arV '* 1754^ 1 CITY PROBI CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY arV17546 ° me " Un,versl,y Llbra, T City problems, or m J 1924 031 2 34 002 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031234002 '"<"fl" if*-)* Pilll mm liSi u 1 < m CQ J3 W e o I z City Problems BY WILSON L. GILL, LL.B. THE PATRIOTIC LEAGUE NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA / I I \ The Patriotic League INCORPORATED UNDER LAW OF CONGRESS, 1891 to improve citizenship through training in citizenship Independence Hall, Philadelphia Wilson L. Gill, President Lyman Beecher Stowe, Secretary E. P. Goodman, Treasurer COUNCIL : Gen. James A. Beaver, Pa. Admiral Geo. Dewey, U.S.N. Pres. Wm. H. P. Faunce, Brown University Prof. Geo.W. Kirchwey, LL.D. Judge Ben B. Lindsey, Colo. Hon. Levi P. Morton, N. Y. Hon. Gifford Pinchot, U.S.F. Rev. Thomas R. Slicer, N. Y. Josiah Strong, D.D., N. Y. Columbia University Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, U.S.A. ADVISORY BOARD: Leonard P. Ayres Simon Grats Elizabeth P. Bemis Luther H. Gulick L. B. Bernstein James H. Hamilton Francis M. Burdick Esther Herrman John A. Cass Francis E. Clark John R. Commons Thomas S. Crane Bernard Cronson R. Fulton Cutting Mary L. Dickinson Charles F. Dole Oswald Schlockow Ruford Franklin Alden Freeman Merrill E. Gates Wm. A. Giles Arthur Goadby Frank J. Goodnow Wm. C. Robinson Theodore Roosevelt Wm. Jay Scheffelin T. D. Sensor Henry M. Leipziger Mrs. T. F. Seward Sam' I McC. Lindsey Albert Shaw James MacAlister R. S. MacArthur Thomas McMillan George D. Mackay Milo R. Maltbie P. V. N. Myers John H. C. Nevius Nanette B. Paul Daniel T. Pierce J. C. Pumpelly W. S. Rainsford E. O. Randall Kate B. Sherwood George H. Shibley Isidor Strous Herman B. Walker Wm. Ives Washburn Herbert Welsh James T. White Delos F. Wilcox Judge E. B. Wilcox Everett C. Willard Stephen S. Wise James A. Woodbum C. R. Woodruff Jacob Riis ORIGINAL MEMBERS : Henry Herschell Adams, Alice M. Bierney, Grover Cleveland, William E. Dodge, Dorman B. Eaton, John Eaton, Mrs. John L. Gill, Edward Everett Hale, Benjamin Harrison, Abram S. Hewitt, John Jay, Joseph Lamb, Wm. McKinley, La Salle A. Maynard, Henry B. Metcalf, El- liot F. Shepard, Samuel Francis Smith, Wm. L. Strong, George E, Waring, Jr., D. B. Wesson. Copyright, 1909 fJl£KTi W «*i CONTENTS Precept and Practice 5 PART I FRESH AIR, LIGHT AND ROOM FOR PLAY I. The Great Metropolis n Fresh Air in Cities 12 Why New York is so Crowded 13 II. The Duty of the City Government 14 Fresh Air Must be Tempered with Sunlight.. 15 The Need of Room for the Children to Play. . 15 Why the Streets are not Good Playgrounds.. 16 III. How the City Performs its Task 16 The Burden of Government Rests Upon All the People 17 The Building Laws 17 The Board of Health 18 IV Parks 19 Playgrounds 20 The Rights of the People 21 PART II THE CITY'S WASTE I. All Life and Work Involves Waste 23 II. The Removal of Waste 24 City Dwellers Cannot Remove Their Own Waste 25 III. Drains and Sewers 27 IV. The Cleaning of the Streets a8 The Removal of Garbage, Ashes, Waste Paper and the Filth from the Streets 29 Children and Grown People Can Help 30 The Disposal of the Dead 30 V. Reduction of the Quantity of Waste 31 PART III LIFE, PROPERTY AND GOOD ORDER I. Government is Co-operation for Safety 34 In Cities a Special Degree of Co-operation is Needed 35 II. The Protection of Life 36 The Protection of Property 37 III. The Preservation of Good Order 38 IV. Equality of Protection 39 iii iv Contents PART IV THE CITY'S FINANCES I. Importance of Money 42 Public and Private Motives for Acquiring Money 43 II. How a Private Individual Gets Money 44 How the Government Gets Money 45 III. How New York City Gets Its Revenues 46 The Burden of Government Should be Justly Distributed 48 IV. How the City's Money is Spent 50 Who Spends the City's Money? 52 V. How the Expenditure of the City's Money is Kept Under Control 53 For What the City's Money is Spent 54 PART V THE CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES I. The People and Government 56 II. The American System of Government 59 III. Who are American Citizens 61 IV. The Rights of American Citizens 63 V. The Duties of American Citizens 65 VI. Suffrage and Elections 67 VII. Political Parties 6g VIII. Co-operation and Civic Patriotism 70 PART VI TRAINING FOR CITIZENSHIP I. The Old Notion of Civic Training — a Failure. . 72 Why Educated Men Neglect Civic Duties .... 73 A Remedy for Civic Apathy Discovered 73 Value of Child Citizenship Recognized by the United States Government 75 II. Citizenship is a Practical Art 75 First Elements of Citizenship 76 How Government and Citizenship May be Taught Practically 77 III. A Petition for Citizenship and a Pledge of Loyalty. 78 Petition for Citizenship 7g IV. The Form of Government 81 What is a Charter? 82 A Fundamental Code of Laws 83 School City Laws 84 V. The School State and Nation 85 Introduction of Child Citizenship into the Pub- lic School System. , 86 PRECEPT AND PRACTICE THIS is one of a series of small books designed to convey to young people some ideas of prac- tical citizenship and to help cultivate the spirit of friendship, helpful kindness and co-operation. Such books alone, if perfectly adapted to their purpose and put into the hands of young people, will, now and then, prove to be good seed fallen on good ground. It is well, however, for those who wish to be a blessing to the young people, to recognize the fact that, as a rule, putting good books into the hands of boys and girls will not accomplish for them the thing that each one needs. On the other hand, they are glad to be led by older persons whom they respect, and they must have encouragement and both wise and constant leading, if the best results are to be secured. We have ceased to hope to see citizenship rise to the plane of perfection simply by means of teaching the words or the truths contained in the precepts of morality, but by daily and constant training of the children in the application of right principles to their actions in play and work, in school and wher- ever they may be. Necessary to such training is a 5 6 City Problems successful presentation of right principles, but that is only a part of the task. The other necessary ele- ment is a thoroughly practical and successful means for systematically training the children in the ap- plication of these principles to their daily life. So far as we know, no such means was ever both dis- covered and successfully applied in a large number of schools, till our experiments in 1897, which re- sulted in the Children's Commonwealth in its many forms of School City, Town, County, State, etc. Major-General Leonard Wood, Military Gov- ernor, introduced it into all the schools of Cuba; Mr. W. H. Babbitt, Superintendent of Public In- struction, has adopted it for all the schools of the Hawaiian Islands; teachers in every State of our Union, hundreds and maybe thousands, are using this method with good results, and teachers in Eu- rope, Asia, Africa and Central and South America have begun its use. By means of the Children's Commonwealth, pu- pils become citizens of a true republic, though they are under constant instruction and supervision as such, instead of merely subjects of the old style monarchical school government. The plan is very elastic and can be easily varied to suit the form of government of the community in which the school is located. This fact contributed to a most interest- ing development of the movement in 1908, when special Commissioners of Education from several countries signed articles of agreement in New York Precept and Practice 7 City, founding The Children's International State. Let us hope that this may become a valuable factor in the world's permanent peace, when the "lion and the lamb shall lie down together and a little child shall lead them." CITY PROBLEMS The following studies in city problems were pre- pared with the idea of presenting in simple form and in a way that would appeal to school children, a few of the main problems of government in large cities. Co-operation is the watchword of practical city government, and the efficiency of the city ad- ministration depends very largely upon the spirit of co-operation developed in the young citizens by means of the public schools. It is to be noticed par- ticularly that the great body of foreign homes and foreign voters now in our midst must depend upon the public school more than upon any other Amer- ican institution to open the doors of American thought to them. The first of this series of studies aims to bring to consciousness the physical conditions which make city life different from country life, and which com- pel the people through their governmental organ- ization to co-operate in the doing of common serv- ices. Particular reference is made to the change by which fresh air, light and room, the bounties of nature, become in large measure the gifts of gov- ernment. 8 City Problems The second study, while continuing the lesson of co-operation, aims to make clear the fundamental importance of the problem of waste. By homely comparisons the meaning of economy, the reduc- tion of waste and the removal of waste are ex- plained in their relation to city government. The third study takes up the problem of co-opera- tion for mutual protection, showing the greater dan- gers to life, property and public order that come with the growth of cities. The policeman is shown to be the protector of good citizens, and the Amer- ican idea of equality before the law is put in place of the too common idea among children that a po- liceman is a public enemy and that the protection of government is regulated by favoritism and political "pull." The fourth problem discussed is the city's finan- ces. The chief points here emphasized are that the citizens have to pay, in one form or another, for ev- erything that the government does, that the burden of government ought to be fairly distributed among all the citizens and that the test of wise expendi- tures is whether the people get a full dollar's worth of benefit for every dollar spent by their govern- ment. A blow is aimed at the popular fallacy that there are legitimate ways in which something can be gotten for nothing. In the fifth study, the rights and duties of citizens in relation to their government are briefly analyzed. The gradual growth of the idea of the political rights of the people is outlined, and facts concern- Precept and Practice g ing American citizenship, rights, duties, elections and political parties are given. At the end an em- phatic word is said on behalf of civic patriotism and co-operation. The sixth, and most important of all city, state and national problems, because all the rest are in large measure dependent on the way this problem is solved, is how to imbue future citizens with the best spirit and confirm them in the habit of co-op- erating for every good purpose. We think this problem is for the most part solved by the School City method of civic training, which is described in this part of the book. The only part of the problem left unsolved, is how to induce competent authori- ties to recognize this fact, to introduce the method into the schools and to make such provision for su- pervising the use of it, as they make for drawing, music, physical training and all other school work. Our friendly but discriminating English critic, Ambassador Bryce, has said that the one conspic- uous failure of American institutions is the govern- ment of our great cities, and every intelligent man knows this to be true. Wendell Phillips once said: "The time will yet come when our cities will strain our institutions as slavery never did." Is not that day now within a measurable distance? Most of our great cities have at some time been in the hands of a mob. In the summer of 1892, within a few days of each other, New York, Pennsylvania and Ten- nessee ordered out their militia, and Idaho called on the United States to suppress labor riots. More re- XO City Problems cent instances are fresh in mind. That is not self- government, but government by military force. Josiah Strong has written, "There is peril when the Goddess of Liberty is compelled to lean on the point of a bayonet for support. Sooner or later it will pierce her hand." The great experiment of freedom is going on. Through the ignorance of the people in regard to such matters it has been possible to squander the public franchises and in various ways to encroach upon the wholesome liberties of the people. It is of first importance that the young citi- zens should be ready, when their school days are over, to take up their responsibilities in the wider relations of citizenship with intelligent ideals, hav- ing been confirmed in the habit of performing their ordinary civic duties faithfully and for the greatest good of the community. A large part of the making of this book has been done by Dr. Delos F. Wilcox, a profound student of municipal affairs and a staunch friend of all children. WILSON L. GILL. CITY PROBLEMS PART I FRESH AIR, LIGHT AND ROOM FOR PLAY CHAPTER I THE GREAT METROPOLIS NEW YORK CITY, the great metropolis of America, is in some respects the type of all our cities. It is the financial heart of the United States. Prices, not only of railroad and other stocks and bonds, but of food and clothing and even of land and fuel in the most remote parts of our country are apt, to some extent, to rise and fall ac- cording to conditions in the city of New York. There is no other city in the Union in which some interest of every community is so constantly cen- tered. Even Washington, the governmental center of our nation, claims our attention only part of each year. Almost every problem of the cities of our country can be found in the great city and in most cases in the most intense form. Every boy and girl II 12 City Problems in our country ought to be made acquainted, at least to some extent, with the city of New York. For these reasons the following chapters refer again and again to conditions in the city of New York and what is done or should be done to meet them. Whatever problem is well solved there, is at least to some extent solved for the whole country. FRESH AIR IN CITIES In a great city like Boston, New York or Chicago, the people live so close together and the houses are built so high that the fresh air and the light which nature has provided for all mankind are to a great extent cut off from many thousands of families. In the country, where people live in scattered houses, and even in villages or small cities, where each family has a house by itself, with a front yard and a back yard, fresh air, light and room for play are abundant; and the school boys and the school girls can, on a bright day, get out into the green fields and romp with freedom, without once seeing a policeman or a street-car. All this is changed where the people crowd to- gether in the great cities of the world. In one dis- trict of New York, on the East Side, the people are crowded together more than in any other city of the civilized world. Fresh Air, Light and Room for Play 13 WHY NEW YORK IS SO CROWDED What is the reason for this condition of things? New York's fine harbor and its position as the gate- way to the United States make it a center for the world's commerce and industry, and America's greatest city. In every large city, stores, factories and workshops, giving employment to thousands of people, are established in the central district be- cause that is the most favorable location. On Man- hattan Island, which is long and narrow, the people have to live crowded very closely together in order to be near their work. The great majority of the people of New York live in tenement houses or in flats. The Hudson and East Rivers are so wide and so full of boats of every kind, that in times of ice, fogs and snowstorms