Problems in American Democracy Part 95

21. The franchise problem. (Beard, _American City Government_, chapter vii.)

22. Munic.i.p.al owners.h.i.+p as a political problem. (Beard, _American City Government_, chapter viii.)

23. The commission plan of munic.i.p.al government. (Munro, _The Government of the United States_, chapter xliii; see also any other standard text on American government.)

24. The city manager plan of munic.i.p.al government. (Munro, _The Government of the United States_, chapter xliii; see also any other standard text on American government.)

FOR CLa.s.sROOM DISCUSSION

25. Munic.i.p.al owners.h.i.+p of public utilities in your community.

26. Are the munic.i.p.alities of your state too narrowly restricted by the state const.i.tution and the state legislature?

27. The solution of the franchise problem.

28. Respective merits of the mayor-council plan, the commission plan, and the city manager plan, with particular reference to your munic.i.p.ality.

CHAPTER L

RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT

634. TYPES OF RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.--Rural local governments in the United States vary widely as between different sections of the country, but in general they are divisible into three types. These are:

(a) the town type, so common in New England;

(b) the county type, found chiefly in the South, the Southwest, and the Far West; and

(c) the mixed type of the Middle, Central, and Northwestern states.

These three general types will be discussed in the order named.

A. THE TOWN TYPE

635. NATURE OF THE TOWN.--The basis of rural local government in New England is the town. [Footnote: The county exists in New England as an aggregation of towns. The county has acquired other functions, but it is still primarily a judicial district.] In general the New England town is an irregularly shaped area, varying in size from twenty to forty-five square miles. The area comprising the typical town is primarily rural, and generally contains one or more villages. Although the town is primarily a rural unit, the villages within its bounds may be so populous as to be cla.s.sed as cities. Yet these populous communities may, as in the case of Brookline, Ma.s.sachusetts, retain the town government. Other New England cities, such as New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, have continued the town organization separate from the city government.

636. ORIGIN OF THE TOWN.--Some authorities believe that the town type of rural local government can be traced back through English history to the early Teutonic tribes. Whether or not this is true, it is certain that the principle is an ancient one, and that when New England was first settled, the colonists grouped together in small compact communities, or towns, instead of scattering over larger areas.

637. WHY TOWN GOVERNMENT DEVELOPED IN NEW ENGLAND.--Several factors are responsible for the tendency of the settlers of early New England to draw together in towns. From the economic point of view, the barren nature of the soil rendered extensive farms impracticable, while, on the other hand, the opportunities for fis.h.i.+ng and commerce encouraged small, compact settlements along the coast. The hostility of many of the New England Indians also discouraged spa.r.s.e settlements and obliged the people to settle in close formation. Lastly, many of the New England colonists came to the New World as groups or communities which in their European homes had pivoted about a common church; in New England these people naturally preferred to live very near one another.

638. TOWN GOVERNMENT.--The government of the New England town is vested in a town meeting, which consists of an annual session of the voters of the town. At this meeting the voters enact laws governing such local matters as town finance, schools, police, and highways. A second important function of the town meeting is to choose the town officers, including the selectmen, [Footnote: In Rhode Island the selectmen are known as the council.] the town clerk, treasurer, constable, and others. The chief executive officers are the selectmen, varying in number from three to nine, and generally chosen for the term of one year. The selectmen have general charge of town affairs, and act under authority conferred by statute or by the town meeting.

The town clerk keeps the records, the treasurer has charge of the funds of the town and sometimes audits accounts, while the constable keeps the peace of the town, serves writs, and collects local taxes.

In addition there are a number of minor officials, such as tax a.s.sessors, pound-keepers, guardians of the poor, highway officials, and library trustees.

B. THE COUNTY TYPE

639. WHY COUNTY GOVERNMENT DEVELOPED IN THE SOUTH.--The system of county government became as firmly intrenched in the Southern colonies as did the concept of the town in early New England. Four factors operated to discourage town government, and to encourage county government, in the South. First, the Southern colonists did not come in small family groups, as did the New Englanders, but rather as individuals and from different cla.s.ses of society. Second, the Indians of the South were either weak or peaceful, so that fear of Indian attack did not oblige the colonists to congregate in small, compact communities. Third, the climate and soil of the South encouraged a plantation system which resulted in a spa.r.s.e rather than in a compact population. Fourth, the aristocratic type of society developing from the plantation and slave system prevented the rise of the democratic town meeting.

640. GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUTHERN COUNTY.--Though county government is also found in the Southwest and Far West, it is seen in its purest form in the South. Here the county was originally a judicial district, or sometimes also a financial district to facilitate the collection of taxes. The functions of the county have gradually increased until such local affairs as schools, jails, poorhouses, and the maintenance of roads and bridges are concerns of the Southern county. The chief administrative authority in the county is either the county court, or a small board of commissioners. In either case the administrative authority is chosen by popular vote. In addition there are a number of minor officers such as the treasurer, tax a.s.sessor, and recorder, all of them chosen by popular vote for terms varying from one to four years.

