County government in America had its origin in the colony of Virginia. Very early the settlers of Virginia felt the necessity of some kind of local government, and they chose the English shire or county as the form most suitable to prevailing conditions.

The Virginia county was suitable to the civilization of the other southern colonies, and it was adopted by them as a unit of local government. Later, when the southwestern regions were organized, they were divided into counties of the Virginia type. That type, of course, has changed with changed conditions, and, since the county is a creation of the State, the type varies from State to State, yet looking at the subject broadly we may say that the following States have modeled their counties on the Virginia plan: Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Oregon and Oklahoma. In these States practically all the services of local government are performed by the county, for, excepting the chartered municipalities, there is no other local government in existence. It is true that in these States the county is usually divided into minor districts, into beats or wards or election precincts, or the like, but these divisions are simply convenient areas for voting or performing some public service regulated and controlled by county authority. In the States named above the county government, and it alone, is the agency through which the people outside of municipalities manage their local affairs, and in these States local government centers around the county courthouse.

The County of the Middle States and the West. Beginning with New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and passing westward, keeping north of Mason's and Dixon's line (40th parallel of latitude), in nearly all the States there have been established within the county inferior local governments known as townships (p. 210). These townships perform many local services that in the South and

Southwest are performed by the county. The functions of the county government in the Middle States and in the West are therefore not so numerous as they are in the South and Southwest, and the county is not so highly organized. Moreover, in New York, and in several of the western States the governing body of the county-the county board of supervisors-consists not of representatives of the people, as in most States, but of representatives of the townships, a peculiarity of organization that will be noticed more fully in the chapter on townships.

The County in New England. When we turn to New England we find that the county is not a very important factor in the business of local government. This is because of the presence of the "town." This characteristic institution of New England, as we shall see, takes to itself nearly the whole burden of local government and leaves little for the county to do. The county in New England exists principally for judicial purposes-in Rhode Island it exists for no other purpose. Nevertheless, it has a few officers and exercises a few powers similar to those exercised by the county in other States. It has (except in Rhode Island) a board of county commissioners which has charge of the county buildings, controls the erection of those bridges which extend from one town to another, and manages other matters of an inter-town nature. There are also a county register of deeds, a high sheriff of the county, a county clerk of the court and a probate judge, but these are really a part of the judicial outfit.

The Organization of a Typical County Government. Although county government differs as we go from State to State there is nevertheless a certain uniformity in the organization of counties throughout the Union. The official outfit of a typical county is as follows:1

1In no State has the county all these officers, yet every officer
mentioned in the list is a typical county official.

I. The Board of County Commissioners or Supervisors.1 This is the governing body of the county. It consists usually of three or more members who serve for a term varying from one to six years. It holds its sessions at the county-seat, where all the county officials have offices. Like most of the other county officers the commissioners are elected by the people. The county commissioners usually do the following things:

(1) They fix the rate of taxation for the county.

(2) They appoint tax assessors, tax collectors, road supervisors, and other subordinate officials.

(3) They make contracts for repairing old roads and opening new ones, and also for building and repairing bridges.

(4) They make contracts for building and repairing public buildings, such as court-houses, jails and almshouses.

(5) They appropriate money for the support of schools, for the support of the poor, for the payment of the salaries of county officers, for the maintenance of the roads, and for all necessary expenses of county government.

(6) They represent the county when it is sued for damages. (All local governments are corporations in some respect and can be brought into court to defend a suit as if they were persons.)

II. The Sheriff. In England, anciently, the sheriff was the most powerful officer in the county. In modern times, however, his power is not so great either in England or in this country. Nevertheless, he is still an important officer. He has been called the "arm of the judge." If the judge orders a man to be taken to prison, or orders property to be sold, or sentences a man to be hanged, the sheriff executes the command. It is his duty also to preserve peace and order, and when necessary he may call to his aid deputies. In times of great danger or disturb1 Still called the county court in some of the Southern States; in several States it is called the levy court.

ance he may call to his aid the posse comitatus, which includes every able-bodied man in the county (p. 253). The sheriff usually lives at the county-seat and has charge of the county jail and its prisoners.

III. The Clerk of the Circuit, or District Court. Any court above a police court, or above that of a justice of the peace, is a "court of record"; that is, its proceedings are enrolled in permanent form. In every county there is a court of record, and the keeper of its records is the clerk of the court, or prothonotary. This officer often keeps a record of deeds and mortgages given in the county, issues marriage certificates, and records all births and deaths.

IV. The Probate Court-the Orphans' Court. It is the business of this court to examine the wills of deceased persons and decide whether they have been made as wills by law ought to be made. When a person dies without having made a will, and leaves no one to take charge of his estate, the probate court will appoint an administrator to take charge of it. When a child is left without father or mother, the probate court will appoint a guardian, who will manage the estate until the child comes of age. In general, the business of the probate court is to see that the property of the dead falls into rightful hands. In some States the probate court is called the orphans' court. In New York it is called the surrogate's court.

V. The Recorder keeps a record of mortgages, deeds and leases.

VI. Tax Collectors and Assessors (p. 282).

VII. The County Treasurer pays out as well as receives all money raised by taxation.

VIII. The Auditor. Sometimes the county elects an auditor, whose duty it is to examine the books of the treasurer and other officers and report whether the public accounts are properly and honestly kept. In some States he has a check upon payments from the county treasury.

IX. The Coroner. When a person is murdered, or is found dead, or dies mysteriously, this officer takes charge

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of the corpse and inquires at once into the cause of the death. If he thinks there has been foul play, he summons six or twelve men to act as a jury and holds a coroner's inquest." Witnesses are summoned, and the jury, after hearing evidence, states the probable cause of the death.

X. The State's Attorney is a lawyer whose duty is to give legal advice to county officers, and to appear in court at the trial of one who is charged with crime and present the side of the State. This officer is sometimes called a district attorney or prosecuting attorney; sometimes he is called the solicitor.

XI. The School Board has the general management of the schools of the county. It regulates in whole or in part the salaries of teachers; it grants certificates to those who are competent to teach; it sometimes makes out the course of study that pupils are to pursue; it provides for the health and comfort of teachers and pupils.

XII. The Superintendent of Schools is the executive officer of the school board. He sets the examinations for teachers, visits the different schools of the county, and reports their work to the school board; he grades the work of the schools and devotes his time to improving them in every way he can (p. 354).

XIII. The Overseers of the Poor attend to the needs of paupers and other unfortunates (p. 386).

XIV. The Surveyor makes surveys of land when the county has need of such.

The Citizen and His County. Practically every American citizen is directly and closely interested in the administration of the affairs of some county, but citizens are by no means everywhere as watchful of their county government as they ought to be. They allow the management of county affairs to fall into the hands of a "court-house ring," and this too often means mismanagement and corruption. Where the county government is bad roads are