ; but there are few heavy vehicles passing through this street. In Philadelphia the durability of granite pavements has averaged from twelve to twenty years. The brick pavements last from two to five years. In Boston a pavement of Cape Ann granite, laid on a concrete base, should be in good condition after twenty- five years of use. The granite from the quarries of Massachusetts is harder and more durable than that of the Middle and Southern States. In Baltimore one street paved with Belgian blocks twenty-one years ago is still in excellent condition, al- though it has been subjected to very heavy travel. I have seen granite pavements in a business street of New York in a fair state of preservation after twenty years of use. In other streets a similar pavement has been worn out in about twelve years. In Rochester Medina sandstone on a residential street has lasted thirty years. Street pavements will be more durable if the City Councils enact ordinances providing that the width of the tires of large vehicles shall be increased. 11 148 STREET PAVEMENTS. The whole subject of pavements is so important that a treatise of the size of this volume could be written upon it. I merely state these facts in the desire to throw light upon the unsolved paving problem, and the municipal reformer can further pursue the subject. CHAPTEE XIII. PUBLIC WORKS. THE public works of American cities are, perhaps, the field of more swindling than any other department of the municipality. Mr. White, in his suggestive article in The Forum for December, 1890, says, " The city halls . . . are the acknowledged centers of the vilest corrup- tion." (See page 50.) In that connection this remark applied chiefly to the aldermen, and, occasionally, to the Mayor. But the public works that are controlled by the officials in the city halls of the larger towns are generally as badly and corruptly done as the proceed- ings of the city Legislature. I could give many ex- amples, but I shall simply remind the reader of the " Tweed " courthouse in the city of New York, which cost untold millions, and the new city hall of Philadel- phia. The visitor to the Quaker City is at once struck with the prominence of this public building. The gi- gantic tower is a monument to the extravagance and corruption that formerly existed in the city government. As a general rule, it is impossible to construct a courthouse or city hall within the appropriation. Some corrupt contractor commonly finds a deficit in the ap- propriation and obtains an additional amount to make (149) 150 PUBLIC WORKS. it up. So much money has been wasted in the public works of American cities that the taxpayers hesitate to approve of the erection of any public building that is not vital to the welfare of the city. For example, in the city of Newport, which is one of the oldest and best- governed cities in New England, the taxpayers have refused recently to allow the erection of a city hall, to cost not more than $50,000. This was decided by a referendum. The assessed valuation of real and per- sonal estate in Newport amounts to $34,703,050, and the wealthy summer residents in this city-by-the-sea pay more than half of the taxes ; yet, notwithstanding the good government of the city, a majority of the taxpayers refused to abandon the old and small building occupied as a city hall, and erect a new one. It is, I believe, only in the city of Newport, R. L, that the real estate taxpayers are allowed to control the expenditure of the public funds, exceeding a certain sum, for a special matter. The advantage of universal suffrage is that, where a city is ruled by honest and competent officers, the voters will do what is necessary for the best interests of the city, and narrow-minded and selfish taxpayers are not allowed to retard its prog- ress so far as benefit to the residents is concerned. The citizen naturally demands an equivalent for his taxes. If he be not a taxpayer, he suffers from ring rule or high taxation by an increase of rent, for the owners of real estate in the densely populated districts of a city are generally indifferent to taxation. The reason is that, as a rule, the higher the taxes the higher the PLAIN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 151 rents; the landlord exacts an increase of rent on the ground that he is suffering from an increase in taxa- tion. The Jeffersonian principle of " economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burdened," has usually been ignored in the progress of, American cities. At present, owing to the overthrow of corrupt rings in some of the large cities, and the increasing interest of citizens in municipal government, the city authorities are often inclined to adopt a penny-wise- and-pound-foolish policy in the construction of all pub- lic works. (See page 69.) The public buildings of European cities are gener- ally of artistic design, and in some instances they are gems of architecture. The city halls of Paris and Ber- lin are beautiful. In American cities the public build- ings are not generally ornamental. This is as it should be. American public buildings should be plain, dura- ble and built of the best materials. No money should be spent in decorations, either on the exterior or the in- terior. I would advise that all public buildings, espe- cially schoolhouses, should be fireproof, with staircases of stone or iron. Private individuals and corporations are in the habit of erecting ornamental buildings. With these devices the taxpayer has, of course, nothing to do ; but towers, spires, carvings and ornamental doors should not be added to public buildings, for the reason that the tax- payers may object. The general rule for awarding work by contract is to give it to the lowest bidder. This principle is not 152 PUBLIC WORKS. always advisable, because, when the lowest bidder re- ceives the contract for some public work, it may be so badly and recklessly done that positive danger may result, or the work may have to be renewed. The merits of all good public works depend upon honest, intelligent and vigilant inspectors. This is espe- cially true in a rapidly growing city. In the opening of new streets, in the grading, paving and sewerage of streets, if the inspectors are honest and vigilant, the work will be done according to contract. There are, in the older States, laws for the construction of buildings, including the percentage of the lot to be built upon, plumbing and sanitation. If the inspectors are honest, the work will be done according to law, and the resi- dents will be benefited. Unfortunately, the inspectors of public works in large cities are often political appointees " out of a job." They must be taken care of by the ring, and are put upon the pay rolls to the detriment of the citizens. Their salaries are so low, and their " assessments " or contributions to the ring so large, that they are often forced to approve of defective public work, or blackmail the contractors of private dwellings in order to support themselves and their families. These inspectors learn from their superiors lessons in the practice of black- mail. Their political employer or overseer has probably extorted money from the contractors on public and private buildings, so he is not surprised when his clerks and underlings in turn pursue the same practice. These inspectors show discretion in levying tribute on citizens. EDUCATED INSPECTORS NEEDED. 153 For example, if a person belongs to the ring he is not molested. In the growing parts of our large cities to-day new- houses are often erected regardless of the laws of sanita- tion. The same is true in regard to the materials used for building. For example, if a contractor can save $500 by using wooden beams in place of iron girders on a roof, he can, of course, afford to pay the inspector $100 to approve of his work. It has been suggested that some organization like the City Club of New York a non-partisan association of the better class of citizens should supervise all pub- lic works, and insist upon the specifications of the con- tracts being strictly carried out. I can not overestimate the value of having responsible persons watching all public works, with the object of seeing that they are done strictly according to contract. This is especially true in the paving of streets, which any observer in a large city knows is one of our weak spots in municipal government. I would advise that inspectors in the departments of buildings, docks, streets in short, in all public and private works should be required to pass a civil-service examination, which should be as thorough as is necessary in a scientific school to confer the degree of civil or mechanical en- gineer. In the large cities there is generally a society of civil engineers or a builders' association. It might be feasible to require the approval of a board of civil engineers or a builders' association before an inspector could be appointed. 154 PUBLIC WORKS. In some States there is a State Board of Medical Examiners which examines physicians, and no candi- date can be licensed to practice until he has either a certificate from them or a diploma from a medical school. I need not say that lawyers are examined, either by a committee of the bar or by the professors of a law school, before they are admitted to practice. The profession of an inspector of public works in cities is fully as important for the public interests as that of the physician or the lawyer. If there is no society of civil engineers nor builders'- association in a city, it might be possible to require the approval of three com- petent engineers or builders before a candidate could become an inspector. Inspectors should receive a rea- sonable salary, sufficient to persuade them to perform their duty. At present the salaries are so low that inspectors are tempted to sell their influence or ap- proval. (See pages 152-3.) In the cities of Europe millions have been spent on the quays and docks. Take, for example, the magnifi- cent Victoria Embankment on the Thames at London, the qu^ys on the Seine at Paris and the embankment on the Neva at St. Petersburg. Few American cities have been willing to improve the water-fronts properly. If our water-fronts were improved, economically and carefully, it would meet with the general approval of the intelligent citizen, but so many large cities are cursed with ring rule that the suggestion of a general system of stone embankments and docks (either on bays or rivers) arouses universal objection and indignation. DRAINAGE OP CHICAGO. 155 The defective work of the contractors, in our me- tropolis, is shown by a statement of a civil engineer in the Dock Department. He has lately informed me that a dishonest contractor has offered him an entire year's salary to approve of his careless work on one of the piers ! In some cities the contractors are forced to buy ma- terial from members of the ring at a higher price than is offered by other contractors. Several years ago a contractor in the city of New York refused to buy pav- ing stone from a quarry owned by some prominent poli- ticians, and accordingly he was " punished " by an or- der from the inspector compelling him to tear up and repave two or three blocks. The public health of a city depends largely upon a complete system of sewerage. I give on pages 157-9 an extract from Mr. Pollard's book, concerning the spacious sewage-farms (Rieselfelder) at Berlin, and a reference to the similar works at Birmingham, Eng- land. The scientific solution of the grave problem of sewer- age in these cities is worthy of the consideration of mu- nicipal authorities throughout the world. American cities are generally built upon the seaboard or upon the banks of a river having sufficient current to carry off sewage. Chicago is, I believe, the only large city wherein the disposal of sewage became a serious question after the city had grown to enormous dimensions. For many years the drainage of Chicago was into Lake Michigan, 156 PUBLIC WORKS. but now a new system of sewers has been constructed, and much of the drainage turned westward. Through this system eighty per cent of the sewage of the entire city flows into the Chicago Eiver, and, in dry weather, is pumped into the old Illinois and Michigan Canal. The sewage flows through this canal into the Illinois Eiver and eventually into the Mississippi ; the remain- ing twenty per cent of the sewage flows at all times into Lake Michigan. In rainy weather all sewage flows into Lake Michigan. Nine sewer-mains enter the lake on the " South Side " and seven mains on the " North Side." The work that is now in progress is to con- struct a much larger canal, thirty-seven miles in length, parallel to the old one, and, according to the estimates, it will cost about $22,000,000, and it will be completed in 1896. The sewage-farm system in use at Berlin and Bir- mingham is declared to be impracticable for Chicago, owing to the inability of the local authorities to obtain, and operate at reasonable cost, the large amount of land required within a short distance of the city. The plan of chemical treatment of the sewage is also im- possible. The history, description and illustrated details of this great work are fully set forth in a volume enti- tled The Drainage Channel and Waterway, by G. P. Brown. The sewerage system of some of the older cities is defective, and it is to be regretted that our rulers of the past generation did not employ competent men to in- THE SEWERS OF PARIS. 157 crease the number or to enlarge the size of sewers to keep pace with the growth of a city. Several years ago a dishonest contractor was con- structing a sewer near Central Park in New York. He was in great haste to obtain his money, and, instead of using pipes, he laid barrels in the ground, for which he received the contract price. It is strange that in some of the older streets of Paris there are no sewers. Cesspools have been built under the houses, and a private company pumps out the cesspools once a month. The refuse is taken away in receiving tanks and transferred to boats on the river, and is then carried beyond the city limits. The large sewer, called le grand collecteur, is about eleven miles long. It begins near the Pantheon, forms a siphon under the Seine, and ends in the river near Asnieres, below Paris. Tourists are allowed to pass through the sewers of Paris every fortnight. A permit is obtained at the city hall, and the trip is made by boat and by car, which runs on a track just above the sewer. It is an interesting though hardly an agreeable excursion. The water from some of the sewers is used for irrigation at the suburb of Genuevilliers, where the choicest vegetables, served in the Parisian restaurants, are grown. Concerning the sewerage system of Berlin, Mr. Pol- lard says : * " These sewage-fields are a most noteworthy feature in the sanitary arrangements of the city. They com- prise nearly a dozen separate properties, which were 158 PUBLIC WORKS. formerly barren heaths, and which have all been bought by the corporation within the last eighteen years for the special purpose of utilizing the town sewage. . . . The sewage is pumped to the highest point upon each estate about sixty-eight feet above the level at the pumping stations where it is discharged into a large tank, cor- responding to that from which it has come. From this point it is spread over the whole estate, according to the requirements of different parts, the distribution being effectively regulated by an elaborate system of sluices and watercourses. " At the pumping stations in the city there are self- acting registers, which record the quantity of water pass- ing through the gathering tank. Readings of the regis- ter are taken four times daily. A heavy rainfall flushing the drains necessitates, of course, a more rapid evacua- tion of the tanks, and this is simply and readily accom- plished by increasing the forcing power of the engines. Before passing into the tank, the water is led through iron nettings with one-inch apertures, and all solid mat- ter wood, paper, straw and such things is gathered apart to be carted away to canal barges. By these it is conveyed, with ashes, house refuse and street sweep- ings, to be used on farm land at a distance from the city. At the receiving tank on each estate there is also a self-acting register, and by a simple arrangement the inspector of the estate may tell at any hour of the day or night at what point the water stands. During the day a flag, and during the night a bright lantern, rises or falls on a flagstaff as the volume of water in the tank SEWAGE-FARMS AT BERLIN. 159 is greater or less ; thus the risk of overflow is obviated, and the inspector, sitting in his office it may be a couple of miles away is able to order and regulate the outflow at will. " The sewage-fields are divided into three kinds : First, those which have grown richest in soil are used as fruit orchards, and let out to market-gardeners, who supply the fruit-markets of Berlin ; second, those which are rich enough to bear turnips, potatoes and grain crops are partly let out to tenants and partly managed by the corporation ; and, third, those still growing grass are wholly in the hands of the corporation, who sell the grass to cow-feeders and others. As many as five crops of grass are obtained in a season from the last-mentioned fields. One of the estates, which has been longest in use, now yields a profit of about three per cent on the cost of the land and irrigation works, after payment of all working expenses, renewals and up-keep." It is said that this sewage-farm system cost about $30,000,000. The area of the sewage-fields is now (1894) thirty square miles, or about five miles larger than the land occupied by the city of Berlin. Similar though less extensive sewage-farms were laid out at Birmingham in 1876, and the town authorities have gradually enlarged their area. A spacious cow stable has been erected, and the health officer informed me that the milk was of the best quality. CHAPTER XIV. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. THE management of charitable institutions does not differ materially, whether they are Municipal, State or Federal. Generally, it may be said that State institu- tions are managed more economically than those of the cities, for the reason that the local ring is able to foist its favorites upon the institutions more easily than can be done in State or Federal institutions. In ring- ruled municipalities the authorities appropriate barely enough money for the proper maintenance of charitable institutions. Instances have been known where the salaries of officials have been raised when the extra ex- penditure of money was positively needed for* the care of the city's dependents. Municipal hospitals should be placed under the control of one responsible and compe- tent person. A comparative statement of the number of beds in hospitals, in proportion to the population of the chief cities of the world, may interest the reader. ( In Rome it is 18 to every thousand ; in Naples, 12 ; Stuttgart, 11 ; St. Petersburg, 9 ; Paris, 9*83 ; London, 7-59 ; and in New York, 3-30. In New York a movement has been started to pro- vide a home for consumptives, and to establish more (160) BOARDS OF HEALTH. 