The mention of the various divisions indicates the importance and variety of the duties coming under this department. The Secretary is charged with the entire management of the national finances. He submits annually to Congress estimates of the probable revenues and disbursements of the Government, prepares plans for the improvement of the revenue and for the support of the public credit, and superintends the collection of the revenue. Two comptrollers pass upon all claims against the government and accounts received from the auditors. Six auditors examine and adjust accounts relating to the expenditures of the various branches of the government.

The Treasurer of the United States receives and keeps its moneys, disburses them on the Secretary's warrants, and manages the Independent Treasury System. The Independent or Sub-Treasury System was adopted by Congress in 1846. By this means the Treasury Department is independent of the banking system of the country; but has established sub-treasuries in the principal cities of the Union for the receipt and disbursement of public moneys. There are sub-treasuries in New York, San Francisco, Saint Louis, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Cincinnati. For greater convenience moneys are also deposited at certain designated banks. Secretary Windom, however, began rapidly removing such deposits from the banks and announced his intention to cease the placing of deposits with any bank.

The Register of the Treasury is the official book-keeper of the United States. The Commissioners of Customs and of Internal Revenue have charge respectively of the collection of customs duties and internal revenue taxes. The Comptroller of the Currency has control of the national banks. The Chief of the Bureau of Statistics collects and publishes the statistics of our foreign commerce. In the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are designed, engraved and printed all government bonds, national bank notes, drafts, United States notes, etc., for which work about 1200 persons are employed. The director of the Mint has general supervision over all mints and assay offices. In addition to his annual report he publishes yearly a report on the statistics of the production of precious metals.

The titles of the other officers indicate the general duties of each. The whole department employs about 3,400 persons at Washington.

Some of the more important public questions coming within the province of the Treasury Department at the present time are (1) the Tariff, which has been settled for some years by the high tariff act of this Congress; (2) the silver question involving the gravest questions of finance, likewise settled for a time by the silver act of this Congress; (3) the purchase of bonds on the market as a device to reduce the surplus and prevent the accumulation of money in the Treasury; (4) the national banking system, whose basis is being removed by the rapid payment of the public debt; (5) the merits of the Independent Treasury System by which it is claimed that money is kept out of circulation and a stringency caused in the money market; and (6) the advisability of transferring the revenue marine service to the Navy Department.

The War Department.—The War Department was established August 7, 1789. There is one assistant secretary. The chiefs of the bureaus into which the department is divided, are officers of the United States Army, and a part of the military establishment. Their titles and duties are as follows. The Adjutant General of the Army, who has under him a large force of clerks, has the duty of issuing orders, conducting the correspondence of the department, and keeping the record. The Inspector-General inspects and reports upon the condition of the army at all points, and the accounts of the disbursing officers. The Quartermaster-General has charge of the clothing, quarters, and supplies, except food supplies, which form the province of the Commissary-General. The Surgeon-General has charge of the medical department, of the Army Medical Museum, and a special library. The Chief of Engineers has charge of the construction of fortifications, etc. The Judge-Advocate-General reviews the proceedings of courts-martial, and advises the Secretary on points of law. There are also a Paymaster-General, a Chief of Ordnance, and a Chief Signal Officer. The Chief Signal Officer has charge of the system of communicating with distant points by means of various systems of signals, the most noteworthy of which is that of the heliograph, by which information is conveyed by the use of sun-reflecting mirrors. Communication has been established between points 125 miles distant by means of a heliograph with a reflecting surface of but twenty square inches.

The War Department answers more nearly than any other to the Department of Public Works found in other governments. All public improvements, the construction of docks, bridges, and the improvement of rivers and harbors, are under the supervision of army engineers. All arctic explorations and the explorations of our western territory, have been conducted by army officers under the direction of the Secretary of War.

The publication of war records is being made by a special board in the War Department. Thirty-five volumes have been published. It is estimated that there will be one hundred and nineteen volumes when the work is completed. The Secretary of War also has charge of the Military Academy at West Point, of certain national parks, and homes for disabled soldiers.

The army is commanded by a lieutenant-general under whom are three major-generals and six brigadier-generals. It consists of about 26,000 men distributed in the three divisions of the Missouri, the Atlantic, and the Pacific, of which the first contains four departments, the second, one, and the third, three. Congress appropriates and expends through the War Department $400,000 yearly on the National Guard for its armament and equipment. The aggregate of this reserve army regularly organized and uniformed is 106,500 men. The Secretary also details army officers to furnish military instruction at various colleges.

The principal questions to-day concerning the War Department are the advisability of strengthening our coast defences, and the lessening of the desertions in the army, which amount yearly to from ten to fifteen per cent, of the total strength of the army.

The Navy Department.—The Navy Department was established April 30, 1798. There is one assistant secretary. The routine work of the department is distributed among eight bureaus: (1) of Yards and Docks, (2) of Equipment and Recruiting, (3) of Navigation, (4) of Ordinance, (5) of Construction and Repair, (6) of Steam Engineering, (7) of Provisions and Clothing, (8) of Medicine and Surgery. The chiefs of the bureaus are officers of the United States Navy. There is a hydrographic office attached to the bureau of navigation, which prepares maps, charts and nautical books relating to navigation, and makes investigations concerning marine meteorology. This Department has charge of the Naval Observatory for which a new set of buildings is now being built at Washington. The Department publishes yearly, for the guidance of seamen, the nautical almanac, the preparation of which is intrusted to a separate bureau. The department also compiles and publishes naval records of the recent war, and has charge of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. The Officers of the Navy upon the active list include one admiral, one vice-admiral, six rear-admirals, and ten commodores. The naval force includes 10,000 officers and men, together with 2,000 marines. The number of vessels of the United States Navy when all the ships now authorized are completed, excluding those which by the process of decay and the operation of law will by that date have been condemned, will comprise 11 armored and 31 unarmored vessels. The five stations maintained are the Asiatic, European, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Pacific. The chief matter of present public interest concerning this department is the creation of a new navy by the construction of modern steel vessels. This new policy was begun in 1882.

The Interior Department.—The Interior Department was created in 1849, to take charge of various duties not properly belonging to any of the existing departments. There are two assistant secretaries. The chiefs of the bureaus into which this department is divided, and their respective duties are as follows: The Commissioner of the General Land Office has charge of all the public land of the government, its care, supervision, and sale or distribution. In another chapter we give further details concerning the operations of this important bureau.

The Commissioner of Pensions has charge of the granting of pensions to old soldiers and sailors. He has a large force at Washington. There are eighteen pension agencies in different parts of the country. In 1808 the United States assumed all the state pension obligations. The act of 1818 gave pensions to all who had served nine months in the Revolutionary War; other wars were afterwards included. The acts of the period beginning 1862 have enormously increased the amount paid. The report of the Commissioner for 1890 shows that at the close of the fiscal year of 1889 the number of pensioners was 537,944, and the annual expenditures for pensions $105,528,180.38.

The disability pension law passed June 27,1890, will greatly lengthen the pension list and increase the annual expenditures. The present Commissioner says in his last report that "it is believed that there are probably over one hundred thousand claims in this office which can be properly allowed under the provisions of these regulations. The act of June 27, 1890, is the first disability pension law in the history of the world which grants to soldiers and sailors pensions for disabilities which are not proven to have been incurred in the service and in line of duty." Speaker Reed of the House characterized it as "the most generous piece of pension legislation ever passed by any nation on earth."

The Commissioner of Patents has charge of the granting of patents. Up to 1793 the granting of letters-patent was given to a board consisting of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General, the records and models being kept in the Department of State. In 1793 the granting of patents was given exclusively to the Secretary of State. In 1821 the clerk of the State Department who examined applications for patents received the title of Superintendent of the Patent Office, and on July 4, 1836, the Patent Office was created as a separate bureau and a Commissioner of Patents created.

About 24,000 patents are issued annually. There is an Assistant Commissioner-in-chief, an Examiner of Interferences, three Examiners-in-chief, thirty-eight Principal Examiners, and a large force of assistant examiners for different branches. Patents run for seventeen years. The annual receipts of the bureau from fees more than equal the expenditures, and the office now has a surplus of several millions to its credit in the Treasury.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has charge of all matters concerning the Indians, their education, government and support. There are 239 Indian schools supported by appropriations made by Congress, 147 of which are controlled directly by the Indian Bureau. The average attendance of pupils at these schools is between eleven and twelve thousand. The number of Indians in our country (not counting those of Alaska) is about 250,000. They occupy or have control of about 116,630,106 acres.

