Social Civics

1. For example, by covering Chapters i, ii, iv-xvi, xxviii-xxix, in the first term and Chapters iii, xvii-xxvii, xxx-xxxii in the second.

2. Charles Darwin, a distinguished English student of biology, was born in 1809, and died in 1882. His theory was set forth in two famous books, The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man.

3. The most interesting general account of the beginnings of life and the ancestry of man is that given in H. G. Wells’ Outline of History, Vol. I, pp. 3-103. A brief summary of the evidence on which the doctrine of evolution rests may be conveniently found in H. R. Burch and S. H. Patterson, American Social Problems, pp. 12-32.

4. For a discussion of these other factors see Vernon Kellogg, Darwinism Today.

5. There has been much discussion among scientists as to whether acquired characteristics can be transmitted at all. The best opinion seems to be against such transmission, but some biologists still hold to the belief that transmission is possible, particularly in the lower organisms. For a further discussion see W. E. Castle, Genetics and Eugenics, pp. 26-27.

6. One of the best things ever written is the chapter on “Habit” in William James’s Psychology. No one will regret the time spent in reading it.

7. The following table shows the increase, by decades, in round figures:

From this it will be seen that the ratio of increase is declining. The population increased about one-third in each decade from 1790 to 1860; by about one-fourth in each decade from 1860 to 1890; by about one-fifth in the two decades from 1890 to 1910; and by less than one-sixth in the decade from 1910 to 1920.

8. It is customary to think of India and China as very densely populated; but both have fewer than 225 inhabitants to the square mile.

9. A map showing the progress of the center from East to West will be found facing this page.

10. Mr. H. G. Wells, in his interesting book entitled When the Sleeper Wakes, gives a picture of what the world will be like if all its inhabitants live in cities, and the country workers are carried back and forth by rapid transit.

11. In 1880, for example, only about four per cent of the immigrants were Italians while about thirty per cent were Germans; in 1910 the Italians had risen to more than twenty per cent while the German immigrants had declined to less than five per cent.

12. From 1783 to 1820 it is estimated that not more than 250,000 immigrants came to the United States. P. F. Hall, Immigration, p. 4. The total population in 1820 was ten millions.

13. The monotony of labor, however, is to some extent a matter of temperament. Some workers find even routine tasks interesting because they are constantly trying to attain greater expertness at the particular job. Others find work of a very varied character to be monotonous.

14. There are two other forms of productive organization, neither of them very common. One is the co-operative association, with or without capital stock; the other is the organization of production under the direct management of the public authorities. The organization of the postal service is an example.

15. The Lockwood Committee, which made its investigations during 1920 in New York, found that excessive costs of building construction were due in considerable measure to the existence of artificial monopolies among producers of building materials.

16. It has been suggested that instead of giving inventors the exclusive right to make and sell their appliances, this right should be given to everybody with a provision that a fixed rate of royalty should be paid to the inventor. This would afford an incentive to the inventor while preventing the creation of legal monopolies.

17. The doctrine of the divine right of rulers was based upon certain Biblical texts, particularly Romans xiii, 1-7, and was put forth in the Middle Ages to support the secular rulers against the Church. The Bourbon kings of France, especially Louis XIV, asserted it, as well as the Stuart kings of England. The House of Hohenzollern in Germany maintained the doctrine, and the former Kaiser on more than one occasion alluded to himself as a ruler by divine right. Those who are interested in pursuing this topic further will find a great deal about it in J. N. Figgis, The Divine Right of Kings (London, 1896) and in The Political Writings of James I (ed. C. H. McIlwain, Cambridge, 1915).

18. For example, E. L. Godkin, Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy (N. Y., 1898), p. 46; Emile Faguet, The Cult of Incompetence (N. Y., 1911), pp. 35-36; A. M. Kales, Unpopular Government in the United States (Chicago, 1914); A. B. Cruikshank, Popular Misgovernment in the United States (N. Y., 1920), and Alleyne Ireland, Democracy and the Human Equation (N. Y., 1921), pp. 75-79.

19. Corporations, as well as individuals, are citizens in the eyes of the law. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey is a citizen of New Jersey and as such is entitled to all the “privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States”.

