But the Federal government and even the state governments do not touch any one of us so closely as does the local government of our city and township; and Mr. Bryce gives (Vol. 27, p. 650) a valuable criticism of the American system of local government,—which, in some cities, indeed, seems a lack of system in the business sense of that word, and a control of the government by political parties prone to corruption, bribery and the granting of special privilege. Mr. Bryce dwells on the over-developed power of the state in legislating for the cities or other minor governmental units, and the consequent activity of local city interests in state and national politics, but he also points to the growing tendency of the states to permit cities to enact their own charters. The movement to take the city government out of politics has reached its greatest force—and its greatest success—in government by commission.
In 1902 the city of Galveston, in Texas, adopted a new form of municipal government by vesting all powers in a commission of five persons, elected by the citizens on a “general ticket,” one of whom is mayor and head of the commission, while each of the others has charge of a department of municipal administration. A similar plan, differing in some details, was subsequently introduced in the city of Des Moines, in Iowa; and the success which has attended this new departure in both cities has led to its adoption in many others, especially, but not exclusively, in the Western states.
For a fuller account see the articles on Galveston and Des Moines, where, as in other articles on towns and cities, there is a summary of their government and particularly of the distinctive features of local administration.
International Relations
What we have said, up to this point, has all dealt with our country as a self-contained unit—except that we have touched on tariffs and on immigration and on the treatment of aliens. In the article Alien (Vol. 1, p. 662) the reader will find the sentence: “In the United States the separate state laws largely determine the status of an alien, but subject to Federal treaties.” And Mr. Bryce (Vol. 27, p. 652) characterizes some of the powers allotted to the national government “which relate to its action in the international sphere.” See particularly Mr. Bryce’s remarks (Vol. 27, p. 656) on the powers of the president:
In time of war or of public disturbance, however, the domestic authority of the president expands rapidly. This was markedly the case during the Civil War. As commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and as ‘charged with the faithful execution of all laws,’ he is likely to assume, and would indeed be expected to assume, all the powers which the emergency requires. In ordinary times the president may be almost compared to the managing clerk in a large business establishment, whose chief function is to select his subordinates, the policy of the concern being in the hands of the board of directors. But when foreign affairs reach a critical stage, or when disorders within the Union require Federal intervention, immense responsibility is then thrown on one who is both commander-in-chief of the army and the head of the civil executive. In no European country is there any personage to whom the president can be said to correspond. He may have to exert more authority, even if he enjoys less dignity, than a European king. He has powers which are in ordinary times narrower than those of a European prime minister; but these powers are more secure, for instead of depending on the pleasure of a parliamentary majority, they run on to the end of his term.
In this connection you should read the articles International Law and International Law (Private), Treaties, Peace, Peace Conferences, Pan-American Conferences and Arbitration, International; the last showing plainly how large a part the United States has played in promoting better international feeling throughout the world.
Such articles as these tell how peace has changed from a purely negative condition to a positive subject of international regulation and an object of active political effort. They answer the following concrete questions on the subject:
What was the earliest plan of peace known to history? What were the Pax Romana, the “Truce of God,” the “Grand Design” of Henry IV, and other schemes for the preservation of peace?
What was the greatest deliberate effort ever made to secure the peace of the world?