161 hospitals. The total number of beds in New York is 10,245, of which only 4,861 are in the municipal charity hospitals. European cities are generally more advanced than those of the United States in regard to the care of the poor and sick. The schemes for relief of the poor of Berlin have been reduced to a science. There are institu- tions for the care of poor children, old married couples, and orphan and sick poor, and night refuges and shel- ters. There is also a system of unpaid inspection and outdoor relief. District physicians and surgeons have been established, who visit the poor in their homes, and to whom a small annual allowance is paid by the city. These medical officers make careful discrimina- tion between the innocently poor and those whose poverty is the direct consequence of their own vicious habits. The Boards of Health in cities should be separate departments, not bureaus of the city government. In New York the Board of Health is practically a bureau of the Police Department, and it is thereby less efficient than an independent department would be. Boards of Health should have plenary powers in the matter of sanitation, drainage, plumbing, inspection of food, milk, etc. The class of men selected for inspectors by the Board of Health should pass a very rigorous examina- tion, and should be independent of politics. American cities could learn a lesson from the municipality of Ber- lin, where the citizens are practically as free in the best sense as in this country ; but the health officers of Ber- 162 CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. lin will not allow a resident to make himself a nuisance or a source of danger to his neighbor. (See page 137.) The results of improved sanitation in Berlin are very striking. In 1873 a system was begun that in a few years transformed the city from one of the most unhealthful to one of the most healthful in Europe. The death-rate has been reduced from thirty to about twenty per thousand, and the tendency is toward further dimi- nution. This remarkable result has been brought about chiefly through the labors of Prof. Virchow. He is the most eminent pathologist of the time, and, besides serv- ing as town councillor, he has been a member both of the Landtag and the Reichstag. The town of Birmingham, England, has a very effi- cient health officer, who has served for many years. By improvements in Birmingham the death-rate decreased from 26-8 per thousand in 1874 to 19 per thousand in 1888. By virtue of the Artisans' Dwelling Act, houses in the slums have been torn down occasionally and new buildings erected by the corporation of Birmingham. The death-rate in New Orleans for 1893 seems to be the largest of any American city. It was 28-17 per thousand. Boston came next, with a rate of 24*02, while that of New York was 23-52. The death-rate of Dublin was 27'05, and of Rheims, France, 28-62. CHAPTER XV. PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS. IN the United States the municipal authorities are less apt to provide for higher education than those of Europe. The colleges are almost invariably supported by private enterprise. In our great metropolis there is the College of the City of New York, which was estab- lished under the law of 1848, and was at first known as the Free Academy. It was reorganized in 1866, and the members of the Board of Education, together with the president of the college, are the trustees of the institution. It is entitled to an annual appropriation not exceeding 1150,000. In 1894 the Legislature passed a bill providing for a new site, with buildings for this college, but it was vetoed by Governor Flower. In 1869 an institution for girls, similar to the old Free Academy, was organized. It was then called the Normal and High School, but in the following year the name was changed to Normal College. It now has a curriculum of five years, while the majority of other normal institutions have only a three years' course. The annual appropriation for the Normal College is $125,000. In Berlin the administration of both common and high schools is vested in the so-called city school depu- 12 (163) 1C4 PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS. tation, composed of about thirty members, several of whom are members of the City Council. Some of the large common schoolhouses have extensive yards con- taining gymnastic apparatus, and the students are obliged to use it. These schools are unsurpassed by any in the world. Fourteen per cent of the population are at school. This is about two per cent more than in Edinburgh, which, according to Mr. James Pollard, is the most school-going city in the United Kingdom. Education in Berlin is compulsory. In the common schools it is free, but in the higher schools the annual tuition costs from $20 to $25 ; and where three mem- bers of a family attend school at the same time the third one is usually a free pupil. Every child begins to attend school at the age of six, and must continue until it reaches fourteen. Children were formerly allowed to work in factories, and given three hours daily attend- ance at schools, but this rule has been repealed by a recent law. Half holidays are allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays, instead of the entire Saturday, as in the United States. Music is cultivated. Careful attention is paid to the manners of the children of Germany. Boys doff their caps to their teachers, and the rules of politeness are strictly enforced. The Germans have a proverb that runs thus : " Mit dcin Hute in der Hand JKommt man durch das ganze Land," which I may thus translate : " With your hat in your hand You get on in the laud." EDUCATION IN BERLIN. 165 Absence from school is severely punished. Corporal punishment is resorted to, but, in Mr. Pollard's opinion, it is not more severe than in English board schools, where there is now almost no ground for complaint. The corporation of Berlin supports trade schools, in which young workmen are instructed in the trade they have chosen, in the use of their tools, and somewhat of the science of their calling. The fee is from twenty- five to fifty cents a session. The trade schools were established about 1882, and have proved very useful. The municipal authorities of Berlin maintain element- ary schools for the education of blind and deaf-mute children. The annual appropriation for all classes of schools in Berlin is about $3,500,000. The pupils at- tending the city schools of all kinds cost the city annu- ally about $13 each. In New York the annual appropriation for public schools is $4,448,355. In Philadelphia it must be at least $1,000,000 under the Constitution, and it is actually $3,549,855. Women are eligible, by the Constitution, to all school offices. In 1891 a School of Pedagogy was established for the free education of male teachers as an adjunct of the Central High School. There is also a Girls' Normal School and a Manual Training School. In Boston the annual expenditure for schools is $2,266,000. In Baltimore it is $993,677. In Chicago the school-tax fund is $5,550,000, or $1,000,000 more than in New York. Of sixteen American cities that have more than 250,000 inhabitants, New York stands 166 PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS. number fourteen in its expend ituresper capita of popu- lation for the purposes of free education ; and of the thirty-three municipalities, whose populations exceed 100,000, her place is number twenty-six. Although municipal trade schools have been estab- lished in nearly every country of Europe, they are still in their infancy in the United States. In the " mechan- ical " course of the College of the City of New York a course of study in the mechanic arts, covering five years, is pursued, a workshop having been fitted up in the basement of the building. There is thus far no purely trade common school, so to speak, in the city of New York, although there are several manual training public schools. Colonel Kichard T. Auchmuty was, perhaps, the founder of trade schools in the United States. He established the New York Trade School with his own money in 1881, and he expended nearly $250,000 upon it. During the first year he had thirty pupils, who were increased to ninety-eight in the sec- ond year, and two hundred and seven in the third. At present the graduates number over six hundred, and boys come to the school from all points in the United States and Canada. The other principal trade schools are The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (endowed with nearly $2,000,000 by the late Isaiah V. Williamson), in a suburb of Philadelphia; the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn ; the Drexel Institute, Philadelphia ; the Armour Institute, Chicago ; and the Horological School, at Walton, Mass. The Polytechnic Institute at Baltimore is, I believe, THE FRANKLIN FUND OF BOSTON. 16T the oldest municipal institution for technical education in the country. Several years ago a Manual Training School for Colored Youths was established in the same city. Boston, renowned as she is for her superb educa- tional facilities, has as yet no trade school ; but the Franklin Fund, amounting to something over $300,000, is to be devoted to the establishment of one or more such institutions. In April, 1894, the aldermen made a tour of the large cities for the purpose of inspecting technical schools. CHAPTER XVI. FINANCE AND TAXATION. THE subjects of finance and taxation are not exclu- sively departments of municipal government. Yet it is necessary to discuss them briefly in this volume, because the residents of a city pay a much larger sum in direct taxation for the support of the municipality than for that of the State. Moreover, the debts of the cities are proportionately much greater than those of the State or the national Government. The vast amount of prop- erty exempt from taxation in cities increases, of course, the rate of tax paid by the individual. In New York city the real estate exempt from taxation is valued at $308,398,495, of which $205,814,770 belongs to the city and $18,863,000 to the United States. Many buildings used for educational, charitable or artistic purposes are exempt by special act of the Legislature. Church prop- erty is not taxed. The total State tax paid by the city of New York in 1893 was $4,112,266.62, out of the $35,064,257 tax-levy. For several years the eity of New York has paid nearly half of the State tax, although the population is but one fourth of that of the State. There are single blocks in the business part of the city that are worth (168) ^ INCREASE OF MUNICIPAL DEBTS. 169 more than all the real and personal property in some rural counties. In the early days of the republic, cities were ham- pered by the lack of power of their officers to raise money by taxation. This was especially the case in Philadel- phia under Penn's charter. The power to raise revenue for the current expenses of the municipality was grad- ually given by the Commonwealth to the various cities. At the present day the City Councils or Boards of Al- dermen in some cases have power to raise money by taxation. It is usual to limit by constitutional provision the power of a municipality to incur indebtedness. In some cities the total debt can not exceed ten per cent of the assessed valuation of the real property subject to taxation. Municipal credit was not abused- in the United States until the close of the civil war. Then a mania for speculation and extravagance overcame the people. Prof. Henry C. Adams, in his book on Public Debts, says : " The financial evils of municipal administration are so familiar that they cease to be the occasion of sur- prise ; and it is important to learn whether such evils are traceable to a disregard of financial principles, to some radical defect in the organization of city govern- ment, or to the imperfect development of society itself. " In 1840 the debts of cities amounted to little more than $25,000,000. ... So late as the year 1860 the bonded indebtedness of the cities containing a popu- lation of 7,500 and upward was but $51,000,000. . . . 170 FINANCE AND TAXATION. By the year 1870 the combined debts of cities, towns, counties and school districts amounted to $515,800,000 ; and during the ten ye^ars that followed, $306,300,000 were added to this sum. . . . The cities have appealed to public credit regardless of consequences." A table of the increase of population, taxable valua- tion, taxation and debt in fifteen of the chief cities of the United States, from 1866 to 1875, is as follows : Increase in population 70-5 per cent. Increase in tax valuation 156-9 per cent. Increase in debt 270-9 per cent. Increase in taxation 363-2 per cent.* The increase in debt has been most notable in the large cities, as shown by the following comparison that I have condensed from Prof. Adams's work, pages 344, 345. Statistics of twelve large cities for the years 1877- 1886 are compared with those of twelve small cities for the same period : Aggregate increase of debt 187, as against 98 per cent. Aggregate increase of valuation 74, as against 121 per cent. Aggregate increase of taxation 86, as against 108 per cent. Aggregate increase of population 88, as against 42 per cent. Amount of debt per capita of population, $86.50, as against $26.50. The sudden increase of the debt of New York dur- ing the reign of the Tweed ring is, perhaps, the most remarkable of any large city. (See page 14.) During the two years preceding the downfall of that ring in * See the Report of the Pennsylvania Commission to devise a Plan for the Government of the Cities. EATES OF INTEREST ON BONDS. 1871 the increase of the city's debt was $40,650,648. On July 1, 1894, the net funded debt of New York city was $104,339,634, and the State of New York is practi- cally out of debt. In the small cities the most sudden and remarkable increase is that of Elizabeth, N. J. That city is practi- cally bankrupt. It has an indebtedness of $3,737,760, against a total property valuation of $14,076,270. The debt grew chiefly out of the needless paving of streets, at exorbitant prices, that were far in advance of any present use. There was also general reckless extrava- gance in all municipal expenditures for other improve- ments. The population of the city is 38,000. Increase of bonded indebtedness is not peculiar to American cities. In Europe the municipalities are dis- posed to increase their debts, though to a much more limited extent; but it is difficult to compare the in- debtedness of the cities of Europe with those of the United States, as the administrative departments of Europe are managed so much more economically, and the cost of material and the price of. labor are much A city having a low rate of taxation has often a large bonded debt. The rates of interest now paid on city bonds are worthy of attention. The city of New York, owing to its great wealth, makes, perhaps, the best showing. Of late years bonds have been some- times issued bearing only two and a half per cent in- terest. In Tweed's time loans were made at the rate of seven per cent, and some of these bonds are still out- 172 FINANCE AND TAXATION. standing. During Mayor Hewitt's term January 1, 1887, to January 1, 1889 he endeavored to induce the holders of these bonds to surrender them and to re- fund or accept in their stead bonds paying three per cent and running for a long term ; but the bondholders declined the proposition. The city of Chicago is about to reissue at four per cent $1,787,000' worth of bonds that have borne interest at seven per cent. Many of the small cities in the United States are now selling bonds at the rate of four and five per cent. These bonds are sometimes exempted from municipal taxation. In the District of Columbia registered bonds, guaranteed by the United States Government and bear- ing interest at 3'65 per cent, have been issued recently. The issue is limited to $5,000,000 and is exempt from all taxes. The city bonds in several Western States are fair investments because the city debt is limited by the State Constitution to five per cent of the assessed valu- ation of the taxable property. The tax-rate of cities is often a delusion and a snare, for the reason that, where the municipal authorities refuse to make an appropriation, application is made to the Legislature for authority to issue bonds. This method of financial juggling is adopted in the city of New York. For example, on January 1, 1887, the net city debt was $90,395,633, the lowest point it has reached since 1872. On January 1, 1889, the debt was $91,423,135. From 1889 to 1892, the city of New York incurred new indebtedness to the extent of $43,887,693 ; DEBTS OP AMERICAN CITIES. 173 but during the same period, old debt to the amount of $21,170,815 was redeemed and canceled, making the net increase in the bonded debt $22,716,878. On Janu- ary 1, 1893, the net bonded debt, after deducting the amount of the sinking fund, was $98,995,651. The assets of the city are estimated by the present Mayor at $559,000,000, or about five times as much as the present debt. On January 1, 1894, the net funded debts of the principal cities were approximately as follows : Brooklyn $47,337,000 Boston 35,000,000 Philadelphia 27,930,000 Cincinnati 26,000,000 St. Louis 21,376,000 Chicago 18,450,000 Baltimore 16,100,000 Pittsburg 9,000,000 San Francisco 650,000 The expenditures of the cities of Europe should be proportionately larger, for the reason that the standing army is quartered upon them, and many buildings and open spaces are occupied for garrison purposes, where, in the United States, the corresponding area would be owned by private individuals and hence furnish an in- come in the form of taxation. In Germany the soldiers are not allowed to vote, so they have no indirect means of increasing or decreasing the city debt. The annual municipal expenditure of the leading cities is here given : 174 FINANCE AND TAXATION. CITIES. Expenditure. Population. London $58,446,000 5,100,000* Paris 66,000,000 2.480,000 Berl in 21,150,000 1,767,000 Vienna 11,868,000 1,423,000 New York f 38,664,257 1,610,108 $ Chicago 32.426,210 1,098,576 Philadelphia 23 061 526 1,044.894 Boston 10,647,928 446,507 The cost of government per capita is in London $11.46, in Paris $26.61,* and in Berlin $11.97. In the city of New York the rate was $5 in 1850. At the end of Tweed's administration, in 1871, it was $18.66 ; and in 1893, excluding the expenditure for assessments, it was $24.01. Some residents of cities advocate the single-tax theory that is, all taxes should be placed upon land, whether improved or unimproved, and the so-called un- earned increment (which, in a city like New York, is enormous) should go to the city, and not to the free- holder. The rural taxpayer constantly complains of the amount of personal property that escapes taxation in cities, and he naturally favors the distribution of the tax upon real and personal property. In some States the so-called listing system is in force ; but it is very unpopular, and the owners of personal property re- * In 1890. (See pages 52, 53.) f Excluding about $3,500,000 for improvements by assess- ments and by the issue of bonds. \ The mean of the federal and police census. * In London the debt per capita is $45.92, and in Paris it is $161.30. TAXES IN PARIS AND BERLIN. 