20. Some children although born in the United States are not subject to American jurisdiction. The children of a foreign ambassador, serving in the United States, are for this reason not citizens, even though born here. Children born on board a foreign warship in an American harbor are not deemed to be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. But with a few unimportant exceptions of this sort all persons born in the United States are born within its jurisdiction, and hence are citizens by birth.

One may be an American citizen by birth, moreover, without having been born in the United States. The children of American parents, even though born outside the territory of the United States, have the right to claim this citizenship. Children of American parents, born on the high seas, or on American war vessels in foreign ports, or children of American ambassadors born abroad, are citizens of the United States by virtue of their parentage. Children of American parents, born on foreign soil, have the right to choose between American citizenship and citizenship of the country in which they were born.

21. On rather rare occasions a large body of people, not citizens by birth, have become citizens of the United States by what is called collective naturalization. When Louisiana (1803), Florida (1819) and Alaska (1867) were acquired, for example, the treaties which provided for their acquisition stipulated that all inhabitants of these territories should be admitted to American citizenship without becoming individually naturalized. On the other hand, when Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands were ceded to us by Spain in 1898 there was no such provision. In the case of the Porto Ricans,Ricans, citizenship was conferred by an act of Congress in 1917; in the case of the Filipinos the full status of American citizenship has not yet been granted. The Filipinos are called “nationals” of the United States, which means that they have the protection of the federal government, but are not entitled to all the other privileges and immunities of citizenship as provided in the constitution. Collective naturalization may thus be provided for by treaty or granted by act of Congress.

22. The leisure hours of pupils may also be utilized to secure excellent lessons in good citizenship. Unfortunately they are not always so used. Many of the recreations which are now popular with the young people of the United States afford neither physical exercise nor mental inspiration, neither do they conduce to the strengthening of character.

23. Attention should be called to the inducement which in some schools is given to broad civic training by awarding to pupils a rank which is based upon proficiency in all their activities, scholarship, athletics, debating, good influence upon others, qualities of leadership, and so on. Student self-government may also be used in schools to afford training in the fundamentals of good citizenship.

24. In doing this they do not take editorials, resolutions, and letters too seriously. Some newspapers merely reflect the opinion of their owners, not public opinion. Societies often adopt resolutions without hearing both sides of the case. Congressmen sometimes receive several hundred letters in a single day, most of them saying exactly the same thing, which means that they have all been inspired from the same quarter.

25. The President of the United States is to all intents and purposes chosen directly by the voters although as a matter of form the choice is made indirectly (see pp. 288-290).

26. The appointment of officials is sometimes made by legislative bodies, although this plan is not common. In a few states the judges are named by the legislature. In some others the legislature elects the state treasurer, the secretary of state, the comptroller, or the auditor. Where the commission form of city government has been adopted all appointments are made by the commission. The general theory of American government is, however, that the choosing of administrative and judicial officers should not be vested in the hands of a legislative body. It is regarded as undesirable that the body which enacts the laws should have anything directly to do with the selection of those officers who enforce or apply the laws. But this principle ought not to be applied inflexibly; there are good reasons at times for making exceptions to it.

27. Washington was not a party man and cared very little about the political views of men whom he appointed to public office. His immediate successors, Adams and Jefferson, did not preserve this strict impartiality; on the other hand, they were disinclined to treat public office as a mere means of rewarding their own supporters. They did not remove office-holders in order to make room for their own political friends.

28. The story is often told, and it may well be true, that at a critical time in the war a visitor to the White House remarked to Lincoln that the responsibilities of the great struggle must be a heavy burden upon his shoulders. “No,” replied the President, “it is not the war that is giving me the greatest worry at this moment. It is the problem of filling that postmastership at Little Rapids, Indiana.”

29. No method of appointment will secure the best results, however, unless it is accompanied by a fair system of promotions. This has not yet been arranged for on any large scale. Appointments are to a large extent based upon merit, but promotions are still determined, in many cases, by personal or party favoritism. Rarely is there any examination or other test to decide who will be promoted when a vacancy occurs higher up. It is desirable, therefore, that the merit system of appointment should be supplemented by a merit system of promotions. Many capable young men and women will not enter the public service today because there is no certain chance of promotion on the basis of ability and industry. A merit plan of promotion would help to attract better candidates. The public treasury, moreover, ought to provide pensions for those who retire by reason of old age after many years of faithful service. Some large private institutions are now doing this. The nation, state, and city ought to adopt the same practice, not only because it is the humane way of treating aged employees but because it would make the public service more attractive as a career.

