floor," or by paying them outright for favorable votes and influence. This has been very much more profitable than paying to the city the true value of such privileges and franchises. II. Next to commercialism, the greatest obstacle is partisanship, or the prostitution of public office and public measures to party success. A party, as a means to an end, is all right and proper, but as an end in itself it is all wrong; and yet in the United States we have made party and party success the end to be attained. To accomplish this we have utilized the offices. They have served, not to promote the comfort, happiness, and well-being of the people primarily, but to pay off party debts and to strengthen the party's working force. III. During the Civil War, and for many years after, the rallying cry in our politics was "Measures, not men!" a cry still heard and still effective. So grave were the issues before the public during and immediately after the war, that they fell in with the idea that measures were everything, and men of but subordinate importance. Always a mistaken and unwise policy, it is still more so now, when the issues are mainly business ones. The conditions of American political life we have been discussing apply with considerable if not equal force to State and national, as well as to municipal, politics. Those which we shall refer to hereafter apply only to municipal affairs. IV. For sundry reasons which need not be referred to in the present connection the American people have formed an erroneous conception of the importance and extent of municipal government. They have come to regard it as of subordinate importance and have awarded first place in their interest and attention to national and State issues. As a general rule, we find more space accorded to news concerning the latter than the former in the newspaper; and the average reader turns first to State and national news, leaving to the last, and more frequently entirely overlooking, the doings of municipal officers and bodies. The same tendency is to be seen in the interest manifested in elections. At the quadrennial presidential elections the greatest excitement prevails; the issues are widely and earnestly discussed and the merits of candidates canvassed. The vote polled is larger than at other elections and many vote only at such elections. Gubernatorial campaigns arouse but little less interest and bring out but a slightly smaller vote. When we come to municipal elections, however, the vote falls off to a marked degree, and apathy prevails, unless some issue accidentally introduced creates a temporary interest; or the election can be construed to have an important bearing on national or State elections. V. Most if not all of our American cities fail to endow their executive officers with sufficient power to secure a well-rounded, continuous businesslike conduct of municipal affairs They permit the local legislatures to interfere to too great an extent in Conduct of purely executive business, with the result of preventing the offic in charge carrying out any plan involving careful preparation and slow execution. VI. Want of local autonomy is simply the operation on a large scale of the obstacle just mentioned. Not only have we erred in our general plan of municipal government by modelling it to too great an extent on our federal government, with elaborate checks and balances, a bicameral system, and so on, but also in permitting our State legislature to have too much to say as to municipal affairs. CLINTON ROGERS WOODRuff. INDEX TO THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THIRD VOLUME OF THE North American Review. The, 156. ABBOTT, FRANCES M. The Pay of College | Canadian Elections and Their Result, ALEXANDER, JOSEPH P. The Truth About ALLEN, GRANT. Novels Without a Pur- America, An Industrial Opportunity for, America's Duty to Americans in Turkey, American Bicycles in England, 688. Anglo-Saxon Race, The Future of the, 129. Animal as a Machine, The, 607. 316. Are the Farmers Populists? 266. Asiatic Labor, The Plain Truth About, Ballot, Why Women Should Have the, Bank Depositors, Protection of, 564 BASSETT, G. H. The Repeopling of Ire- BENHAM, GEORGE A. The Supreme BESANT, SIR WALTER. The Future of Bicycles, American, in England, 688. BLAND, RICHARD P. The Duty of the BLIND, KARL. Russia After the Corona- BOTTOME, MARGARET. Petticoat Gov- British Honduras, From a Silver to a British Press, The Power of the, 168. Can the Criminal Be Reclaimed ? 