1Y5 sort to every device, including perjury, to evade tax- ation. An income tax is levied in the principal countries of Europe, and a similar system will take effect in the United States, January 1, 1895. In France special kinds of taxes are levied, such as the patente, which is a license duty paid by all persons habitually engaged in a "profession, commerce or in- dustry." In Great Britain and on the Continent the tenant pays a tax on the amount of his rent. In Paris the shopkeeper pays a tax on the number of doors and windows. The French and German systems of munici- pal taxation are so complicated that I have not sufficient space to explain them. I merely refer to them, so that the American student of municipal taxation may pursue the subject at his leisure. Some idea of the tax on real estate in Paris may be formed when I say that the owner of a building worth $20,000 pays a tax of $80, which is divided between the city, the department and the republic. He pays an additional tax of $24 on the doors and windows. Then the tenant pays a tax on the amount of business done, and the freeholder pays a general income tax in addition. In Berlin the owner of a house and lot has to pay to the city two and two ninths per cent on the rent, which is appraised by official experts, besides the tax on the real estate. The tenant has to pay an annual tax of six and two thirds per cent on the annual rent above $250 ; five per cent, from $200 to $250 ; four per cent, from $150 to $200 ; three per cent, from $100 to $150 ; 176 FINANCE AND TAXATION. two per cent, from $50 to $100, and nothing under $50. The taxes on a house that rents for $20,000 are $1,311, or six and five ninths per cent, exclusive of the water and gas taxes. The average cost of collecting taxes in the large American cities is a trifle more than one per cent. In New York city it is about half of one per cent. The other chief sources of revenue are franchises for the use of streets and from ferries, in cities with a water-front. Leroy-Beaulieu says that, in his opinion, the revenue of European cities will, in the near future, be collected from such sources as the rent of public halls and mar- kets, slaughter-houses, waterworks, gas-works and pub- lic conveyances. The municipal gas-works in German cities are an excellent investment. In Berlin about eighteen per cent of the annual municipal expenditure is raised from the sale of gas ; and in Philadelphia nearly seventeen per cent is collected in a similar manner. The improvident disposal of franchises to individ- uals or corporations in American cities accounts to some extent for the enormous municipal debts. In the city of New York alone, if the franchises for surface railways, stages and ferries had been granted for an adequate sum, it would scarcely be necessary at present to pay taxes for the support of the city government. CHAPTER XVII. MUNICIPALIZATIOK. EXCEPTING waterworks, markets and docks, munici- pal authorities in the United States rarely go beyond what may be termed the regular or ordinary sphere of public works. Municipal tramways, railroads, lodging- houses, savings-banks, public halls, disinfection estab- lishments, abattoirs, art-museums, pawnshops and gas- works are almost unknown. The last named are the most common, for there are twelve cities that own their gas-works. (See page 104.) RAILROADS. The municipality of Cincinnati com- pleted in 1879 the Cincinnati Southern Railway, about three hundred miles long. This subject is fully de- scribed by J. H. Hollender as " A Study in Municipal Activity," in the Johns Hopkins University Studies, twelfth series, vols. i. and ii. (1894). The Legislature of New York, during the session of 1894, passed a law permitting the city of New York to construct a railroad. It is the so-called Chamber of Commerce Rapid Transit Acl, because the bill was ap- proved by that body. The law is to be submitted to the voters at the general election in November, 1894, and, if the referendum is carried, the work will at once be cm) 178 MUNICIPALIZATION. begun by the rapid transit commissioners. This pro- posed municipal railway will be, I think, the practical solution of the problem of rapid transit for New York city. The number of passengers carried on the New York Elevated Railroads increased from 45,900,000 in 1879 to 221,400,000 in 1893. With the exception of the Cincinnati Southern Rail- way, the most gigantic municipal enterprise is prob- ably the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. The Bridge Company was originally chartered as a private corpora- tion. (ee chapter 399, laws of 1867.) But little work was done until about 1874, when an act was passed tak- ing away all the rights of this corporation, and making it a municipal work of the two cities. (See chapter 601, laws of 1874, and chapter 300, laws of 1875.) The present bridge was built by the cities of New York and Brooklyn, the former paying one third and the latter two thirds of the cost. The trustees of the bridge are appointed by the respective Mayors of the two munici- palities. The receipts of the bridge are used for its maintenance and to provide for the payment of em- ployees. All surplus moneys received for tolls are paid twice a year, at the rate of two thirds to Brooklyn and one third to New York. The cost of the structure was about $16,500,000. In 1893, 42,615,105 passengers were carried in the cable cars that cross the bridge. The fare of each passenger is three cents, or ten tickets for twenty-five cents. Pedestrians were formerly charged one cent, but the bridge is now free for them. The LODGING-HOUSES. 179 arches or spaces under the bridge, between the piers and the termini of New York and Brooklyn, are rented for warehouses, stables and other purposes, the annual rent roil being now nearly $100,000. LODGING-HOUSES. The only municipal lodging- house in the "United States, so far as I know, is in Bos- ton. Applicants for shelter are obliged to saw or chop wood for three hours in return for supper, lodging and breakfast. They are also compelled to be scrubbed in a bath-tub. In 1886 a law was passed (chapter 535) to provide for the establishment of municipal lodging- houses in the city of New York. Two years later the Department of Public Charities and Correction in- cluded in its annual estimates $25,000 for the purpose of enforcing the act. But the Board of Estimate and Apportionment refused to make an appropriation for that purpose, and in the following year the same appli- cation was made and rejected. The commissioners then concluded that the expenditure necessary to establish such lodging-houses should be assumed by private en- terprise and philanthropy , Seven city lodging-houses have been established in Glasgow, a bed with clean sheets costing but seven cents. There are many cheap lodging-houses' in the city of New York, which are licensed by the Board of Health, usually in January. In the first week of this month of 1894 the licenses granted included accommodations foi 11,321 men. These figures give a fair idea of the ex- tent of the so-called lodging-house vote in New York, 13 180 MUNICIPALIZATION. In autumn this number is estimated at about 22,000, or nearly nine per cent of the total vote of the city. In 1893 lodgings were given in police stations to 127,520 persons, of whom a slight majority were males. DISINFECTION. In 1886 the corporation of Berlin erected the first disinfection establishment. In all cases where infectious diseases have been found in a dwelling, the bedding, clothing, carpets, etc., which are likely to contain the germs of disease, are placed in a covered conveyance and carried to this establishment, wnere they are put on a rack and exposed to steam heat of about 110 Fahr. for thirty-five minutes. The steam is then turned off, and the articles are cooled and ven- tilated, and sent home without damage. A small charge is made on all goods thus disinfected about a cent and a half per cubic yard. This establish- ment is built of brick and stone, occupies an area of 142 by 120 feet, inclosed in a large courtyard, and is now considered an indispensable annex to the adminis- tration of the department of public health. There is in New York a similar municipal disinfection establish- ment with a disinfecting corps. ABATTOIRS. The city of Berlin has erected a com- bined cattle-market and slaughter-house, which was opened for pifblic use in 1881, and covers about twenty- seven acres. All cattle, sheep, swine and calves to be slaughtered in Berlin must be brought to this estab- lishment. There are accommodations for 1,300 head of cattle, 3,400 swine, 2,000 sheep and as many calves. Mr. Pollard says the most efficient system of meat in- ABATTOIRS AND MARKETS. 181 spection in the world is probably to be found in Berlin. All dead meat slaughtered in the country, and intended for Berlin consumption, must be brought there for in- spection before being offered for sale as food for human beings. No butcher can sell meat that does not bear the official stamp of the inspecting department of the central market. The chief inspector is a veterinary surgeon of reputation, and he has twenty-two surgeons and assistant surgeons, with a large staff of special in- spectors, microscopists and stampers. The result is that the purchaser of goods at a Berlin butcher shop may rest assured that all the fresh meat there offered for sale has undergone a strict scientific test, and has been declared officially to be fit for human consump- tion. I recommend the sanitary authorities of American cities to obtain copies of the specifications and plans of the disinfection establishment and central slaughter- house of Berlin, with a view to their early adoption. The abattoirs of Paris consist of 64 pavilions, cov- ering 67 acres. This municipal establishment employs 1,000 men. MARKETS. In the matter of municipal markets Americans should follow the example of the cities of the Old World. The Central Market in Paris is a large iron and brick building, with a zinc roof and with large skylights over the roadways. There are immense cellars for storage of produce. Three parallel lines of cars extend from these cellars to a tunnel under the Boulevard de Sebastopol, which communicates with the 1 s-2 MUNICIPALIZATION. circular railway. The public markets of Paris are opened at three o'clock A. M. in summer and at four A. M. in winter. They are lighted by electricity. At seven o'clock the street peddlers' wagons must be re- moved and market refuse on the streets collected, for the sweeping machines are then used. The ordinance forbidding the throwing of rubbish into the street is not strictly enforced in the vicinity of markets. The new model markets of Berlin are probably un- equaled by those of any other city. They are built of brick in the most substantial manner, and are well ven- tilated and lighted by gas. The market committee maintain strict supervision with the assistance of the police. Unwholesome food is promptly seized, cleanli- ness is strictly enforced, and all refuse is removed at least once a day. The fish departments or stalls of the Berlin markets are unique. Large marble tanks have been constructed with an abundant supply of water. In Washington there is a spacious central market which should be an object-lesson to some of the large cities. In Philadelphia there are but four indifferent market-houses which belong to the city. They were appraised in 1892 at $152,000. The metropolis has ten markets, some of which are of one story only, and the revenue from market rents and fees in 1893 was $311,670. Chicago has no municipal market, but officers are employed by the city to inspect meat, fish, vegetables, etc. In Boston there are two city markets Faneuil Hall ROOF-GARDENS ON MARKETS. 183 and New Faneuil Markets the total income of which in 1893 was $85,495.67. Eleven municipal markets have been erected in Bal- timore, yielding a yearly revenue of $51,813. There are generally unauthorized street markets hawkers or licensed venders in cities. They are seri- ous competitors of the lessees of market stalls, as they pay no rent, and in some cities they are not even licensed. A recent report of the Public Control Committee of the London County Council on the subject of mar- kets is interesting. I give a brief extract from some of their conclusions : " The market itself can also be made a valuable cen- ter, both for health and pleasure, by keeping the roof of the main building low and flat. A large open space and playground could be formed on this roof, and the interior of the building could be so arranged as to be available on Sundays, and, perhaps, at other times, for recreative purposes, as it appears probable that, to the neighborhoods in which these buildings would be erected, the occasional playing of a municipal band or other means of recreation would be an immense boon." The combination of public market and public pleasure ground is deserving of a trial in our large cities. It has been suggested recently that the roofs of car-stables and of cable power-houses of the large cities could be utilized as public playgrounds. These build- ings are usually low, with flat roofs, and at small ex- 184 MUNICIPALIZATION. pense they could be transformed into delightful roof- gardens for the poorer classes. LIBRARIES, ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS. In Europe the State provides the education for art and science, which in the United States is generally fur- nished by cities. In the capitals of the Old World there are usually a free library, an art gallery and a natural history museum. Large industrial museums have been established in London, Paris and Berlin. Few munici- pal institutions of this class are found in our country. Free libraries and free museums and art galleries in American cities are generally established by private en- terprise and philanthropy, on condition that a city will provide the buildings and grounds. Several cities own free libraries of moderate size, but the only ones of special importance are the Public Libraries of Boston and Chicago. The city authorities of Boston appropriate $162,000 a year for the Public Library, which contains about 700,000 volumes. This institution is one of the oldest and largest of the kind in this country. The building was dedicated January 1, 1858. A new edifice will be occupied in the autumn of 1894. There are nearly 200,000 volumes in the Chicago City Library, which will soon be moved from the city hall to the new building on Dearborn Park, and it received in 1893 an appropriation of $487,464. The State of Massachusetts leads the country in the number and value of its libraries. By the fourth annual report of the State Commission, it appears that, of 352 cities BATH-HOUSES AND PAWNSHOPS. 185 and towns in the State, 234 have libraries that are con- trolled by the municipality and are free for circulation to all persons. There are two semi-municipal museums in the Cen- tral Park, New York the American Museum of Natu- ral History (chartered in 1869) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (incorporated in 1870). The buildings are owned by the city, while the collections and objects are in each case the property of a private society, but all necessary expenses for keeping in repair, etc., are borne by the city. Wealthy citizens have founded valuable free libraries and museums with courses of free instruc- tion in the chief municipalities. BATH-HOUSES. In Berlin there were up to 1893 twelve public bathing establishments. I witnessed in that year the opening of another and a larger (brick) bath-house erected at a cost of $150,300. It is 130 by 98 feet, and contains small bath-rooms as well as a large swimming tank. Floating baths have been provided by the authorities of the cities on the Atlantic seaboard, but I know of no municipality that has built a substantial bath-house in the interior of the town. Such a movement was agi- tated in New York in 1892, but nothing has yet been done. PAWNSHOPS. Public pawnshops have long been established in Europe, especially in France, Germany and Italy. They are called monts-de-piete in France, and Leihliauser in Germany. The public loan-office, or Monte de Piedad^ has eight branches in the city of 186 MUNICIPALIZATION. Mexico. It is more purely a charitable institution than that of Paris. The rate of interest is about half of that which the law permits private pawnbrokers to charge. I believe there are no municipal pawnshops in the United States. MISCELLANEOUS. In Chapter IX I refer to twenty-three cities that own municipal electric-lighting plants. Municipal savings banks have not yet, I believe, been introduced in the United States. The same is generally true concerning public halls in which citizens could assemble, excepting the upper story of markets in several cities. Some years ago a member of the Legis- lature from the city of New York introduced a bill ap- propriating $50,000 for the erection of a public hall in Washington Square, but it was not passed. Such buildings have been erected in a few large cities of Europe. The most notable example is the Bourse du Travail, or Labor Exchange, in Paris. It is an omamental build- ing, seven stories high, and cost nearly a million dol- lars. The municipality pays the cost of lighting, heat- ing, cleaning and maintaining the building, and also the salaries of the six secretaries who direct its gen- eral operations. The municipality does not allow the Bourse du Travail to be used by the foes of labor. When, in the spring of 1894, a disorderly mob attempt- ed to use this building, the Government closed its doors, which were guarded by soldiers. WATERWORKS. 187 The municipal ownership of waterworks in this country is not always advantageous to the taxpayers. The waterworks belonging to private persons are usu- ally better managed than those owned by cities, and the average cost of water supply per capita is about thirty- five per cent less than when a municipality owns the works. (See page 102.) The water rates of private com- panies are generally about twenty-five per cent higher than public water taxes. This fact has aroused a strong feeling against the former, for few citizens stop to think of the taxes they pay, in addition to the water charges, for public works. MUNICIPALISM. The present tendency of Ameri- can city governments is to perform what has long been done by private enterprise, and this is in line with such progressive cities in Europe as Berlin, Glasgow and Birmingham. Municipalization is the proper method of governing a city, provided it is done upon business principles. A municipal day's work is generally much less satisfac- tory to taxpayers than contract work or subletting the work. In New York the party in power is seeking con- tinually to catch the " labor " vote by proposing laws specifying that no laborer in the city employ shall re- ceive less than two dollars a day, and that eight hours shall constitute a day's work. It is obvious that the contractor, who gives a bond for the faithful perform- ance of his work, or who is dependent upon honest inspectors, who will approve his work before he can 188 MUNICIPALIZATION. receive his pay, and who employs men for ten hours a day at the market price of labor (which is usually less than that fixed by the city departments), can do better work. Some unpractical reformers propose that street railroads shall be built and managed at the pub- lic expense, and that the public shall be allowed to ride free. This reduces the principle of municipalism to an absurdity. I recommend that the field of municipal enterprise be increased as soon as respectable citizens vote to- gether in sufficient numbers to elect a better class of men to municipal offices. Municipalism has this fea- ture to recommend it : the city will raise no corrup- tion fund to bribe either a Legislature or a Board of Aldermen, whereas, in many States and cities, it is now difficult, and oftentimes impossible, to pass without bribery a law giving a charter to a corporation or an individual to build a great public improvement, such as a railroad, a bridge, a waterworks or a gas plant. If public works were constructed under the supervision of honest commissioners, engineers and inspectors, the field of municipalism would be rapidly extended. CHAPTER XVIII. ELECTIONS. THIS chapter may be considered a preface to the next one. I have already said that the chief remedy for our municipal evils lies in the suffrage that is, the introduction of an intelligent and independent method of voting at city elections. (See page 49.) The laws concerning the elective franchise in certain States can hardly be improved ; the difficulty lies in their non- enforcement. A stream of water will not rise higher than its source. Unless public sentiment demands the enforcement of the law, our elections will continue to be a carnival of crime and corruption in the larger cit- ies, especially in New York and Brooklyn. Precautions against false registratration should be taken. In San Francisco a voter on registering must give his age, height, weight, color of eyes, hair, com- plexion, etc. in