the ferry-boats are liable to most annoying delays. Rather than be subject to such uncertainty and to losses from such delays, people prefer to be crowded together. There are many towns and little cities through- out the world that have become renowned, which have not a larger population than from three thou- sand to ten thousand inhabitants, yet there are pub- lic school buildings in New York which shelter above four thousand pupils, and the Hudson Termi- nal Building has four thousand offices which will accommodate over ten thousand men and women engaged in business, and whose elevators will trans- port 40,000 persons a day. 14 City Problems To aid in giving relief to the crowded conditions, one of the authors of this book undertook to make a system of tunnels to pass under 42d street, the two rivers, Long Island City, Brooklyn and Hell Gate. In 1893 all the necessary private and gov- ernmental consents had been given, and the work was well along under Long Island City and East River when a terrific explosion of dynamite in the tunnel destroyed much property in the city and made it impracticable to go ahead with the work for several years. At last it was finished under East River and is now known as the Belmont Tun- nel. In the meantime another tunnel and several new bridges join Manhattan and Long Island, and tun- nels have been made under the Hudson. This will make it possible for great multitudes who must be in the crowded city during the day, to spend their nights and Sundays in homes of the less crowded lands of Long Island and New Jersey. CHAPTER II THE DUTY OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT The conditions just described mean that here, more than in any other American city, the natural supply of light, air and room fails, and it becomes the duty of the government of the city to provide in some way what is lacking. This task of the gov- ernment is made somewhat easier by the physical conditions surrounding New York. Some cities are Fresh Air, Light and Room for Play 15 low, flat and swampy, but most of Manhattan Island has a good foundation of rock, and the surface of the land is not level. Just as important as the foundation of rock and the unevenness of the surface is the fact that on both sides of the Island are broad streams of flow- ing water. It is impossible for the air in the streets to be foul for any length of time when the East River and the North River are not more than two miles apart. However, this does not prevent a poi- soning of the air within the great blocks of high tenement houses with which this city is crowded. It becomes the duty of the city government to see that each family has access to the fresh air that sur- rounds the city and courses through its streets. FRESH AIR MUST BE TEMPERED WITH SUNLIGHT But even fresh air will not make children happy and grown folks strong unless it is tempered with sunshine. The high buildings, the small yards, the narrow streets and the little tenement rooms all mean that the sunlight is shut out from where the people live and work. This condition of things can- not be tolerated by a city that wishes to do its whole duty. THE NEED OF ROOM FOR THE CHILDREN TO PLAY But even fresh air and sunshine are not enough. The children cannot sit all day and breathe the air 16 City Problems and let the sun shine on them. They must be active. They must have room to play. Unless something is done by the government to prevent the construc- tion of buildings upon all the land, the business in- stincts of the owners will lead them to make the city one solid mass of houses, factories and stores, leaving only the streets open. The children must play in the streets if they have no better place. WHY THE STREETS ARE NOT GOOD PLAY- GROUNDS Here there is constant danger from wagons, carts and street-cars. In summer the pavements are hot ; there are few trees, no grass, and no place to rest when tired ; and unless the streets are cleaned very frequently filth is added to these disadvantages. It is plain that if the child life of the city is to be kept pure, strong and active, the city itself must furnish playgrounds in which the children may be free to run and play to their hearts' content. Craps and other gambling and indecent practices and bad language infest the streets. They can be effectually prohibited in supervised playgrounds. CHAPTER III HOW THE CITY PERFORMS ITS TASK Now, if it is the duty of the city to provide light and fresh air and room for the people, how is the task to be done? The city government is not some- i sp w \t 15] 'FlWilM'"'' rom the crowded streets. Fresh Air, Light and Room for Play 17 thing set over the people from above, but it is the people themselves, politically organized. Every voter is, or may be, a part of the government ; and, furthermore, the city cannot perform its duties un- less the whole body of individual citizens unite to accomplish that purpose. The city is not rich of it- self ; it has no magic power to do things. It can work only when the citizens contribute money and effort. THE BURDEN OF GOVERNMENT RESTS UPON ALL THE PEOPLE All the benefits of government have to be paid for. The very streets cost immense sums of money. Parks and playgrounds are not to be had "for a song." When the city tears down rear tenements it has to pay for them. And whatever is expensive to the city brings greater burden upon the people. Only a few of the citizens pay taxes directly ; but if these few are compelled to pay high taxes, the rest of the people have to pay high rents and high prices for food. In this way, the burden of expen- sive government is shared by everybody. THE BUILDING LAWS In order to compel the owners of land to build good houses, if any, for their tenants to live in, laws have been made to regulate the construction of buildings in the city. Nobody can build a house in a city without the approval of the Department 1 8 City Problems of Buildings. In some large cities a house cannot be built so as to cover more than three-quarters of the area of the lot on which it stands. This rule was made to preserve the back yards. The build- ing laws regulate also the width of hallways, the size of sleeping rooms, the number of windows and the means of ventilation. There used to be great numbers of dark bed rooms in tenement houses, with no opening by door or window except into the living rooms of the fam- ily. Now every room used for sleeping must be connected directly with the fresh air. The object of the building laws is to make the dwellings of the people as safe and as healthful as possible under the conditions of life which prevail in crowded cities. In some English cities the government has gone so far as to build model tenements and man- age them itself. THE BOARD OF HEALTH It is not enough to see that houses are built well. In a large tenement house where twenty or more families live, even if the rooms are light and halls wide and the means of ventilation good, one fam- ily can still put in danger the health of all the oth- ers by living in dirt and conditions favorable to dis- ease. This must be prevented. It is only the city government that can prevent it. The people must be protected from their careless neighbors. Not only must houses be well built, but they must be Fresh Air, Light and Room for Play 19 well used in order to be healthful. If the windows are stuffed with rags, or the rooms are crowded with sleepers, or refuse or stale articles of food are kept in the house, the tenants will suffer in any kind of a building. It is the city Board of Health that makes people keep their houses clean, prevents them from over- crowding, forbids people to live in damp cellars and condemns rear tenements because they are unfit to live in. The protection of the people from the greed of landlords and from the ignorance of their neigh- bors is a hard task for the city. The task is much harder because the government did not take up the work in time. It is quite easy to prevent the evils of tenement house life before the houses are built. But after money has been spent and the buildings constructed, it is very expensive to have buildings torn down or their plans rearranged. The city can- not afford to be a laggard if it would preserve the fresh air and sunlight for the houses of the people. The Board of Health has, within a few years, con- demned many rear tenements as unfit for people to live in. When these buildings are destroyed the city has to pay for them. CHAPTER IV PARKS A city's parks have been called its lungs, because through the parks fresh air, light and nature are preserved within reach of the people. New York 20 City Problems city has some magnificent parks. Central Park was bought by the city about 1855, and now it is valued at nearly one hundred millions of dollars. But the people, for the most part, live at a distance from Central Park. The best kind of parks for a crowded city are the little ones in the midst of the tenement districts. London has provided a great many small parks for its people. New York is only beginning to do its duty in this direction. Mulberry Bend Park, com- pleted in 1897, is one of the greatest blessings that could have been bestowed upon the people living in that section of the city. But this blessing cost money. Just the land and the buildings of the block where the park now is, cost the city about one and a half millions of dollars, or enough money to hire 6,000 boys for a whole year at the rate of five dollars each a week. But the benefits are much greater than the cost. If the people of the city had thought to preserve enough small parks in different places years ago, they would not be so costly now. Every one knows that Battery Park, Stuyvesant Square, Madison Square, Union Square, Washington Square, and the other old breathing places of lower New York add greatly to the city's beauty and to the health and comfort of the citizens. PLAYGROUNDS One of the costliest things a city has to do is to build school houses enough for all the children. Fresh Air, Light and Room for Play 21 How much more expensive to provide play grounds in addition! Most of the schools have small out- door playgrounds, but in many cases the children have to play in the basements, and now it is pro- posed to make roof playgrounds on the new school buildings. Land is worth so much on Manhattan Island that the city is driven to all sorts of exped- ients to provide room for the people's health and recreation. Colonel Waring had a plan to establish a market for push carts on the East Side. This would be paved with asphalt and cleaned and washed up ev- ery day, and be used for a children's playground in the afternoons. The city opened in 1897 two rec- reation piers, one at the foot of East Third Street and the other at the foot of East Twenty-fourth Street. Since then other piers have been opened, and it is to be hoped that many such piers will be provided in the near future. Parks, piers and play- grounds are expensive things, but the health and happiness of the children, and the grown folks, too, are more important to the city than the money it spends. THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE Every boy and girl in a great city should learn as the first lesson of free government, that the people have rights. They have a right to good govern- ment. They have a right to demand that the city should, be a fit place to live in. They have a right 22 City Problems to fresh air and light and room for play. They have a right to clean streets, parks and playgrounds. The people also have duties. Every right has a corresponding duty. They must learn to help each other. They must learn that all the things done by the government cost money, and that they them- selves have to contribute that money. Only good citizens can justly lay claim to the benefits of good government. ^Hn^ atiftw m "Mil **•& ^*fe4: « m s^^^t^^ ^ ^*^ ; ~ ;, i-"?:^ "fB oibunas lis oumlo. CITY PROBLEMS PART II THE CITY'S WASTE CHAPTER I ALL LIFE AND WORK INVOLVE WASTE WHEN a crop of wheat is harvested there are always some of the spears that are trampled down and some of the grains that are shelled and lost. When a meal is being prepared there are al- ways odds and ends that cannot be used. The flour must be sifted, the potatoes must be pared, the cores must be taken out of the apples. And even in eating the meal there is waste; for some meat still clings to the bones that are thrown away, and some substance sticks to the dishes so that they have to be washed, and crumbs fall when bread and cake are broken. This fact of waste is universal. The body itself does not use all of the materials which it takes into its organs. The polluted air is driven forth from the lungs before all of the oxygen has been ab- 23 24 City Problems sorbed. The food we eat has to be digested and separated so that the waste can be thrown off through the intestines. Even the water that we drink is used and then driven out of the body through the bladder and the pores of the skin, load- ed with the body's wastes. Indeed, after a while our bodies themselves come to be worn out and useless, and we die. The corpse is the waste prod- uct of our life. It must be burned or buried. Waste is not confined to the processes of nature. In whatever men do there is waste. The children in the school room cannot use quite all of a pencil or a crayon. The stub has to be thrown away. Even a book is worn out after awhile, and the torn and tattered wreck must be got rid of in some way. All machines, tools, dishes, furniture and all the things we use, after a time get old and worn out and useless. What is left of them is waste. When a house is built, there is left in the street in front a pile of waste materials that must be carted away. In every activity, where something is used, we find something wasted. How to reduce this waste to the smallest possible amount is one of the chief problems of life. How to remove the actual and necessary waste is an equally important problem. CHAPTER II THE REMOVAL OF WASTE Suppose that people should never clear away the crumbs and bones from their tables ! Suppose they The City's Waste 25 should never wash their dishes or get rid of their garbage and waste papers ! Suppose builders should leave the shavings and waste pieces of lumber and broken bricks and unused mortar in the new build- ings and in the street! Suppose the floors of the houses should never be swept ! Suppose the streets should never be cleaned! Suppose dead horses should be left where they drop, and dead men should not be buried! What would happen? In the first place, the mere piling up of old and useless things would soon stop manufactures, trade and travel. Nothing could be done because there would be no room for work. An old house must be torn down and the rubbish all cleared away before a new house can be built on the same ground. And, in the second place, if waste were not removed we should all soon die of plague and pestilence. The accumulation of unused food products, of the waste of the body and of the carcasses of dead animals would soon make a city, or a street, or a house nothing but a death-trap. CITY DWELLERS CANNOT REMOVE THEIR OWN WASTE In the open country, where every family has many acres of land to itself, the removal of refuse and other wastes can be easily accomplished with- out the help of the government. In a city it is very different. So many people live in a small area that there is no room to dispose of wastes on each man's 26 City Problems land. Perhaps, as in New York, the houses are built in a solid block, with only twenty or twenty- five feet of open space in the rear, and the street in front. To carry off garbage and refuse to a place where they would not endanger health, a man living in the heart of New York would have to go many miles. He would have to use a horse and wagon or other conveyance. But