Why, it may be asked, is such complex machinery necessary in municipal government?  It is because social and industrial conditions (that is, the circumstances under which men live and work) are quite different from those that we find in towns and villages; and city government must be adapted to these conditions.

Conditions Peculiar to City Life.—­Let us notice some of the ways in which this is true. (1) The mere fact that population is dense increases the possibility that a citizen may interfere with the rights of his neighbors even in the conduct of ordinary business. (2) There is greater liability that public health and safety may be endangered, both in the homes and in the shops and factories of cities, than in less densely settled communities. (3) The opportunities for evil-doing and for concealment that exist in cities draw to them a larger proportion of the vicious classes who need control and suppression. (4) Finally, in cities it is less easy than in the country for each family to supply itself with certain conveniences, such as water, light, and transportation; consequently, the government must regulate to some extent the supply of these necessities.

These are some of the conditions that are peculiar to city life; and we find here the reasons why the government in a city must undertake a large number of functions.  At every point the safety of the citizen and his property must be guarded; and in a great many ways the conveniences of life must be supplied by the city or under the control of city officials.  Thus we account for the fact that city government is complex—­the principal source of the difficulties and the evils that we find in connection with administrative departments.

Fire and Police Departments.—­The number and the organization of administrative departments vary considerably in different cities.  Everywhere we find the police, fire, and health departments.  Fire departments are, as a rule, very efficient; for the citizens will not allow laxness in the protection of their property.  The efficiency of police departments varies greatly in different cities.  When the selection of police officers is on a political basis, the standards are apt to be low, and the police may then protect or even assist violators of the law.  Instances have been known where policemen received, regularly, money payments from law-breakers whom they did not arrest.  The detection of this form of corruption is difficult; nevertheless, if it continues, the people are evidently not awake to their own best interests.  In other cities, on the other hand, the police force is maintained upon a high standard.  Sometimes civil-service-reform methods are used in the selection of policemen; the passing of an examination is necessary for appointment.  This, with a fair system of promotions, should render a police force more like a military organization in its relation to the enforcement of law.