30. In a sense, however, the terms initiative and referendum are merely new names for very old institutions. The right of petition, which is the foundation of the initiative, has always existed in the United States. The referendum, in other words the submission of questions directly to the people, is as old as the New England town meeting; indeed it goes back to the time of ancient Athens. All early democracy, in fact, was direct democracy; the people decided things without legislatures. But as communities grew in size this system of direct democracy became impractical; hence they resorted to representative government. Now, when representative government fails to satisfy, we go back again in a roundabout way to the old method.

31. Only five of these states, however, lie east of the Mississippi River. Why is it that so many of these new movements, political and economic, originate somewhere in the West? Direct legislation, the recall, woman suffrage, popular election of senators, free silver, the single tax, Populism, the Non-partisan League,—the list would be a considerable one if given in full. It is often said that the growth of industrial communities, with large bodies of propertyless workers, tends to promote radicalism; but the West is still predominantly agricultural. What new political or economic movements have had their origin in industrial states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania during the past twenty-five years?

32. Here are some of the matters submitted to the voters of a certain Western city at one election: to pension firemen; to grant a street railway franchise; to abolish grade crossings; to exempt certain city officers from being citizens of the United States; to define the powers of the municipal court; to exempt certain officers from the civil service rules; to regulate the sale of bonds; to change the method of passing ordinances; to allow the city to acquire property outside the city limits, etc. Is the average voter likely, or unlikely, to know much about things of this sort?

33. In 1921 the voters of North Dakota recalled Governor Frazier from office before the expiry of his term.

34. See p. 31.

35. In England full suffrage has been granted only to women who are thirty years of age or over. This was purposely done in order that the male voters should be in the majority.

36. New York State in 1921 joined the list of states which impose the literacy test.

37. Various classes of people, although qualified by citizenship, age, and residence, are debarred from voting on other grounds. Among these are insane persons, criminals, and, in some states, those who have been convicted of bribery or other serious offences against the election laws. In some states, also, soldiers of the regular army and enlisted men of the navy are denied the right to register as voters on the ground that they are not really residents but merely representatives of the national government temporarily quartered within the state boundaries. Civil officials of the national government are not debarred.

38. This gives the party workers an opportunity to investigate all suspicious names on the list and be ready for action when election day comes.

39. Sometimes annual registration is required in the cities but not in small towns or rural districts. In Ohio there is an annual registration in cities of over 100,000 population; a registration every four years in smaller cities, and no general registration at all in the rural districts. In the latter the same list is used year after year with such individual changes as may be necessary.

40. In most cases they take the voter’s say-so as sufficient proof of his party allegiance.

41. At the New York state primaries of September, 1920, the candidate who won the Democratic nomination for governor received fewer than 200,000 votes; at the November election he received more than a million, and yet was not elected.

42. In a few cities, for example in Boston, there are no primaries before the municipal elections. Candidates for the office of mayor may be nominated by presenting a petition signed by not fewer than 5000 qualified voters; candidates for the city council must have at least 2500 signatures.

43. This roundabout way of fixing the election date is used in order to make certain that the election shall not take place on the first day of the month, a time when those who work in banks, offices, etc., are particularly busy.

44. It is sometimes arranged that local elections shall take place in the odd years, while national and state elections come in the even years.

45. A ward boss in a certain American city some time ago was urging his followers to vote the “straight ticket”, but knowing that some of them could not read and recalling the fact that the figure of an eagle stood at the top of his party column, he bellowed at them “Now when you go to the polls put your cross right under that chicken with the short legs”.

