town or city feel the need of more stringent laws to prevent the burning of buildings, and of especial provision for extinguishing flames. The township trustees, as health officers, are not accustomed to act with sufficient energy to meet the needs of persons living in town or city. A farmer may be as noisy as he pleases; he may ring bells and gongs at all hours of the day or night, and no one would be disposed to interfere with his liberty, but townspeople find it desirable to use the power of the government to protect themselves against noise. The township trustees, as overseers of the poor, render temporary aid to the needy, or send to the county-house persons permanently disabled. For the smaller towns this provision is sufficient, but in the large cities the number needing temporary aid is often so large that a house is necessary or desirable in which to take care of them.

Township Government Displaced. — The town or city government takes the place, in large part, for the people living within the corporation, of the township government. The town has its own assessor, and the town or city council is the board of equalization for the corporation. They are its health officers; they take entire charge of streets and highways; they may do nearly everything which the officers of the civil township do, and many things which they cannot do.

Incorporated Town. - Town or city governments are organized to attend to ordinary civil matters and to meet the special needs of the corporation. Our laws recognize and provide for four kinds of town and city governments. The most simple is the incorporated town. Whenever twenty-five voters living in the same vicinity desire to form for themselves a town government, they

may make out a town plat and apply for the privilege to the district court. It then becomes the duty of the court to name five commissioners to hold an election within the proposed corporation to determine whether a majority of the voters are in favor of a town organization. If a majority favors the change an election is held and town officers are chosen.

The Officers of an Incorporated Town. The voters choose by ballot a mayor, a recorder, an assessor, and six trustees. The mayor and recorder serve one year, the assessor two years, and the trustees serve three years. After the first election two trustees are elected each year. These officers constitute the town council. The mayor is president of the council, and has a right to vote on all questions before it. The recorder is clerk of the council, and has no right to vote. The council elects a treasurer, and the recorder may be chosen to this office. The council also elects a marshal and such other officers as they need.

Their Duties. The town council makes laws and ordinances for the good order and government of the town. Towns are permitted by our laws to do a great many things, but they are required to do only a few. The council must take the place of township trustees as a board for equalizing taxes, and as health officers. They have entire care of streets and highways. In addition to these duties they may exercise any one of a large list of powers. Yet the powers of town or city government are strictly limited by the law of the state; they can exercise no power not conferred by statute. They can prohibit billiard saloons within the corporate limits, because this power is expressly granted; they

cannot prohibit the sale of tobacco or strychnine, because this power is not granted. The town council may pass any law they please in the exercise of granted powers, and when a law is passed it becomes the duty of the mayor to see that the law is executed. The mayor is a conservator of the peace, and he may also act as a court, having the same powers and governed by the same laws as a justice of the peace. Violations of town ordinances must be tried before the mayor if he is able to hold court; if he is not able, the case goes before a justice. The town marshal is a peace officer, and has in general the same duties as the constable. He is a ministerial officer of either the mayor's or the justice's court. The marshal may also be street commissioner, and have charge of streets, sewers, and sidewalks.

Cities of the Second Class. When according to the census a town has more than 2000 inhabitants, it becomes the duty of the town government to change the form of organization, and it thus becomes a city of the second class. A city of the second class is divided into not less than three wards nor more than seven. Each ward elects two members of the city council to hold office two years, one being elected each year. The mayor is chosen biennially, and has the same relation to the council that the mayor has to the council in a town, except that he cannot vote unless there is a tie. Instead of a recorder chosen by the people, the city council has a clerk chosen by itself. The city must provide a seal to be used upon all legal papers. "The voters elect biennially a treasurer and a solicitor. A marshal, deputy marshal and police officers are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the council, and hold office during the pleasure of the mayor. The council may organize a board of health."

The duties of officers do not differ from those of corThe city

responding officers in incorporated towns. solicitor is a lawyer who gives legal advice to the council, and appears on behalf of the city in cases at law.

Cities of the First Class. Whenever the inhabitants of a city reach the number of 15,000, the organization is again changed, and it is called a city of the first class. In cities of the first class one councilman is chosen from each ward and two councilmen at large are chosen by the electors of the city. These all serve two years. The mayor is chosen for two years. The marshal, treasurer, and solicitor are all chosen by vote of the people, and their term of office is two years. In addition to these officers, whose duties are similar to those of corresponding officers in a city of the second class, a city of the first class elects, on each alternate year, a civil engineer, an auditor, a police judge, and a superintendent of markets. Various other offices may be provided for by city ordinances and filled by the mayor with consent of city council.

Cities of the first class exercise all the powers allowed to cities of lower grade and some additional powers. The city council may prescribe the width of the tires of all vehicles habitually used in the streets, and they may fix rates for the transportation of persons and property within the city.

Special Charters. Besides the incorporated town and the two classes of cities, there are several cities in the state which are governed in accordance with special charters received from the state legislature previous to the adoption of the new constitution in 1857. A city governed by a special charter is subject to general regulations of the legislature.

In comparing the different kinds of local government in the state we find that as the population increases the burden of government becomes greater, and its difficulties are increased. In the country it would seem tyrannical for the government to compel a man to have his wagon tires of a particular width, to take on and put off his load at a certain place, to charge only so much for cach service rendered. Yet the city government does these things and many others which under other circumstances would be entirely unnecessary.

Elections in Towns and Cities. In incorporated towns and cities an election is held on the first Monday in March of each year for the choosing of officers of the corporation. This election is held by the town or city council. The general elections are held by the officers of the civil township. But in the larger cities each ward is made by statute a voting precinct, and the county board of supervisors appoints judges of elections for each ward. In cities of the first and second class, according to a statute of 1886, all voters must be registered before they are permitted to vote. Six weeks before the election in November the city council is to name two men in each precinct, one from each of the two leading political parties, who shall attend to the work of registration.

Registration in Cities. The laws requiring the registration of voters in cities were amended in 1888, and again in 1894. The registration now takes place on the second Tuesday next preceding the annual general election. A complete new list was made before the annual election in 1888, and the law requires a complete new registry to be made on every fourth year