few people in the city can own wagons, and, even if they could, it would take most of their time to carry off every day the wastes of their own households. So it becomes necessary to have some kind of co-operation. At first, in a small city, the people may hire one of their number to do this work for all ; but in time the city becomes so large and so crowded that wastes have to be promptly removed from every house, or the lives of all are put in danger. Traffic becomes so great that the streets are filled with dirt . and refuse. Evidently the people must all act to- gether in securing the removal of waste. When the people all act together they act through government. That is the only agency in which every family has a share. Government is the agency through which all the citizens work together to accomplish ends necessary to all. Thus it comes to pass that the city government takes up the work of removing wastes. The City's Waste 27 CHAPTER III DRAINS AND SEWERS One of the first problems of the city is to thor- oughly drain the land. Almost always there are low places and swamps somewhere within the natural limits of a city. To prevent fever and malaria, these low places must be filled in or thoroughly drained. Out of the system of drainage, which, in the coun- try, generally takes the form of open ditches, the system of city sewers has developed. In a city, not only the water naturally standing in low places must be carried off, but also the water used by the thousands of families in washing and cooking, as well as the water used in sprinkling and flushing the streets. Where a great body of people live together, it is necessary to bring large quantities of water from a distance for domestic use. This extra supply must be carried away, when used, through the sewers. It has been found convenient to use this water that is always flowing out of the city through the un- derground drains to carry away all kinds of liquid wastes and the refuse of the human body. Thus a city's sewerage system has come to be one of the most important means of removing wastes and thereby preserving the life and health of the people. The sewers of New York flow into the North and East Rivers. Some inland cities have 28 City Problems a hard time to get rid of their sewage. If it is emptied into a small river, the water is made filthy and the danger to health involved in accumulated waste is not removed. Berlin, and some other cities in Europe, are com- pelled to carry their sewage miles away and use it to fertilize farming lands, which these cities own and cultivate. It would be better for New York and for every city if the sewage were not drained into the rivers but were carried to a considerable distance from the city and utilized. CHAPTER IV THE CLEANING OF THE STREETS In earlier times it was the duty of every house- holder to sweep the street in front of his house. Then the city began to do this work and to levy a special tax upon the householders to pay for the work done. Sometimes the city pays a contractor for cleaning the streets. This was the case in New York in 1865. But nowadays the city hires men to do the work and a special city department cleans the streets and removes the snow and ice when they block traffic. It is only by keeping the streets well cleaned and free from obstruction that they are made fit for the children to play in and the healthfulness of the city is preserved. The dust that blows into the windows of the houses from the streets when they are dirty The City's Waste 29 is a great menace to health and comfort. In warm weather and in wet weather unclean streets become beds of offensive filth. THE REMOVAL OF GARBAGE, ASHES, WASTE PAPERS AND THE FILTH OF THE STREETS An important work now done by the same de- partment of the city government that cleans the streets, is the removal of the wastes which result from housekeeping. Ashes from the stoves and furnaces must be taken away. The waste parts of fruits and vegetables, the leavings of meat and all kinds of food, the old papers that gather in every household, and even the dust swept up from the floors have to be removed. All this is done for the people by the city govern- ment, and the wastes are carted off and used for something, or dumped outside of the city. In some cities garbage is burned. In some, it is made into a fertilizer. New York's garbage used to be towed out into the ocean and dumped there. Dirt floated in and fouled the shores. It was then arranged with private contractors to save the grease and other val- uable materials and burn the rest. It is expected that, by careful management, the Street Cleaning Department will be able to get a large income from the old paper thrown away by the people of the city, and from other parts of the waste of which good use can be made. 30 City Problems CHILDREN AND GROWN PEOPLE CAN HELP In the cleaning of the streets and in the removal of house refuse, it is especially necessary that the children and the housekeepers of the city do all they can to help the government. Children will help, if they avoid scattering litter, and when they see fruit skins on the sidewalk, evidence of bad citizenship, will kick them into the gutter. Colonel George E. Waring, Jr., who was Com- missioner of Street Cleaning in 1895 and for several years, and was the first to thoroughly clean all the streets of the city, organized many civic clubs of children. These clubs rendered effective service in preventing the littering of the streets. Not only did the children cease to offend, but they persuaded the older members of their families to stop throwing things into the streets. The housekeepers can help the government by putting the ashes and garbage in strong cans and barrels which the city's cartmen can handle without breaking and without spilling the refuse on the side- walks. In this work all must co-operate and respect the rights of their neighbors, or the city government will be greatly hindered in its efforts to serve the people well. THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD In a great city like New York, it is no easy task to find places to bury the dead. Where the houses The City's Waste 31 are close together, there is no room for burial grounds. And, furthermore, cemeteries in the midst of a crowded population are dangerous to health. Most cities have to bury their dead in the suburbs or entirely outside of the city limits. In some cases cities themselves own cemeteries. But generally only the paupers and the outcasts are buried by the city directly. Many people think dead bodies should be burned for the sake of the health of the living. Paris has a city crematory. The policy of cremating the dead is likely to come more and more into use as cities grow larger and room for burials becomes more scarce. The government, in any case, has to see that dead animals are removed quickly from the streets and stables of the city. This is done in New York by contractors. In the summer of 1896, when a week or ten days of very hot weather came upon the city, the street-car horses died by hundreds, and it was no easy task to remove their bodies promptly enough to keep them from decaying in the streets. CHAPTER V REDUCTION OF THE QUANTITY OF WASTE It has already been said that the problem of re- ducing waste is as important as the problem of re- moving waste. Certain forms of waste cannot easily be reduced. All men and animals must die and their bodies be removed. But by improving the condi- 32 City Problems tions of health, the death rate is reduced and the length of life prolonged, so that there are fewer deaths at any one time in proportion to the popu- lation. Though the waste of death is inevitable, the wastes arising from human activity may be greatly lessened. The people of Europe are said to be much more careful not to waste food and other neces- saries than Americans are. Where there is abund- ance there is generally much waste* America is new, and the people have not yet learned that the resources of nature are limited. Our city govern- ments have been costly and extravagant. So also has been our private housekeeping. Now when the government is beginning to see that something can be saved or made even out of the city's wastes, it is a good time for the individual citizens to learn a lesson of thrift. By reducing the wastes of our housekeeping, the burden of the city government can be lightened and the ability of the people to bear that burden increased. To reduce wastes is the first duty of every man, woman and child. By saving our physical strength, by saving our money, by saving our food, by sav- ing our tools and books and instruments of pleas- ure, we are enabled to live with less effort and de- vote more time to study and thought and recrea- tion. The whole progress of man in self-govern- ment, in industrial pursuits and in knowledge, de- pends upon the reduction of waste and the saving of energy. The City's Waste 33 In a great city, people are tempted to be wasteful. There is so much money spent by the rich, and there are so many ways in which to spend money for use or pleasure, that people can hardly help be- ing wasteful. It takes an effort to keep one's self- control and be economical in one's way of living. Thus it is all the more needful that every citizen should cheerfully co-operate with the city govern- ment whenever it is trying to reduce or remove the city's wastes. Habits of thrift among the people are the best guarantee of good government and in- dividual happiness. CITY PROBLEMS PART III LIFE, PROPERTY AND GOOD ORDER CHAPTER I GOVERNMENT IS CO-OPERATION FOR SAFETY IN a country or an age where there is little or no controlling government, the individual men do about as they please. Murder, robbery, and disor- der go unpunished. Nobody's life or property or peace is safe. In order to secure safety the people associate themselves and pass laws against crime and disorder. The whole body of citizens combine their physical strength and delegate it to the gov- ernment for use, whenever necessary, against indi- vidual law-breakers. Whenever people want to gain some benefit they must give up something for it. In this case the citi- zens get safety by giving up personal liberty to fight when they are angry, to steal when they are in need 34 Life, Property and Good Order 35 and to make a great noise when they are drunk or happy. The secret spring of all government is this co-operation of the citizens to secure a common end. And just in so far as they do co-operate fully and cheerfully do they attain the end desired. In this case the end is security of life, safety of property and public peace. IN CITIES A SPECIAL DEGREE OF CO-OPERA- TION IS NEEDED Where people live scattered about in the country, each family working by itself on the land, there is much less personal contact between people. In or- der to have murders people must be together. Their interests or their desires must clash. In order to have theft, property must be accumulated in such a form that it can be carried off quickly and easily concealed. In order to have the peace disturbed there must be people close by to hear the noise. Thus it is easily seen that the protection of life, property and good order is of special importance in a great city. Here people crowd each other in their work, their property is close together, they jostle each other on the streets, they are kept awake nights and dis- turbed day times by each other's brawls and loud noises. Hence there is more friction in their rela- tions. Government in cities must be more active and regulate conduct more in detail than is neces- sary in the country. 36 City Problems CHAPTER II THE PROTECTION OF LIFE It is through the general police power that a city protects itself. The power is exercised by the police Department, the Fire Department, the Health De- partment, the Buildings Department and the Judi- cial authorities. The people of a citly must be pro- tected not only against murder but also against death by accident. Buildings must be constructed so that they will not tumble down on people's heads. Heavy tim- bers and other materials must not be dropped into the streets from scaffolds, roofs and windows; fire escapes must be constructed on buildings which are several stories high so that people can get out of their houses in case of fire ; a fire department must be provided to put out fires and keep them from spreading and to rescue people from burning build- ings; the storage of powder and combustible mate- rials must be carefully regulated; people sick with cholera, small pox and other contagious diseases must be separated from their neighbors; and the germs of disease destroyed. There is an almost endless number of ways in which the city protects the lives of its citizens. It is said that civilization and progress involve waste. It is especially true that the building up of a great city involves waste not only of materials but of Life, Property and Good Order 37 men. Here there are gathered many bad men and women, and many unfortunate and desperate ones. The excitement of city life and the fortunes lost and won in the centres of trade and commerce tend to unbalance men's minds. Whenever a tub of water is stirred, especially if certain things are mixed in, bubbles and froth form on the surface. A city is a great mass of human life that is being mixed and shaken and whirled at an increasing speed. The criminals and the outcasts are the bubbles and froth. The city must pay for its haste and its gaiety. It must protect the lives of its citizens from the attacks of the wasted men and women made bad or desperate, in many cases, by the very conditions of city life. THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY The same causes that bring danger to people's lives in cities also make property insecure. Burg- lars, pickpockets and sneak thieves find a rich har- vest where there are crowds of people and a great deal of property. The rich have jewels and silver- ware in their houses. Women go shopping with their purses in their hands and their watch chains dangling from their belts. Merchants and shop- keepers display their wares on the sidewalks. Ruf- fians can snatch things and soon be lost in the crowd. A man's neighbors are little protection to him in a crowded city block. Burglars can enter one house 38 City Problems without alarming the people in the next, for a per- son living just beyond the brick wall that divides two houses is, for all practical purposes, far away. And then in cities many people shut up their houses and go away for the summer. So it is only a very efficient city police department that will make a citizen's property safe. A trained fire de- partment is also required to keep large sections of the city from being swept by flames. CHAPTER III THE PRESERVATION OF GOOD ORDER A busy city is full of noise. At all hours from before daybreak till midnight the streets are filled with the rattle of wagons and carts. The street- cars in great cities do not stop running during any hour of the twenty-four. The roar of machinery and the cries of peddlers are scarcely hushed by the darkness. When there is so much noise that can- not be prevented, it becomes all the more necessary for the public authorities to stop unnecessary dis- turbances of the peace. Singing, shouting and carousing must be stopped when people are kept awake by them. Even relig- ious worship cannot be permitted to violate a city's peace. Much more, then, must processions, adver- tising noises and pleasure parties be brought under strict regulation. The people's peace must be kept. But good order means more than mere absence of Life, Property and Good Order 39 noise. Drunkenness, gambling and other evils must not be allowed to flourish in public places to cor- rupt the morals of the young and make the whole city a hot-bed of vice. It is also the duty