Elements of Civil Government eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 218 pages of information about Elements of Civil Government.

Elements of Civil Government eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 218 pages of information about Elements of Civil Government.

CITIZENS:  RIGHTS AND DUTIES.—­The qualifications, the rights, and the duties of citizens of the city are the same as those of citizens of the township and the county.  The qualifications of voters are also usually the same.  The duties of voters are the same in all elections, whether in the school district, the civil district, the city, the county, the State, or the United States; namely, to vote for the best men and the best measures.  Under whatever division of government the people are living, they always have the same interest in the maintenance of order, in the enforcement of the laws, in the triumph of right, principles, and in the election of good men to office.

GOVERNMENT.—­A city often has a more complex government than that of the State in which the city is situated.  The massing of so many people, representing so many interests, requires a government with strong legislative, executive, and judicial functions.  One of the great questions of our time is how to secure economy and efficiency in city government; and, as our cities are growing with great rapidity, the problem is daily becoming more difficult to solve.

OFFICERS.—­The legislative power is vested in the city council, in many cases composed of a board of aldermen and of a common council.  The executive authority is vested in the mayor, the city attorney or solicitor, the city clerk, the assessor, the collector, the treasurer, the city engineer or surveyor, the board of public works, the street commissioner, the school board or board of education, and the superintendent of schools.  The judicial power is vested in the city court, police court, or recorder’s court, as it is variously termed; in a number of justices’ courts; and in the higher courts, which are also courts of the county in which the city is located.  The officers of the city are usually elected by the legal voters, but in some cities the collector, the city engineer, the street commissioner, and a number of subordinate officers are appointed by the mayor or city council.  The superintendent of schools is elected by the school board.

DUTIES.—­In many small cities, and in several of the larger cities, such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, the council consists only of the board of aldermen.  When the council is composed of two branches, a law can not be made by one of them alone; it must be passed by both; and if vetoed by the mayor, it must be passed again, and in most cities by a two thirds vote, or it is void.  The council makes laws, or ordinances, regulating the police force; fixing the rate of city taxation; ordering the issue of bonds and the construction of public works; and making appropriations for public purposes.

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Elements of Civil Government from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.