The Bureau of Education was originally established as an independent Department by act of Congress, approved by the President March 2, 1867. By an act of Congress which took effect July 1, 1869, this Department was changed to an Office or Bureau in the Interior Department. The duties of this Bureau are to collect and diffuse information regarding schools, methods of instruction and school discipline, etc., and otherwise to promote the cause of education. The results of the investigations here carried on, though with a small clerical force, are of the utmost value to all educators, and such is the extent to which the merit of the work and publications of this office are recognized by the leading educators of the country, that, in their opinion, the Bureau should be re-established as a department, and its chief be made a member of the President's cabinet. The publications of the Bureau consist of (1) Annual Reports, which set forth statistics and general information concerning the educational systems of the States, Territories, larger cities, universities, and colleges; professional, special, and scientific schools, academies, preparatory schools and kindergartens, with a summary of the progress of education in foreign countries; (2) Special Reports, on subjects pertinent to the times; (3) Occasional Bulletins, on matters of current educational interest; (4) Circulars of Information, on important questions of educational work or history, which are issued in yearly series. Under this last title there is now in course of publication a very valuable series of monographs upon the History of Higher Education in the various States. These monographs are being prepared by competent scholars under the editorial supervision of Dr. H.B. Adams of the Johns Hopkins University. Numerous Annual Reports have been issued, and one is now in press, for the year 1889-90. The working force of the Bureau is divided into three divisions: (1) Records; (2) Statistics; (3) Library and Museum. The library of this Office contains one of the most valuable pedagogical collections in the country.

The Commissioner of Railroads has charge of the government's interests in certain railroads to which the United States has granted loans of credit or subsidies in lands or bonds. By the acts of July 1, 1862, and July 1, 1864, Congress, in order to encourage the building of a trans-continental railroad, granted to several Pacific railroad companies subsidies in land adjacent to the roads, and issued certain amounts of bonds on which was guaranteed interest at the rate of six per cent. The amount of lands given and bonds issued were in proportion to the number of miles of road constructed. The lands were a gift. The bonds were to be repaid by the companies with all interest which might have been advanced by the government. From 1850 to 1872 the various railroads received a total of 155,504,994 acres of lands, and $147,110,069 proceeds of bonds and interest paid by the United States. The roads have repaid of this amount $36,723,477, leaving at the present time due from the roads to the United States the sum of $110,386,592. This they will be unable to pay upon the maturity of the bonds, and a bill has been before Congress for several sessions looking towards a better adjustment of this debt. The Commissioner of Railroads was originally styled the "Auditor of Railroad Accounts." The office was created June 19, 1878.

Geological Survey.—This branch of the Interior Department was established in 1879. Its work is the investigation and determination of the geological structure of the various sections of the country, the composition of soils, the reclamation of waste lands, etc. In this bureau are made topographical surveys and irrigation surveys of arid regions of the United States. The publications connected with this work, number ten Annual Reports, thirteen Monographs, fifty-eight Bulletins and five Statistical Papers. In these there is a discussion of the geological structure of every state and territory, and information concerning the occurrence and production of each great metallic and mineral staple of the country. The bureau comprises one geographical, twelve geological, six paleontological and four accessory divisions. A division of mines and mining publishes an annual report on the mineral resources and production of the United States.

The Superintendent of the Census.—The Superintendent of the Census is appointed each decade for the purpose of taking the regular decennial census. The Eleventh Census has just been taken. The first was taken in 1790. Each census has shown a tendency to be more elaborate and to embrace a greater number of subjects than any preceding. There were employed in the taking of the Eleventh Census 42,000 enumerators, 2,000 clerks, from 800 to 900 special agents, 175 supervisors and 25 experts.

In addition to these eight bureaus, the department has charge of various other branches of government. All of the territories come under the Secretary's supervision, and look to him in case of any difficulty. The Secretary also has charge of the Yellowstone National Park, the Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas, and of certain hospitals and eleemosynary institutions in the District of Columbia. A Superintendent of Public Documents looks after the receipt, distribution, and sale of government publications.

The most important subjects of recent legislation concerning this department have been the dependent pension act, the act providing for the survey of Western lands suitable for irrigation, and the land forfeiture act. By this act over 8,000,000 acres of lands were forfeited by the railroads for failure to fulfill the conditions under which the land was originally granted to them.

The Post Office Department.—The Post Office Department was established in 1789, but the Postmaster-General did not become a cabinet officer until 1829. The Postmaster-General has charge and management of the department, and of the domestic and foreign mail service. He can establish post offices and appoint postmasters of the fourth and fifth classes, i.e. those whose salaries are less than $1,000. These number over 50,000. The total number of postoffices is about 56,000. The President appoints to those of the first three classes. Other officers besides the Assistant Postmasters-General are, the Superintendents of the Money Order Division, of Foreign Mails, and of the Railway Service, and an Assistant Attorney-General for the department.

The United States is a member of the Universal Postal Union, of which most, if not all, of the civilized countries are members. The central office is known as the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, and is conducted under the superintendence of the Swiss Postal Administration, and its expenses are borne by all the nations composing the Union. The revenues of the Post Office Department nearly equal the expenditures, and would have exceeded them before this but for the fact that as soon as the amount of receipts has warranted, improvements have been made in the service, through the reduction of postage rates and the extension of the free delivery system. It has never been the policy of the government to make this department a source of revenue.

The patronage of the postoffice department is the most important of any of the departments, and it is very largely for this reason that the Postmaster-General is a member of the Cabinet. Crawford of South Carolina secured in 1820 the passage of an act limiting the term of office of postmasters to four years. The appointment of postmasters does not come under the Civil Service Act. It is the principal aim of civil service reformers, that postmasters should be appointed under its provisions. The most important questions of public policy concerning this department, are the reduction of postage rates on letters to one cent; the advisability of the establishment of a postal telegraph service; the extension of the free delivery system, and the relation of the department to the civil service regulations.

The Department of Justice.—The office of the Attorney-General of the United States was established in 1789; the Department of Justice not until 1870. The Attorney-General gives advice upon legal points to the President and also, when requested to do so, to the heads of departments. He directs the cases of the United States and sometimes appears in them, especially in the Supreme Court. He supervises the United States Marshals and District Attorneys. His substitute and principal assistant is the Solicitor-General. There are two Assistant-Attorneys-General, the business of the one being connected with the Supreme Court, and of the other with the Court of Claims. There are also, as mentioned before, certain legal officers attached to the other departments. Additional counsel is frequently employed to assist in the argument of important cases. To the Attorney-General belongs the duty of recommending persons to the office of judges, etc., in the United States Circuit and District Courts.

The Department of Agriculture.—The Department of Agriculture was organized as a separate department in the year 1862. In 1889 its head became a cabinet officer. There is one Assistant Secretary. The duties of the Secretary are to promote in every way the agricultural interests of the country. For this purpose the department is separated into thirteen bureaus, under the following officers (1) the Entomologist, (2) Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, (3) Chemist, (4) Botanist, (5) Chief of the Section of Vegetable Pathology, (6) Statistician, (7) Ornithologist, (8) Director of the Office of Experiment Stations, (9) Microscopist, (10) Pomologist, (11) Chief of the Forestry Division, (12) Chief of the Seed Division, and (13) Weather Bureau. The enumeration of these titles indicates the general nature of the work of the department. Here are investigated the habits of injurious insects and birds and the best means for their destruction; the causes of and remedies for vegetable and fruit diseases. The Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry inspects herds of cattle and causes to be slaughtered those suffering from a contagious disease. Under a law passed in 1890, he also inspects all cattle and meat intended for export to foreign countries. He investigates causes of and remedies for cattle diseases, the best method of breeding, etc. The Statistician publishes monthly and annual reports concerning statistics of the condition, prospects and harvests of the principal crops, the wages of farm labor, etc. The Chemist analyzes fertilizers, soils, etc. By the act of March 2, 1887, $15,000 per annum was appropriated by Congress to each of the States and Territories which have established an agricultural college or an agricultural college department, for the establishment of experiment stations. The Department of Agriculture has general oversight over these stations.

The Department carries on experiments regarding the feasibility of profitable silk reeling in this country, for which purpose there is a separate division; it also makes experiments in the manufacture of sugar from sorghum and from beets grown in this country. The best qualities of seeds are tested and distributed gratuitously among the farmers. Efforts are made to introduce and foster the cultivation of new kinds of agricultural products, and in various ways to advance agricultural interests.

