QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

1. Who is commander-in-chief of the militia? How does the militia differ from the National Guards? May the militia be called upon to assist a constable or sheriff in maintaining order?

2. Can the General Assembly of Iowa pass a law guaranteeing bank deposits, that is, agree to pay depositors the full amount of their deposits in case of a bank failure?

3. To what extent may the state contract debts? What special exceptions are there to this limit?

4. May the state become a partner in a mining corporation? Why should not the state be permitted to engage in business in competition with private corporations?

5. What is a corporation? Suppose a corporation is criminally negligent and causes the death of an employee. how would it be punished? Do you think the officers ought to be imprisoned? Why?

6. What is the permanent school fund? How are losses in this fund made up?

7. How may the constitution be amended? Should amendment be made easy or difficult?

8. Into what kinds of districts is Iowa divided? Are all of these districts for the purpose of state government? or are some for the purpose of national government? Distinguish between congressional and representative districts.

9. What effect did the adoption of the constitution have on laws that were in effect previous to its adoption?

PART III

THE NATION

CHAPTER I

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

Origin of Government. The family was the first unit of government. The father was the head of the family and in early times had absolute authority over all the members of his household. Sometimes his authority was extended to kindred outside his immediate family. From this beginning it was an easy natural step to patriarchal gov

ernment.

Patriarchal Government. When the sons married they remained in the family, their descendants also remained, and in this way the family became a tribe over which the father ruled. At his death he was succeeded by his eldest son, and the tribe continued for many generations. Illustrations of patriarchal government are found in the early history of the Hebrew nation and in the Scottish clan.

With the progress of civilization patriarchal government was superseded by forms that are still in existence. These are the monarchy, the democracy and the republic.

Monarchy. Originally a monarchy was a government ruled over by a single person, who had absolute authority over his subjects. The step from the patriarch to the monarch was natural, and at first the only real difference

between them was that the monarch's rule was not confined to a single tribe, but extended over the entire nation. Two classes of monarchies are recognized, absolute and limited. Absolute Monarchy. An absolute monarchy is one in which the supreme ruler exercises unlimited control. His decrees constitute a good portion of the laws, and the nation must obey his will. Theoretically there are now no absolute monarchies among civilized nations, but practically Turkey should be considered as such, since its constitution has afforded the subjects of the country little, if any, relief.

Limited Monarchy. A limited monarchy is one in which the authority of the ruler is restricted by a constitution. Such a monarchy has a national legislature, such as the British Parliament, which controls legislation. The government is divided into departments, each under the immediate direction of an officer in charge. These officers are styledsecretaries or ministers. Great Britain is an example of a limited monarchy.

The ruler of a monarchy takes the title of king, queen, emperor, shah, and sultan, according to the custom of the country. In practically all monarchies the ruler receives his position by inheritance. But in rare instances a ruler is chosen from the royal family of some other nation.

Democracy. A democracy is the simplest form of government by the people. In a pure democracy all the people take part in the government. Such a form of government is impracticable except in small communities. The best example of it is the New England town meeting. This meeting is composed of the legal voters of the township, who meet annually to choose town officers and transact any business necessary for the township.

Republic. A republic might be considered a democracy by representation. All the voters of a township may meet