one tank to another, then flows through a revolving screen, is sprayed into the air by a series of thousands of small fountains, and falls upon beds of stone and sand through which it is filtered. It flows into the Bay as pure as the water in the city reservoirs. CAPITOL SQUARE, RICHMOND, VA. As the water falls from the filtration beds into the Bay it is used to generate electricity by which the disposal plant is operated. Pasadena, being in a dry climate, uses its sewage to water a city farm containing an orange grove, an English walnut orchard, and fields of alfalfa, grain, and hay. Wharves. Every city should own its wharves for the encouragement of commerce. San Francisco and New Orleans, the gateways to the Panama Canal, own practically all of their water fronts, and Greater New York now owns 349 of its 577 miles of water front. Los Angeles, a city 21 miles from water, has already acquired four miles of water front. On the other hand, the Lake cities own scarcely any of their wharfage; and though the United States has spent $20,000,000 improving and maintaining a 30-foot channel for the harbor of Galveston, the wharves are owned almost entirely by private persons. The states of Australia own the land 66 feet back from their waterways, hence private persons cannot monopolize the water front as in the United States. Social Centres.-The importance of parks, playgrounds, recreation piers, public baths, and other social centres are more and more appreciated by cities. Library and school auditoriums are commonly used for public lectures, music, and moving pictures. A few cities maintain public laundries where a housewife may do her week's washing with the aid of machinery. Policewomen. Since 1911, when Los Angeles employed the first policewomen, many cities have employed them, Chicago alone having about thirty policewomen. These officers protect girls from insults by young men who frequent street corners; act as public chaperons at places of amusement which are frequented by women and girls; obtain evidence from women; and attend court when women are testifying. In Los Angeles they enforce the 9 o'clock curfew law for girls under seventeen years of age. Health Protection. - Most cities have a health board to look after the general health conditions of the city. School children are inspected in nearly all American cities, and in many free treatment is given to the eyes and teeth. Free medical dispensaries are commonly maintained to supply the needs of the poor. Many cities send health agents into the country for miles around to inspect all dairies and herds from which the city's milk supply is obtained. The milk itself is further inspected GRIFFITH STREET 17 MILK PEDDLERS TOTAL TRAVEL 4 MILES THIS SERVICE COULD BE RENDERED GRIFFITH STREET Courtesy World's Work, Vol. 25. AN ECONOMIC WASTE IN DISTRIBUTION OF MILK IN ROCHESTER, from time to time after it reaches the city. Would it not be well for our cities to distribute their milk supply in order to insure its quality as well as to save the present economic waste in its distribution? Cities have various regulations to prevent such diseases as tuberculosis and typhoid fever, but the American cities have not become as efficient as the European cities in reducing the death rate caused by typhoid fever. This is shown in the following table :1 1 Munro, W. B., "Principles and Methods of Municipal Administration," page 144. Published 1916. BRADFORD, E. S. Commission Government in American Cities. 1911. COOKE, M. L. Our Cities Awake. 1918. CAPES, W. P. The Modern City and Its Government. 1922. ZUEBLIN, CHARLES. American Municipal Progress. 1916. National Municipal Review. QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 1. What is a village? 2. In what section of the country are small incorporated centers of population called towns? Villages? Boroughs? 3. What is meant by the term town in the New England States? 4. How are towns or villages created in the State in which you live? How many inhabitants are necessary ? 5. What are the usual powers of towns or villages? 6. By what name is the legislative body of a town or village commonly known? What character of ordinances may it enact? 7. By what title is the principal executive officer of a town usually called? 8. What other officers do towns or villages commonly have? 9. How does a city differ from a town or village? 10. How many inhabitants are necessary for city government? 11. What per cent of the American people lived in cities in 1790 ? In 1910 ? 12. What has been the cause of such rapid growth of cities? Is this rapid growth of cities peculiar to the United States? 13. What three types of city government are there in the United States? 14. Is the tendency toward a council of two branches or of one branch? 15. Explain the present organization of the council-mayor government for cities. 16. How is the mayor selected and what are his duties? 17. How is the council selected and what are its duties? 18. Explain why the council-mayor type of city government does not work well and why it is favored by political bosses. 19. Describe the commission type of city government. Explain how it originated in Galveston. 20. Is "commission government" the correct name for this type of government? 21. What do you mean by a city charter? (See Sec. 221.) What are the provisions of the Galveston charter? 22. What are some of the benefits derived from this new form of government in Galveston? Tell how it came to be adopted by Des Moines. 23. What five features did Des Moines add to the Galveston plan? 24. Name four advantages of the commission type of government. 25. Describe the manager type of government. Explain how the idea originated in Staunton, Virginia. 26. Explain the working of this type of government in Sumter, South Carolina. 27. Why and when was the manager type adopted in Dayton, Ohio? 28. Explain the Dayton type of manager government. 29. What are the advantages of the manager type of government? 30. What is meant by "home rule" for cities? Why is it important? Which State has the most liberal "home rule" provisions? 31. What material do you consider best for paving a street? |