Congress, by an act passed during its last session, 1890, created a weather bureau under the Agricultural Department and transferred to it the business of weather prognostication which had been tinder the Chief Signal officer in the War Department. The service remains unchanged. It has stations at the military stations in the interior of the continent, at life-saving stations, and at other points in the States and Territories. Meteorological observations are taken at each station, and the information forwarded to the central office at Washington, where weather predictions for the succeeding day or days are made. The predictions are given gratuitously to the public through a system of flag signals, by the distribution of weather maps, and by publication in the daily papers. The percentage of successful forecasts of the weather during 1890 was 84.4.

The Department publishes the result of the scientific investigations carried on by its officers in "Annual Reports" of the Secretary and Chiefs of Divisions; in a series of "Circulars" on special subjects, in regular "Bulletins;" and in a series of studies on "Insect Life." These documents are distributed gratuitously.

The Department of Labor.—The Department of Labor was created in 1884, as a bureau under the Interior Department. In 1888, it became a separate department. It is a purely statistical bureau. It collects and publishes statistics on the cost of production, on wages, labor statistics, etc. Its six published reports are on (1) Industrial Depressions, (2) Convict Labor, (3) Strikes and Lockouts, (4) Working Women in Large Cities, (5) Marriage and Divorce, and (6) Railroad Employes.

Had all the executive departments been created at one time by a constitutional convention, we should be justified in expecting a greater symmetry and uniformity in the naming and grouping of chief officials. An inspection of the various executive officers shows that not a few are under departments other than would be expected; and the naming of officials is often misleading as to their importance. Within recent years there has appeared a strong tendency to depart yet more from a systematic grouping of executive duties under departments. Executive functions have been given to bodies entirely independent of the departments. To complete our survey of the federal executive we must consider the following: (1) the Interstate Commerce Commission, (2) the Fish Commission, (3) the Civil Service Commission, (4) the Government Printing Office, (5) the National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Ethnology, (6) the Congressional Library.

The Interstate Commerce Commission.—With the growth of our railroad system have come various abuses. Roads have discriminated in favor of one shipper over others, and of one locality over others. Combinations have been formed to keep up railroad passenger and freight charges. Their influence has been used in political offices through the issuing of free passenger tickets, etc. Various other minor abuses have centered around these corporations. The States have been powerless to provide a remedy for the roads have been mostly engaged in interstate commerce with which the States are forbidden by the constitution to interfere. To provide a remedy for the principal of these abuses Congress passed the act of February 4, 1887, regulating the practice of railroads and creating the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce the provisions. The Commission is composed of five commissioners appointed by the President. The Commission sits as a court and adjudicates complaints arising between railroads or between citizens and railroads, involving principles covered by the act. It has rapidly attained its present position as one of the most important courts in the United States. A statistician, attached to the Commission, publishes annual statistics of railroads, covering the extent, the amount, and value of their stock and bonds, expenses of management, receipts, &c. The act, of course, applies only to those railroads lying in more than one State.

The Fish Commission.—The Fish Commission was created by act of Congress in 1870. Its chief is the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. There is also an Assistant Commissioner. This Commission stands in the same relation to the fishery interests of the country as does the Department of Agriculture to agricultural interests. Both are scientific and practical departments. The former investigates the food, habits and enemies of fishes; experiments concerning the best methods of their capture, the best kind of baits, apparatus, etc. It collects statistics of fish and fisheries of the whole country. Probably its most important service is the propagation and distribution of food fishes. Under its direction are hatched and liberated millions of the young of the best food fishes in the various inland waters of the United States. Rivers suitable for black bass, shad, carp, or other food fishes, but not having them in their waters, are supplied. For these purposes the Commission owns and manages various fish hatcheries, fish distributing vessels and cars, propagating ponds, etc.

The yearly appropriation for carrying on this work amounts to nearly a quarter of a million of dollars.

The Civil Service Commission.—To correct the wasteful and demoralizing spoils system, in vogue ever since the first administration of Jackson, Congress passed, January 16, 1883, "an act to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United States." Under the provisions of this act, the President appoints three commissioners, only two of whom may be of the same political party, to administer the act. It is one of the duties of this Commission to provide examinations for testing the fitness of applicants for public service. Appointments in those branches of the government coming under this act can only be made from persons who have passed the civil service examination successfully. Adherence to one or the other political parties has little weight in the selection of employes. Under the regulation of this act are: the nine executive departments at Washington, the Civil Service Commission itself, the customs districts, eleven in number, in each of which there are fifty or more employes, all postoffices in which there are fifty or more employes, and the Railway Mail Service; including altogether about 28,500 clerks.

The Government Printing Office.—In order that there may be intelligent legislation and administration, an extensive system of reports is required. The publications of the federal government are of course very numerous. Each department, bureau, and division makes an annual report. The proceedings of Congress are reported verbatim and published. This printing and binding are done by the government through the government printing office, established for that purpose. The Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which is under the Treasury Department, does no part of this. Its duties are limited to those of engraving and printing banknotes, etc. The chief of the Government Printing Office is styled the Government Printer, and is appointed by the President.

The National Museum, Smithsonian Institution and Bureau of Ethnology.—In 1829 James Smithson, bequeathed by his will the whole of his property, something over half a million dollars, "to the United States of America to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." This fund held by the United States now amounts to $702,000 yielding six per cent, per annum. In 1846 Congress determined to devote this gift of Smithson to the founding and support of a museum. The National Museum was established in 1846, and is supported by annual appropriations by Congress.

In 1879 Congress created a special bureau under the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be called the Bureau of Ethnology, to make researches in North American anthropology. This work is supported by annual appropriations. The National Museum, Smithsonian Institution and Bureau of Ethnology, though distinct institutions[1] are under substantially the same management. Their reports are of great scientific value.

The Librarian of Congress.—The Librarian of Congress is an independent officer and reports directly to Congress. He has complete control of the Congressional Library, now situated in the Capitol building. The books now collected in this library have been purchased from time to time by Congress. There is a law requiring that two copies of every book, pamphlet, newspaper, photograph, etc., copyrighted in the United States, shall be sent to the Congressional Library. It thus receives large and valuable additions yearly. The Library now numbers over half a million volumes. A new building for the library is in process of construction, and it will have cost when completed between seven and eight million dollars.

[Footnote 1: A valuable and suggestive paper on The Origin of the National Scientific and Educational Institutions of the United States, by Dr. G. Brown Goode, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was published by the American Historical Association. Vol. IV, Part 2. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1890.]



CHAPTER XI.

The Federal Judiciary.

In forming the Constitution the framers of our government were controlled by the principle that the powers which belong to all governments can be most safely and satisfactorily exercised by dividing them according to their nature among three separate branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Under the Articles of Confederation this maxim of government had been disregarded. The old Continental Congress had been given under that plan, not only legislative powers, but also those executive and judicial powers which the States had yielded to the central government.

The lack of a Federal judiciary was, as Justice Story says, "one of the vital defects of the old confederation." Hamilton, the expounder of the Constitution, said: "Laws are a dead letter without courts to enforce and apply them."

The reasons why a national system of courts was necessary were in order that there might be some power:—

1. To give to laws an interpretation that would be uniform throughout the land. If there were thirteen independent courts, each giving Federal decisions on the same causes arising under the same national laws, what but confusion and contradiction could arise?

2. To settle disputes between the States and citizens of different States.

3. To construe and interpret the Constitution itself, and decide all disputes arising under it act of either Congress or of a State legislature contrary to the Constitution can therefore be valid. Hence, the necessity of some power which should have authority to determine the constitutionality of an act when brought into question, and—

5. There should be the power of determining the constitutionality of any act of a State legislature, and thus enforce upon State legislatures the restrictions laid upon them, such as, for example, the inability to lay impost duties, to pass laws violating the obligation of contracts, etc., or to regulate objects given exclusively to Congress. The manifest necessity of such a power may be best stated by using Hamilton's own words (Federalist, 30):

"What would avail restrictions on the authority of the State legislatures without some constitutional mode of enforcing the observance of them? The States, by the plan of the Constitution, are prohibited from doing a variety of things, some of which are incompatible with the interests of the Union; others with the principles of good government. The imposition of duties on imported articles, and the emission of paper money are specimens of this kind. No man of sense will believe that such prohibition would be scrupulously regarded, without some effectual power in the government to restrain or correct infractions of them. This power must be either a direct negative on the State laws, or an authority in the Federal courts to annul such as might be in manifest contravention of the articles of Union." * * * "These courts are to be the bulwarks of a limited constitution against legislative encroachments."