of the city to preserve the quiet of Sunday so far as possible. The day which has been set aside by the laws of the State as a day of rest ought not to be turned into a day of carousal and needless uproar. There is a good deal said about "personal liberty" in these days, but the American idea of freedom does not mean liberty to do as we please, whether or not other people are disturbed by our actions. True personal liberty means that a man is allowed to govern his own conduct in so far as he is willing to respect the rights of others. But a man has no right to commit suicide. At least, the community does not recognize that right. And so a man has no real right to waste his own property or destroy his own health. For in so doing he decreases his use- fulness to the whole community and makes himself dependent upon others. A man's first duty is to make the most of himself. No man has a right to be a pauper or an invalid if he can help it. CHAPTER IV EQUALITY OF PROTECTION The police department of a city has the opportu- nity to make the people comfortable or uneasy more 40 City Problems than almost any other department of the govern- ment. It is the policemen upon whom the people rely for help in crossing crowded streets and for guidance in going to unfamiliar places. In this one part of his work a policeman may make himself useful or very useless and disagree- able, just in accordance with his respect for the peo- ple and his sense of public duty. But the greatest power of the police officer is in making arrests and in the enforcement of laws and ordinances. Under every good government, the protection of persons and property is rendered equally to all, and the laws are enforced without fear or favor. It is in connection with the police department that the citizens need most to learn the lesson of co- operation. Small boys think of the patrolman as their natural enemy and the station house as a place of terror. If government is fair and just no one but a law-breaker needs to fear the officers of the law. A policeman is appointed to help the people, not to persecute them. But the power with which a po- lice officer is entrusted by the community is so great that there are strong temptations for him to use it for his own gain. Sometimes people are willing to pay a great deal of money for protection in an ille- gal business or in a violation of a city ordinance. There is a wrong feeling among some citizens that a policeman has a right to use his power for the benefit of his friends. Even if open bribery is not practiced, the people seem to expect that "pull" and Life, Property and Good Order 41 "influence" will enter into the relations of the police officers and the people. All this is the fault of the people themselves. The policemen are the people's servants. Every citizen who is willing to get a special favor for himself or use the officers of the law for his own unfair advan- tage helps to make government bad and the police administration unequal and oppressive. The citizen may, by fairness and co-operation, create such a government that a policeman will be a useful friend to every good man, woman and child in the city. It is inequality and favoritism that bring oppression and fear. The government is what the people make it. Its success depends upon the spirit in which the citizens co-operate for common ends. CITY PROBLEMS PART IV THE CITY'S FINANCES CHAPTER I IMPORTANCE OF MONEY T is a very easy thing to talk of all the wonderful plans that ought to be carried out. It is not hard work to name a great many things that we want, or that the people of a city need. Every boy wants a jack-knife and a bicycle and plenty of other things. Girls want gold rings and fine dresses. Tired mothers long for a summer vacation in the country. But none of these things can be had with- out money or something that is worth money. The people of a great city need an abundance of good, fresh water; they need smooth pavements; they need many small parks and playgrounds, rec- reation piers, schools, libraries and public baths. But all of these things cost money. The city has to 4* New York Clearing House — the great Financial Lungs and Heart. The City's Finances 43 pay for the good things it gets just as a private in- dividual does. And so it matters little how well we understand what the city government ought to do and can do for its people unless we also understand how the city can get the means for doing these things. How the city's purse is to be filled is the problem of getting money. How the city's purse is to be emptied is the problem of spending it. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MOTIVES FOR ACQUIRING MONEY Men generally want to get rich. At least, they work for the sake of getting money or property; but the government cares nothing about getting rich. The richer it is in the possession of property, the less wealth remains in the hands of individuals. The government does not work in order to get money; it gets money so that it may be able to do its work. There are certain things which the government must do in order to be a government at all. The lives and property of the people must be protected, and the other ends for which government is organ- ized, must be fulfilled. In order to do these things, the city or the State authority must have money, but it does not care for more than enough to accom- plish its purpose. The individual man is not satis- fied to get simply what he most needs; he wants more; he will take all he can get with a reasonable amount of effort. The individual is bound to spend no more than he gets; otherwise he would be a 44 City Problems bankrupt. On the other hand, the city proceeds in the first place to find out how much it wants to spend, and then raises money for its proposed ex- penditures and no more. This method of doing things is made possible by the city's having power to raise money by way of taxation and to take pri- vate property for public use. The city can fix its in- come according to its proposed expenditures, while the private individual is compelled to limit his ex- penditures in accordance with his income. CHAPTER II HOW A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL GETS MONEY A man may get money in several ways. He may earn it by the labor of his hands or the work of his brain. He may receive it as interest on money loaned, or as rent on houses and lands which he has let. Sometimes a man has misfortunes and cannot satisfy his needs out of his regular income. Un- less he has laid something by for such an emergency, he is compelled to get money in other than the ordi- nary ways. If he has credit for honesty, ability or the pos- session of property worth money, he may be able to borrow what he wants. If he has no credit and can give no security, he is compelled to do without the money he needs, or else to beg or steal it. Some- times — indeed, very often in centres of trade — men borrow money because they want to use it in some The City's Finances '45 enterprise. In this case they expect to make more out of its use than the interest which they have to pay the lender. Indeed men often inherit property or receive gifts when they are not at all in need. And thieves do not always steal because they could not live without it. The thrifty man earns his money as he goes, or, if he borrows any, he does so in order to invest it and make more. The citizen who is not thrifty may borrow in order to throw the burdens of to-day upon the shoulders of to-morrow; or if he does not even have hope for better fortune in the future, he may beg or steal. The professional beggar has to be dealt with by law. It is unlawful to ask alms on the streets of New York City without a permit; and, of course, stealing is prohibited everywhere in the enlightened world. HOW THE GOVERNMENT GETS MONEY Like the private individual, the government may earn money, borrow money, receive money as a gift, or take it by force. The city may own houses and lands and rent them out to private tenants the same as any other landlord. The city may invest money and manage water works, or gas works, or street railways for profit. The city may lend money on interest to individual citizens, or may subscribe to the stock of private companies and get a revenue from its shares. Borrowing is one of the most frequent acts of a 46 City Problems city ; and it is not altogether uncommon for the city to receive gifts and grants from generous citizens. But, after all, the most important method in use by cities for the purpose of getting revenue is taxation in one form or another. Taxation is not robbery unless it is manifestly unjust and burdensome, for taxes are levied according to rules of law and for the benefit of all. The government has the right to take private property for public purposes if it pays the owner what the property is worth. In the case of taxation the government returns to the tax payers the worth of their money in the benefits of protection and the promotion of general well-being. There is one other way in which the public treasury is supplied, and that is by selling special privileges to individ- uals who wish to carry on certain kinds of business. The city sells its franchises for the use of the streets, grants permits to fruit stands and licenses peddlers and pawn-brokers. CHAPTER III HOW NEW YORK CITY GETS ITS REVENUES The City of New York owned in 1896 lands and buildings valued at more than two hundred millions of dollars. Most of this property brought no reve- nue ; but the docks brought in more than two million dollars of rents; the ferries yielded a revenue of more than three hundred thousand dollars; the The City's Finances 47 markets paid nearly as much into the city's purse; and the water works furnished an item of more than four million dollars of the city's income. The City of New York borrows a great deal of money. As taxes are not paid until October, the city has to borrow money to carry on its work for the first nine months of every year. These loans are paid back at the end of the year when the taxes have been paid. But for great works of permanent usefulness, such as the building of school houses and bridges, the purchase and improvement of lands for parks and the construction of new docks, the city issues bonds, bearing interest and payable in twenty, thirty, forty or perhaps fifty years. It is believed that the tax payers for a long series of years ought, in justice, to be required to pay a part of the ex- penses incurred for lasting benefits to the public. In 1896, New York City raised more than forty million dollars by direct tax on private property. All of the land, buildings and personal property in New York City is assessed by the City Department of Taxes and Assessments. This estimate of value forms the basis for taxation. Certain kinds of property do not have to pay taxes. This is the case with the property of the city, that of the State and that of the Federal Gov- ernment, as well as with the property of religious, charitable and educational institutions. The total amount of property subject to taxation in the city in 1896 was valued at $2,100,000,000. The property to be taxed is divided by the amount 48 City Problems of taxes to be raised in order to get the tax rate. In 1896 the tax rate was 2.14. This meant that every person had to pay the city $2.14 on every $100 worth of taxable property he possessed. Besides the amount of money received from prop- erty, loans and general taxation, the city got more than three million dollars from the liquor tax and about as much from special assessments, as well as large sums from various kinds of permits and li- censes. Special assessments are levies made upon land to pay for the improvement of the adjoining streets or the construction of sewers and the laying of water pipes. In every case where a special assessment is levied it is supposed that the property which has to pay it, is benefitted by the improvement, for the ex- pense of which the assessment is made. THE BURDEN OF GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE JUSTLY DISTRIBUTED Government is a burden, and the size of the bur- den is measured by the cost of the government to the people. A city might pay all its expenses, per- haps, by the single tax upon land rents, or, by itself going into some profitable manufacturing or com- mercial enterprise; but the cost of the government would have to come out of the people's pocket in some way. If they do not pay in taxes, they may pay in rents or high prices for their food and clothing ; or indeed, The City's Finances 49 they may pay by simply losing the opportunity for doing the work which the city has undertaken. Some one must bear the burden of government. All ought to help bear it. The problem in raising revenue for a city is, how shall we get the funds required in such a way that every citizen shall contribute his just share? When- ever a city gives away franchises and privileges that are of great financial value, it robs the people and gives their property to specially favored individuals. The burden falls all the heavier upon the people whose property has been thus taken away. If a citizen is compelled to pay $1.25 for gas when sixty or seventy-five cents would be a fair price ac- cording to cost, he is, for all practical purposes, robbed of the extra amount for the benefit of the gas companies. This robbery is done by the gov- ernment or under its sanction, because gas could not be furnished unless the government had given the privilege to the gas companies of laying pipes under the public streets. Of course, citizens should not charge their gov- ernment with having robbed them unless they are sure that the robbery has been done. The cost of gas is greater in some places than in others, and may not be as low as agitators say it is. If the burden of government is to be distributed justly, every citizen must be willing to carry his share, and must not only demand that his own rights be respected, but must respect the rights of others also. A good citizen will not allow himself SO City Problems to be robbed or imposed upon, and he will not try to rob or impose upon his fellow citizens. What has been said of the gas franchises might also be said of street railway franchises and other privileges granted for the use of the public streets. CHAPTER IV HOW THE CITY'S MONEY IS SPENT If we have already seen that the filling of the city's purse is a very difficult task to perform justly, what shall we say as to the dangers in emptying it? Who shall spend the city's money? How shall it be spent and for what purposes? The test of good government, so far as it is concerned with the spend- ing of money, is found in this question: Does the city get a full dollar's worth for every dollar spent? or does some part of the worth of the public money go to waste or into the pockets of persons who have no claim to it? There are three chief dangers connected with the expenditure of public funds. In the first place, the city is not a natural person, and so is unable to attend directly to its own affairs. Somebody must be trusted to do the business of the people. The agents chosen for this purpose may sometimes be dishonest. In that case, there is danger that public money will be stolen. Corrupt officials may plunder the city. This may happen now and then, no mat- ter how careful and intelligent the voters are; but, The City's Finances 51 in general, the danger of public plunder is just in proportion to the carelessness and dishonesty of the citizens themselves. In the second place, even where actual plunder is not known, there is great danger of extravagance. People think the city is rich because it has the re- sources of the whole body of citizens behind it. The increased burden of a single extravagant expendi- ture is not felt by anyone in particular ; but it is the little