641. GOVERNMENT OF THE FAR WESTERN COUNTY.--In the Far West, likewise, the most important unit of rural local government is the county. The county is governed by a board, usually consisting of three commissioners. In general the officers of the Far Western county resemble those in the central states. (See Section 644.)

C. THE MIXED TYPE [Footnote: Sometimes called the towns.h.i.+p-county system.]

642. ORIGIN OF THE MIXED TYPE.--The mixed type of rural local government is a hybrid, the result of the incomplete fusion of the town type with the county type. The northern parts of the Central states were settled largely by immigrants from New England, while the southern portions of the Middle West were settled by pioneers from Pennsylvania and the states south of the Ohio River. The New England immigrants were used to town government, and endeavored to perpetuate it in their new home; the settlers from the South preferred the county form of government, and sought its adoption in their new homes. The result was a compromise, some functions of rural local government being a.s.signed to the county and some to the towns.h.i.+p.

643. THE TWO SUB-TYPES.--In the fusion of the town and county types of government the county system tended to predominate over the town or towns.h.i.+p form of government when settlers from the South were in the majority. In the northern section of the country, on the other hand, the compromise form tended to include a majority of the features of the town type. The result was the formulation of two sub-types.

The first of these may be called the Pennsylvania sub-type, so named because it originated in Pennsylvania, and then spread, with modifications, to Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and other states.

In these states the town or towns.h.i.+p authority is subordinated to the county government. There is no town meeting.

The New York sub-type exists in typical form in New York, but is also found in New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and other states. The town meeting is found in these states, and in five of them the towns.h.i.+ps are represented on the county board.

644. THE NEW YORK SUB-TYPE.--In states possessing the New York sub- type of rural local government, the town meeting is still important.

This meeting is similar to the New England town meeting, though it exercises less authority. All the legal voters of the towns.h.i.+p are qualified to take part in this meeting, which is held annually and on special occasions. At this meeting are chosen towns.h.i.+p officers for the following year. The most important of these are the supervisor, clerk, treasurer, a.s.sessor, and a varying number of constables and justices of the peace. In addition to electing these and other officers, the town meeting enacts legislation with regard to such local matters as bridges, roads, and schools.

In some of the Central states general executive authority over towns.h.i.+p affairs is vested in a towns.h.i.+p board, while in other states administrative authority is divided between a towns.h.i.+p board of from three to eleven members, and a supervisor or trustee. Besides these officials, there are a number of minor officers, including a clerk, a treasurer, an a.s.sessor, overseers of the poor, constables, and justices of the peace.

The county board continues to exist under the New York plan, but it is far less important than under the Pennsylvania sub-type. The functions of the county board are similar in these two sub-types.

645. THE PENNSYLVANIA SUB-TYPE.--In those states in which the Pennsylvania sub-type of rural local government prevails, general control of government is vested in a county board. This board is composed of three commissioners, who are elected by the voters of the county. In all of the Central states the county board possesses numerous powers, but the powers of the board are greater under the Pennsylvania than under the New York sub-type. Under the former plan the county board exercised four groups of powers: First, the levying of taxes and the appropriation of local funds; second, the maintenance of roads; third, poor-relief; and fourth, the supervision of local elections.

Besides the members of the county board there are a number of other county officials. The chief executive officer of the county court is the sheriff. The prosecuting attorney is an elective official, whose duty it is to conduct criminal prosecutions, and to act as the legal agent of the county. The treasurer has charge of county funds, and sometimes supervises the collection of taxes. He is elected by the people, generally for a two-year term. The clerk or auditor is an important county officer, as is the surveyor, the county superintendent of schools, and the recorder or register of deeds.

646. HOME RULE FOR COUNTIES.--Generally, county authorities are narrowly limited by the state const.i.tution and state statutes. This has always resulted in numerous appeals to the legislature for special legislation, and has lately given rise to a demand for home rule for counties. In the effort to reduce the pressure for special laws in the legislature, the Michigan const.i.tution of 1908 provided for a measure of home rule for counties. The legislature is authorized to confer legislative powers on the county boards, which may pa.s.s laws and ordinances relative to purely local affairs, provided such enactments do not conflict with state law, and provided, further, that such enactments do not interfere with the local affairs of any towns.h.i.+p, incorporated city, or village within the limits of the county. Such laws may be vetoed by the Governor, but may be pa.s.sed over his veto by a two-thirds vote of the county board. Another step toward home rule was taken when in 1911 California by const.i.tutional amendment empowered counties to frame their own charters, and, on securing popular approval, to put the same into effect. However, the charter thus framed and approved must first be sanctioned by the state legislature.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What are the three types of rural local government?

2. Discuss the nature of the town.

3. What is the origin of the town?

4. How is the town governed?

5. Why did county government develop in the rural South?

6. Outline the government of the southern county.

7. How did the mixed type of rural local government originate?