These reasons were so strong that there was little or no objection in the constitutional convention to the creation of a national judiciary, but difficulty arose in determining its precise nature and powers. As we have learned, the difficulty to be overcome in drafting our new scheme of government was to satisfy State jealousies and interests, and preserve State rights of government, and yet to obtain a strong central government; and to harmonize State rights with Federal strength.

In forming the national judiciary, the objects to be obtained, difficult of achievement, were, to use the words of Judge Curtis (Federal Courts of United States): "To construct a judicial power within the Federal Government, and to clothe it with attributes which would enable it to secure the supremacy of the general constitution and all of its provisions; to give to it exact authority that would maintain the dividing line between the powers of the Nation and the States, and to give to it no more: and to add to these a faculty of dispensing justice to foreigners, to citizens of different States and among the sovereign States themselves, with a more even hand and with a more assured certainty of the great ends of justice than any State power could furnish—these were objects not readily or easily to be obtained, and yet they were obtained with wonderful success."

The establishment of the federal judiciary is given in a few words in the Constitution: "The judicial powers of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."

In pursuance of this clause, Congress passed in 1789, what is known as the "Judiciary Act," the first section of which reads: "The Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of one chief justice and five associate justices." This act also established the inferior federal courts, the circuit and district courts, and also defined and fixed their fields of jurisdiction, i.e., the class of cases which these courts could have power to try.

The Supreme Court stands at the head of our national judiciary. Its field of jurisdiction is the construction and exposition of the Constitution of the United States. Hon. S.F. Miller, senior justice of this court, speaking of the high character of the duties performed by this court, said: "This court, whether we take the character of the suitors that are brought before it, or the importance of the subjects of litigation over which it has final jurisdiction, may be considered the highest the world has ever seen. It has power to bring States before it, States which some of our politicians have been in the habit of considering sovereign, not only when they come voluntarily, but by Federal process they are subjected, in certain cases, to the judgment of the court. Whatever these States may have been at the time of the formation of the Constitution, they now number their inhabitants by the millions, and in wealth and civilization are equal to many of the independent sovereignties of Europe."

There have been considerable changes in the structure and duties of the Supreme Court since its formation. At present there are nine justices, instead of six. There is now one annual term of the court held, beginning on the 2d Monday of October and continuing until about May 1. Of the nine justices six constitute a quorum.

The Supreme Court first met in February, 1790. Since its organization it has had eight chief justices, in the following order.

John Jay, 1789-1795. Oliver Ellsworth, 1795-1801. John Marshall, 1801-1835. R.B. Taney, 1836-1864. S.P. Chase, 1864-1873. M.R. Waite, 1873-1888. M. Fuller, 1888.

In 1795 John Rutledge was appointed to succeed Jay, received his commission, and held one term of the court, but was not confirmed by the Senate.

During the early years of the existence of the Supreme Court few cases arose requiring its jurisdiction. During the first term there was no business to be transacted. In 1801 there were only ten cases on the docket, and for some years the average annual number of cases was twenty-four; but in later years the number rapidly increased. From 1850 the average number of cases decided was seventy-one, while from 1875 to 1880 the average was three hundred and ninety-one per annum, and now there are more than a thousand cases awaiting a hearing, and the court is so far behindhand in its work that it takes from three to four years for a case to come up for trial after having been entered upon the docket. At present there are about four hundred cases granted a hearing yearly.

Almost immediately after the adoption of the Constitution began struggles and disputes between the States and the Federal Government. In this contest the Supreme Court steadily upheld the central power, and did much by its decisions to enforce and establish the power of the Constitution. Especially was the court powerful during the years 1801 to 1835, when Marshall was chief justice, to whose wisdom and prudence it is difficult to ascribe too much influence in fixing the present stability of our government.

The Supreme Court has been an invariable supporter of the Federal Constitution. During the early years of our government it was our firmest barrier against the efforts of the States to lessen the federal power. It has always maintained the balance of power between the States and the Union.

The annual term of the Supreme Court begins the second Monday of October and lasts until about May. Daily sessions, with the exceptions of Saturdays and Sundays, are held, beginning at 12 o'clock, in the Capitol building at Washington. The present justices are Fuller, chief justice, and Lamar, Bradley, Field, Harlan, Gray, Blatchford and Brewer, associate justices. Every Saturday morning the justices meet in consultation and decide cases argued during the week. The decisions are announced on Monday mornings. The justices are appointed by the President, hold office for life, and are removable only by impeachment.

The following are a few cases decided by the Supreme Court with which it is important that we should be acquainted owing to the influence which their decision has had upon our history:

1. In 1793 the case of Chisolm vs. Georgia came before this court. Chisolm, a citizen of North Carolina, sued the State of Georgia for a sum of money, and under the second section of Article III of the Constitution, which says that the judicial power of the United States shall extend to disputes between a State and citizens of another State, the court gave judgment in his favor. This decision that a State government could be sued against its will created so much dissatisfaction that the Eleventh Amendment was adopted, which says, "the judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State." The effect of this amendment has been to enable a State to repudiate its just debts.

2. In 1819 was decided the very important case of McCulloch vs. Maryland. The United States had established a national bank, which was objectionable to many of the States. Maryland attempted to destroy the bank by levying a very high tax upon a branch bank within the State. The question as to her right to do this was brought before the Supreme Court. To have allowed Maryland this right would have been to give to a State Government the power to oppose and render useless an institution created by the Federal Government. The court sustained the Federal power, and it was declared unconstitutional for any State to pass laws opposing the operation of any Federal statute.

3. In the case of Dartmouth College vs. New Hampshire was declared the unconstitutionally of a state law which impaired the obligation of contracts.

4. A very important case decided by Chief Justice Taney was that of Dred Scott vs. Sandford in 1857. Dred Scott, a negro slave in Missouri, had been carried into the Territory of Minnesota, where, by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, slavery did not exist. Upon being carried back into Missouri by his master, Scott claimed his freedom upon the ground that he had been voluntarily carried into a Territory where slavery was not allowed. The Supreme Court in its decision declared that Congress had never had the power to pass any law which would forbid slave-owners settling in Territories and still retaining control of their slaves. The whole country was at this time in great excitement in regard to the question whether or not, in the organization of the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska into States, slavery should be prohibited, and this decision, whereby the Missouri Compromise Act was practically annulled, and which pointed directly forward to an establishment of slavery in the new Territories, raised public excitement to a fever heat. It was in this decision that the statement was made that at the time of the formation of the Constitution the general opinion had been that the colored man had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. As a direct result of this case a more determined stand was taken at the North against slavery; the Anti-Slavery Republican party was strengthened, and their candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1861, and the catastrophe of civil war precipitated.

5. The Legal-Tender decisions, given in several cases soon after the civil war, are important. During the progress of the war the Government, in order to raise funds to meet its extraordinary expenses, had been forced to issue slips of paper which represented no deposits of coin in the Treasury, but only promises to pay certain sums by the Government. These were declared legal tender, that is, made by law as good as gold and silver, and the people were forced to receive them in payment of debts and for commodities. It was questioned whether the Government had by the Constitution power to do this. The legal-tender decisions declared that it had. Judicial System and Jurisdiction of the United States Courts.

District Courts.—The United States is divided into judicial districts. Many single States form a judicial district, while others are divided into two and others into three districts. The number of districts has varied. At present there are about sixty. To each of these districts is given a court and a district judge. These form the lowest grade of Federal courts.

Circuit Courts.—These judicial districts are grouped into nine circuits. For example, the Fourth circuit includes the districts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. For each circuit is appointed one circuit judge. One of the justices of the Supreme Court is also allotted to each of the circuits, who, after the expiration of the Supreme Court term, visits his circuit, and tries the more important cases which may arise in that circuit. The Circuit Court may be held by the circuit judge, the Supreme Court justice, or the district judge of that district in which the court is sitting, or by any two of them, or all of them, sitting together. The Circuit Courts form the next series of the Federal courts higher than the District Courts.