other words, it is a sort of passport registration, and the registry book identifies the voter, so that a careful inspector can prevent the false person- ation of an elector. The law in New York is very de- fective in this respect ; and when, at the session of 1894, a bill was introduced to apply the California statute to the whole State of New York, two Senators from the (189) 190 ELECTIONS. metropolis opposed the measure, on the ground that the registry book would make a sort of " rogues' gal- lery " of voters. This objection came from representa- tives of the organization, which at the last election was (so far as I know) the only political party that com- mitted frauds in the city of New York, and they were the most atrocious frauds since Tweed's time shown by a large number of indictments and convictions. Be- lievers in good city government understand that the chief, if not the only, weapon in their hands is the bal- lot, and they will not object to the severest and strong- est law that human ingenuity can devise. The next step will be to require a voter, on registra- tion day, to write his name in one of the registry books, so that if the inspectors or judges of election should not remember the voter on election day, four or five weeks afterward, he could be asked to identify himself by writing his name. In France every elector receives by mail a so-called carte cTelecteur or a small electoral ticket, on which he writes his name. He is not allowed to vote unless he presents this card at the polls. Then the chairman of the Board of Inspectors cuts off a cor- ner of the ticket to prove that he has voted, and returns it to him. The reader will see that this regulation re- quires a voter to read and write. All French elections are held on Sunday. In Switzerland voters are also re- quired to present an electoral card which states the oc- cupation and year of birth. Under this system " repeat- ing " is impossible, and the false personation of a voter is next to impossible. THE FRENCH ELECTION LAWS. 191 A few writers on the subject of electoral reform have recently suggested the introduction of the French system in the United States. Its adoption would bring out a protest chiefly from the so-called better element, who would be more inclined to leave their electoral tickets at home and refuse to go after them than the humbler class of voters or professional politicians, who think of little but politics during a campaign. In Alabama a statute was enacted in February, 1893, providing that " each registrar shall, at the time of his registration, furnish to each elector, who may register, a certificate of registration." A subsequent section con- tains these words : " That in order to prevent repeating, no elector shall be allowed to receive a ballot from the inspectors, nor to cast a ballot, until he shall have pro- duced and surrendered to the inspectors of election at the polling-place the certificate of registration herein- before provided for." Professional reformers are prone to exaggerate the importance of primary elections. They say that, if the masses of voters will only attend the primaries, better candidates will be placed in nomination. Theoretically this is true, but the project can hardly be carried out. The voters who do not take an active part in political manipulation can not make their influence felt without united action, and business men can scarcely be ex- pected, to organize an opposition among themselves, to have headquarters and work together at a primary. In other words, concerted action is hardly possible among those who are not professional politicians. Long ex- 192 ELECTIONS. perience has shown that, except during a great crisis or political revolution, business men will not attend the primary elections. If the ordinary citizen registers and votes, it is really all that can be expected of him. Ee- f ormers complain that " the whole thing is cut and dried," when a political convention is called to order, and they have only the choice of voting for the regular ticket, or nominating some unknown man, or bolting the convention's nominations. An excellent alternative for the proposed "slate candidates" has just been es- tablished in the city of New York. The so-called Good- Government Clubs, in the campaign of 1893, se- lected worthy candidates and obtained their acceptance by the Eepublican organization in two districts, and elected them by a large majority in districts, which, in the previous years, have been Democratic. These two Good-Government Club Assemblymen were men of high standing, and both made an excellent record in the Legislature. In two other districts, independent Demo- crats were nominated by the Good-Government Club organizations, and one of them received nearly one third of the votes cast, there being two regular can- didates. The coming man must learn to vote independently at municipal elections. He must be taught and it will ( take time to teach him that he can support the best men at city elections without renouncing his allegiance to a national party. The so-called Good-Government Club movement will not prevent a citizen from support- ing a partisan ticket in national and State elections. SEPARATE CITY ELECTIONS. 193 In his Farewell Address Washington said, " Let me now . . . warn you in the most solemn manner . . . against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party gen- erally." For many years national party lines have been drawn in municipal elections, especially when national, State and local officers are chosen on the same day. The subject of separate municipal elections has long been agitated. If distinct municipal elections were to be established in New York they should be held in the spring and not after the general election for President or Governor, because the rancors and disap- pointments of election day would prevent many good citizens from coming to the polls in December to vote for city officers. During the years from 1834 to 1849 the charter elections of New York were held in the spring. From 1850 to 1856 they were simultaneous with the general election, and in the period from 1857 to 1869 inclusive, the city elections took place in De- cember; but in 1870 this was changed, and all city officers have since been chosen at the general election in November. Excepting New York, Brooklyn and Buffalo, special charter elections are now held in all cities of the State. Most of our other large cities, ex- cept Baltimore, have separate charter elections. The electors of Cleveland, Ohio, generally divide on party lines, although the city election is held in April, and this is true of the voters of some other cities, but Chicago furnished an exception at the mayoralty elec- tion of 1894. The main objection to a special election in large cities is the expense. In New York it would 194 ELECTIONS. now cost about $400,000. The city election of 1893 in Chicago cost $144,494.43. In general, it may be said that the indifferent voter will not cast his ballot to redeem a ring-ridden city un- til he learns that it is cheaper to register and vote for decent and respectable candidates than to pay high taxes and encourage extortion and blackmail among municipal officers. The charter elections in the cities of Albany, N. Y., and Newark, N. J., in the spring of 1894, are object-lessons, showing how much independent voting may do if citizens are thoroughly aroused. In the State of New York a patent voting machine was used in many towns in 1892, 1893 and 1894. I witnessed the operation of this machine in Tonawanda in April, 1893. The canvass was made in thirty-five minutes, whereas, by the old method, it would have taken fully four hours. The inspectors or judges of election should represent equally both political parties. In some cities there is a bipartisan board of two Demo- crats and two Republicans, and it is necessary for a majority to decide a dispute or construction of the election laws. A municipal ring maintains that the dominant party should control the election machinery and count the votes. Such a system is simply disfran- chisement of the minority and encourages gross frauds, as shown in recent elections in the State of New York. The true policy of election laws is to prevent the domi- nant party from obtaining control of the election ma- chinery, because this policy tends to make parties or factions self -perpetuating. They pass laws to raise OFFENDERS MUST BE PUNISHED. 195 salaries and to give enormous privileges or valuable franchises to their favorites, and like vultures feed upon the carcass of the body politic. The only argument in favor of a partisan board of three inspectors is econ- omy ; but it costs money to execute the laws, and it is a good investment to make a sufficient appropriation for the enforcement of the laws relating to the elective franchise. Where the inspectors or judges of election are equally divided between the two principal parties it is like balancing the scales of justice ; any other policy amounts to the suppression of the popular will, and is a menace to American institutions. One of the best methods of preventing election frauds is to insist upon the punishment of offenders. It is possible for a Governor who has been put into office by fraudulent voting, or who wants something more from his party, to pardon the very criminals that helped to give him his official position. This was done in New York in 1885. The defeated party is generally discouraged after election, and they do not prosecute the guilty persons, chiefly on the ground that the fraud would not have changed the result of the election. The same zeal that is displayed before elec- tion should be continued after election, if frauds against the franchise have been committed. If citizens get dis- gusted and lose their civic pride on the ground that there is no hope, it emboldens the ring and encourages the tricksters to commit even greater crimes at the suc- ceeding election. The political maxim that " every- thing goes in politics" is a menace to free and fair 14 196 ELECTIONS. elections, and the self-respecting voter should spurn and suppress this sentiment. The question of citizenship is directly connected with good city government. All political parties take advantage of loose and defective naturalization laws, and aliens from the slums of great cities are dragged to court and naturalized at an alarming rate. The natu- ralization laws of the several States should be amended so as to require a voter to reside in the United States at least five years, and to become a citizen at least six months, before he is allowed to register and vote. The latter provision would prevent the unseemly crowding and rush that are annually seen in the courts of the city of New York from ten days to a month before elec- tion. In Tweed's time it was considered an atrocious crime for a ring judge to naturalize three candidates in five minutes; but in October, 1893, I entered one of the courts of the city of New York and saw a judge ad- mit three applicants to citizenship in just three min- utes. The answers given to questions on American history and geography were ludicrous. In cities containing a large foreign-born popula- tion the pernicious practice of " catering " to natural- ized voters has been established. It is not a parti- san question. All classes of politicians seek the so- called foreign vote. In certain districts of the city of New York it is customary to nominate a German and an Irishman for local offices, with a view of catching the suffrages of these respective foreign elements. There is, of course, nothing objectionable in the mere AMERICANISM. 197 fact of nominating a 'naturalized citizen for a local office. But the practice of naming a figurehead, sim- ply to obtain on election day the support of his former countrymen, is vicious and insulting to their intelli- gence. If our fellow-citizens of foreign birth especially those of Great Britain, France, Germany and Switzer- land would only vote in this country as they voted at home, our city governments would be much better. I mean, of course, that national party lines should not be drawn, and that municipal officers should be chosen on their merits. Here let me add some of the remarks of the Hon. Eichard Guenther, of Wisconsin, a naturalized German : " We know as well as any other class of American citi- zens where our duties belong. We will work for our country in time of peace and fight for it in time of war if a time of war should ever come. When I say our country, I mean, of course, our adopted country. I mean the United States of America. After passing through the crucible of naturalization, we are no longer Germans, we are Americans. . . . America first, last and all the time. America against Germany ; America against the world ; America, right or wrong ; always America. We are Americans." The presidency and vice-presidency of the United States are, I believe, the only public offices to which foreigners are not eligible. Many leading men in the older cities are of alien birth; but, unfortunately, a ring-ridden municipality mainly selects the worst ele- ments of the foreign-born citizens. The better and 198 ELECTIONS. successful class of aliens should be welcome to mu- nicipal offices, especially if they bring with them the municipal non-partisan idea of the " old country." I think that Americans have inherited from Great Britain the practice of corruption at the polls. In Ger- many there are no laws for the punishment of bribery at elections, for the reason that this crime is almost un- known. The poorer class of voters in France are very dignified, and they would spurn any offer to purchase their vote. In Switzerland corruption at the polls is very rare. Formerly elections in England were carni- vals of crime, but the statute of 1872 brought about monumental reforms, and now but little money is used corruptly. Some States like Massachusetts, New York, California and Missouri have adopted corrupt- practices acts, but they are generally defective and can be evaded easily. Let us hope that an enlightened public opinion will do much to diminish the amount of bribery now existing, until it is reduced to zero. I recommend the educational qualification for voters, which prevails in the States of Massachusetts, Con- necticut, Wyoming and Mississippi. It might be ad- visable to omit the educational qualification in the case of voters born previous to 1850, because the older class of voters in remote country districts may not have received the advantages of education, and it is now too late for them to learn to read and write. In Massa- chusetts a voter must be able to read and to write his name. In Mississippi he must be able to inter- pret the Constitution when it is read to him. In PLURAL VOTING. 199 Georgia delinquent taxpayers are excluded from the suffrage. In Newport, E. I., only freeholders are allowed to vote on the proposition to spend money for improve- ments. (See page 150.) The New York commission of 1877 suggested the establishment of a small board of finance, to be selected by taxpayers to the amount of $500 each. (See page 15.) This is the system in some countries of Europe, where plural voting exists and a property owner may cast not exceeding three votes for each elective officer. That is the principle of moneyed corporations as applied to the government of municipal corporations. This system is so unpopular in the United States that, in the present state of public opinion, it is idle to discuss it. Plural voting on the basis of a property qualification never will be adopted, but the system prevailing in Belgium is not out of the question with us. There the head of a family, who has reached the age of thirty-five years and pays an annual tax of at least one dollar on his residence, may have an additional vote. The additional family vote at munici- pal elections should receive thorough discussion in the United States. If adopted, it might put an end to the constant agitation for woman suffrage. Some prop- erty-owning American women now contend that " tax- ation without representation is tyranny." These well- meaning persons forget that there are two kinds of taxes, a money tax and a service tax. The former is levied equally on the property of men and women. The latter is levied on men alone. It calls for jury 200 ELECTIONS. service, police service or military service, and every able-bodied man is liable to perform at least one kind of it. Political representation goes with " service " tax- ation, and not with the other. Both property and women are protected by the Government, but property without discrimination of ownership has no representa- tion. In other words, the right of citizens to vote does not depend upon a property qualification. In some of the original States there was a property qualification for voters. It existed in Khode Island, even as late as 1888. Kansas City, Mo., has in its charter a provision levy- ing a poll-tax of $2.50 upon every male resident of the city over the age of twenty-one years for each year in which a general election is held ; but if the per- son so assessed shall vote at the separate city election held that year he need not pay the poll tax. This pro- vision was enacted for the purpose of compelling citi- zens to vote, and it has thus far worked with beneficial results. A test case concerning the validity of the law is now (1894) pending in the Supreme Court of the State. The subject of compulsory voting has long been agitated. Of late years measures to compel citizens to vote have been introduced in a few States, and in May, 1888, such a bill came near passing the Massachusetts Legislature. The men who fail to vote are often those who are loudest in their denunciation of the existing order of things. There are, of course, many reasons why the FAILURE TO VOTE. 201 residents of cities d^ not vote. Young citizens often look upon election day as a holiday and go out of town. In 1890 a lady living on Long Island invited fifteen voters of New York city to spend election day at her residence. They accepted the hospitality, and were thus prevented from casting their ballots. In France many citizens refrain from voting. Dur- ing political campaigns it is common to see on walls and fences posters urging electors to go to the ballot- box "A ux urnes,pas d? abstentions " ; and many French residents of American cities do not become naturalized. The habit of electioneering at the polling places has been greatly abused in the United States. In colonial times it was customary to hold elections in churches. The voter went forward and cast his ballot, and no one was allowed to speak to him. In the State of New York it is a misdemeanor to electioneer within one hundred and fifty feet of the polling place, but this law has been grossly violated, and in 1893 there were several arrests and convictions in the city of New York for electioneering at the polling places. In some cities of Germany voters are classified in the order of the sums they pay for taxes, with the largest taxpayer heading the list. They are then di- vided into three classes, each of which has paid a third part of the aggregate amount. This is out of the ques- tion in the United States, but there should at least be an educational qualification. An American citizen can vote only once, although he may be a property-holder in several States. 