extravagances that add up to make the grand total of oppressive taxation. A dollar wasted by the city counts for just as much as a dollar wasted by a poor washerwoman. Waste is always bad, even though its immediate effect cannot be seen. The city cannot afford to pay higher salaries, and higher wages and higher prices than private per- sons pay, just because it is rich. The city is not richer than all its citizens. But, on the other hand, oftentimes a city government goes to the opposite extreme and is too penurious or economical. This course involves a third danger, that of parsimony. A city cannot afford to live "from hand to mouth." There is such a thing as being too stingy or too poor, to live cheaply. It costs more to buy coal by the basket than to buy it by the ton. A city that puts off spending money for necessary things until the last minute, or that spends money on great pro- jects by driblets, is sure to burden itself by reason of its parsimony. The government should always adopt a liberal and far-seeing policy in the expenditure of the pub- 52 City Problems lie money. Parks and school grounds should be bought before their value becomes so great as to make their purchase almost impossible. The city must plan for its future; for after the present gen- eration of citizens has gone off the stage of action, the city itself will continue to use the means pro- vided for it by this generation. It may be that the welfare of ten millions of peo- ple, a hundred years from now, will be determined to a very great extent by the policy of the govern- ment of the City of New York in these days with reference to the problems of health, education and morals. The city has no right to be extravagant or to be stingy. The resources of New York are not the exclusive property of the present generation of its citizens. Their children and grand-children have rights which the government of to-day is bound to respect. WHO SPENDS THE CITY'S MONEY? At the present time, a large proportion of New York City's expenditures are fixed by the State Legislature at Albany. The charter passed by that body declares what the salaries of most of the city's officers shall be. Often the Legislature compels the city to undertake a certain work and pay for it. The most important city authority, so far as the fixing of public expenditures is concerned, is the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, composed of five of the city's chief officers, with the Mayor in The City's Finances 53 the chair. This Board receives estimates from the various department officers as to the amount of money needed for the expenditures of the coming year. These estimates are revised, and after being submitted to the Municipal Assembly, are finally fixed by the Board of Estimate. The Municipal Assembly is given the right to cut down the estimates subject to the Mayor's veto, but not to increase them. Of course the money of the city is spent directly by the officers of the several departments, though all warrants on the treasury must go through the Controller's hands and receive his approval. CHAPTER V HOW THE EXPENDITURE OF THE CITY'S MONEY IS KEPT UNDER CONTROL As long as the city has to trust a large number of agents to spend its money, there is need of some authority to supervise and watch the processes of spending. The Controller of the City of New York supplies this demand. He is, next to the Mayor, the most powerful city official. He is the general finan- cial officer of the city, and directs its financial policy, takes care of its property, and attends to the ac- counting and auditing of the monetary transactions of the city. There are four principal ways in which public expenditure is kept under control. First, the Con- 54 City Problems troller has the right to prescribe forms for the keep- ing of all accounts, so that every transaction shall be recorded in an intelligent manner and according to some system. Then, in the second place, the sub- ordinates of the Controller audit these accounts to look for mistakes or evidences of fraud. In the third place, reports have to be published, and lastly, spe- cial audits are undertaken by the Commissioners of Accounts appointed by the Mayor, and special in- vestigations may be started at any time by the Mayor or the Municipal Assembly. In these several ways, the attempt is made to insure an honest and careful expenditure of the city's funds. FOR WHAT THE CITY'S MONEY IS SPENT The most expensive function of the city is the protection of life and property. The Police De- partment costs more than any other. Next in order, comes the Department of Education. The cost of school buildings and school grounds, and the sala- ries of teachers will always make up a large part of the city's budget. The cost of small parks, of street improvements, of street cleaning, of the destruction of unhealthful tenement houses, of the construction of docks and piers, of a rapid transit system and of a system of bridges, will tax the financial resources of New York to the utmost. It is in the spending of money that a city gov- ernment meets its greatest temptation. The whole people should co-operate in securing a liberal, hon- The City's Finances 155 est and firm policy in regard to future expenditures. The back of the spoils system and political favorit- ism must be broken if the City of New York is to have a glorious and happy future. It rests with the rising generation to see that the city government is worthy of its opportunities to bless or to curse the lives of the millions of residents in the great City of New York. CITY PROBLEMS PART V THE CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES CHAPTER I THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT IN the early stages of political development, men are governed without their consent. The king, the priest, or the patriarch has absolute power, and the people have nothing to do with the government except to obey its commands and bear its burdens. In this stage of progress men believe that govern- ment is directly established by God, the supreme and arbitrary ruler of men. The monarch is his representative. The people have duties, but no rights. They are subjects of an arbitrary govern- ment, not citizens of a popular state. This condition of things exists to-day in Russia and China. But the people of every progressive race are not satisfied to remain without rights. They begin to assert themselves and to claim that they 56 The Citizen: His Rights and Duties 57 have natural rights to life, liberty and property, which even the government must respect. They do not yet claim a share in the work of government, but are content to allow the kings or nobility to keep their places, subject to limitations. The limited monarchies of Europe, such as Prussia and Austria, have not yet passed entirely beyond this second stage, where the people have both rights and duties, although their rights do not include the right to choose the government under which they are to live. In the next stage of progress the people begin to discover that they should make their own govern- ments. The doctrine that the people are sovereign comes to be accepted. Even in this stage of develop- ment a nation like the English may be willing to keep the forms of monarchy, but the people insist that their chosen representatives shall be the real rulers. In many cases, however, even the forms of mon- archy have been done away with, and we have re- publics, where the officers of the government are all chosen directly or indirectly by the people them- selves. In this third stage, government is no longer set over the people from above, but is created by the people. Still the people do not govern themselves directly. They delegate their powers to chosen representa- tives. It often happens that men whom the people choose do not represent the people's wishes accu- rately, or even intentionally refuse to do the things for which they were chosen. The people have to 58 City Problems risk something whenever they appoint some one to do their work for them. There is a fourth stage in political progress in which the people do not trust even their chosen rep- resentatives with discretionary powers of govern- ment. The people themselves meet in public as- semblies and pass laws or have laws referred to them at the ballot box. In ancient Athens there were two classes of people, citizens and slaves. The whole body of the citizens governed the city in popular assembly. The slaves had no political rights. Such injustice always brings trouble to a people, and if the injustice is not corrected, the gov- ernment perished, as occurred in Athens. In modern times, when slavery has been abolished and cities have grown to be very populous and small states have been united into great nations under one government, it is no longer possible for all the peo- ple to leave their work and come together for the purpose of self-government. Yet in the town meet- ings of New England this system is still in use. Indeed, the city of Detroit used to have citizens' meetings until 1873, when the city had grown so large that the meetings became riotous. Although cities and states can no longer be gov- erned by popular assemblies, a scheme has been de- vised for bringing about direct self-government in another way. Laws or projects are sometimes sub- mitted to the people to be voted on, and in Switzer- land the people can themselves draw up laws and require them to be submitted to popular vote. It The Citizen : His Rights and Duties 59 seems probable that in spite of our large areas and our numerous population, government by the people will gain ground and we shall sooner or later have truly democratic institutions. Already the "Initia- tive," by which the people can initiate laws, and the "Referendum," which requires that laws shall be referred to the people before adoption, have made considerable progress in the United States. The whole progress through the four stages of government, described here has been the result of a growing consciousness of their rights on the part of the common people. And with this process of development, the common people have come to feel more and more the responsibility of government, and to realize that it is only by co-operation for the common good that the people of a free country can secure for themselves the benefits of good govern- ment. CHAPTER II THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT The system of government which has been adopted in the United States belongs for the most part in the third stage of the development above described. We have long ago asserted the doctrine of individual rights, and have, by our national and State constitutions, limited our governments to make it difficult for them to destroy our liberty. We have also learned that the people claim to be sovereign and that the government must be estab- 60 City Problems lished by them. We wish to have no king or queen, no princes, no nobles. Every citizen is supposed to be equal to every other one before the law. It is our theory that the only authority which any man can acquire in this country comes from the hands of the people or their chosen representatives. Our government is representative or republican in form. We elect men and trust them with the power to rule over us for a certain length of time, at the end of which we may choose other officers if we so desire. We do not take part in government directly, except in town meetings and school dis- trict meetings, and by voting on special questions submitted to us, or when we are chosen to office by our fellow citizens. The American system of free representative gov- ernment is the result of a long process of growth. It was not made in a day. Our Anglo-Saxon fathers struggled for many centuries to establish their lib- erties; and we in America are enjoying the fruit of their work. But "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," and we are sure to lose our rights in the long run if we prove unfit to use them. In fact, whenever what is called "boss rule" or "machine government" is established, we have already lost our liberty to the extent that the "boss" or the "ma- chine" has gained power to rule over us, as a king, duke, lord or baron. Many of our people have come in recent years from countries like Russia, where they were not taught to govern themselves. It should be the first task of the American people to The Citizen : His Rights and Duties 61 teach their own children and immigrants from coun- tries where freedom does not exist the principles of popular government and the rights and duties of citizenship in our great American republic. CHAPTER III WHO ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS? There are many people in our seaport cities, as well as in the other cities and States of the Union, who are not citizens of the United States. This is so because so many foreign-born persons have come to make their homes in this country. A free coun- try with much unoccupied land ought to welcome immigrants from any part of the world, provided that the newcomers are self-supporting and are in sympathy with the institutions of the country to which they come. Every nation, like every man, must first protect its own life. It is for this reason that even a free country like ours cannot afford to offer the rights of citizenship to every foreigner as soon as he lands upon its shores, without asking him any questions. We have tried to provide that when a stranger comes among us to live, he must prove his loyalty to our government and his desire to be- come a law-abiding and useful subject of govern- ment before we can give him the benefits of our citi- zenship. Who, then, are American citizens? First, of course, people who were born in this country, who 62 City Problems still live here, and whose fathers and mothers lived here before them, are citizens. If a man comes to this country after he is twenty-one years old, he must live here for at least five years and declare his intention to become a citizen at least two years before he can take out his final papers and have the full privileges of citizenship. He must also show that he is a man of good character, that he under- stands something of our system of government and that he is loyal to the Constitution of the United States. Foreign-born children acquire the rights of citi- zenship without going through the process of nat- uralization, provided that they are still under the age of twenty-one when their fathers become citi- zens. Aliens who have lived in the United States at least three years before reaching the age of twen- ty-one and five years in all, may, after they are twenty-one, become citizens without the previous declaration of intention. The United States owes much of its wonderful development to the people who have come here from foreign lands since the constitution was adopted. A hundred years ago there were a few more than three millions of people in the whole United States, and now there are more in our one great City of New York. In the whole country there are twenty times as many. This great increase could never have come about in so short a time if millions of foreigners had not come to live among us. In 1900, out of every one hundred people living WLM& «nua^ The Citizen : His Rights and Duties 63 in New York City, more than forty were foreign born, and another forty were born of foreign parents. This shows the immense importance of the naturali- zation laws passed by Congress to fix the methods by which a foreigner may acquire American citizen- ship. CHAPTER IV THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS America is known all the world over as a land of freedom. Some foreigners come to this country in order to find a home where they can do as they please, and many of these are much disappointed because they find that our laws and