46. For a further discussion, with additional data, see C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, p. 673.

47. Proportional representation should also be distinguished from limited voting and cumulative voting. Under the limited voting plan a voter is permitted to mark his ballot only for some smaller number of candidates than there are places to be filled. For example, if seven councilmen are to be chosen by the electorate of the city at large, each voter might be permitted to vote for not more than four. The outcome would very likely be that the strongest party would elect four councilmen and the next strongest three. This gives a certain amount of minority representation, but does not ensure proportional representation. Cumulative voting is an arrangement under which each voter is given as many votes as there are candidates to be elected but is permitted to allot all or any of his votes as he pleases. Thus, if three assemblymen are to be elected, the voter will have three votes. He may give all three votes to one candidate; or two votes to one candidate and one vote to another; or one vote to each of three candidates. This plan also gives reasonable assurance of minority representation, because the weaker party will concentrate its votes upon one candidate, but the usual outcome is that the majority, whatever its strength, will have twice as many representatives as the minority. It does not, therefore, ensure proportional representation. This plan has been used in Illinois.

48. In Ashtabula (Ohio), Boulder (Colorado), West Hartford (Connecticut), and Sacramento (California). Cleveland, the fifth largest city in the United States, adopted in 1921 a new city charter in which provision is made for using proportional representation at council elections. The first election under the new plan will be held in the autumn of 1923.

49. Various other things, not in themselves wrong, have been made illegal by statute because they are regarded as contrary to good public policy in that they tend to render an election undignified, or unfair, or unnecessarily expensive. Canvassing and distribution of campaign literature is forbidden within a certain radius of the polling place. Campaign advertisements must not be printed in some states unless they bear the name and address of a qualified voter. Candidates are required to file with the proper authorities a statement of their campaign expenses and it is illegal to spend more than a prescribed sum even for purely legitimate purposes, such as the hiring of halls and the printing of posters. The purpose of these provisions is not only to render the election a dignified affair, as becomes an exercise of popular sovereignty, but to give every candidate, rich or poor, as nearly equal a chance as the laws can ensure. These regulations are sometimes evaded, it is true, but on the whole they are well respected both by party organizations and by candidates. In Senator Newberry’s case the United States Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not limit the campaign expenses of candidates for election to the Senate or the House. Control of these elections rests with the several states.

50. They try to persuade the existing parties into helping them gain their object; if they fail in this, they frequently organize a new party. Thus the Liberty and Free Soil parties were organized to abolish slavery; the Prohibition party to get rid of the liquor traffic, and the Progressive party to put through various political and economic changes which the older parties would not father.

51. That, indeed, is what does actually happen at times in spite of the party system. A President, elected by one political party, negotiates a treaty; a Senate controlled by the other political party declines to ratify it. A governor insists that pledges made by him during the election campaign shall be carried out; but the legislature (having a majority of the opposite faith) declines to pass the necessary laws. A mayor tries to make an appointment, and his political opponents in the city council refuse confirmation. Such things happen now and then. As a general rule, however, when a political party gains control of one branch of the government it gains control of the other too.

52. There have been some critical issues at different times in American history, such as nullification, slavery, secession, reconstruction, green-backs, free silver, the regulation of trusts, imperialism, the league of nations, and so on. Most of the leading issues in recent years have been economic in character; they have been concerned with such matters as the railroads, the merchant marine, the regulation of industry, immigration, relations with Mexico, banking reorganization, the extension of aid to agriculture, conservation, budget methods, and international trade.

53. This is quite a contrast with what has happened in France, Germany, Italy, and the other countries of Continental Europe. In these countries there are several parties and they continue in existence for long periods of time. No two parties ever manage to get the field of politics largely to themselves. It is significant that the two-party system has flourished in the English-speaking countries, that is, in Great Britain, the British colonies, and the United States. Everywhere else there are from three or four to a dozen parties. Why should there be this difference?

54. Until recent years the state convention also had the function of nominating the party candidates for state officers, but in most of the states this prerogative has been taken away from the convention and the nominations are made by the party voters at state-wide direct primaries. In the others the nominations are still made by the conventions. Even where the primary is used, however, it is sometimes the practice of a convention to adopt an “unofficial” slate of candidates which it recommends to the voters for their endorsement at the primary (see p. 129).