202 ELECTIONS. The vote cast at charter elections is usually less than that cast at a State or national election. The most no- table example was in the city of New York in 1890. At that time an election was held for Mayor and city officers as well as for members of Congress, but the city was gerrymandered so that all the members of Con- gress were certain to belong to one party, so it is un- necessary to consider the Federal candidates. Then nearly 90,000 citizens neglected to register and 30,000 voters stayed away from the polls after they had regis- tered. The issue was the election of a fusion ticket, headed by an independent Democratic lawyer for Mayor, against Tammany Hall. The latter organiza- tion had been thoroughly exposed by the investigation of a legislative committee earlier in the year. It had been truly charged that the investigation was for par- tisan purposes, but the testimony was very damaging to the faction in power. There was a clearly defined issue, and the ring candidate for Mayor was re-elected by a plurality of 23,000, although he received the votes of about 5,000 less than half of the registered citizens. So, if it be assumed that the electors who registered and failed to vote were anti-Tammany citizens they could have defeated this organization if all had come to the polls. The defeat was owing to the apathy of the Re- publicans in refusing to vote together for the candidates accepted by their county convention. The intelligent citizens are the only persons whose votes can be cast to nullify those of the ignorant and vicious electors and of the selfish politicians who never CORRUPTION IN TROY. 203 fail to come to the polls. Let me emphasize the re- marks made at the recent National Conference for good city government, held in Philadelphia, that the edu- cated class of voters or so-called better element require more attention than the humbler citizens. After the defeat of the f usionists the voters took the. non- voters to task and said, " We can stand it if you can." The laissez-faire method of municipal government is lam- entable. The alarming corruption at the polls that has long prevailed in the city of Troy was the subject of discus- sion at recent meetings in the city of New York. On the same evening lawyers from Troy addressed the City Club and a Good - Government Club. The Union League Club also denounced these offenses in a series of resolutions. A boss-ruled police refused to make arrests for false registration (before election day) and for illegal voting. These electoral crimes culminated in the murder of one watcher for the Eepublican party and in the as- sault upon others at the charter election of 1894. The chief offender was tried, convicted and sentenced to be executed for murder in the first degree, and his accom- plice was sentenced to imprisonment for nineteen years and six months ; but it should be borne in mind that these felons were merely the tools of the ring that has long misruled the city. The real criminals behind these unfortunate wretches will probably never be punished. In 1893 the Mayor of Portland, Me., was counted in by a false canvass and refused to serve. 204 ELECTIONS. In 1889 gross frauds were committed by the election officers at Jersey City, N. J., and a ballot box was taken from the polling place to the house of a candidate for a high office and the desired majority was given, regard- less of the number of votes cast. The result was that sixty-eight ballot-box stuffers were sent to prison and served terms from eighteen months downward. The atrocious frauds in the village of Gravesend (a suburb of Brooklyn), the conviction and imprisonment of John Y. McKane and a score of his confederates, and also the punishment of many election officers in the city of New York, are too well known to American readers to require more than a passing notice. In the city of Cohoes, N. Y., the outrageous inter- ference of the police at the charter election of 1892, whereby the ballot boxes were seized and the election disputed for some time, may also be mentioned. The last, but by no means the least, remedy for bad city government is strict enforcement of the laws con- cerning the elective franchise. Good government rests on good election laws strictly enforced. These laws are more easily violated in the city than in the country, for in villages nearly every voter is known to the election officers. In cities the voters move about, and many newcomers appear at the place of registration. Advo- cates of honest elections should remember the motto, " Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." In certain wards of many cities corruption has been the rule rather than the exception on election day. The statute provides for challengers and watchers to FLOATERS AND STOVE-SITTERS. 205 enforce the election laws, and it is desirable that each political party should have at least .one intelligent watcher to prevent violations of law. One good watcher at the polls from morning to night is better than a hundred stump speakers with brass bands and banners to " wake up " the people. In order that the regular party watcher may not be prevented by a mob of ward " heelers " from occupying a position where he may see the voting and canvassing, the names of all duly ap- pointed watchers, with their alternates, should be filed at the office of those who supervise or manage the elec- tions in New York with the chief of the Bureau of Elections. Such a provision would also prevent par- tisan policemen from ejecting watchers who compel cor- rupt or careless election officers to obey the law. The cheap lodging houses in large cities are the prin- cipal abodes of the "floater." In New York many tramps are paid to register, but a different set of persons vote on their names. In order to obtain a list of those lodgers who are legally entitled to vote, the Board of Health should compel the keepers of lodging-houses to file sworn weekly returns of the names and nominal residences of the alleged " floaters " and " stove-sitters." (See page 179.) The adoption of the so-called Australian ballot laws in the several States, whereby the ballots are printed and distributed at public expense, has diminished the necessity and excuse for levying political " assess- ments," and has decreased, although not abolished, bribery. 206 ELECTIONS. It is difficult to calculate the proportion of venal voters in a community. Prof. John J. McCook, in an article in The Forum for September, 1892, estimates that sixteen per cent of the voters in one part of Con- necticut sell their suffrages. He says, further, that in one district of a city, on a certain street, forty per cent were marked purchasable. In rural communities there is, perhaps, more bribery than in cities, but other election offenses are rare. A better class of men should be selected as inspectors of elections, poll clerks and ballot clerks. Citizens who object to acting as jurors in the courts should be an- nually reminded that in New York election officers are exempt from jury duty. The election laws have been boldly violated for many years, and I doubt if there will ever be a fair election and an honest count in certain cities until there is a non-partisan society for the enforcement of election laws. Such an organization is as necessary as the Society for the Prevention of Crime, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children or the City Improvement So- ciety. A society to enforce election laws should have counsel familiar with criminal practice, and his work would be confined chiefly to false registration and fraud- ulent voting. He might even be empowered by an act of the Legislature, or by the Governor, to serve as spe- cial district attorney with the grand jury, to prosecute those who commit crimes against the elective franchise. Such a prosecuting officer would be free from partisan prejudices, and could pursue with unrelenting zeal mem- PUBLIC SENTIMENT NEEDFUL. 207 bers of all political parties, high and low, who violate the election law. I have suggested amendments to the statutes as a remedy for existing evils, but I repeat that the strictest laws will be of little value unless public sentiment is behind them. CHAPTER XIX. THE REMEDIES. ALL cities should be incorporated under general laws, with an appropriate classification according to population, and all such general laws should equally apply to all cities of each class. A municipality hith- erto incorporated should become organized under a gen- eral law whenever a majority of the electors of such city shall so determine. The amendment of city char- ters by special acts, and without the consent of the voters of the city, is, perhaps, the chief cause of bad local government. There should be no evasions of the Constitution by indirect means, such as are common now. For ex- ample, a general law may be passed, and then, for the benefit of one class of persons or a corporation, a sub- sequent statute, exempting all but one or two counties from the provisions of the general law, is enacted. In the Legislature of New York it is common to introduce a bill relating to cities of over one million inhabitants, which, of course, refers only to the metropolis ; or an act affecting cities having a population exceeding 500,- 000, which can include only New York and Brooklyn. The alternate domination of one political party over (208) HOME RULE. 209 another often leads to much unnecessary interference with the government of a municipality, and is subver- sive of the principle of " home rule," which is now be- coming popular in the larger cities. Legislative inter- vention could be prevented by a constitutional pro- vision that the charter of a city may be amended only by the electors of the city. In some of the Western States Missouri, California and "Washington recent laws have given power to a board of elective freeholders to propose a city charter not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, which must be ratified by the qualified voters at the next election. (See pages 24 and 47.) The electors of cities should be allowed to make ex- periments. For instance, when the citizens of Oswego, N. Y., in 1894 asked for permission to revise their char- ter, the Governor vetoed the bill on the ground that "it proposes to substitute aristocracy for democracy, and is English rather than American." (See Senate bills, Nos. 170-524.) It is not too much to say that in some of our rapidly growing cities the government can be improved only by. experimental laws. Too many mandatory laws are enacted by the Legislatures. The State should authorize and empower municipal authori- ties generally to act in their discretion. The words " with the consent and approval of the Board of Esti- mate and Apportionment " are sometimes inserted in acts affecting the city of New York. (See page 11.) I advise "proportionate representation," on the ground that the anti-ring citizens should always have 210 THE REMEDIES. representation in the City Council. With this system in a gerrymandered city the "boss" could not choose a large majority of the members of the Board of Alder- men before election. It would then be safe to increase the power of the Municipal Councils by providing that all laws should be confirmed by them. (See page 47.) The most conspicuous example of the disfrauchise- ment of the opponents of ring rule is now shown in the city of New York. In 1892 the so-called stolen Legis- lature enacted a law to reapportion the State. The metropolis was gerrymandered, and every one of the thirty .members of the Board of Aldermen is a repre- sentative of Tammany Hall. At the general election of November, 1892, the following vote was cast : Dem- ocratic, 175,267; Republican, 98,967; Labor, 5,945; People's, 2,366, and Prohibition, 2,439. If proportion- ate representation had then existed (such as is now the law in Denmark, Switzerland and Illinois) the Democrats would have had nineteen members and the Republicans eleven. All the Democrats were members of Tammany Hall, although there were then two other Democratic factions in the city. It will be seen that Tammany was not entitled even to two thirds of the Council that is, enough members to override the veto of the Mayor. The method of computing proportionate represen- tation is to divide the total number of votes by the number of candidates, so as to get the average vote for each candidate ; then divide the vote of each political party or faction by the electoral quotient, which will COURAGEOUS OFFICERS REQUISITE. 211 give the number of members to which each faction is entitled. The Aldermen or City Councilors should be elected for the term of three years, and one third of all the members should go out of office every year. The sys- tem of retiring one third of the City Council every three years allows some continuity in the policy of the local authorities. (See pages 40-42, 44.) I wish to emphasize the fact that the chief remedy lies in the improvement of the men who execute the laws rather than in the laws themselves. Great power and responsibility should vest in the same official. Out of the four hundred and fifty cities having a population of eight thousand and upward, there are very few, if any, that are governed to the satisfaction of the resi- dents. Under the new Bullitt charter the form of the city government of Philadelphia is perfect, yet the men now (1894) in office are not satisfactory. The best citizens should be selected for municipal office regardless of their place of birth, religion, prop- erty or views on national questions. It is very desir- able to have courageous officers in the executive de-. partments. For example, the Governor of a State or the Mayor of a city may refuse to suppress a riot for fear of losing votes for the party to which he belongs and thus permit valuable property to be destroyed. In many of the well-governed cities of Europe college pro- fessors hold office either as Mayors or Aldermen. The salaries of the heads of departments should be sufficient to induce competent men to seek such places. 15 212 THE REMEDIES. Ketired merchants or lawyers could conduct a depart- ment upon business principles. Of the men now in the control of American cities many never have been able to succeed in private life ; others have been conspicuous either as keepers of liquor saloons or as violators of law. (See pages 10, 50, 75, 84, 91.) Then the terms of office should be long, or at least, if the term be from five to ten years, it should be un- derstood that a faithful officer shall be allowed to con- tinue during good behavior. For many years the judges of the Supreme Court of the State of New York have been elected for fourteen years. The result is that they are an independent class of men. All municipal officers should receive an annual salary, which should neither be increased nor decreased during their term of office, and which should be in lieu of all fees and perquisites. For the government of each department I recom- mend a single commissioner with one deputy, except in the Board or Bureau of Elections. (See page 76.) The Philadelphia plan of requiring the heads of the munici- pal departments to give ample bonds for the faithful performance of their duties is worthy of adoption in all cities. Laws should be strictly enforced. Statutes that are not executed are worse than no statutes at all. The non-enforcement makes a very unfavorable impression upon citizens of foreign birth. When they see certain classes of laws uniformly disregarded in a community, they lose respect not only for the law, but for the law- CIVIL-SERVICE LAWS. 213 and ordinance-making bodies of the State and the city. For example, in the city of New York, where nearly half of the population is of foreign birth, the excise laws are not enforced because they are not sustained by public sentiment. The result is widespread corruption in the police force. (See pages 90-91.) In the cities of New York State the civil-service laws are constantly violated. If these laws were faith- fully enforced, public servants would remain in office, and the theory that " a due participation of office is a matter of right " would be forgotten as a delusion of the early days of the republic. A corrupt " boss " and ring fear publicity. Many unworthy city officers are elected, or allowed to continue in office, through gross ignorance of the public concern- ing their true character. Some cities have a com- mittee of a hundred or of fifty, and such committees would do well to scrutinize the records of all candidates for elective offices and publish campaign biographies. Exposures in the press or in circulars are better than addresses at public meetings. Such questions as " How often have you been arrested ? " " How many men have you shot?" "Who are your partners in the saloon or dive-keeping business ? " addressed to a candidate, would be useful in municipal contests. The City Ee- form Club of New York publishes annually very severe strictures on the character of members of the Legis- lature. (See pages 9-10.) In Massachusetts the teachers of the public schools are required to instruct the pupils in the principles of 214 THE REMEDIES. temperance in the use of liquor. It is equally impor- tant to teach the rising generation the duty of citizens in regard to election laws. It is not alone necessary to prepare the children of American homes for citizenship ; we should also instill the principles of our government into the minds of those children whose parents were born in foreign lands. It is a remarkable fact, that the naturalized citizens and their children, who use the free circulating libraries of the city of New York are eager to read American history and books that explain the working of our institutions. The subject of political economy is taught in all American high schools and universities. It is chiefly confined to the principles of national and State govern- ment. It is desirable that municipal government should in future receive quite as much attention as has been devoted heretofore to the subjects of the currency, the tariff or immigration. Civic science thus far has received but little attention, except in Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, and in the Wharton School of Finance and Economy in Philadelphia. Some of the older cities are at the mercy of corpora- tions, which own the waterworks, street railroads, gas- works, etc., and that were virtually granted exclusive franchises in the infancy of these municipalities. New and rapidly growing cities should learn a lesson from the narrow-minded policy of many cities in the Eastern and Middle States. They should demand a fair return for all franchises to mere villages, or, if the city is not cursed by a corrupt ring, the principle of the munici- INDICTMENTS OP CITY OFFICERS. 215 palization of public works should be carried out so far as is consistent with economy and the wishes of the tax- payers. The Bostonian system of registration of labor- ers is worthy of adoption in all cities. As I write, municipal officers of all grades in many of the large cities are now under indictment, and many more would be added to the list if it were not for cor- rupt police magistrates, packed grand juries and negli- gent district attorneys. It should be the duty of all city reform associations and good-government clubs to scrutinize the character of the men on the grand jury. Where criminals or their known sympathizers are placed upon the list, reputable citizens should arise in their might and de- mand that the objectionable names be stricken off. The reader will remember that a grand jury represents a county. Still in the larger cities the county is nearly the same as the city. In New York and Philadelphia it is identical. Chicago and Brooklyn almost absorb the counties in which they lie. It is much easier to reform the government of the city than that of the State or the nation, for it is less difficult to influence a Mayor and Board of Aldermen than a President and two Houses of Congress. While I do not wish to raise the tariff issue, yet I submit that the dwellers in cities can easily live under a low or a high tariff, and the subject of good city government is more important to them than Federal legislation. The urban population has a much deeper interest in clean, well-lighted and well-paved streets, efficient police and 216 THE REMEDIES. fire departments, an abundant water supply, sufficient public school and public park accommodations, than in tariff reform. The citizen does not always feel the effect of a Federal statute, but municipal law and ordi- nances touch him daily. Where a city is governed from the State capital the citizens should organize a committee or association to watch legislation. Some financial and commercial bod- ies detail a committee or an attorney to watch their in- terests, but the weak point is that they need concen- trated action ; and unwise laws are made on account of the weakness and lack of organization of the prop- erty-holders rather than by the strength of the selfish or corrupt men in the Legislature. One sincere and intelligent citizen may make his influence felt more easily in a Legislature or Common Council than in either House of Congress. The average American is too patient and long- suffering. He endures municipal abuses of all kinds. In the language of the day, he does not " kick " enough, and he should learn a lesson from his English cousins. The great superiority of the rulers of English cities over those in the New World can, to some extent, be traced to the everlasting tendency of the Briton to complain and insist upon his right to good government, even in trifling matters. The facility with which a bad bill is passed by the average Legislature is appalling. The power of public opinion was forcibly shown in the repeal of the Central Park Speedway law of 1892, as I explain on page 57. POWER OF PUBLIC OPINION. 