207 Centenarians, Women as, 755. CHATFIELD-TAYLOR, H. C. American Church Property, Taxation of, 254, 633. CLARK WALTER. If Silver Wins-Inevi- College Women, The Pay of, 337. Coming Struggle on the Nile, The, 326. Constitutional Changes, Inevitable, 462. CRAIG, HUGH. Reform of the Currency, Criminal, Can the, Be Reclaimed, 207. Cuba, What Shall be Done About, 731. Declaration of Independence in the Light Diplomats, American, in Europe, 125. Duty of the Hour, The, 362. ECKELS, JAMES H. Protection of Bank Buildings, High, 580. Election Trials in Great Britain, 573. Elections, The Canadian, and Their Re-| Jurisprudence, Criminal, Roman and Electoral System, a Defence of Our, 637. Engineer in Naval Warfare, The, 641. EVANS, R. D. The Engineer in Naval EWING, NEAL. A Defence of Our Elec- Experience, The Safe Pathway of, 385. Farmer, What the Country is Doing for Farmers, Are the, Populists 1 266. Future of the Anglo-Saxon Race, The, 129. The Teacher's GIBBON, JOHN. Why Women Should Gold Standard, From a Silver to a, in GORST, The Right Hon. Sir JOHN E. Great Britain, Election Trials in, 573. HALL, PRESCOTT F. Italian Immigra- HAMLIN, CYRUS. America's Duty to HARGER, C. M. A Problem of Aridity, HARRISON, MRS. BURTON. A Newport HARWOOD, W. S. What the Country is HAZELTINE, M. W. What Shall be Done HIMMELWRIGHT, A. L. A. High Build- Hindrance to our Foreign Trade, A, 438. Immigration, Italian, 252. Ireland. The Repeopling of, 753. Is Japanese Competition a Myth 1 144. 175. Anglo-Saxon, 75, 383. Justification of Martial Law, The, 549. KINNEAR, WILLIAM. How to Prolong 98. Stage Late Session of Parliament, The, 304. LIEBER, G. NORMAN. of Martial Law, 549. Machine, The Animal as a, 607. Martial Law, The Justification of, 549. MCCARTHY, JUSTIN. The Late Session MCCRACKAN, W. B. A President of No MERRILL, S. M. Our Electoral System, 402. MILLER, A. K. Reform of the Currency. MILLER, WARNER. The Duty of the MOLONEY, SIR ALFRED. From a Silver Money Question, Has the Election Set MONROE, HARRIET, Purpose in Art, 504. OSWALD, F. L. Storm Tracks, 115. Our Foreign Trade, A Hindrance to, 438. PARKER, GEORGE F., American Bicycle Parliament, The Late Session of, 304. PETERS, MADISON C. Taxation of Church | SPEED, JOHN GILMER. The Right of Petticoat Government, 101. Plain Truth About Asiatio Labor, The, 620. PLATT, T. C. The Effect of Republican Politics, Some Ante-Bellum, 195. PORTER, R. P. Is Japanese Competition Power of the British Press, The, 168. Prospects of Education in England, 427. Pupil, The Teacher's Duty to the, 56. Purpose, Novels Without a, 223. Privacy, 64. SPOFFORD, HARRIET PRESCOTT. Petti- Stage Scenery and the Vitascope, 377. State, The Ship of, Adrift II., 496. Stepchild of the Republic, The, 37. Storm Tracks, 115. Supreme Court, The, 505. Tame Animals, Wild Traits in, VI., 164. TAYLOR, I. A. English Epitaphs, 595. QUINCY, JOSIAH. Issues and Prospects of Teacher's Duty to the Pupil, The, 56. the Campaign, 182. THURSTON, R. H. The Animal as a REED, T. B. The Safe Pathway of Ex THWING, CHARLES F. Influence of the Reform of the Currency, 743. Relation of Spain to Her Government, Repeopling of Ireland, 753. Republic, The Stepchild of the, 37. Republican Victory, The Effect of. 513. ROBINSON, LOUIS. Wild Traits in Tame ROMERO, M. Criminal Jurisprudence, Safe Pathway of Experience, The, 385. Ship of State Adrift, The-II., 496. SMITH, ALEX. R. Our Neglected Ship- SMYTHE, W. E. The Stepchild of the Some Ante-Bellum Politics, 195. Some Memories of Lincoln, 667. Spain, The Relation of, to Her Govern- College in American Life, 517. TOURGEE, ALBION W. The Best Cur- TOWNSEND, Mrs. JOHN D. Curfew for City Trade with South America, Our, 716. TYLER, MOSES COIT. The Declaration of Vitascope, Stage Scenery and the, 377. The Engineer in Naval Warfare, 641. 509. Warfare, Naval, The Engineer in, 641. What the Country is Doing for the Farm- What Shall be Done About Cuba 731. Why American Industry Languishes, 488. WILLIAMS, L. The Relation of Spain to WILSON, JAMES F. Some Memories of WINDMULLER, LOUIS. If Silver Wins: Woman's Battle in Great Britain, 282. |