55. At the Republican national convention of 1880 it took thirty-six ballots to nominate Mr. Garfield. In 1912, at the Democratic national convention, Woodrow Wilson was not nominated until the forty-sixth ballot. Sometimes the very first ballot results in nominating the candidate as happened with Mr. Wilson in 1916. How many ballots were taken before the nomination of Mr. Harding at Chicago in June, 1920, and before the nomination of his opponent, Mr. Cox, at San Francisco, a few weeks later?

56. Rings and bosses are not American inventions. Pericles was a political boss, and a very successful one in his day. There were bosses in ancient Rome; they could even get together and form a ring (they called it a triumvirate). Simon de Montfort, the so-called “father of the House of Commons”, was a boss and a rather skilful one at that. Pitt, the younger, was a boss of the first order, a corrupt one, too. In America we have had many political bosses from Aaron Burr down, but most of them have operated in state and city politics. There is no national party boss; the field is too large for any one man to control. Perhaps the most notable of all American bosses was William M. Tweed, who dominated the politics of New York City a half century ago. “He was an American by birth, a chairmaker by trade, a good fellow by nature, a politician by circumstances, a boss by natural process of evolution, and a grafter by choice.” As the boss of his party he sold nominations openly, assessed public officeholders for contributions to his campaign funds, gave out contracts to his friends, looted the city treasury, and finally went to jail. New York’s experience with Tweed cost the city about fifty million dollars in less than five years.

57. The campaign fund of the Republican party, when it elected Abraham Lincoln in 1860, was a little over $100,000. The amount raised by the Republicans for the campaign of 1920 was about $4,000,000. The Democratic campaign fund was considerably smaller, but it also ran into the millions. The laws provide that the treasurers of these funds must publish, before the election, the names of all contributors who give more than $100, and after the election must file a statement of all moneys expended. Corporations are forbidden to contribute to any federal campaign fund.

58. These costs mount up quickly. A torchlight procession in a large city costs several thousand dollars. To send a single circular, with a one-cent stamp on the envelope, to every registered voter in a city the size of Boston costs for printing, stationery, stamps, and labor about $10,000. Some large halls cost $500 per night, yet halls for meetings have to be hired night after night during the latter part of the campaign.

59. In Louisiana, however, the counties are known as parishes.

60. The largest county in the United States is San Bernardino county, California, which covers more than 2000 square miles. The smallest is Bristol county, R. I., with about 25 square miles. Cook county, which includes Chicago, has the biggest population and Cochran county, Texas, with less than 100 people, has the smallest.

61. In some states he is known as the district attorney, state’s attorney, or county solicitor.

62. To discontinue a prosecution the prosecuting attorney files in court a statement known as a nolle prosequi, indicating that he does not wish to press the case to trial. The right to do this gives the official a great deal of power, which has been in some cases abused.

63. A deed is a document by which one person conveys land to another. It is the duty of the purchaser to make sure that his deed is valid and that the seller has a good title to the land which he sells. This he can ascertain by examining the records in the registry of deeds. In some states a plan known as the Torrens System is in operation. Intending purchasers submit their deeds to the registration official, who examines them. If he finds that the title is good, he registers the deed and thereafter the title may not be questioned. Where the Torrens System is not in operation a purchaser can get his title insured by paying a premium to a title insurance company.

64. There is a widespread impression that the government of the New England towns, being a close approach to a direct democracy, has been a great and consistent success. These towns have been pictured by some writers as little Utopias, free from state interference, and privileged to manage their own affairs in their own way. Unhappily this portrayal does not square with the facts. Small agricultural communities, such as the New England towns used to be, can manage their local affairs satisfactorily under almost any form of government. But when population grows, and factories come in, and local activities are multiplied—then the problems of a town are akin to those of a city and have to be handled in the same way.

65. In some of the New England states there are places of twenty, thirty, or even forty thousand people which are still governed as towns. (See p. 175.)

66. See the chart facing this page.

67. According to the census of 1920 these twelve cities are as follows: New York, 5,612,151; Chicago, 2,701,212; Philadelphia, 1,823,158; Detroit, 993,737; Cleveland, 796,836; St. Louis, 772,897; Boston, 747,923; Baltimore, 733,826; Pittsburgh, 588,193; Los Angeles, 575,410; San Francisco, 508,410; Buffalo, 505,875.