217 A stronger illustration of the force of enlightened pub- lic sentiment may be taken from the Pennsylvania Legislature of 1872. In that year it passed an act to incorporate the South Improvement Company. It was a very broad franchise, authorizing the corporation to do any form of business except banking. Under this charter the Standard Oil Company was organized. The law was very injurious to the people of the oil regions, and accordingly a committee of citizens was appointed at Titusville to visit Harrisburg (the capital) and insist upon its repeal ; but the members of the Legislature indignantly refused to receive them. They returned and reported this fact to their constituents, and a much larger committee was selected to revisit the capital, but they received like treatment. Meanwhile, mass meetings were organized at various points in the oil regions, and then a committee of one thousand citi- zens went to Harrisburg and demanded the instanta- neous repeal of this act, and it was promptly repealed. A member of that Legislature says that in his three years' experience he never had seen it free from " ma- chine " rule, except from the time that the committee of one thousand appeared until the close of the session. Then the legitimate petitions of the people of the State were received with profound respect.^ In many of the States the people have voted for bi- ennial sessions of the Legislature, thus abdicating much of their own authority and relegating government to executive officers. No session should be extended be- yond the year in which the Legislature is convened. 218 THE REMEDIES. The constitutional provision of some States per- mitting cities to incur a total debt not exceeding a cer- tain percentage of the assessed valuation of the real estate is of doubtful wisdom. (See page 169.) In the Western States, where towns grow up rapidly, it is im- possible to foresee the needs of the future cities, and therefore a constitutional prohibition against the incur- ring of debt is unwise. The indebtedness should be increased with the consent of the taxpayers. The cities of Chicago and Buffalo seem to be our most rapidly growing municipalities, and yet in each State (Illinois and New York) they are prevented by the Constitution from running in debt over a certain amount. City government is constantly changing in the United States, and the present evils may disappear. Municipal officers can do little more than respect the wishes of the bulk of the voters. The destiny of the cities is in the hands of the men and women who establish a moral standard, to which the worst officials must conform. They are the real politicians, rather than those who hold office. The tendency of municipal governments in the United States is downward, and when they reach the lowest depths of degradation, the citizens rise in their might and defeat their persecutors and plunderers. When citizens are regularly warned in political cam- paigns to overthrow the political despotism that op- presses them, and when they uniformly disregard the warnings of competent persons and vote for municipal "THE MOBS OP GREAT CITIES." 219 officers on national party lines, these electors have as good a city government as they deserve. The American people are patient, practical and pa- triotic. The national Government is satisfactory. The several States are fairly well governed, except in the Legislatures, and even in the legislative bodies of the Commonwealth corrupt members are generally in the minority. It seems strange, with popular education so widely diffused, with no large standing army to eat up the substance of the people, and with neither compul- sory military nor naval service, that the American peo- ple should so overlook the principles of correct munici- pal government, that it is the universal testimony of competent critics, both at home and abroad, that city government in the United States is the one conspicuous failure. Jefferson said, " The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body." Let us hope that good Americans will at once set about to heal these sores. In several cities the sores are beginning to heal, and the process must go on. Good citizens, who are in the large majority, should vote together, but this is more easily said than done. The moment the American people realize the dangerous and downward tendencies of the city governments they will vote together. They may not always succeed in their first efforts, but if the respectable electors of any city will persevere, they are certain to succeed in spite of colossal crimes at the bal- lot box and a boss-ridden police obeying the orders of 220 THE REMEDIES. the venal ring. Progress should be made not impul- sively, but steadily and mindful of the interests of the great bulk of the people. Now that nearly thirty years have passed since the conclusion of the civil war, it seems singular that the American people could not have displayed more ability in the government of their cities. The rule of the mu- nicipal "boss" and ring is far different from a govern- ment " of the people, for the people and by the people." Those who believe in a free government should at once unite to abolish ring rule and its kindred abuses. The government of the people should be restored in its en- tirety to our cities. Thus would a new impetus be given to the cause of good municipal government throughout the New World, and it will then be an honor to be an American citizen. Great cities are the danger-points of our national life, and hence municipal government is best worthy of the careful thought of our citizens. Underneath all remedies that may be suggested for the better govern- ment of municipalities is the inculcation of the doc- trine that they must be ruled on sound business prin- ciples, and that the questions of policy that divide the best men in national politics have no place in the choice of municipal officers. CHAPTER XX. THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. AT the general election in November, 1894, the ques- tion of the consolidation of the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City, and the towns and villages contiguous to the same, and the county of Eichmond, was, by the provisions of chapter 64 of the laws of 1894, submitted to the voters of this territory. The re- sult of the referendum was in favor of consolidation. The bill creating a commission to frame a charter for the Greater New York failed to pass the Legislature in 1895, but in the following year this bill was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, notwith- standing the vetoes of the Mayors of New York and Brooklyn, and it became chapter 488 of the laws of 1896. The Governor appointed, on June 9, 1896, a commission to frame the proposed charter, and in the following December a draft of the charter was pub- lished. After public hearings, the commission amended and revised the draft and submitted the same to the Legislature in February, 1897. The bill containing the proposed charter was passed and submitted to the local authorities. It was returned to the Legislature, ac- cepted by the Mayor of Brooklyn and the Mayor and 221 222 THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. Common Council of Long Island City, but without the acceptance of the Mayor of New York. The Legisla- ture then repassed the bill over the veto of the Mayor of New York, and it became a law (chapter 378), with the approval of the Governor, on May 4, 1897. The Greater New York Charter is entitled " An Act to unite into one municipality, under the corporate name of the City of New York, the various communities lying in and about New York Harbor, including the city and county of New York, the city of Brooklyn and the county of Kings, the county of Eichmond, and part of the county of Queens, and to provide for the govern- ment thereof." The total area of this territory is 360 square miles, and it has nearly 3,000,000 inhabitants, or about one half of the population of the State of New York. It pays about sixty per cent of the State tax. The Greater New York is divided into five boroughs, namely, Man- hattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond ; and the municipal officers who shall be hereafter elect- ed at large are the Mayor, Comptroller, and the Presi- dent of the Council. The charter consists of about 250,000 words i. e., it is nearly five times the size of this volume. I have space only to describe the main features of it, and to state wherein the new charter differs from the present charter. The Greater New York Charter is largely a re-enactment of the New York City Consoli- dation Act of 1882, and it contains many features of the Brooklyn charter of 1880, as well as some provisions CHARTER MAY BE AMENDED. 223 of the charter of the city of St. Louis. There is now a great national interest in this vast municipal experi- ment ; and its success or failure will largely influence municipal reform in other cities. Although the Con- stitutional Convention of 1894 declared for the sepa- ration of national and municipal affairs, the effort to enforce this declaration meets with serious opposition. It is worthy of remark that the charter system in the State of New York lacks uniformity. In 1897 a pro- posed charter for cities of the second class, which was carefully prepared by a commission, passed the Legisla- ture, but was vetoed by the Governor. It contained many excellent features and closely resembled the Greater New York Charter, and yet the Governor who signed the latter would not approve the former. The Legislature may at any time amend the charter, and it is believed that the constant interference of the Legislature with the government of the city of New York will continue until such a strong public opinion asserts itself that the local authorities of the great city will be allowed to work out their own municipal des- tiny. There are many sections of the new charter that declare in general terms that the numerous existing laws are to continue in force so far as they are " not in- consistent with the provisions of the charter." These provisos are liable to produce confusion, and the oppo- nents of the charter predict that the time of the courts will be occupied for many years in the construction of this document. 224 'J-'HE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. The conspicuous features of the new charter are the borough system, with its twenty-two local boards, one for each senatorial district, and composed of the local members of the Municipal Assembly, who are vested with power to initiate local improvements ; the bicam- eral Municipal Assembly ; the extension of the Mayor's term, and the patronage of his office vastly increased ; the Board of Public Improvements, with six independ- ent single-headed departments; six Art Commission- ers; a Bureau of Municipal Statistics; and the reor- ganization of the Sinking Fund Commission without the Recorder. The establishment of the borough system, with its boards of local improvements, is a recognition of the doctrine of home rule, and the practical working of this plan will be watched with interest. The most radical change in the new charter is in Chapter II, known as "The Legislative Department." Instead of a single board of thirty-five aldermen, cho- sen from as many assembly districts, the city of New York will now have, under section 17, a Municipal Assembly consisting "of two houses, to be known re- spectively as the Council and the Board of Alder- men." The Council consists of twenty-nine mem- bers, including the President, who, as already stated, is , chosen on a general ticket, at the same time, and for the same term, as the Mayor. His powers are similar to those now belonging to the President of the Board of Aldermen of the city of New York that is, he is a member of the several executive boards, and he -is sub- COUNCIL AND ALDERMANIC DISTRICTS. 225 stituted for the Recorder on the Board of Commission- ers of the Sinking Fund. The salary of the President is raised from three thousand dollars to five thousand dol- lars, and the other twenty-eight members of the Council receive a salary of fifteen hundred dollars, or five hun- dred dollars less than the salary of an alderman in the present city of New York. There are ten Council districts, with an average population of 350,000, one half of which are in the present city of New York, three lie within the city of Brooklyn, one is in that part of Queens County in- cluded in the act, and the last in the county of Rich- mond. Three members of the Council are to be elected from each of the first eight Council districts, and two members from each of the districts in the counties of Queens and Richmond. The term of office of the members of the Council is four years. Unlike the pro- visions of the old charter, every ex-Mayor of the Greater New York, so long as he remains a resident of such city, is entitled to a seat in the Council, and to take part in the debates, but he cannot vote. The President of the Council acts as Mayor whenever the latter is una- ble to serve by reason of illness or absence from the city. The lower house, or Board of Aldermen, consists of 60 members elected from the present assembly dis- tricts in Greater New York, which contain about 50,000 inhabitants. The term of office, as in the present Board of Aldermen, is two years, and the salary is reduced from two thousand dollars to one thousand dollars. 226 THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. The Board of Aldermen shall by roll-call choose a President from its own members ; and the Council ap- points a clerk, who is also the City Clerk, and who holds office for six years, with a salary of seven thousand dollars. The salary of the Clerk of the present Board of Aldermen is five thousand dollars. The section concerning the vote required to pass an ordinance or resolution is the same as in the old charter, except that, in passing a measure over the Mayor's veto, a vote of Jive sixths of all the members of each house is necessary in case it involves " the expenditure of money, the creation of a debt, the laying of an assessment, or the granting of a franchise." The powers of the Municipal Assembly are some- what enlarged i. e., besides having the general care of the streets, the city Legislature has power to construct and acquire waterworks, and to regulate and restrict the height of buildings to be hereafter erected in the city, and to appoint a special committee to enforce the laws and ordinances of the city, and also " to examine and report whether there are any unnecessary, inef- ficient, or unfit employees, any excess of salaries or compensation paid, and generally in respect of any and all matters which will conduce to the orderly and eco- nomical administration of the affairs of the city govern- ment or any department thereof." The last provision is excellent. It will tend to pre- vent the appointment of committees of the State Legis- lature to visit New York to make investigations, which are oftentimes used only for partisan purposes. THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 227 The most important amendment of the legislative department of the new charter is section 47, which limits the power of the Municipal Assembly to make, amend, or repeal ordinances concerning the Health, Police, Park, Fire, and Building Departments, "except so far as the legislative power respecting the Health, Police, Park, Fire, and Building Departments shall be conferred upon said departments respectively by the pro- visions of this act, and except that any modification of the existing rules, regulations, and ordinances affecting any of the departments, and all ordinances to be passed to govern the Board of Public Improvements or any of the departments thereof, must originate with the de- partment concerned, or with said board, and must be adopted or rejected by the Municipal Assembly without amendment." This section is an incongruity which may prove serious, for a few members might block the passage of any department plan at any time. Under it the Mu- nicipal Assembly has a gw^m'-confirming power similar to the power of confirmation of the appointments of the Mayor which was taken from the aldermen by the act of 1884. Under the new charter the salaries of all county officers in the counties of New York, Kings, and Eich- mond shall, unless otherwise provided for by law, be fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, subject to the approval of the Municipal Assembly. The opponents of the charter urge that the city Legis- lature should consist of only one chamber instead of 16 228 THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. two, and that some of the members should be elected at large with minority representation, and some by wards. (See pages 45-47.) It was also suggested that the term of members should be six years, and that one third of the members should be elected at each bienuial municipal election, but the Charter Commission declined to accept these suggestions. It should be stated that the tendency of municipal reform is in the direction of a single legislative department. In Portland, Maine, a proposed charter providing for a single municipal chamber was submitted to the people in May, 1897, but it was defeated, and the gov- ernment of the city remains as before i. e. t in the hands of two boards, seven aldermen and twenty-one council- men. At the State election in November an act is to be submitted for the acceptance of the voters of the city of Boston establishing a single aldermanic chamber, to consist of one alderman from each ward, to be elected annually, and twelve aldermen at large, six to be elected for a two-year term, and a President of the Council to be elected at large, making thirty-eight members. Un- der the present charter of Boston there are two cham- bers of the City Council, the lower house consisting of seventy-five councilmen, and the upper house containing twelve aldermen.