Jurisdiction.—The relation between the Supreme, Circuit and District courts is easy to explain. Their jurisdiction is upon federal questions; that is, over those cases mentioned in the Constitution over which judicial power has been granted to the United States, viz., questions arising under the Constitution, federal laws, or treaties, between citizens of different States, between citizens and foreigners, between States themselves, etc., and all crimes punishable under the United States laws.

The Circuit Court is higher than the District Court, and to it cases involving $500 and over may be appealed from the District courts. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort, and to it all appeals from the Circuit Courts come, with the limitation that $5,000 be involved. The cases decided by the Supreme Court are then of two classes: (1) those over which it has original jurisdiction, (see Constitution); i.e., those cases which originate or begin in that court; and (2) those cases over which it has appellate jurisdiction, i.e., those cases which come thither by appeal from the lower Circuit Courts, and which form the larger part of its work, and also by appeal from the highest State courts in cases involving certain Federal questions. The District of Columbia being directly governed by the United States, its courts are Federal courts, and hence, cases may be appealed from such courts to the Supreme Court; likewise for the same reason appeals may be had to the Supreme Court from the territorial courts.

We must remember that these courts deal only with Federal questions arising under United States laws, and, that besides these courts, all of the States have their own judicial systems of courts to interpret state laws and to try the great majority of cases. These courts are entirely separate from the United States courts, and with different judges, though cases may begin in them and be transferred to the United States Courts, if the interpretation of a Federal law is brought into question.

There are four grades of law in the United States. First and highest is the United States Constitution; second, United States laws, or statutes as they are called, passed by Congress; third, State constitutions; and fourth, State laws, passed by the State legislatures. In case of conflict of laws the lower must yield to the higher.

For the purpose of settling claims of private persons against the United States, there has been established at Washington a Court of Claims, held by five judges. From it appeals lie, in some cases, to the Supreme Court, and, in others, they are referred to Congress for action.



CHAPTER XII.

The Ordinance for the Government of the Northwest Territory.

When the colonies joined in union under the Articles of Confederation, in 1781, they ceded to the General government their claims to unoccupied western territory. The largest land grant was that by the State of Virginia, which occupied that part of the United States lying north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.

The problem of management of public lands was thus early presented to our Federal Government for solution. The manner in which Congress dealt with this question has proven eminently wise and successful, and has been largely influential in making the United States the nation that it is to-day. The feature that has characterized the plan followed from the beginning, and which still obtains, is the formation of States from such territory as soon as there is sufficient population. Such States have similar forms and powers of government as the original States, are on an equal footing with them, and are bound by the Constitution of the United States. Congress has absolute control of the Territories. (For Territorial government see Article on Territories.)

The ordinance which the Continental Congress adopted in 1787 for the government of the Northwest Territory is of great importance: it provides for the establishment of our territorial system; it contains many of those features of management which have been used from that date until now; and it is also of interest because of the influence it has had upon the history of slavery in our country.

This ordinance provided that the whole of this territory should form one district. At first Congress appointed the governor, secretary, judges, and military generals. The governor was to make the laws, subject to the approval of Congress. When the population reached five thousand the inhabitants were to have a legislature of their own, and to have a delegate who should sit in Congress, but have no vote. There was a bill of rights. Public education was encouraged. Not less than three nor more than five States were to be formed from it. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been the five States formed from this territory. The transformation of the territory into States was promised as soon as the population should reach sixty thousand.

Slavery was forever prohibited in all this territory. We shall see the tremendous importance of this clause, which guaranteed to this large tract freedom from the curse of slavery, when we come to consider the struggles which were made for many years to keep slavery from the territories.



CHAPTER XIII.

Government of the Territories.

There are at present four areas, situated outside of the States, and organized under territorial governments. These are Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Besides these there are the two unorganized territories, Indian Territory, and Alaska, and the District of Columbia, which last tract contains sixty-four square miles.

Government of Territories.—The fundamental law of a Territory is the Federal Constitution, just as in a State. Unlike the State, however, it has no constitution of its own, but is regulated entirely by Congress. In Section 3, Article IV, of the Constitution, it is declared that "Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States." In pursuance of this clause Congress has in the four organized Territories instituted governments as follows: The executive of the Territory is a Governor appointed by the President for a four years' term. There is also a secretary and treasurer. The legislature consists of two houses, a council of 12, and a House of Representatives of 24. These are elected by the people of the Territories, and have a term of two years. The Legislature meets every other year. All its acts require approval by Congress before becoming law.

The judiciary consists of three or more judges appointed by the President, together with a district attorney and United States marshal.

Territories send neither Senators nor Representatives to Congress, but have one delegate apiece in the United States House of Representatives, who may speak, but not vote.

Admission of a Territory as a State.—A Territory is an embryo State. As soon as a Territory becomes sufficiently populated it applies for admission into the Union as a State, and such admission is accomplished in the following manner. When an application by a Territory for Statehood is made, it is considered by Congress, and, if approved, the inhabitants of the Territory are authorized to form for themselves out of such Territory a State government, and thus prepare themselves for admission into the Union.

A State government is formed as follows: The Governor of the Territory issues a proclamation declaring that on a certain date there shall be an election of delegates to a convention; such convention is to be held on a certain date. These delegates are elected by a popular vote. The members of the convention thus formed declare that they, on behalf of the people of the Territory, adopt the Constitution of the United States, and then proceed to draft a State constitution and government. It is provided that this constitution shall be Republican in form, and make no distinction in civil and political rights on account of race or color, except for Indians not taxed: that it shall not be repugnant to the Constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Perfect religious toleration must be guaranteed, all right or title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the Territory must be disclaimed and given over to the United States. Provision must be made by the constitution for the establishment and maintenance of the system of public schools.

After adoption by the convention the constitution is offered to the people for ratification. If it is ratified, the Governor certifies the fact to the President of the United States. Provided the constitution is found to comply with all the conditions just mentioned, the President issues his proclamation declaring the ratification of the constitution, and upon the same day that the proclamation is issued the territory is deemed admitted by Congress into the Union as a State, on an equal footing with the original States, and entitled to representation in both houses of the Federal Congress. The representatives and the Governor and other State officers are elected on the same day as that upon which the constitution is ratified by the people.



CHAPTER XIV.

State Governments.

The United States is a nation of forty-four federated States. Each State has its own separate government, which is sovereign, except as to a few powers which have been granted to the United States government for general purposes. Citizens of States are also citizens of the United States, and thus owe a double allegiance, namely, to the State in which they reside and to the United States.

These States vary in size from that of Texas, the largest, with an area of 265,780 square miles, to that of Rhode Island, the smallest, with 1,250; and in population from that of New York, with nearly six millions, to that of Nevada, with about forty-five thousand. The largest State is greater than either France or the German Empire.

State governments are older than the Federal government, for it was by a grant by the States of certain of their powers that the United States government was created. Each State is represented in Congress by two members in the Senate. Members of the lower branch of the Federal legislature are apportioned among the States according to population. As in the case of the United States, the powers of government are divided among three departments—the executive, legislative, and judicial.

In the United States Constitution it is expressly declared that "the powers not granted to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It would require considerable space to enumerate the duties of State governments. With the exception of the few acts which the constitution forbids them to perform, most of which they would not care to perform if allowed, and the few general powers coming within the province of the Federal Government, the States can do whatever their legislatures sanction. They can go to the extremes of State socialism. All States have a complete judicial system. They regulate all legal relations of their citizens, the laws of husband and wife, principal and agent, and of contract. They provide for the detection and punishment of crime. They control and mainly support the militia of the county. Railroad, banking, insurance, and other corporations, are chartered and controlled by them. The construction and maintenance of roads, the care of the public health, the inspection of factories, the determination of the right of suffrage, and the control of its own elections are among the exclusive powers of State governments. Our extensive system of public schools are under the dual management of the State and local governments, and under the superintendence of State officers. The State takes care of the defective classes, of the insane, paupers, etc.; and, in general, performs all those ordinary duties concerning internal affairs which are exercised by central governments.

Each State government has—

1. A Constitution.

2. A Legislature of two Houses.

3. An executive, composed of a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor (in almost all cases), Secretary of State, Auditor, and a few other officers.

4. A system of local government in counties, towns, cities, etc.

5. A body of State laws.

6. A judicial system of courts, from which no appeal can be had to United States courts, except upon Federal questions.

7. A system of local taxation.

Each State government has all the rights usually pertaining to a sovereign State, except—Those powers which the Federal Constitution expressly forbids to the States.