customs often disregard the principles of personal liberty. It may be that the American people do sometimes limit the liberty of individual action too much. But the important thing for every citizen to learn in this connection is that American freedom does not mean the right of the individual to do as he pleases, regardless of the welfare of his neighbor or of the community in general. Where people live together under one govern- ment, freedom must be co-operative. Every citizen must be willing to conduct himself so as not to seriously injure his fellow citizens. In other words, even a free citizen must submit to the laws and ordi- nances favored by the majority of the citizens. Freedom does not do away with the duty of obedi- ence to the law. 64 City Problems In what, then, does freedom consist? It consists, first of all, in equality before the law, so that every citizen has the same rights as every other citizen. All power comes from the people themselves and the citizens are all on an equal footing. Special favors to the rich, to the educated, to the high-born, or to the friends of public officers are directly opposed to the spirit of American liberty. Political favoritism is a relic of the arbitrary governments of the old world. Besides equality before the law, American citizens have other rights. They have the right to obtain property in any honorable business and spend it ac- cording to their own desires. The government it- self cannot take away a citizen's property without paying for it, except in the case of taxes, which are levied upon the people according to uniform rules. Moreover, citizens of the United States have free- dom of speech and freedom of the press. This does not mean that a man can tell all manner of lies about his neighbors, or even the officers of the govern- ment. A man is not free to ruin his neighbor's reputation any more than he is to steal his neigh- bor's property. Freedom of speech and of the press means that every citizen has the right to speak and publish his opinions upon any subject in which he is interested, provided he does not attempt in this way to maliciously injure his fellow citizens. Freedom of thought and of religion is a further right of American citizenship. Here also we must be sure of our ground. The Mormons in Utah The Citizen: His Rights and Duties 65 claimed the right to have more than one wife, on the ground that polygamy was ordained by their religion. But polygamy was contrary to the laws of the United States and the Mormons were com- pelled to give it up. Freedom of religion cannot be used as an excuse for doing injury to one's fellow- citizen or for breaking the fundamental laws of American society. An American is free to be a good citizen and de- velop himself to his greatest capacity. Of course, the ideal freedom, which has not yet been attained anywhere in the world, would give to all citizens equality of opportunity. Every man woujd have an equal chance to make the most of himself, without being hindered by conditions of life over which he had no control. This ideal of life cannot be obtained except after a long course of development in real self-government and political co-operation. CHAPTER V THE DUTIES OF AMERICAN CITIZENS Every right of citizenship carries with it a duty, an obligation. Something must be given for every benefit that is obtained. If people wish to be free, they must be willing to pay the price of freedom by performing the duties of citizenship and bearing the burdens of government. In America, as in other countries, the first duty of every citizen is to defend his country. But we 66 City Problems do not rely upon large standing armies to keep the peace, as the countries of Europe do. In the United States we have only a small regular army, and we depend upon the intelligence and patriotism of the citizens for our safety in ordinary times. Yet ac- cording to the laws of New York State and most, if not all the States of our country, every able- bodied male citizen between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, unless he is exempted for spe- cial reasons, is a member of the militia of the coun- try, and may be called into active service if there is need. Citizens may also be called upon by the sheriffs to help in the arrest of criminals who are at large. Moreover, all male citizens between the ages of twenty-one and sixty, unless specially excused, may be required to serve on the jury for the trial of their fellow-citizens accused of crime. Thus the whole body of male citizens takes part in these two fundamental functions of government, defence against public enemies and the administra- tion of justice. A further duty of citizenship is contribution to the support of the government by the payment of all taxes levied upon the people. In some States every adult male citizen is taxed, but the general Ameri- can principle requires that a man pay taxes in pro- portion to the amount of property he possesses. Of course, obedience to the law is a general duty of citizenship. Although men are not compelled to vote in this country, yet the grant of so great a The Citizen : His Rights and Duties 67 privilege as the suffrage, carries with it a moral duty to use it carefully and for the interests of the whole people. CHAPTER VI SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS Not every citizen of a country has the right to vote. In most of the States women are allowed only limited suffrage, or are not allowed to vote at all. Indeed, a man might spend his whole life in the United States in the full enjoyment of the rights of citizenship without ever acquiring a residence in any of the States so as to be able to cast his vote there. General Zachary Taylor, who was chosen President in 1848, had never cast a vote at a presidential elec- tion. In order to be able to vote in New York, a person must be a citizen of the United States, at least twenty-one years of age, and must have resided in the State for at least one year, in the county for four months, and in the election district for thirty days. Moreover, he must have been a citizen for three months before election. Persons who have been convicted of bribery or any other infamous crime, and Indians not taxed, cannot vote. Women are entitled to vote for school officers in New York and some of the other States where such officers are elective. In New York City, where all school officers are appointed, women have 68 City Problems no voting right at all. In Colorado, and some of the other western States, however, women can vote the same as men. Elections are held for the United States congress- men and for State officers every even numbered year in New York. In the odd numbered years, munic- ipal elections are held in New York City and the other cities of the State of New York. Citizens vote by secret ballot so that no one can tell how any elector votes unless the elector him- self wishes to have it known. In this way the poor man is protected from the intimidation of the rich, and the humblest citizen is free to vote as he chooses without fear. The system of secret voting, as regu- lated by the election laws, also prevents bribery by political parties and candidates for office. Without very stringent laws it has been found that often the will of the intelligent and honest citi- zen is defeated by corruption at elections. There are always some bad citizens who will sell their votes for money, and thus betray their trust as voters in a free country. And generally there are men or parties willing to pay money for votes, if cast in a way that will bring them personal advan- tage. The only safe-guard of free government is an hon- est ballot cast by an intelligent and faithful citizen. A man that will buy or sell a vote is a traitor as much as a man that will bear arms against his gov- ernment, even though the laws do not treat him as such. The Citizen: His Rights and Duties 69 CHAPTER VII POLITICAL PARTIES In every country where the people rule, they or- ganize into two or more political parties. Parties are necessary in order to give the citizens an orga- nized method of carrying out their will. Govern- ment by the people would end in confusion and riot if every citizen tried to enforce his own views with- out reference to the views of his fellows. Organiza- tion into parties is a necessity. In the United States no provision is made for po- litical parties by the national constitution. But dur- ing the last one hundred years parties have become so thoroughly established that they are now coming to be recognized in the constitutions and laws of the States, as well as in the laws of Congress. Party conventions have in some measure usurped the powers of the people, but at the present time (1909) a decided reaction has developed in favor of a re- turn to more democratic methods. A great many citizens, however, are not willing to join a political party and be bound by its policies and candidates. These are the so-called independent voters, who vote sometimes with the one and some- times with the other of the great parties and often do not vote at all. Sometimes they vote for the best candidates, and sometimes for the best policy. A strong partisan will usually vote for his party 70 City Problems no matter who its candidate may be or what policies it may support. Sometimes, even strong partisans refuse to wear the party yoke. At such times there is likely to be a great change in the membership of the parties, or indeed the old parties may be entirely broken up and new parties take their places. The political parties hold caucuses and conven- tions in order to formulate party policies, announce party platforms and nominate party candidates for office. Then when the elections are held, the people practically have to choose between the parties that have organized and put up candidates. Whichever party gets the largest number of votes has the di- rection of governmental policies until another elec- tion is held. If the people are dissatisfied with the government, they may put another party in power for the next term. The success of party government depends upon the earnestness and intelligence of the citizens who belong to the parties as well as upon the loyalty and vigilance of the independent voters. CHAPTER VIII CO-OPERATION AND CIVIC PATRIOTISM As we have seen at every point in our study, the one great lesson that citizens of a free country must learn is the lesson of co-operation for every good purpose. They must be willing to subordinate their personal wishes and their personal convenience to The Citizen: His Rights and Duties 71 their civic duties. The people of a great city are absorbed in the struggle to make money or spend it. Business and pleasure so take up the time and energies of the people that they can hardly spare time and thought to attend to politics. But the problems of government in cities are so great that the best citizenship is required to solve them. Every dweller in a city should be a civic patriot and make it one of his first duties to make his city a model for purposes of residence and business. Upon the good citizenship of the people depend the conditions of life in which the homes of a great city are placed. The people's freedom, health, prosper- ity, and happiness, depend to a large extent upon the character of the city's government, and the char- acter of the government depends directly upon the quality of the people's citizenship. CITY PROBLEMS PART VI TRAINING FOR CITIZENSHIP CHAPTER I THE OLD NOTION OF CIVIC TRAINING— A FAILURE THE greatest and most serious of all city prob- lems is to secure the best quality of citizen- ship for all the people. The problems of prisons, courts, police and fire protection, cleanliness, health, beauty of the city, comfort of the people and the great problem of taxes are all in large measure de- pendent upon the way this problem is solved. In past time we have acted on the false theory that if we sharpen a boy's intellect and store his memory with a great array of facts and precepts, we have thereby performed our whole duty in be- half of the defense of the institutions of our country. This course we have been pursuing for many dec- ades in the presence of the two disheartening facts that the great majority of those whom we educate fail to perform their most ordinary civic duties, such 72 The Newly Elected Majt tesponJ Training for Citizenship 73 as attending primary meetings and serving on juries, and that as a result of this condition "machine gov- ernment" and municipal scandals have been com- mon in the cities of our country. Spasmodic efforts have been made to meet this condition and many good results have been accom- plished, but because of the civic apathy of the mass of our educated men, we begin immediately to drift back into the former unfortunate conditions. WHY EDUCATED MEN NEGLECT CIVIC DUTIES A search for the reason why educated men gen- erally neglect their most ordinary civic duties re- vealed the fact that from the time they are born till the time they leave the university, they are trained to accept and abide by government in which they have no part except to obey as irresponsible subjects, not as independent citizens. Their habits and character in relation to govern- ment are established by that time, almost beyond their power to change. Sermons, speeches, edi- torials, magazine articles, and all other means may affect their opinions, but fail to change their estab- lished habits and character. They may be per- suaded to vote once or twice, but that is the end of their civic activity for years. A REMEDY FOR CIVIC APATHY DISCOVERED This discovery revealed the necessary remedy, which is to train our people while they are form- 74 City Problems ing their habits and character to accept the responsi- bilities of citizenship, to make laws, to observe and enforce laws and to be judicial. Early in 1897 an opportunity came to try an experiment with this idea. It was successful and opened the way for a more extensive experiment in the Vacation School on Norfolk Street, New York. Colonel Waring, head of the Street Cleaning Department, and Theo- dore Roosevelt, head of the Police Department, gave their personal attention and official assistance in this experiment. Eleven hundred Russian Jewish children, from five to fifteen years of age, were organized into a School City. They elected a mayor, city council and judge. Departments of health, police and clean- liness were organized with the aid of officers de- tailed by the heads of the corresponding depart- ments of the City of New York. Mayor Strong visited the school and took an enthusiastic interest in the success of the experiment. President Hub- bel, of the Board of Education, was deeply inter- ested, and the Board made the method permissible in every school in New York City. Governor Wil- liam McKinley, of Ohio, soon after elected Presi- dent, and Messrs. Abram S. Hewitt, John Jay, and R. Fulton Cutting were members of the Advisory Committee under whose auspices the experiment was made. Training for Citizenship 75 VALUE OF CHILD CITIZENSHIP RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT In the fall of 1897 several schools in the lower east side of New York were organized in this way, and though excellent results were gained with the method, it soon became obvious that it was not just to the principals and teachers, or an aid to the cause, to encourage the adoption of the method in other schools in New York City before such provision should be made for the introduction of civic train- ing as has been found necessary for music, drawing, or any other subject of the curriculum. Since then a few schools in New York City have adopted various phazes and elements of the method, with good results. General Leonard Wood, when Military Governor of Cuba, put the method in use in 3,600 school-rooms throughout the