* The term of the Mayor of Greater New York is ex- tended from two years to four years, and his salary is in- * The reader is referred to the supplementary reports of the commission for and against the bicameral Municipal Assembly. Two of the commissioners favored a single legislative chamber, THE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS. 229 creased from ten thousand dollars to fifteen thousand dollars, and he is ineligible for the next term after the termination of his office. His power of removal remains the same as under the law of 1895 i. e., under section 95, he may at any time within six months after the com- mencement of his term of office remove any of his appointees, "except members of the Board of Edu- cation and School Boards, and except also judicial officers for whose removal other provision is made by the Constitution." After six months such public offi- cers may be removed by the Mayor for cause upon charges preferred, and after opportunity to be heard subject, however, before such removal shall take effect, to the approval of the Governor expressed in writing. There are eighteen administrative departments, the heads of which are appointed by the Mayor, with the exception of the Department of Finance. The Comp- troller, who is at the head of the Finance Department, is elected for the term of four years, and his annual salary is the same as under the old charter i. e., ten thousand dollars. The table on the following page shows the public offi- cers who will be appointed by the Mayor of Greater New York after January 1, 1898, with the official terms and salaries affixed : while the remainder advocated a bicameral Municipal Assembly. I may add that the same reports contained the arguments for and against a single Police Commissioner in place of a bipartisan board, and a discussion of the power of removal of the Mayor. 230 THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. Title of Officer. Term. Salary. Corporation Counsel 4 years. $15,000 Chamberlain 4 years. 12,000 President of the Board of Public Improve- ments 6 years. 8,000 Commissioner of Water Supply 6 years. 7,500 Commissioner of Highways 6 years. 7,500 Commissioner of Street Cleaning 6 years. 7,500 Commissioner of Sewers 6 years. 7,500 Commissioner of Public Buildings, Light- ing, and Supplies 6 years. 7,500 Commissioner of Bridges 6 years. 7,500 Three Commissioners of Parks G years. 5,000 Six Art Commissioners Indefinite. No salary. Fire Commissioner 6 years. 7,500 President of the Board of Taxes and As- sessments 6 years. 8,000 Four Commissioners of Taxes and Assess- ments 4 years. 7,000 Five Assessors for Local Improvements . . .Indefinite. 3.000 Two Commissioners of Charities 6 years. 7,500 One Commissioner of Charities 6 years. 2,500 One Commissioner of Correction 6 years. 7,500 President of the Board of Health 6 years. 7,500 Two Health Commissioners 6 years. 6,000 Two Commissioners of Buildings 6 years. 7,000 One Commissioner of Buildings 6 years. 3.500 President of the Dock Board 6 years. 6.000 Two Commissioners of Docks 6 years. 5.000 Four Police Commissioners 4 years. 5.000 Commissioner of Jurors for Manhattan and the Bronx Indefinite. 5,000 Two Commissioners of Accounts Indefinite. 5.000 Chief of Bureau of Municipal Statistics.. . .4 years. 3,500 Three to six Commissioners of Statistics. . .Indefinite. No salary. Three Civil Service Commissioners Indefinite. No salary. Twenty-one members of School Board for Manhattan and the Bronx 3 years. No salary. Forty-five members of School Board for Brooklyn 3 years. No salary. Nine members of School Board for Rich- mond 3 years. No salary. BOARD OP PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 231 Title of Officer. Term. Salary. Nine members of School Board for Queens . 3 years. No salary. Marshals 6 years. Fees. Inspectors and Sealers of Weights and Measures Indefinite. Fees. Municipal Court. Title of Officer. Term. Salary. Two Justices for Brooklyn 2 years. $0,000 Three Justices for Queens 2 years. 5,000 Two, Justices for Richmond 2 years. ' 5,000 Boards of City Magistrates. Title of Officer. Term. Salary. Twelve Magistrates in Manhattan and the Bronx 10 years. f 6,000 Six Magistrates in Brooklyn 10 years. 6,000 Three Magistrates in Queens 10 years. 5,000 Two Magistrates in Richmond 10 years. 5,000 Courts of Special Sessions. Title of Officer. Term. Salary. Five Justices, First Division 10 years. $9,000 Five Justices, Second Division 10 years. 6,000 An examination of this table shows that the salaries of the several commissioners are somewhat increased, while their terms of office are generally the same as in the present city of New York. The Board of Public Improvements is, excepting the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the most important ex-officio board in Greater New York. This board has power to prepare and to recommend to the Municipal Assembly ordinances and resolutions concern- ing the matters that are now attended to by the De- partment of Public Works. In other words, the Board of Public Improvements possesses quasi - legislative powers, and this board controls any public work or 232 THE GREATER NEW YORK CHARTER. improvement after ihe Municipal Assembly has author- ized it. Some of the other novel features of the charter are : The Art Commission, which consists of six residents of the city of New York, who serve without salary. This commission is composed of one painter, one sculptor and one architect, and three laymen, together with the Mayor, the President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the President of the New York Public Library, and the President of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, who are ez-officio members. Hereafter all works of art must be submitted to and approved by the commission before such works shall become the prop- erty of the city. In Greater New York the improvident granting of franchises for insufficient amounts can no longer occur, for section 73 provides that no franchise or right to use the streets of the city shall be granted by the Mu- nicipal Assembly for more than twenty-five years ; and the grantee has the option of renewal for a like period upon a fair revaluation, with a reversion to tlie city at the end of the term. Another excellent provision of the charter is found in section 288, which provides that if any police officer is recommended for promotion and rejected, "the chief of police shall submit another name within three days, and shall continue so to do until the vacancy is filled." This section was drawn to prevent the deadlocks con- cerning the promotions of police officers of the upper grade which have lately occurred in the bipartisan THE FIRST MUNICIPAL ELECTION. 233 Board of Police in the city of New York. Under the charter of Greater New York, the bureau of the Public Administrator is abolished, and such official shall here- after be a county officer ; but I have not space further to discuss the minor changes of it. Under the new charter, notwithstanding its imper- fections, a businesslike administration should bring municipal progress and better government, and citi- zens may expect a uniform rate of taxation and an esti- mated saving of about thirty per cent in the salaries of the municipal officers of the enlarged city. It is de- sirable to make the working of the municipal machinery as simple as possible, and the Legislature should not interfere with the government of Greater New York during the first year of its existence. Section 3 of Article XII of the new Constitution provides that all elections for city officers shall be held in " an odd-numbered year." In November, 1897, the first election under this Constitution takes place ; and a Mayor, a Comptroller, a Council, and a Board of Alder- men, as well as county officers, will be chosen. This gigantic municipal campaign has aroused much interest throughout the United States as well as abroad; and it can not be doubted that the practical operation of the charter for the enlarged metropolis will be watched with greater interest than has been shown in any ex- periment in municipal government. "CITY GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES." LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. Chapter I. What is a city! What two tests may be applied to city government? Explain. State one cause of high taxation. Give an extract from the report of the City Reform Club. What is the comparative cost of municipal government in Europe and America? Give the substance of the Report of the Commission of 1877. State the difference between the charters of New York and Brooklyn. What can you say of 1. Philadelphia? 2. Wash- ington? 8. Memphis? Describe city charters in the States of Washington and Missouri. Describe the political revolution of Brooklyn in 1893. What is one obstacle to better city govern- ment ? What was done by the mayor of Chicago in 1894 ? Chapter II. When does the word " mayor " first occur in his- tory? What are his duties ? Is the election of mayor in Europe like that in the United States ? Give the history of the office of mayor in New York city; in Philadelphia. State the general rule for the election of mayors in the United States. What is said of the mayor's power of appointment and removal? What is the test of the mayor's ability? Does the mayor preside over the Board of Aldermen ? What is said of the veto power? Describe the " boodle " aldermen of 1884. Chapter III. Describe the London County Council. What can you say of the Paris City Council? How is the Berlin Board of Aldermen organized ? Describe the City Council of Bir- mingham ; of Glasgow. How is the city of Mexico governed ? Does the municipal Legislature vary in the United States? Give examples. How long is the term for alderman? Examples. How are aldermen elected? What is the great desideratum f Explain. What can you say of " boss " rule ? Give the quotation from Mr. White. Chapter IV. How does our park area compare with Europe ? Give the approximate acreage of some of the parks. Describe the Central Park of New York. What did Mayor Hewitt suggest in 1887? Does property around a park increase in value? Give an example. Give the history of parks in Paris. Who should lay out parks? What is said of Chicago? of London? of zoological and botanic gardens ? 284 LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. 235 Chapter V. How is the fire service managed in the United States? What can you say of volunteer and paid firemen? De- scribe the chief conflagrations in our cities. How does the appa- ratus of New York compare with London? What is said of Philadelphia? of Berlin? Describe the buildings and water sup- ply of our cities. Give an account of the first steam fire engine. Chapter VI. Compare the police force in our cities with that of Europe. State the comparative cost of police service in several cities. Give Seth Low's opinion. What is the Herzog teleseme system ? What is said of a State police ? Chapter VII. Are police magistrates appointed, or elected? Explain. Give an example in New York city and in other cities of this State. What was Mayor Hewitt's opinion ? How are po- lice justices appointed in Illinois? how in Massachusetts? De- scribe the police courts of Paris, Berlin, and Birmingham. Chapter VIII. What is excise? How is the sale of liquor regarded in different States and cities ? Describe the system in New York ; in Philadelphia. What is said of high license? What is the New York law concerning minors ? In what cities has high license been adopted ? Chapter IX. What is said of the water supply of European cities ; of American cities ? Describe the Croton .Aqueduct. What is said of New York water rents ? Describe the water supply of Philadelphia ; Chicago ; Albany ; Kansas City ; London. What can you say of the municipal ownership of waterworks I When and where was illuminating gas invented ? Describe gas-lighting in London ; in Paris. Explain the German system, especially that of Berlin. Describe the use of gas in Philadelphia. What is said of the price of gas in American cities ? Describe the use of electric- ity for lighting streets, and as a motive power for street railways. Chapter X. To whom do the streets of a city belong ? What is the most frequent source of municipal corruption in the United States ? What sum is paid for the use of streets in New York ? Describe the elevated railroads. What is said of the street rail- ways of Paris and Berlin ? How should the revenue from fran- chises be estimated ? How much does the city of Berlin receive ? Describe the tramways of Glasgow. What is said of the viaducts in Europe; in New York : in Philadelphia? Describe the Place de P Europe in Paris. What can you say of grade crossings in Chicago? Compare the use of sidewalks and streets in our cities with those of Europe. Describe the advertising pillars of Berlin and the kiosks of Paris. What are " refuges " ? What is said of 236 LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. sign-bearers in Europe and the United States! Describe the prin- cipal street obstruction erected in New York. Chapter XI. What is said of the appropriation for street- cleaning in New York ! Give the appropriations for different cities. What is done with sweepings in Berlin! Describe the Paris system. What is the system in Vienna ! How is refuse dis- posed of in our cities ! Give examples. Describe the " destructor" in Birmingham. What is said of the ash receptacles of Paris ; of Berlin ; of Vienna ! What is the motto of the municipal authori- ties of Germany t Chapter XII. Is the laying out of streets a branch of city government! What causes poor pavements! What is said of wooden pavement in Chicago ; in Europe ! Describe the asphalt pavements of Paris ; of Washington ; of Buffalo. How are new pavements paid for in New York city ! What is said of Parisian street paving! What are street car companies compelled to do in Philadelphia ! what, in New York, Baltimore, and Cleveland! What materials are used for pavements in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and New York ! Describe the cost and durability of pavements. What does the " life " of a pavement depend upon ! Chapter XIII. What is a general rule concerning a court- house or city hall ! What is the system in Newport, R. I. ! What is said of the public buildings of Europe ! Describe the quays and docks of Europe. Upon what does the public health largely depend ! Describe the sewage problem of Chicago. What is said of the sewers of Paris ! What does Mr. Pollard say of the sewage farms of Berlin ! Chapter XIV. What can you say of the management of charitable institutions ! Give the hospital accommodations of cities in proportion to the population. When was improved sanitation adopted in Berlin! What can you say of Birmingham! What city in the United States has the largest death rate! Give table. Chapter XV. Describe the New York College ; the Normal College. What can you say of the schools of Berlin ! Which is the most school-going city of the United Kingdom ! Is education compulsory in Berlin! What other schools are supported by the Berlin corporation ! What is the appropriation in New York ! in Philadelphia! in Boston! in Baltimore! in Chicago! Describe trade schools. Who was the founder of trade schools in the United States! Chapter XVI. What property is exempt from taxation! Give an account of the State tax of New York What is said of LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. 237 municipal credit after the civil war? Is increase of bonded in- debtedness peculiar to our cities? What is said of a city having a low tax-rate I Describe the bond issue of small cities. Give the funded debts of some large cities ; also the expenditures. Is there an income tax in Europe? Give some special taxes in France. What is the opinion of Leroy-Beaulieu ? Give the reason for the large debts of some cities. Chapter XVII. Describe the Cincinnati Southern Railway. What law was passed by the New York Legislature in 1894? What is said of the elevated railroads? Give the history of the Brooklyn Bridge. Describe the lodging-houses of Boston ; of Glasgow; of New York. What is said of disinfection in Berlin? Describe the abattoirs in Berlin ; in Paris. Describe the markets of Paris ; of Berlin ; of New York ; of Washington ; of Philadel- phia ; of Chicago ; of Boston ; of Baltimore. What is said of the report of the London County Council? Compare the libraries in some cities of Europe with those of American cities. Describe the Library of Chicago. What museums has New York? What is said of Massachusetts? Describe the bath-houses of Berlin ; of New York. How are pawnshops managed in Europe? Describe municipal savings banks and municipal waterworks. What is the tendency of American cities ? State the advantages of mu- nicipalism. Chapter XVIII. What is said of the registration law in San Francisco ? Describe the French system. What is the Alabama law of 1893 ? Describe the work of the Good Government Clubs. What is said of separate city elections? Describe the patent vot- ing machine. What is the best method for preventing election frauds? What is said of the educational qualification for voters? What is the law of Belgium ? Describe compulsory voting. What was the custom in colonial times? What is said of Troy? of Portland ? of Jersey City ? of Gravesend ? of Cohoes ? What can you say of watchers ? of floaters ? Describe the Australian law. Chapter XIX. How should all cities be organized? What should the voters of cities be allowed to do ? Describe proportion- ate representation. What is said of municipal officeholders? Does a corrupt boss fear exposure ? Explain. What is required of teachers in Massachusetts? How is political science taught in the United States? What is said of the corrupt tendency in city officials ? What is said of the average Legislature ? Describe the tendency of municipal government in America. What did Jeffer- son say of great cities? What doctrine should be inculcated? 238 LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. Chapter XX. When was the question of consolidating New- York and Brooklyn, with the suburbs, submitted to the voters! How was it decided ? When did the Greater New York charter become a law? Give the area and population of Greater NVw York. Name the boroughs. What are the conspicuous features of the new charter ? Describe the Council. Describe the Board of Aldermen! What is said of the powers of the Municipal Assembly? Describe section 47 of the legislative department. What can you say of bicameral and single aldermanic boards ? What is the Mayor's term and salary ? Describe his power of removal. How many administrative departments? Give the terms and salaries of some officials. Describe the Board of Pub- lic Improvements. What is said of the art commission ? of fran- chises ? of promotion of police officers ? What does the new Con- stitution provide? What officials are chosen at the first election ? What is said of the working of the new charter! INDEX. Abattoirs, 180, 181. Adams, H. C., 169. Americans, patience of, 3, 216. Albany, 84, 194, 99, 100. Aldermen, 28, 29, 40, 51. election of, 45. term of, 46. at large, 46, 47. by districts, 46, 47. " Boodle," 29, 39, 49. power to approve licenses, 92 Alexandria, Va., 104. Americanism, 197. Amendments to laws, 17. Amsterdam, 53. Annual arrests, New York, 75, Philadelphia, 78. Aquarium, New York city, 62. Aqueducts, 95, 96, 100. Armour Institute, 166. Arnold Arboretum, 63. Art galleries, 184. Assistant Aldermen, 45, 46. Atlanta, 93. Auchmuty, Richard T., 166. Australian ballot laws, 205. Baltimore, elections in, 193. Mayor's term, 30. Polytechnic Institute, 166. public parks of, 52. street pavements, 146, 147. school appropriations, 165. So. Bath-houses, 185. Battery Park, New York city, 60, 61. Belgium, 199. Bellefontaine, Ohio, 104. Berlin, 140, 151, 155, 156, 162. abattoirs, 180, 181. advertising pillars, 120. Burgermeister of, 28. City Council of, 42, 43. fire department of, 68. gas-works of, 103, 104, 176. museums, 184. parks of, 53. police courts, 88. schools, 163, 165. .sewage of, 157, 159. street cars, 115, 116. street-cleaning, 124. Bicameral city council, 46. Birmingham, annual expenditure of, 12. criminal courts, 88. death-rate, 162. gas-works of, 102. health officer, 162. magistrates, 86. municipal enterprise, 187. population, 53. public works of, 53. pure government of, 13. refugees of, 121. sewers of, 155, 156, 159. street-cleaning, 124. (239) 240 INDEX. Birmingham, Town Council, 44. waterworks of, 101. Board of Estimate and Apportion- ment, 11, 209. finance, 15, 199. medical examiners. 