68. If you make your home in a rural community, you will become acquainted with most of your neighbors within a week; you will know all about them, and (if they can find it out) they will know all about you. But if you go as a stranger to live in a city apartment, with only thin walls separating you from your neighbors, you may remain there for months or even for years without becoming acquainted with any of them. You may not even know your neighbor’s name, save for seeing it on his door. Neighborliness is a trait of human nature which disappears in the great cities. In the city a man’s friends are not his neighbors as a rule, but persons of his own occupation or interests who may live a considerable distance away. This is an important difference, for it means that townships and villages have a unity which the wards and districts of large cities do not possess.

69. The shortest city charter ever granted is the charter of London, given by William the Conqueror in 1066. It contains exactly sixty-six words. The longest is the present charter of New York City, which fills a closely-printed book of 1478 pages.

70. It was understood that by applying a general charter law or municipal code to all the cities of a state, or to all the cities of a certain class, the legislature would be discouraged from enacting special laws for particular cities. But that is not what resulted. Legislatures adopted the plan of passing laws which were general in form but which by the nature of their provisions could apply to some one city alone. For example: The Ohio legislature on one occasion provided that “Any city of the first class, having a population of more than 150,000, wherein a public avenue of not less than 100 feet in width is now projected, to be known as Gilbert Avenue, is hereby authorized to issue bonds, etc.” This law, on its face, applied to all cities of the first class; in reality it gave special privileges to one particular city.

71. A few states, although unwilling to grant municipal home rule, have gone part way in that direction by establishing what is known as the Optional Charter system. The legislature, under this plan, draws up several different types of charter. A city may by popular vote adopt any one of these but is not permitted to make a special charter for itself. The merit of this plan is that it allows a city a considerable amount of choice without opening the door for all manner of rash local experiments, many of which bring controversy and lawsuits because they run foul of the state constitution or laws. The various optional charters are so framed as to be in harmony with the general laws of the state. This plan is used in New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Ohio has both the home rule and the optional charter system; in addition there is a general charter law for such cities as do not take advantage of the other opportunities.

72. Surprisingly few mayors have ever gone any higher in the public life of the state or nation. Most mayors, when they finish their terms, drop but of sight. There are some exceptions, of course, the most noteworthy being Grover Cleveland, who served as mayor of Buffalo before he was elected governor of New York and, later, President of the United States. Before becoming Secretary of War in President Wilson’s cabinet, Newton D. Baker served two terms as mayor of Cleveland, and Brand Whitlock was thrice mayor of Toledo before he became minister to Belgium. A few other mayors have become governors, ambassadors, or members of Congress; but when we remind ourselves that nearly 400 men have held the office of mayor in the fifty largest cities of the United States since 1900, we may well wonder what became of all the rest. Apparently the office of mayor is not a good political stepping-stone. Is the fault with the office or with the men who usually occupy it?

73. The objection may also be overcome by using the system of proportional representation described on pp. 134-136.

74. In September, 1900, a tidal wave swept in from the Gulf of Mexico and destroyed about a third of the city. Galveston was already overburdened with debt, and by this disaster, which wrecked much city property, became practically bankrupt. The leading citizens came together and decided that radical measures would have to be taken. They, therefore, petitioned the Texas legislature to abolish the old city government, placing entire charge of all municipal affairs in the hands of five trustees or commissioners. The legislature complied and the new plan went into effect in 1901.

75. The largest of these cities are Buffalo, New Orleans, and St. Paul. Among the 400 commission-governed cities there are only fifteen with populations exceeding 100,000. The plan has proved most popular in places of small and medium size.

76. See the diagram which faces p. 198.

77. The plan originated in Sumter, N. C., but the first large city to adopt it was Dayton, Ohio, about ten years ago. In the autumn of 1921 Cleveland adopted a city-manager charter which will go into effect in January, 1924.

78. For an example of the way in which the city’s administrative work is divided, see the diagram facing this page.

79. Some cities have established a central purchasing office which buys all supplies of every sort, thus securing a concentration of the work. A considerable saving is made in this way. But in most cities each department still does its own buying.