island, by means of a Supervisor of Moral and Civic Training and twelve men to assist. It has been introduced by the territorial government into all the schools of the Hawaiian Islands. Some School Cities have been organized in every State of the Union and others in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. CHAPTER II CITIZENSHIP IS A PRACTICAL ART If perfect citizenship, perfect morality and perfect Jiving were found it would be hard to tell in what 76 City Problems they differ. Each is a matter of thinking and acting correctly in every respect. This is not simply a haphazard thing nor a science like astronomy, to be learned by reading, observing, thinking and mak- ing calculations. It is a practical art, and if it is to be well learned, it must be by the same process that every other practical art is learned — by the practice of the art itself. It used to be supposed that chemistry could be taught by books and lectures, but that proved a failure. The books and lectures have not been aban- doned, but to them is added work in the laboratory with real chemicals, and now chemistry is taught successfully. Anyone can see that it would be use- less to try to teach blacksmithing without the use of fire, tools and iron. Now we have discovered that citizenship, right living, morality, cannot be successfully taught through stories containing a lesson, nor by books on ethics, lectures, speeches, sermons, however en- tertaining and convincing. These are all valuable, but to them we have to add the actual daily per- forming of the duties of real life. FIRST ELEMENT OF CITIZENSHIP There is one element without which citizenship could not exist, and according to the degree of per- fection of this element the quality of an individual's citizenship will be determined. This supreme ele- ment, which is necessary for the success of any Training for Citizenship 77 democracy, is friendliness, which is expressed by the injunction, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." This is a scientific fact, and it is clear to be seen that citizenship must be, to be successful, almost a religion. Fortunately, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants, and all good people, gladly recog- nize it as their own and just as gladly approve of its being taught practically in our public schools. If a person lives according to this Golden Rule, he will endeavor to be intelligent in reference to all civic matters, to be faithful in performing all his civic duties, to help make and enforce good laws, to be healthy, happy and prosperous and to help others to be the same. He will accept office when appoint- ed or elected and will not shirk any civic duty. HOW GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP MAY BE TAUGHT PRACTICALLY Government consists of making laws, enforcing laws, or seeing that they are obeyed, and explaining laws or judging how the laws shall be applied in each case. Just as he teaches his pupils anything else, a teacher can teach them to govern themselves by making good laws and by enforcing and adjudicat- ing them, by being faithful as citizens and officers, by electing officers and by co-operating for every good purpose. They will be no less true citizens actually governing themselves because of the fact 78 City Problems that they are apprentice citizens, under instruction and limitations. The more responsibility given the pupils, the greater will be the value of their govern- ment for educational purposes and character build- ing. Boys and girls have equal right to vote and serve as officers. There must not, according to American principles, be any privileged class. Low scholar- ship should not disqualify one for office. Special friendship must not be the reason for voting for a candidate. One person should not hold two offices at one time. The president of the city council, not the mayor, should preside at council and town meet- ings. A judge and not the mayor should hold court and try cases. CHAPTER III A PETITION FOR CITIZENSHIP AND A PLEDGE OF LOYALTY The pupils should be led to desire to be trained in citizenship and to pledge loyalty to their own government. It is desirable to have a record of an expression of their wish and of their pledge, for the moral effect and for study. A convenient way to make this record is by means of their signing a pe- tition for citizenship which states the principle rea- sons for asking for civic training and which contans a pledge of loyalty and condtions on which their citizenship is granted. This may be very brief, but it is better to let it be long enough to contain the Training for Citizenship 79 most important details. The following draft has been used satisfactorily in many schools. Children in the fifth grade can understand this with some difficulty, and those in the fourth can understand enough of it to make it worth while for them to sign it. It helps to impress the children with the importance of the whole matter. PETITION FOR CITIZENSHIP To Whosoever May Be in a Position to Grant Our Petition : We, the undersigned pupils, pray that you grant to us the privileges and responsibilities of American citizenship, now, while day by day we are spinning our lives into strong, unbreakable habits, and weav- ing this warp and woof into our permanent char- acter. We have learned something of the spirit of our American institutions, of the history of our country, and of present conditions. Though our people are prosperous, a deplorable civic condition has been pointed out to us, that a large part of the intelligent men who were educated as we are now being edu- cated do not perform the fundamental duties of citi- zenship, such as attending primaries, voting at city elections, and serving on juries. Thereby the dem- ocratic foundations of our great republic are en- dangered. We have been shown how we may be saved from such a fate by being trained into faith- ful and effective defenders and developers of the 80 City Problems democratic rights to which we are heirs, though we have not yet come into our heritage, and we adopt these words and sentiments, which have been sub- mitted to us, to be our own, and pray that you will seriously consider and grant our petition, which, stated more in detail, is : That we may be permitted to govern ourselves, make laws, elect our own legislature, executive and judicial officers, and be instructed how to do these things, and that we be given a charter defining these rights and duties ; That we may be taught, day by day, the rights and duties of citizenship, and the spirit of equality, justice, and kindness, on which they are based : That our teachers, as they train us to be indepen- dent in the solving of mathematical problems, shall train us to deal in the same way with the civic and social problems which arise daily in our midst; We ask this most especially for these two reasons : First, that we may enjoy at the present time the pleasure and all the advantages of true democracy, and at once begin active service for the welfare of ourselves, our schools, our community, and our country ; and second, that we may be fully prepared, and in the habit of performing our civic duties, when we arrive at the age of twenty-one years and come into our full heritage of adult citizenship. Pledge Recognizing that it is a great privilege for which we are asking, we base our petition on the following Training for Citizenship 81 solemn promise and condition : that we will be loyal, obedient and faithful to every branch of our gov- ernment from that of the United States of America and our State, to our own local School Republic, and to all lawful authority; that we will endeavor to make good laws and to observe them ; that we will use our best judgment in choosing officers; that when chosen to any office we will accept the re- sponsibility, and perform the duties to the best of our ability; that we will encourage and help our officers without reference to the way our individual votes may have been cast ; that if summoned to ap- pear in court we will comply, and give every reason- able assistance to enable the judge to discover the truth and to arrive at a just decision, whatever our relation may be to the case; that we will abide by the judgment of our court, when approved by the principal of our school ; and that we will, to the best of our ability, perform faithfully all the duties of citizenship. CHAPTER IV THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT The form of the government may be that of a village, town or township, county, city, state or na- tion. The best of these under ordinary circum- stances, for each separate school-room, even in the country, is that of the city. This is the most elastic. It can be exceedingly simple, with only three of- 82 City Problems ficers, a head for each of the three divisions, legisla- tive, executive and judicial ; namely, a mayor, presi- dent of the city council and judge, all the children being members of the council. There may be no clerk at all, or one clerk to keep the records of all three departments, but a separate clerk for each de- partment is generally better. There may be a treas- urer and a sheriff. In the higher grades it may be desirable to have a city attorney. There may be no administrative departments, and there may be few or many, with a commissioner at the head of each, such as health, cleanliness, police, fire, military, agriculture, industries, public works, games, athletics, editorial, Red Cross, international correspondence, art and ornamentation, etc. Several School Cities may be joined in a School State, with a governor, lieutenant-governor, chief justice, secretary of state, treasurer and any other officers and a legislature. The legislature may pro- vide for administrative departments and officers as occasions arise. Several School States may form a School National Government with its president, congress and supreme court. WHAT IS A CHARTER? The people of every city prefer to attend to their local public affairs without interference by people of other cities. The people of the State are willing that they should, and the legislature makes for them a law which is called a charter. This is a sort of Training for Citizenship 83 letter to the people, explaining how they may gov- ern themselves. It gives the name of the city, de- scribes the boundries, times and manner of holding elections, what officers may be elected and their duties and length of term of service and other de- tails. In this same way, the teachers or board of edu- cation or the legislature of the State may give a charter to the pupils. In Cuba, the United States Military Government under General Leonard Wood gave the children a charter. By means of this they exercised the functions of citizenship from one to two years before that privilege came to their parents. This charter is published in General Wood's annual report to the War Department for 1901. Drafts of such a charter may be found in the following books: "Outline of American Govern- ment," by Wilson L. Gill and Delos F. Wilcox; "The Gill System of Moral and Civic Training," a symposium; and "The School Republic," by Wil- son L. Gill. A FUNDAMENTAL CODE OF LAWS The following laws have been approved by many lawyers and statesmen and adopted by many School Republics, and they are recommended for adoption by all young people's republics. Other laws may be added as circumstances suggest. 84 City Problems SCHOOL CITY LAWS CHAPTER I. THE GENERAL LAW Do to others as you would have them do to you. This is the natural law, without which no popular government can succeed, and it is the general law to which all other laws and regulations must conform. CHAPTER II. THINGS PROHIBITED Article i. Do not to others that which you woud not have them do to you. ORDER Art. 2. Anything which disturbs the order in halls, classrooms or in any place within the jurisdiction of this government is prohibited. Art. 3. Anything which is profane, rude, intentionally unkind to any living creature or impolite is prohibited. CLEANLINESS Art. 4. Anything which detracts from the neat and orderly appearance of our community is prohibited. HEALTH Art. 5. Anything which detracts from the healthful conditions of our community is prohibited. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY Art. 6. Anything which mars or destroys property is prohibited. CHAPTER III. DUTIES Article 1. Every citizen is in duty bound to call the attention of the authorities of this government to any violation of the laws. Training for Citizenship 85 CHAPTER IV. PUNISHMENTS Article 1. Any citizen violating any law of this government shall be subject to punishment not less than a reprimand, and not greater than a withdrawal of the rights of citizenship. Art. 2. No punishment shall be carried into execution before it has been approved by the teacher or principal of the school, and then it must be put promptly into effect. CHAPTER V THE SCHOOL STATE AND NATION In a building in which there are several school- rooms, every room should be a city and the several cities should be a state. If there are several primary and several grammar rooms, there should be two states, one for the primary children. Otherwise the little children would not reap the benefit of serving as the higher officers of the state, and this is too valuable to be kept from them. In a school so large that only one-third of the pupils can be assembled at one time, there should be three states, and in a school of four thousand pupils, there can probably be eight or more states with advantage. The organization of the state should be nearly like that of the school city. The legislature may consist of two representatives, a boy and a girl, from each city. The presiding officer may be elected as in the adult state, a lieutenant-governor by the whole people or a president by the legislature itself. 