pal history of the city, and describing its public buildings, its monuments, and its environs. 8. What measures are usually taken by Congress for the admission of a Territory into the Union? (See p. 66.) Hints on Reading.-W. F. Willoughby, "Territories and Dependencies of the United States.'' J. M. Callahan, "American Relations in the Pacific and the Far East.'' XXVI THE COUNTY The Importance of Local Government. Most of the everyday work of government rests upon the localities,-upon cities, villages, counties, townships. It requires about five times as much money to support local government as it does to support the State government. This means that the former renders about five times as much service as the latter. The federal government and the State government are far away; the local government is at one's back door and front door. The larger governments may act inefficiently or corruptly without immediate inconvenience to the citizen, but if the local government neglects the roads and streets, or manages the schools unwisely, or wastes money, the results of its evil course are felt at once. Because it touches one at so many points, and is so near to one, local government is a subject which may rightly demand a liberal share of our attention. We have already considered local government in its broad aspects, and in respect to its relations to the higher State government. We shall now study the organization of the several kinds of local government beginning with the county. The County in the South and Southwest. The county as a unit of local government is the most widely established of American political institutions. Excepting the inhabitants of the cities of Washington, St. Louis and Baltimore, everybody in the United States lives in a county, for every State and Territory is divided into counties. Altogether there are about four thousand counties in the United States. 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. 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 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 In no State has the county all these officers, yet every officer 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 theate ate 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 disturb 'Still called the county court in some of the Southern States; |