The Town Board.-This is an executive committee of town officers, whose duties correspond somewhat to those of the Selectmen in the New England town, in that it has power to perform many of the functions of government during the intervals between the annual township meetings, and in cases of emergency. It is composed of the Supervisor, the Clerk, and the two Justices of the Peace whose terms of office will soonest expire, any three of whom constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

The Board is required to meet on the Tuesday preceding the annual township meeting, for the purpose of auditing and settling all claims against the township, and to examine the accounts of the treasurer and other officers having charge of the receipt or disbursement of public money. In case the voters at the annual township meeting fail to make provision for defraying the ordinary township expenses, the Board is authorized to appropriate such sums as may be needed for that purpose, not exceeding one thousand dollars in any one year.

The laws of the State confer upon the members of the Township Board many powers and impose upon them many duties, the proper exercise and performance of which are essential to the welfare of the community. Among these may be mentioned the power to license and regulate theatrical exhibitions and public shows, to appoint commissioners for the destruction of noxious weeds, to supervise the work of repairing roads and bridges, under the charge of the highway commissioner, and to provide standard weights and measures to be kept by the township clerk and used for testing the weights and measures employed in the township.

Comparison with the New England Towns.-Such, in brief, is the framework of township government as it

exists in the State of Michigan, and in the other states created out of the Northwest Territory. Although differing in details, it is substantially the form of government which was provided by the New England town meeting, and generally it is found to be the best and most satisfactory method of administering the local affairs in rural communities, because through its agency the power of local government is left in the hands of the people whose interests are directly affected.

Organization of Villages.-As the population of any community increases and the territory becomes thickly settled, the village is formed and the village form of government supersedes that of the town.

A village may be formed whenever any part of a township or townships containing not less than one square mile shall have resident thereon a population of at least three hundred inhabitants. The method of procedure is by a petition, which must be signed by at least thirty legal voters of the proposed village, and addressed to the County Board of Supervisors, which hears and determines the matter, and if the petition is granted, directs the time and place for holding the first election of village officers.

Any village organized in this way is a body politic and corporate under the name specified in the petition for its organization, or given to it by the Board of Supervisors, and has power, under this name, to make contracts and to acquire and own real and personal property necessary for the purposes of the municipality.

Village Officers.-In each village, the following officers are elected by the people, namely: a President and six Trustees, who constitute the Village Council, one Clerk, one Treasurer, who is also the Collector of Taxes, and one Assessor. In addition to these officers, the President, with

the consent of the Council, may appoint a Marshal, who is the principal police officer of the village, and a Street Commissioner, who has charge of the labor, repairs and improvements upon the streets, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, culverts, drains and public grounds of the village.

The Council may from time to time by ordinance or resolution provide for the appointment of such other officers as are deemed necessary for the proper administration of the affairs of the village.

All these officers are elected or appointed for the term of one year, with the exception of the Trustees, whose term of office is two years. At the first election, six Trustees are chosen, three of whom hold office for one year, and three for two years. At subsequent annual elections three Trustees are elected, who hold office for two years. By reason of this provision, it follows that the Village Council always contains at least three members who have had some experience in the discharge of their duties.

The Board of Trustees of a village has substantially the same powers and duties as the City Council of a city, and the President of the village performs substantially the same functions as the Mayor of a city. The powers and duties of the President and Trustees of a village will not be stated in detail at this time, for the reason that in the following chapter the government of a city will be explained, and everything therein contained as to the powers and duties of the Mayor and Aldermen of the city is equally applicable to the President and Trustees of the village. For the same reason, it is not deemed advisable to describe in detail the duties of the executive officers of villages, as they correspond quite closely to the duties of the same officers in townships and cities.

CHAPTER XX.

THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES.

The system of municipal government in vogue in this country has been the least successful of all of our political institutions. The scheme of government provided by our forefathers has been satisfactory in national and state affairs, but this has not been the case in the government of cities. The problems of municipal government received but little attention from them, doubtless because they believed that the citizens of a community should have sole charge of the regulation of local affairs. Even if they had considered it a part of their duty to provide a scheme for municipal government, it is doubtful if such a scheme would now be successful, for the reason that the questions which now con. front those who are charged with the administration of city affairs did not exist in the latter part of the eighteenth cen tury.

When the Constitution of the United States took effect in the year 1789 there were no large cities in the country. The largest city was Philadelphia, which had a population of about 31,000 inhabitants. Next in size was New York, with a population of 23,000, then came Boston with a population of 18,000. These were the largest cities in the original thirteen States, and there were scarcely a dozen others with a population of 5,000 inhabitants each, so it is apparent that questions of municipal government could not have been

troublesome in those days, because it is not in small cities that the present abuses exist.

In noting the marked changes which have taken place in the conditions of city life, an eminent historian draws a vivid picture of the strange world in which Washington would find himself were he to walk the streets of one of our modern cities, when he says: "He never in his life saw a flagstone sidewalk nor an asphalted street, nor a pane of glass six feet square. He never heard a factory whistle; he never saw a building ten stories high, nor an elevator, nor a gas jet, nor an electric light; he never saw a hot-air furnace, nor entered a room warmed by steam; he never struck a match, nor sent a telegram, nor spoke through a telephone, nor touched an electric bell; he never saw a horse car, nor an omnibus, nor a trolley car, nor a ferry boat. Fancy him boarding a street car to take a ride! He would probably pay his fare with a nickel, but the nickel is a coin he never saw. Fancy him staring from the window at a fence bright with theatrical posters, or at a man rushing by on a bicycle."*

This quotation, specifying only a few of the incidents of life in a great city, illustrates the changes which have taken place between the year 1789 and the present day, and it is these changes that have called our present municipal governments into existence. The regulation and construction of sidewalks and of buildings, and the elevators in them, the lighting of streets by gas and electricity, the supervision of street railways and of carriages, bicycles and pedestrians upon the public strets are subjects of municipal regulation which were unknown in the days of Washington.

*McMaster's School History of the United States, page 178. American Book Company, 1897