86 City Problems There may be two branches of the legislature, but generally one house is better, being less complicated and furnishing the most desirable educational fea- tures. The state officers who should be elected by the citizens of the whole state are a governor, lieutenant- governor, secretary of state, chief justice and treas- urer. To these may be added a clerk of the legisla- ture and clerk of the court, and any other officers for which the legislature may make provision, and the legislature may establish administrative depart- ments similar to those suggested for school cities, with a commissioner at the head of each, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. Any difficulties or misunderstandings arising be- tween citizens of two cities would come before the state court. In a similar way the citizens of several school states may elect a president, vice-president and members of congress, and all that may be found de- sirable in a school national government will be easily developed, in view of the experience that will have been gained by that time, by both the teachers and young citizens. INTRODUCTION OF CHILD CITIZENSHIP INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Civic training may be thoroughly successful in one or many schools in any given city, but as long as the school board makes no provision for it, such as is made for all other parts of the curriculum, it Training for Citizenship 87 is but a transitory matter. Until such provision is made, normal school faculties are not apt to think it necessary to prepare teachers for it, and com- paratively few principals and teachers will care to bother with a subject which their employers con- sider of too small importance to be provided for or to require to be attended to. Until teachers shall have been prepared for this work in the normal schools, however successful they may be with their School City, their natural tendency is always to drift back to that attitude toward their pupils which has been made habitual through all their former experience as teachers. For this reason, every teacher, every pupil, every parent, every person who has come to see the im- portance to our country and to civilization of prac- tical civic training, beside the study of books on civics, should use all reasonable means and influence to secure ample provision for it in every school sys- tem. INTRUSTING THE PUPILS WITH THE DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP AND GRANTING TO THEM THE RIGHTS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. In accord with my duty to preserve order and to advance the welfare of my pupils and of the community, the follow- ing charter is granted: CHAPTER I Article I — Object The School City is a system of apprenticeship in civic duties. Its method is that of daily practice and training in the performance of those duties by all pupils. It is to raise the quality of citizenship to the highest standard; to in- crease the happiness of student life; to add effectiveness to the teachers' work; to set forth in clear relief that there is an object of education, greater than merely sharpening the wits and storing the mind with information, which is that the individual while young shall be led to form the habit of acting toward others honestly, generously, and in friendship; to co-operate with others for every good pur- pose; to govern himself fearlessly and wisely, and to use to the best educational and economic advantage, time, energy, tools and materials, as being essential to best morals and best citizenship: — First. By imbuing the character and habits of all its cit- izens with the principle which is the necessary foundation of all successful popular government, that one should love his neighbor as himself, and do to others as he would have them do to him: Second. By leading its citizens to more fully appreciate and utilize the benefits of education and the privileges of citizenship: Third: By leading its citizens to use carefully and economically the books, supplies and other property en- trusted to them, not only for the public thrift, but also for the development of a wholesome public spirit: School City Charter 89 Fourth. By training its citizens in the ordinary duties of citizenship; by establishing right motives and a high standard of official service; by preventing the development of the desire to hold office for selfish purposes; by develop- ing willingness to accept the responsibilities of public office and to render unselfish and efficient service; and especially by fixing a high ideal of police service, dignified, courteous, helpful, intelligent, not officious but faithful, making arrest only as the last resort: Fifth. By affording instructors and students the oppor- tunity and means to check every tendency toward wrong thinking such as manifests itself in profane and indecent language, in hazing, bullying and other unmanly and cow- ardly conduct and forms of anarchy: Sixth. By getting such good for the community as may be gained by enlisting the active co-operation of the stu- dents with the public authorities for desirable purposes; such as preventing the littering of the streets, the defacing of public and private property, the improvement of the general health and of the aesthetic conditions of homes and public places: Seventh. By relieving instructors of the police duty of school government, so that their undivided attention may be given to the work of instruction and inspiration, and thereby give them fuller opportunity to lead their students to the attainment of a higher scholarship and more noble character. Article II — Name and Territory Section 1. The name of this School City shall be deter- mined by a vote of a majority of its citizens at the time they accept this charter, or within one week thereafter. Sec. 2. The territory comprising the School City shall be the district in which the pupils live. Article III— Wards Section 1. The City may be divided into as many wards and with such boundaries as shall be designated by the City Council, 2 go School City Charter Article IV — Powers of the City Section i. The City shall be a body politic, with legis- lative, executive and judicial powers in harmony with the laws of the United States, the state, the city, county or town, the school board and teachers, subject to the guid- ance, instruction and approval of the teacher. Article V— Duty of the City Section i. It shall be the duty of the City to maintain such order as is necessary for the best interests of the school and to secure justice to every citizen. Article VI — Citizens, Rights, Etc. Section i. Every person who is or who shall hereafter become a student of this school shall be a citizen of this School City. Sec. 2. It is the right of all citizens to attend to their duties peacefully and unmolested, and to pursue their work without interruption in any manner. Sec. 3. The citizens shall have the right to nominate their fellow citizens to office and to elect them to be offi- cers of their government. Article VII — Duties of Citizens Section 1. It shall be the duty of every citizen to vote on every public question where there is opportunity; to use his judgment for the good of all when voting; to ac- cept office when elected or appointed ; to put forth his best endeavors in a legal way to secure for every citizen just treatment under all circumstances; to observe the laws and assist others to observe the same, and by every reasonable means promote the well-being of every citizen and the gen- eral good of the school and of the community in which it is located. CHAPTER II Officers, Nominations and Elections Article I — Officers and Terms Section 1. The officers of the City shall be a Mayor, President of the City Council, and Judge. . There may be a City Clerk, a Clerk of the Council, a Clerk of Court, a 3 £ u School City Charter 91 Treasurer, a Sheriff, a City Attorney, and the Council may provide for other officers. The Council may consist of all the citizens or of a few elected representatives. Sec. 2. The terms of all officers named in this article shall begin immediately following their election and con- tinue for ten weeks, unless a shorter time is fixed by the Council, or until their successors shall have been chosen, but no person shall hold two offices at the same time. Article II — Election Section 1. A general election shall be held as often as each tenth Tuesday. The first election each school year shall be as early as on the second Tuesday after the be- ginning of the first term. CHAPTER III Legislative Department. Article I — Power, Members, Etc. Section 1. There shall be a City Council, which may consist of all the citizens or of at least five members, who shall make the laws of the city. Sec. 2. A majority of all the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. Sec. 3. The City Council shall meet as early as the first Thursday after the general election. Special meetings of the City Council may be called by the President of the Council or at the written request of a majority of the members. Article II— Clerk of Council Section 1. The Clerk of the Council shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Council, deliver ordinances to the Mayor for his signature, and certify to all ordinances. Article III — Power of Council, Etc. Section 1. The City Council shall have the power to enact such ordinances and resolutions for the good of the citizens as shall not conflict with other authorities. Sec. 2. The City Council may at any time establish other departments not named in this instrument. 4 92 School City Charter CHAPTER IV Executive Department Article I — Mayor, Etc. Section I. The Mayor shall be the chief executive offi- cer of the city. He may be re-elected, but not at three suc- cessive elections, each being for a full term. Sec. 2. Whenever for any reason the Mayor shall be un- able to perform the duties of his office, the President of the City Council shall act as Mayor. Article II — Duties of Mayor Section i. It shall be the duty of the Mayor to commu- nicate to the City Council at its regular meeting, a general statement of the government and to show the moral and civic condition of the school. Sec. 2. To recommend to the City Council all such measures as he may deem expedient. Sec. 3. To keep himself informed of the doings of the several departments, and to give all such aid and encour- agement to the Commissioners as may be in his power. Sec. 4. To be vigilant and active in causing the ordi- nances of the city to be executed and enforced, and for that purpose he may call together for consultation and co-oper- ation any or all of the heads of departments. Sec. 5. To appoint commissioners of departments ex- cept as is otherwise provided for in this charter. Sec. 6. And generally to perform all such duties as may be prescribed for him by this act and the city ordinances. Article III— Duties of City Clerk Section 1. The City Clerk shall keep the papers and records of the city not kept by heads of departments or other clerks. CHAPTER V Administrative Departments Article I — Names and heads of Departments Section 1. There may be the following named Admin- istrative Departments, the head of each of which shall be 5 School City Charter 93 a Commissioner appointed by the Mayor, and confirmed by the vote of a majority of the City Council. The Com- missioners shall hold their respective offices during the pleasure of the Mayor, and until their successors shall be appointed and confirmed: Public Safety, Military, Public Works, Health, Fire, Parks, Games, Athletics, Red Cross, International Corre- spondence, Editorial, Agricultural, Printing, other indus- tries or for any other useful purpose. Sec. 2. The Department of Public Safety shall have gen- eral charge of the safety of the citizens, and shall have control of the police service. The Commissioner shall ap- point all police officers, subject to their confirmation by Council. Sec. 3. The Department of Public Works shall have gen- eral charge and control of all public works for the supply of water, light, etc., belonging to the School City, and of all work needed for the care or improvement of the prop- erty of the School City. Sec. 4. The Department of Public Health shall have general charge of all matters pertaining to, and needful for, the protection of the health of the citizens. Sec. 5. The head of each department shall, at the expi- ration of his term of office, render a written report to the Mayor and to all the citizens, which report shall be pre- served by the City Clerk. Sec. 6. The following named departments are suggested for adoption by the City Council, as soon as practicable: Fire Department. — The Fire Commissioner shall be the chief of the fire department and may organize the same as provided by the City Council. Department of Parks shall have charge of the grounds and of the planting and care of vines, decorative plants and trees. Department of Games and Recreations shall furnish, for the benefit of the citizens, rules and directions for the best 6 94 School City Charter practicable games, avoiding all games of a gambling char- acter. Military Department shall appoint such officers and pre- scribe such duties and regulations as may be in accord with military practice, but all such appointments, duties and regulations must be submitted to the City Council for confirmation before going into effect. Article II — Department of Finance Section i. The Department of Finance shall have charge of the finances of the School City, subject to the provisions of such ordinances as may, from time to time, be duly passed by the Council. The head of the Depart- ment shall be called the Treasurer of the School City, and shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the Mayor. CHAPTER VI Judiciary Department Article I — Courts Section i. The Judiciary Department shall consist of the City Court. The teacher (without whose sanction no judgment may be carried into execution), should be pres- ent at every session of the court, to aid and instruct the judge and all in attendance. Sec. 2. The City Court shall consist of one Judge, elect- ed as hereinbefore provided. Article II — Duties of City Judge Section i. The judge, on the day of his election, or the day following, shall determine the times and places of holding court. Sessions of the court shall be held at least as often as once each week. If there be no case for trial, it will be so announced and the Court adjourned. Article III — Jurisdiction, Power to Summon, Etc. Section i. The Court shall have jurisdiction over all cases of violation of the laws and ordinances, made in ac- cordance with this instrument. Sec. 2. The Court shall have power to summon any ac- cused person before it, and any such person shall have the 7 School City Charter 95 privilege of appearing once before the Court to defend himself from charges. Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the judge to pass sen- tence upon the accused as soon as he is found guilty and to discharge any accused person found innocent. Sec. 4. No sentence shall be carried into execution until approved by the teacher of the school. Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the judge to encourage brevity of speech and procedure and promptness of de- cision and action. CHAPTER VII Sheriff and Attorney Article I— Sheriff Section 1. It shall be the duty of the Sheriff to notify all persons whose duty it is to appear before the Court, in a manner prescribed by the City Council, and to enforce the decrees of the Court. Article II — Attorney Section 1. The Attorney shall defend the interest of the city in all cases of law and equity, and shall also act as public prosecutor. CHAPTER VIII The Teacher Section 1. The Teacher has the right to attend all meet- ings of every nature, and take such part as he may think desirable. Every action of every part of the government is subject to his approval. He ought to be present at every session of the Court and meeting of City Council. The teacher should bear in mind that the best results are to be secured only through his earnest and intelligent instruc- tion, such as is necessary in every other branch of school work. CHAPTER IX Reports Section 1. The Mayor, President of the City Council and Judge shall make reports to the whole School City, to show progress toward the School City standards of 8 96 School City Charter physical and moral cleanliness, truth, honesty, industry, promptness, obedience to constituted authority, observ- ance of the Golden Rule, faithful performance of civic duty, successful popular government, and cheerful, happy relations and conditions throughout the community; and also what remains to be accomplished towards these ends, and what obstacles to the success of the School City exist. These reports shall be made weekly, and at the end of each term of office reviewing the whole matter for the entire term. Sec. 2. The head of each Administrative Department shall make a written report to the Mayor at the end of each week and at the end of his term of office, to show what has been accomplished by his department, what re- mains to be done, and the plans which he suggests for ac- complishing the object of the department. The Mayor shall read or otherwise publish the same to the entire school. CHAPTER X Amendment and Ratification Section i. This instrument may be amended at any time by a three-fourths vote of all the members elected to the City Council; provided the amendment be ratified by a ma- jority vote of those voting when referred to the city for that purpose, and approved by the authority granting this charter. The above charter has been formally granted by the teacher and accepted by the pupils of the School, this day of Teacher Mayor. President of City Council. 9 CfnrnEll Hmucrsttii #ratettre Sliabg 2}all Ilihrarg Dttjaca, SJbh) $nrk THE GIFT OF