3. Those powers which have in the Constitution been exclusively given to the United States.

All States have public debts, which they may, and sometimes do, repudiate. They can be sued only by other States. The Eleventh Amendment declared that a citizen could not maintain a suit against a State. State laws are binding only within the boundaries of the State enacting them.

State Constitutions.—As the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the United States, so the State constitution is the highest law of the States. The Constitutions of the original thirteen States were naturally formed after the model of the charters enjoyed by the New England colonies. In the colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts their charters were adopted as constitutions without any change, except, of course, the annulment of obedience to the English king. All subsequent constitutions have been closely modeled after these first thirteen. The Federal Constitution provides that all State constitutions must be Republican in form. (For other conditions of admission of territories as States, see subject "Territories.") The modes of amendment of constitutions differ in different States, but in all, amendment is much easier of accomplishment than in the case of the Federal Constitution. This is shown by the fact that since 1776 there have been adopted by the States one hundred and five complete constitutions, and two hundred and fourteen partial amendments; while, since the passage of the first ten Federal amendments in 1789, there have been but five additional amendments. Some States provide that the constitution shall be submitted to the people for amendment at the end of certain intervals of time. In the larger number of cases a majority of the popular vote is required for ratification of a constitutional amendment. State constitutions show a tendency to become longer, and to regulate a constantly increasing number of subjects.

A normal State constitution has the following provisions:

1. A definition of the State boundaries.

2. A bill of rights (guaranteeing private rights, such as freedom of the press and speech, trial by jury in criminal cases, right to assemble and petition, etc.).

3. A frame of government, an enumeration of officers and powers of legislature, executive, courts of justice, etc.

4. Miscellaneous provisions, relating to administration of schools, militia, taxation, debts, local government, corporations, amendments, etc.

State Legislatures.—The legislature in all States consists of two Houses, of which the upper and smaller branch is called the Senate, and the lower and more numerous branch usually the House of Representatives, though in six States it is termed the Assembly, and in three the House of Delegates. The members of both houses are elected by popular vote, but Senators usually for a longer time, and frequently higher qualifications for them are required. States are divided into districts for election purposes, and, though members of the legislature may offer themselves for election from any district, it has become the invariable custom for them to be elected only from the districts in which they reside. Universal manhood suffrage, that is, the right of all male citizens over 21 years of age to vote, is the rule, though in eight States paupers have no vote, and in a few, a certain amount of education is required (generally enough to read the State constitution). The number of members in the State legislatures varies greatly. In the Senate, Delaware has the smallest number (9), and Illinois the largest (51). In the lower House, Delaware has likewise the smallest number (21), while New Hampshire has the greatest (321).

The Lieutenant-Governor of the State is ex officio President of the Senate. In all States, except six, sessions of the legislature are held only once every other year, and even then the length of the session is limited to a fixed number of days. As in Congress, business is conducted by means of committees, but are in both Houses elected by ballot. The State legislatures have full charge and control of all local governments within their individual States. The Senate has the power of trying impeachments of State officials. It also ratifies appointments of the Governor. In all States, except four, acts of the legislature require the signature of the Governor before they become laws. To pass a bill over a veto requires in twenty-three States a two-thirds vote in both Houses; in two, a three-fifths vote, and in nine, a majority vote of the total number of members. A State legislature can enact no law which will be effective beyond its own boundaries.

State Executive.—The chief executive of the State is the Governor. Other chief officials are the Lieutenant-Governor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The term of office of the Governor varies in different States from one to four years. He has but small powers of appointment, most of the State officials being elected by the people. In all but four States he has a veto on legislation. He has the power of pardoning. The Lieutenant-Governor is President of the Senate.

State Judiciary.—The State judiciary includes three sets of courts:

1. A Supreme Court of Appeals, the highest court, from which cases involving Federal questions may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

2. Superior courts of record.

3. Various local courts, such as county courts, corporation courts, etc.

Each State recognizes the judgments of other States, and gives credit to their public acts and records, and delivers up to justice, on demand of the executive, any criminal fleeing from other States into her borders. In most of the States the judges are elected by the people, though in eight they are appointed by the Governor, and in five by the legislature. The Attorney-General conducts cases in which the State is a party, and manages other legal business in which the State is interested.



CHAPTER XV.

Local Government.

In the chapter on Government we learned that the people of the United States owe allegiance to two systems of government; the one a central national government, the other the state governments. We have now to mention a third system of governments, namely, local governments; for citizens of the United States live, in reality, under three distinct governments: first and highest, the National United States Government; second, State governments, and third, local governments. It is concerning local governments in the United States that we shall learn in this chapter.

Just as the whole United States is divided into forty-eight sections, each section being a State or Territory, so each State is in turn, for convenience in the administration of its government, divided into small local areas, each division managing those affairs which appertain to its own area. Many of these divisions were not formed by dividing up the States. The divisions came first, or sprang up naturally within the States as soon as the colonies were settled. Social governments were the first governments formed in the settlement of our Western territory. Dr. Edward Bemis has described the beginnings of government in a new State in the following interesting manner:

"The genesis of local government in Western hamlets is very simple. First comes the settler who, ax in hand, clears the ground for his humble dwelling, and plants whatever seed he has brought with him. Then comes another settler and another until perhaps a dozen families are established near. Two wants are now felt: roads, or at least paths from house to house, from hamlet to market town, and a school-house for the multiplying children. There is no strong central authority to provide these things, but the settlers meet and vote to tax themselves. The services of a supervisor, collector, clerk, constable and justice of the peace are required."[1] This is the beginning of the township and county. As population increases, other wants arise which only a stronger government can supply. A territorial, and then a State government are consequently formed.

[Footnote 1: Local Government in Michigan and the Northwest. J.H.U. Studies in History and Political Science. Vol. I, No. 5, p. 11.]

The principal duties of local governments are those of education, police, sanitation, charity, the construction and maintenance of public roads, the administration of justice, the assessment and collection of taxes, etc.

There are three types of local government in the United States: First, the New England type, in which the unit of government is the town or township; second, the Southern type, in which the unit is the county; and third, the Western system, in which the New England and Southern systems are combined.

#1st. Local Government New England.#—Here the unit of government is the township, or town, as it is usually called. There are few towns exceeding five square miles in area, and the population is generally less than 3,000. The New England township is therefore not a thickly settled area. When a town becomes closely settled it is incorporated as a city.

In the New England towns the people govern themselves directly. In the State and Federal governments the people are governed not by themselves, but through representatives chosen by themselves. The town or township form of government is that of a pure democracy; the States and Federal governments are representative governments or republics.

The supreme governing power of a town is in the town meeting, composed of all qualified voters of the town. The town meeting is held in the Spring of each year. After the choice of a Moderator, officers are elected for the ensuing year, reports of officers for the past year read, and the amount of taxes to be raised and expenditures to be made during the year, determined upon. The officers are the Selectmen, three, five, seven or nine in number, who constitute the executive officers of the town, and administer the ordinances passed by the town meeting; a town clerk, who keeps a record of the proceedings of the town meeting, and a record of births, deaths, marriages, etc.; a treasurer, assessors and collectors of taxes, constables, and various other petty officers. Several offices are frequently given to the same individual.

The county also exists in New England, and is formed by the union of several towns, but it is of very little importance, and has but few duties. The township system is found in the Middle States, but in a modified form. It is less democratic as a rule—officers being elected by ballot, the town meeting generally absent, and county government more important.

#2d. Local Government in the South.#—Here the town (township) does not exist, except in a few instances. The unit of government for performing local duties is the county, which is much larger than the New England townships. The county government is managed by a Board of County Commissioners. These are elected not in open meeting as are the town officers, but by ballot. County government is therefore a representative or republican government. The county, wherever found, is primarily a judicial district. The chief officer for executing the decrees of the county judiciary is the sheriff. Other county officers are the treasurer, assessor, etc.

Local Government in the West.—Here, as before stated, we find the New England and the Southern systems combined, but combined in different States in such various degrees as to make impracticable any attempt to describe them more particularly.[1] In consequence of the grants of land by the Federal Government to Western States for education, local areas for the administration of these funds have been formed. These are called school districts. Local government has tended to center around these districts, and they have in many cases become important administrative districts. Their boundaries coincide with the boundaries of the townships and counties, though a number of school districts may be in one county or township.