154. Bonds of cities, 171, 172. Boston, 65, 93, 122. Aldermen of, 46. charter of, 29. conflagration iu, 65. library, 184. liquor sale in, 93. Mayor's term, SO. parks of, 52, 53. street-cleaning, 124, 137. Boulevard de Sebastopol, 181. Bribery, 2, 188, 205. Bridge, over the East Xiver, 117, 178. Broadway, 39, 114. Brooklyn, Aldermen of, 48. bad government of, 2, 4, 24, 25, 66. bridge, 178. departments of, 18, 20. elevated railroads, 113. elections, 193. laws concerning, 11. Mayor of, 19, 20, 30, 37. police judges, 84, 87. public parks, 52, 58. size of, 215. street-cleaning, 124. special acts for, 208. Brussels, 53. Bryce, James, 2, 105. Buffalo, 45. 52, 146, 193, 218. Builders' Association, 153, 154. Bullitt Charter of Philadelphia, 211. Bureau of Elections, 76, 205, 212. Burns, John, 101, 108, 116. Cable railroad, 112. California, 47, 189, 198, 209. Canada, 108, 166. Cap<: Ann granite, 147. Carte d'dlecteur, 190. Cattle; Garden, 62. Central Park, 54. 56, 57, 61, 157, 185, 216. Cesspools, 157. Chamberlain, Joseph, 12, 13, 35. Chamber of Commerce, 177. Champs Elys6es, 54. Charlottesville, Va., 104. Charters in New York, 18. Charter elections, 202. Chicago, Aldermen of, 46. bonds of, 172. elections in, 193, 194. iire department of, 66. great fire in, 65. grade crossings, 118, 119. Mayor of, 5, 25, 30, 32, 33, 37. population of, 52, 174, 218. pavement of, 146. politics of, 4. public parks of, 52, 61. public library, 184. sewerage of, 155, 156. trucks excluded from avenues in, 122. water charges, 99. waterworks. 98. Church, 92, 201, Cincinnati, 4, 30,46, 52, 51 177, 215. Circulating libraries, New York city, 214. Citizenship, prepare children for, 214. City, functions and nature of, 1, 2., City Club, New York city, 153, 203. City Reform Club, 9, 10, 218. City Improvement Society, 206. Civic science, 214. Civil-service examinations, 80. Civil engineers, 153, 154. Civil war, 220. Cleveland, 105, 114, 143, 146, 193. Cohoes, 204. College of the City of New York 163. College professors, 211. INDEX. 241 Combine, 107. Commons, Prof. J. E., 108. Coney Island, 62. Connecticut, 198, 206. Consolidated Gas Company, 105. Constitution, evasions of the, 208. Corrupt Practice Act, 19. Crematory, 134. Croton Aqueduct, 66, 95-99. Danville, Va., 104. Death-rate, 162. Debts, 168. of American cities, 170-173. of New York city, 14, 171-173. Denmark, 210. Departments in New York and Brooklyn, 18. Destructors, 133, 134. Detroit, 30, 80, 93. Disinfection, 180. Disinfectants, 128, 129. Docks, 18, 154, 155, 177. Downward tendencies, 218. Drexel Institute, 166. Dublin, 18, 53, 162. Duluth, Minn., 104. Edinburgh, 164. Elections in Alabama, 191. California, 189. England, 198. France, 190, 198, 201. Germany, 198, 201. New York city, 189, 193, 196, 197. Switzerland, 190. Electricity, 106-110. Electric tramways, 109. Electric railroads, 114. Elevated Railroad, 112-114, 119, 178. Erie Railway, 119. Enforcement of laws, 212. Evarts, William M., 14. Excise Reform Association, 91. Excise laws, 90. Exemptions from taxation of semi- public works, 110. charitable institutions, etc., 168. church property, 168. Expenditures of cities, 173, 174. Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, 61. Family vote, 199. Famous fires, 65. Fare on Elevated Railroad, 112, 113. Federal legislation, 215. Fifth Avenue, 122. Fire-proof buildings, 67, 151. Fire engines, 67, 70. Fire-engine houses, 65, 68. Fire Department, in Chicago, 66. in Berlin, 68. in London, 67. in Liverpool, 68. in New York, 67. in Philadelphia, 68-70. Five Points, 47, 72. Flower's, Governor, vetoes, 77, 163. Flowers on sidewalk, 120. Franklin, Benjamin, 70. Franchises, 50, 111, 112, 114, 115, 176. Frame houses, 64. Fredericksburg, Va., 104. Free Academy, 163. Gamewell signal system, 83. Gardens, botanical, 63. zoological, 63. Gas ring of Philadelphia, 26, 105. Gas-works, 103, 104, 177. German politeness, 164. Gerrymandering, 49, 201. Geneva, 120. Glasgow, 44, 45, 53, 101, 116-124, 136, 187. Good Government Clubs, 86, 192. Governor, appointive power of the, 83, 84. Grade crossings, 118, 119. Greater New York Charter, 221 -233. 242 INDEX. Half holidays, 164. Hamilton, Ohio, 104. Harlem River, 109. Hurlem Bridge, 110. llarrisburg, 217. Health Boards, 161,162, 179. Henderson, Ky., 104. Ik-rzog Teleseme system, 82. Hewitt, ex-Mayor, 32, 57, 59, 74, 85, 172. Hill's, Governor, veto, 92. High-license law, 92, 98. Hollender, J. H., 177. Horologieal school, 166. Hospitals, beds in, 160. Hotel de Ville, 41. Hot-air furnaces, 68. Hydrants, 129. Illinois, 87, 210. Indianapolis, 45, 52. Inspectors, of food, 181, 192 ; of elec- tions, 1 90 ; of public works, 152- 154. Insurance rates, 66 Jacksonville, 80. Jackson Park, Chicago, 81. Jardin d'Acclimatation, Paris, 63. Jardin des Plantcs, 63. Jefferson, 151, 219. .l.-r.-t-y City, 19, 82, 119, 204. Johns Hopkins University, 177, 214. Kansas City, Mo., 24, 52, 100, 200. Labor vote, 187. Labor Exchange, Paris, 186. Ladies' Health Protective Associa- tion, 125. Latter, the inventor, 70. Lawrence, C. W., 29. Legal maxims, 132. Leroy-Beaulieu, 176. Libraries, 184. License fees for horse-cars, 111, 112 Lincoln Park, Chicago, 61. Liquor, sale of, in Boston, 92. in. Chicago, 92. in Detroit, 92. in New York, 93. in St. Louis, 93. in Pittsburg, 93. in Philadelphia, 93. Liverpool, 58, 68, 114, 134. LoJging-houses, 179. Loew Bridge, 121. London, ashes in, 134. Commissioner of Police, 82. County Council, 40. docks in, 154. lire department, 67. gas supply, 106. gas-lighting in, 102. hospitals in, 160. Lord Mayor of, 28. museums in, 184. ordinances for wagons, 148. population and public parks, 58. police department, 71. private houses, 63. refugees in, 121. street-cleaning, 124. the season in, 6. the " Zoo," Regent's Park, 63. water supply, 101. waterworks, 102. wooden pavement, 140. Low, Seth, 31, 36, 81. Lowest bidder in contracts, 152. Lubbock, Sir John, 40. McCook, Prof. J. J., 206. McKane, John Y., 204. Magistrates of Berlin, 43. police, 71, 72, 82, 115. Manhattan Railway Company, 113. Markets, 181-184. in European cities, 181. in American cities, 181. roof-gardens on, 182. INDEX. 243 Massachusetts, 87, 198, 200, 213. Mayor : ideal Mayors, 36, 37. origin of, 27. term of office, 27, 30. Memphis, 23, 24. Metropolitan Police Board, 73. Mexico, 45, 59, 186. Minneapolis, 93. '' Moderates," 40. Monts-de-piete, 185. Municipal Corporations Act, 13. Municipalisui, 187, 188. Museums, 184, 185. Naples, 160. ' Napoleon, 58, 59. Naturalization laws, 196. Naturalized Americans, 196, 197. Newark, N. J., 194. New England, 37, 45, 150. New Haven, Conn., 118. New Orleans, 4, 37, 46. Newport, R. I., 36, 150, 199. Normal College, 163. Oil regions, 217. Oswego, N. Y., 209. Paris, abattoirs, 181. belt railway, 114. Bourse du Travail, 186. Champs Elyse"es, 54. charitable institutions, 160. city hall, 151. fire department, 68. gardens of, 63. grand boulevard, 120. markets, 181. merchandise on sidewalk, 120. parks of, 53, 58, 59. pavements, 129, 139, 146. pawnshops, 186. Place de 1'Europe, 117. police, 71. population of, 53. 17 Paris, prefect of the Seine, 28. quays, 154. " season " in, 6. sewers, 157. street cleaning, 123, 124, 127-129, 132, 135. Parry, Joseph L., 70. Pavements, asphalt, 23, 140, 144, 147. Belgian, 144, 147. block, 143. cobble, 139, 143, 144. concrete, 144. cost and life of, 145, 147. granite, 144, 147. granolithic, 143. Medina sandstone, 146, 147. Macadam, 143, 144. rubble, 143. Euss, 139. sand on, 116. trap, 139, 144. vitrified brick, 143. wood, 22, 139, 146. Pavement societies, 143. Pawnshops, 185, 186. People, a government of, for, and by, 220. Pennsylvania Railroad, 117. Penn's charter, 169. Philadelphia, City Council, 45. education in, 165, 166. expenditures, 174. fire department, 68, 70. gas-works, 105. government of, 4, 5. high-license law. 91, 93. Mayor of, 30. municipal department heads to give bonds, 212. pavement, 143-145, 147. police, 77, 78, 81. population, 52. public parks, 53. viaduct in, 117. waterworks, 98, 99. 244 INDEX. Pittsburg, 65, 93. Police commissioners, 73-76, 78-82. government of, 83. in Berlin, 71, 72, 82. in Boston, 80, 81. in Brooklyn, 78. in Chicago, 77, 81. in Cincinnati, 79, 81. in Detroit, 80. in London, 71, 82. in Minneapolis, 80. in New Orleans, 80. in New York, 72, 77, 81. in Paris, 71, 82. in Philadelphia, 77, 78, 81. in St. Louis, 79, 81. in Vienna, 72. Police judges, Illinois, 87. Maryland, 84. Massachusetts and Boston, 84, 87, 88. New York, State and City, 84, 85. Pollard, James, 104, 155, 157, 164, 165, 180. Portland, Me., 65, 203. Powel, John Hare, 36. Pratt Institute. 166. Prefect of Police, 41, 82. of the Seine, 41. " Progressives," 40. Prohibition laws, 90. Proportionate representation, 49, 209-210. Providence, 80. Public buildings, 151. Charities and Correction, 18, 179. parks, list of, 52, 53. sentiment, 189, 207. Purroy, Henry D., 67. Ramapo River, 102. Rapid transit, New York city, 177, 178. Referendum, 95, 150, 177. Registration, of laborers, 215. of voters, 189, 191. Reports, New York Senate Com- mittee, 1890, 16. Rheims, 162. Richmond, Va., 104. Riverside Park, New York, 61. Rochester, 85, 146, 147. Rome, 160. Rosebery, Earl of, 40. Salaries in New York city, 7. Saloons, 90-93. Sandwich-men, 121. San Franscisco, 30, 46, 52. Savings banks, 186. Savannah, 52. St. Lazare station, 117. St Louis, 30, 46, 52, 53, 63, 93. St. Paul, 93. St. Petersburg, 154, 160. Schieren, Charles A., 37. Schenectady, 85. Schools, annual appropriations for, 165. Schoolhouses. 92, 151, 164. Separate city elections, 193. Sewerage, 155-159. Shepherd ring, 23. Signboards, 121. Sing Sing, 23. Socialists in parks, 62. Sonoma, Cal., 104. Spirit of party, 193. State tax of New York city, 168. Stove-sitter, 205. Street-cleaning, cost of, 124. commissioner, 124, 125. in Baltimore, 131. in Berlin, 125-127, 129, 135, 136. in Birmingham, 183. in Boston, 131. in Buffalo, 131. in Detroit, 131. in London, 124, 129, 131, 134. in New York, 123, 129, 130, 131, 138, 135-137. in New Haven, 131. INDEX. Street-cleaning, in Paris, 127-129, 131, 132, 135. in Philadelphia, 124, 131, 137. in Vienna, 135. Stuttgart, 160. Sunday, liquor sale on, 91. use of parks on, 56. Sweeping machines, 127, 182. Switzerland, 120, 210. Tammany Hall, 33, 34, 57, 202, 210. Tariff issue, 215. Taxation in Europe, 175, 176. Tax income, 17. Tax levy, 168. Taxpayer, rural, 174 Tax-rate, 3, 4, 168, 172. Tennis courts in parks, 61. Tires of vehicles, 147. The Tombs, New York city, 89. Tonawanda, N. Y., 194. Trade schools, 166, 167. Trolley railways, 109. Troy, 65, 85, 203. Trucks in New Fork city, 130, 131. Tunnels, 117, 118. 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The scope of the work is marvelous. Never was there more crowded into three small volumes. But the saving of space is not by the sacrifice of substance or of style. The broadest view of the facts and forces embraced by the subject is exhibited with a clearness of arrangement and a definiteness of application that render it per- ceptible to the simplest apprehension." A/ew York Mail and Express. "A useful and thorough piece of work. One of the best treatises which the general reader can use." London Daily Chronicle. "Conceived in a popular spirit, yet with strict regard to the modern standards. The tide is fully borne out. No want of color in the descriptions." London Daily News. " The plan laid down results in an admirable English history." London Morning Post. "Dr. Aubrey has supplied a want. His method is undoubtedly the right one." Pall Mall Gazette. " It is a distinct step forward in history writing; as far ahead of Green as he was of Macaulay, though on a different Hive. Green gives the picture of England at different times Aubrey goes deeper, showing the causes which led to the changes." New York World. "A work that will commend itself to the student of history, and as a comprehen- sive and convenient reference book." The Argonaut. "Contains much that the ordinary reader can with difficulty find elsewhere unless he has access to a library of special works." Chicago Dial. " Up to date in its narration of fact, and in its elucidation of those great principles that underlie all vital and worthy history. . . . The painstaking division, along with the admirably complete index, will make it easy work for any student to get definite views of any era, or any particular feature of it. ... The work strikes one as being more comprehensive than many that cover far more space." The Christian In- telligencer. "One of the most elaborate and noteworthy of recent contributions to historical literature." Ne-w Haven Register. " As a popular history it possesses great merits, and in many particulars is excelled by none, ft is full, careful as to dates, maintains a generally praiseworthy impartiality, and it is interesting to read." Buffalo Express. " These volumes are a surprise and in their way a marvel. . . . They constitute an almost encylopaedia of English history, condensing in a marvelous manner the facts and principles developed in the history of the English nation. . . . The work is one o( unsurpassed value to the historical student or even the general reader, and when more widely known will no doubt be appreciated as one of the remarkable contributions to English history published in the century." Chicago Universalist. "In every page Dr. Aubrey writes with the far reaching relation of contemporary incidents to the whole subject. The amount of matter these three volumes contain is marvelous. The style in which they are written is more than satisfactory. . . . The work is one of unusual importance." Hartford Post. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. JOHN BACH MCMASTER. "Those who can read L,CI<--U < vidences of care and skill and faithf TSTOR Y OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, from the Revolution to the Civil War. By JOHN BACH MCMASTER, To be completed in six volumes. Vols. I, II, III, and IV now ready. 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, $2.50 each. "... Prof. McMaster has told us what no other historians have told. . . . The skill, the animation, the brightness, the force, and the charm with which he ar- rays the facts before us are such that we can hardly conceive of more interesting reading for an American citizen who cares to know the nature of those causes which have made not only him but his environment and the opportunities life has given him what they are." N. Y. Times. Those who can read between the lines may discover in these pages constant jthful labor, of which the old-time superficial essay- anu value wnicn are leit ratner man seen, mis is aue to me art 01 presentation. The author's position as a scientific workman we may accept on the abundant tes- timony of the experts who know the solid worth of his work; his skill as a literary artist we can all appreciate, the charm of his style being self-evident." Philadelphia Telegraph. "The third volume contains the brilliantly written and fascinating story of the prog- ress and doings of the 'people of this country from the era of the Louisiana purchase to the opening scenes of the second war with Great Britain say a period of ten years. In every page of the book the reader finds that fascinating flow of narrative, that clear and lucid style, and that penetrating power of thought and judgment which dis- tinguished the previous volumes." Columbus State Journal. " Prof. McMaster has more than fulfilled the promises made in his first volumes, and his work is constantly growing better and more valuable as he brings it nearer to our own time. His style is clear, simple, and idiomatic, and there is just enough of the critical spirit in the narrative to guide the reader." Boston Herald. "Take it all in all, the History promises to be the ideal American history. Not so much given to dates and battles and great events as in the fact that it is like a great panorama of the people, revealing their inner life and action. It contains, with all its sober facts, the spice of personalities and incidents, which relieves every page from dullness." C/zzcaf<7 Inter-Ocean. " History written in this picturesque style will tempt the most heedless to read. Prof. McMaster is more than a stylist; he is a student, and his History abounds in evidences of reseaich in quarters not before discovered by the historian." Chicago' Tribune. " A History sui generis which has made and will keep its own place in our litera- ture." New York Evening Post. " His style is vigorous and his treatment candid and impartial." New York Tribune. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. T D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. HE BEGINNERS OF A NATION. A History of the Source and Rise of the Earliest English Settlements in America, with Special Reference to the Life and Character of the People. The first volume in A History of Life in the United States. By EDWARD EGGLESTON. Small 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, uncut, with Maps, $1.50. " Few works on the period which it covers can compare with this in point of mere literary attractiveness, and we fancy that many to whom its scholarly value will not ap peal will read the volume with interest and delight." New York Evening Post. " Written with a firm grasp of the theme, inspired by ample knowledge, and made attractive by a vigorous and resonant style, the book will receive much attention. It is a great theme the author has taken up, and he grasps it with the confidence of a master." New York Times. "Mr. Eggleston's 'Beginners' is unique. No similar historical study has, to our knowledge, ever been done in the same way. Mr. Eggleston is a reliable reporter of facts ; but he is also an exceedingly keen critic. He writes history without the effort to merge the critic in the historian. His sense of humor is never dormant. He renders some of the dullest passages in colonial annals actually amusing by his witty treatment of them. He finds a laugh for his readers where most of his predecessors have found yawns. And with all this he does not sacrifice the dignity of history for an instant" Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. " The delightful style, the clear flow of the narrative, the philosophical tone, and the able analysis of men and events will commend Mr. Eggleston's work to earnest students." Philadelphia Public Ledger. " The work is worthy of careful reading, not only because of the author's ability as a literary artist, but because of his conspicuous proficiency in interpreting the causes of and changes in American life and character." Boston Journal. " It is noticeable that Mr. Eggleston has followed no beaten track, but has drawn his own conclusions as to the early period, and they differ from the generally received version not a little. The book is stimulating and will prove of great value to the stu- dent of history." Minneapolis Journal. "A very interesting as well as a valuable book. ... A distinct advance -jpon most that has been written, particularly of the settlement of New England." Newark A dvertiser. " One of the most important books of the year. It is a work of art as well as ot historical science, and its distinctive purpose is to give an insight into the real life and character of people. . . . The author's style is charming, and the history is fully as inter- esting as a novel." Brooklyn Standard-Union. " The value of Mr. Eggleston's work is in that it is really a history of ' life,' not merely a record of events. . . . The comprehensive purpose of his volume has been excellently performed. The book is eminently readable." Philadelphia Times. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue.