3 co THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



control these special organizations as they have hitherto found the 

 means of dominating other governmental machinery, will man them 

 with their own agents, and thus make them the subservient tools of a 

 criminal regency. 



Chicago struggled along under burdens of this sort for a good many 

 years, but at last in sheer desperation it surrendered its original char- 

 ter, together with all the ornaments with which subsequent legislation 

 had decorated it, and organized under the general incorporation law 

 of Illinois. So far as it has been tested, this law seems to have been 

 wisely and intelligently framed, and, while it is adapted to the wants 

 of small constituencies, it is sufficiently elastic to meet the demands of 

 large cities. It at least possesses the important feature of making a 

 single body responsible for the municipal government, and the execu- 

 tive becomes personally and directly responsible for the direction and 

 administration of municipal affairs. Under it Chicago has thus far by 

 no means attained to an ideal city government. Indeed, the events of 

 the last year would indicate that it had but illustrated how thoroughly 

 a good agent may become prostituted to evil purposes. Nevertheless, 

 the imperfections of our municipal government (and their name is 

 legion) exist in spite of the character of its organic system, rather 

 than in consequence of it. 



It is an important matter to definitely locate responsibility. When 

 the responsibility can be subdivided among several independent bodies, 

 or is shared by the chiefs of various departments, it rests with no spe- 

 cial weight upon any individual. But when it can be located, when 

 the people can come to the derelict councilman, or to the chief execu- 

 tive, and say, " Thou art the man," good men will always be more care- 

 ful, and even bad men will become circumspect. 



This principle is constantly attracting more and more attention. 

 Boston has recently made some radical changes in her municipal sys- 

 tem, which, while they do not go so far in the direction of localizing 

 responsibility in the person of the chief executive as is now true of 

 the city governments of New York and Brooklyn, still largely increase 

 the power of the mayor, and make him to a greater extent than ever 

 before responsible for the conduct of municipal affairs. 



There can be but very little doubt that this will be found to be a 

 change in the right direction, and all students of municipal reform 

 will be interested to note whether, after testing this principle, the 

 Boston constituency will not be inclined to give it even a more em- 

 phatic application. 



But no system, however good in itself, is self-executing. It is not 

 enough that the government shall be founded on right principles. Its 

 administration must also be in the hands of trained and true men. 

 This is a matter almost lost sight of in municipal affairs. Men are 

 selected for city officers for almost every conceivable reason than that 

 which should outweigh every other consideration, namely, their ability 