[Footnote 1: More detailed accounts of the various systems of Local Government in the United States may be found in the early numbers of the Johns Hopkins University Studies, and also in Professor George E. Howard's Local Constitutional History, an extra volume in the same series.]



CHAPTER XVI.

City Government.

The proportion of people in the United States who reside in cities is increasing. In 1790 there were only thirteen cities of 5,000 inhabitants and none with 40,000. Now there are over 500 that have a population exceeding 5,000 and 28 with a population of 100,000. In 1790 33 per cent. of the total population lived in cities of over 8,000 inhabitants, while to-day over 25 per cent live in cities of this size or over.

When any small area becomes thickly and permanently settled, and a certain population is reached (which varies in different States), the state legislature is appealed to, and a charter of incorporation as a city is granted. This enables the incorporated district to act independently of the county or township, to levy municipal taxes and carry out public improvements. Rapid as has been the growth of cities, the duties required of city governments have increased still faster.

The government of our large cities has become a question of vital importance. It would be difficult to give a complete list of the duties devolving upon them. The principal duties are (1) the collection of municipal and state taxes, (2) the establishment and care of public schools, (3) the administration of justice, (4) police supervision, (5) the support of a fire department, (6) the care of the streets, (7) of street gas and electric lighting, (8) of sewerage, (9) of the water supply, (10) of public parks, (11) of sanitation and public health, (12) of prisons, (13) the supervision of the liquor traffic, (14) the regulation of street railways, (15) the enforcement of building regulations, (16) the supervision of charities, hospitals, asylums, etc.

The form of government of all our large cities is much the same. It is substantially a reproduction, in form, of the state governments. First, there is a mayor, who is the chief executive, and is elected directly by the people of the city. His term of office is sometimes only one year, though more often two, three, or four years. In almost all cases he has a veto on acts of the city legislature, which veto may, however, be overridden by a two-thirds vote.

Other subordinate officials are, the treasurer, collector of taxes, chief of police, health officer, etc. They are in part elected by the people, in part appointed by the mayor, or appointed by the city legislature. Practice varies in different cities.

City legislatures are of one or two houses. The larger cities usually have two houses, and the smaller cities one house.

The legislature is usually called the City Council, the upper branch the Board of Aldermen, and the lower and more numerous branch, the Common Council. The members of the city council are elected by the people. The acts of the council are called ordinances. They are not sufficiently general to merit the designation of laws.

City judges are usually elected by the people. The administration of the various duties of municipal government are generally given to special boards of officers, as the police department, fire department, etc. For election purposes, cities are divided into wards, and the wards into voting precincts.

Our methods of municipal government have proved the least successful of any of our institutions. Corruption and grave abuses exist in almost every one of the larger cities. Problems connected with city government are among the most important questions of our time.



CHAPTER XVII.

Government Revenue and Expenditure.

Government is an enormous business enterprise, maintained and operated by its citizens, that certain duties of a general interest and benefit may be performed. The magnitude of the work performed necessarily requires the expenditure of vast sums of money. The chief source from which these sums are derived is taxation. Taxes have been defined to be "the legally determined and legally collected contributions of individuals for meeting the necessary and general expenses of the State."[1] In the large majority of cases this is a good definition, but in a few instances it is too narrow. There are some taxes that are levied not primarily for the purpose of raising an income to meet the expenses of the government, but to subserve some other purpose. For instance, the maintenance of our high duties on articles imported into the United States from foreign countries has for its main purpose the protection of our industries from European competition. The large revenues that are derived therefrom are incidental. High liquor licenses, also, are maintained for the express purpose of lessening the consumption of intoxicating beverages.

[Footnote 1: Carl Knies.]

The aim of every good government is to distribute its burdens of taxation, as well as its benefits, fairly and equitably among its citizens. It is the duty of every citizen to assist in the realization of this aim, by an intelligent, honest and disinterested vote. Equality of taxation means equality of sacrifice. Each person should contribute towards the support of the government in proportion to his means and the benefits enjoyed. It is the duty of every citizen, first to see that just and expedient tax laws are passed, then to pay his proper proportion, and lastly, to see that his neighbors likewise contribute their share. To obtain an equitable system of government revenue and expenditure has been the great motive force which, in the past, has urged the people forward in their efforts to secure popular forms of government.

The power to tax is legislative, and, according to our theory, can be exercised only by representatives directly elected by the people. The refusal of England in the last century to extend this principle of "no taxation without representation" to her colonies in America, lost her these possessions. A government to be stable and efficient must possess adequate powers for the collection of its revenue. The miserable condition to which the old Confederation was reduced by reason of the inadequacy of its powers in this respect, has already been discussed. Says Fiske: "Between the old Continental Congress and the government under which we have lived since 1789, the differences were many; but by far the most essential difference was that the new government could raise money by taxation, and was thus enabled properly to carry on the work of governing."[1]

[Footnote 1: Civil Government, p. 77.]

The sources of government revenue other than taxes, are various, and differ in different countries. In our consideration of the revenues and expenditures of our national, state, and local governments we shall have occasion to notice the various means by which their treasuries are filled.

The Federal Government raises its revenues independently of the other governing bodies, from different sources, and by a different set of officials. Besides taxation, the principal source of revenue is from the sale of public lands. Federal taxes are of two kinds:

1. Customs duties.

2. Excise or internal revenue duties.

Of these, much the greater sum is raised from customs duties. For the year 1889,[1] the total net receipts were $387,050,058. Of this $223,832,741 was derived from customs, and $130,894,434 from the internal revenue duties. The sale of public lands yielded in that year $8,038,651. The miscellaneous revenues amounted to $24,297,151.

[Footnote 1: For fiscal purposes the year begins July 1st.]

Customs or tariff duties are taxes which have to be paid on a large class of goods imported into this country from foreign countries. These charges are collected by Government collectors, stationed in all our principal seaport cities, who inspect all incoming vessels and determine the amount to be paid, according to the rate determined by Congress. This system constitutes the so-called protective tariff policy of our country. Those commodities not so taxed are said to be on the "free list." How much, and on what articles these duties shall be levied, is the question upon which the Republican and Democratic parties differ; the former favoring high, and the latter low rates, that is to say merely enough to support the Government, or, as it is termed, "a tariff for revenue only."

Internal revenue duties are those taxes collected by the government from its own citizens upon a small class of articles produced in this country. The chief items of this class are distilled liquors, tobacco, and oleomargarine. In 1889, out of the $130,894,434 received from internal revenue, there was derived from spirits and fermented liquor $98,036,041; tobacco, $31,866,861; oleomargarine and miscellaneous, $991,532. These duties are collected by Government collectors stationed in every United States district, who visit the distilleries, collect the taxes, and see that the law is enforced. In several Southern States attempts to evade the law are very frequent and difficult of detection. The expenses of the vast postal system conducted by the Federal Government are very nearly defrayed by the charges made for postage, and the amount received by fees more than equals the expense of the Patent Office.

The State and Local Taxes are generally, for convenience, collected at the same time, and by the same officials, but independently of the Federal government. The Constitution of the United States forbids the States to derive a revenue from duty upon goods imported or exported. The States are, therefore, for the most part, restricted to a direct tax on property for the support of their governments.

The general method for raising this tax is as follows: The legislature of the State, having determined what income is needed, apportion this sum among the counties, or, in New England, directly among the townships, in proportion to the value of the property situated within them, or establish a certain percentage tax on all property, to be collected in the same manner. So, similarly, the counties apportion among the cities and townships within their areas, in proportion to the value of their taxable property, not only what they have to pay to the State, but also the sums they have to raise for county purposes. Thus when the township or city authorities assess and collect taxes from the individual citizens, they collect at one and the same time three distinct taxes—the State tax, the county tax, and the city or township tax. Retaining the last for local purposes, they hand on the two former to the county authorities, who, in turn, retain the county tax, handing on to the State what it requires. Thus trouble and expense are saved in the process of collection, and the citizen sees on one tax paper all that he has to pay. The chief tax is the property tax, based on a valuation of property, and generally of all property, real and personal. Of this, by far the greater sum is realized from the tax on real property, (land and buildings on it). Cities and other local subdivisions, as has been stated, are raising their revenues more and more from the sale, taxation, or operation of such public franchises and rights as street-car lines, gas and waterworks. Those who fix the value of taxable property and thus determine the amount the owners are to pay, are called assessors. Those collecting taxes are called collectors. The revenue of the States is seldom large in proportion to the wealth and number of the inhabitants, because the chief burden of administration is borne not by the States, but by the Federal government, on the one hand, and the local subdivisions of the States on the other. The total revenue of all the States is barely one-third that of the Federal government.

The Expenditures of all the governing bodies, Federal, State, and local, are kept entirely independent of each other. Those of the Federal government are for the benefit of all the States, while those of the other bodies are only for their own individual benefit. The Federal government receives much more than it expends, and has yearly a surplus on hand in the Treasury. The States and local bodies have in the past expended more than their revenues, making up their deficiency by loans on their credit.

The chief objects of Federal expenditure (in addition to the postal system already considered and for the most part supported by its own revenue) are: 1st, interest on the public debt; 2d, pensions to disabled soldiers; 3d, for the support of the civil branch of the government; 4th, war and naval expenditures.

Total expenditures for the year 1889 were $299,288,988. The chief items were:

1. Interest on the public debt, $41,000,484 2. Pensions, 87,624,779 3. Civil service, 80,664,064 4. War and Navy, 65,815,079 5. Indians, 6,892,207

Money can be expended by the government only after it has been appropriated by Congress in its annual appropriation bills. The appropriation of supplies by Congress is the most important business that it transacts. Every year the heads of all the different departments frame estimates of the amounts of money needed to support their departments during the following year, which estimates they send to the Secretary of the Treasury, who, after considering and revising them, transmits them to Congress in his "Annual Letter." This letter is considered by the Appropriation Committee, whose duty it is to consider and frame bills for the appropriation of moneys. Though guided by these estimates, supplies frequently depart widely from them. After being reported to the House and passed, money bills are sent to the Senate, where they are invariably amended by increasing the appropriations and are returned to the House. A conference committee is then appointed from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, who, after mutual concessions, agree upon such appropriations as will be passed by both houses. The House then amends the bill as agreed upon, passes it, and sends it to the Senate again, which in turn passes it, and sends it to the President for his signature. All bills for raising money must, by the Constitution, originate in the House. Besides the appropriations for the expenses of government there is annually authorized a large expenditure for improvement of rivers and harbors. Many of the expenditures authorized by these bills are undoubtedly unnecessary, but they are passed by general consent of the members, each of whom desires to increase his popularity at home by getting public money spent in his district.

The expenses of the State governments are not heavy, and are devoted to but few objects. The chief expenditures are for:—(1) the salaries of officials; (2) judicial expenditures; (3) the State volunteer militia; (4) grants to public schools; (5) public charities and institutions, as prisons, insane asylums, etc., (6) interest on State debts; (7) internal improvements and public buildings.

The methods of appropriations are similar to those employed by the Federal government.

The expenditures of the local bodies, and particularly cities, are much larger, in proportion to their population, than those of the States, and are increasing at a greater rate than the increase of population. The objects of expenditure are numerous and very important. The chief ones are: (1) Interest on local debts; (2) maintenance and care of the streets and roads; (3) lighting of streets; (4) police; (5) salaries of officials.

The following are outlines of the receipts and expenditures of the State of Maryland for 1888, and for the City of Baltimore for 1887. These figures are given not because they of themselves possess any especial importance, but because from them can be obtained an idea of the activity of a typical State and city.

Maryland.[1]—The total receipts from all sources were $2,542,130; and there was paid out $2,016,060. The chief receipts were from:

General Taxes, $793,301 Licenses, 487,969 Corporation Tax, 73,553 Railroad Tax, 58,455 Inheritance Tax, 57,767 Income from Stocks and Bonds owned, 206,175 Fees, 17,585

Baltimore.[2]—The gross receipts into the treasury for the year ending December 31, 1887, were $8,446,439, and were chiefly from the following sources:

Taxes, $4,210,112 Public schools, tuition fees, etc., 6,766 Market houses, rent of stalls, 58,287 Wharfage and rent of wharves, 33,561 General licenses, 44,609 Auction duties, 7,431 Dividends on stock in B. & O. R.R., 130,000 Water rents, 745,446 Passenger railway companies, 132,167 From the State for public schools, 147,403 Temporary loan, 1,510,000 Receipts to pay interest on loans, 896,704 Sale of stock, 243,285

The total disbursements were $8,403,930. Of this $4,541,357 was spent on account of expenses of city government, the following being the principal items of expense:

Interest on the public debt, $915,987 Expenses of law courts, 118,906 Expenses of jail, magistrates, &c., . . 103,587 Public schools (less amount paid by State), 594,089 Expenses of poor, 210,739 Police department, 702,882 Street-cleaning department, 263,934 Fire department, 214,226 Street lighting, 221,203 Parks, &c., 52,080 Salaries, 72,624 City council, 52,925

[Footnote 1: Finance Statistics of the American Commonwealths: E.E. Seligman. Publications of Am. Statistical Asso., Dec., 1889.]

[Footnote 2: R.T. Ely, Taxation in Am. States and Cities.]

Nearly all of our State and local governments, as well as the national government, have contracted large public debts, the interest payments upon which constitute one of the chief items in their lists of expenditures. The present debt of the Federal Government is largely the result of the enormous expenditures occasioned by the Civil War. In 1865, August 31, it reached its highest point $2,381,530,294, with an annual interest charge of $150,977,697. Since then it has been steadily reduced until in 1889 the total interest-bearing debt was but $829,853,990, with an annual interest charge of $33,752,354. The principal of the national debt is mainly in the form of interest-bearing bonds held by the National banks and private individuals. These bonds are of various denominations and are promises of the government to pay the sums named on their face, at the expiration of a certain period. The bonds at present unpaid, and as such constituting the major portion of our national debt, are principally of two kinds; those bearing four and one-half per cent, annual interest and falling due in 1891, and those bearing four per cent, interest and falling due in 1907.

The debts of most of the States were contracted by ill-advised and untimely systems of internal improvements. The total state indebtedness June I, 1890, as shown by the Eleventh Census, was $238,396,590, a decrease of slightly over $58,000,000 in ten years. The tendency now seems to be for States to withdraw from the money market as borrowers, and for the county and city governments to take their place.

The local debts are very large, and have shown a marked increase during the last twenty years. They have been for the most part incurred in improvements and construction of public works, which have in most instances well repaid the debts incurred.



CHAPTER XVIII.

Money.[1]

No man by himself produces everything he wants to use, but devotes his time to the production of some few things, and the surplus that he does not use, he exchanges for other things made by other men. In rude stages of society this is done by a direct exchange of one commodity for another, e.g. so much wheat or corn for a gun or plow. This is a very imperfect and cumbersome method, which cannot be employed in our present complicated transactions of buying and selling. There thus early developed the use of money, or the practice of referring the value of all things to one standard, usually the precious metals: so that, instead of trading 20 bushels of corn for a plow, where it would be necessary to go to the great trouble of finding a man who had a plow, and also wanted your corn, you sell it for so much money, and with this money you buy a plow. Money is thus but a medium of exchange and a standard of value.

In the United States, as in most nations, money has always been made by the Government, and the Government alone, so that one certain fixed system may prevail. For the sake of convenience, money is made of various kinds and denominations, and United States money may conveniently be regarded under the five following divisions: 1. Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates.—There are six gold coins: (1) the eagle, $10 piece; (2) the double eagle, $20 piece; (3) the half eagle, $5; (4) the quarter eagle, $2.50; (5) the $3 piece, and (6) the $1 piece. The three last are but little used. The gold bullion, or gold in bars and blocks uncoined, is for all practical purposes as good as the coin, and in foreign trade is much used, it being more convenient to handle. Besides the gold coin and bullion there are in circulation gold certificates. These are paper, the same in general appearance as the ordinary bank-note, and certify that an equivalent amount of gold has been deposited with the Treasurer of the United States, and that the holder of the certificate has the right to obtain the gold for it at any time. This does not increase the amount of money in circulation, as for every one issued just so much coin is withdrawn and stowed away in the Treasury. The certificates are used simply for convenience, and in order to avoid the necessary wear of the coin if in constant use. These certificates are of the denomination of $20.

2. Silver Dollars and Silver Certificates.—There is no silver bullion circulating as money, for a silver dollar does not contain a dollar's worth of silver, as the gold dollar does of gold, and the silver bullion is thus of different value (less value), according to weight, than the silver dollar. The silver certificates are similar to the gold certificates, already described, and certify that an equivalent amount of silver has been deposited in the Treasury.