1. For the constitution, regulation, government and jurisdiction of police courts, and for the manner in which, the times at which, and the terms for which the judges of such courts shall be elected or appointed, and for the compensation of said judges and of their clerks and attaches. 2. For the manner in which, the times at which, and the terms for which the members of boards of education shall be elected or appointed, and the number which shall constitute any one of such boards. 3. For the manner in which, the times at which, and the terms for which the members of the boards of police commissioners shall be elected or appointed; and for the constitution, regulation, compensation, and government of such boards and of the municipal police force. 4. For the manner in which, the times at which, and the terms for which the members of all boards of election shall be elected or appointed, and for the constitution, regulation, compensation, and government of such boards, and of their clerks and attaches; and for all expenses incident to the holding of any election. Where a city and county government has been merged and consolidated into one municipal government, it shall also be competent in any charter framed under said section eight of said article eleven, to provide for the manner in which, the times at which and the terms for which the several county officers shall be elected or appointed, for their compensation, and for the number of deputies that each shall have, and for the compensation payable to each of said deputies. (Amendment adopted November 3, 1896.) At the Extra Session in 1900 the California Legislature proposed an amendment to 28 changing the requirement of a three-fifths vote (for the adoption of charter amendments) to a provision requiring only a majority vote (for said purpose). The Missouri Charter Amendment. The Constitution of Missouri (1875), Art. IX, Sections 16 and 17 provide that: Sec. 16. Any city having a population of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants may frame a charter for its own government, consistent with and subject to the Constitution and laws of this State, by causing a board of thirteen freeholders, who shall have been at least five years qualified voters thereof, to be elected by the qualified voters of such city at any general or special election; which board shall, within ninety days after such election, return to the chief magistrate of such city a draft of such charter, signed by the members of such board or a majority of them. Within thirty days thereafter, such proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of such city, at a general or special election, and if foursevenths of such qualified voters voting thereat shall ratify the same, it shall at the end of thirty days thereafter, become the charter of such city, and supersede any existing charter and amendments thereof. A duplicate cer tificate shall be made, setting forth the charter proposed and its ratification, which shall be signed by the chief magistrate of such city and authenticated by its corporate seal. One of such certificates shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, and the other, after being recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in which such city lies, shall be deposited among the archives of such city, and all courts shall take judicial notice thereof. Such charter, so adopted, may be amended by a proposal therefor, made by the law-making authorities of such city, published for at least thirty days in three newspapers of largest circulation in such city, one of which shall be a newspaper printed in the German language, and accepted by three-fifths of the qualified voters of such city, voting at a special or general election, and not otherwise; but such charter shall always be in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of the State. or Sec. 17. It shall be a feature of all such charters that they shall provide, among other things, for a mayor chief magistrate, and two houses of legislation, one of which at least shall be elected by general ticket; and in submitting any such charter or amendment thereto to the qualified voters of such city, any alternative section or article may be presented for choice of the voters, and may be voted on separately, and accepted or rejected separately, without prejudice to other articles or sections of the charter or any amendment thereto. Special provision for St. Louis was made in sections 20 to 23 inclusive, of the same article, as follows: Sec. 20. The City of St. Louis may extend its limits so as to embrace the parks now within its boundaries, and other convenient and contiguous territory, and frame a charter for the government of the city thus enlarged, upon the following conditions, that is to say; The council of the city and county court of the county of St. Louis, shall, at the request of the mayor of the city of St. Louis, meet in joint session and order an election, to be held as provided for general elections, by the qualified voters of the city and county, of a board of thirteen freeholders of such city or county, whose duty it shall be to propose a scheme for the enlargement and definition of the boundaries of the city, the reorganization of the government of the county, the adjustment of the relations between the city thus enlarged and the residue of St. Louis county, and the government of the city thus enlarged, by a charter in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of Missouri, which shall, among other things, provide for a chief executive and two houses of legislation, one of which shall be elected by general ticket, which scheme and charter shall be signed in duplicate by said board or a majority of them, and one of them returned to the mayor of the city and the other to the presiding justice of the county court within ninety days after the election of such board. Within thirty days thereafter the city coun FREEHOLD CHARTER AMENDMENTS. cil and county court shall submit such scheme to the qualified voters of the whole county, and such charter to the qualified voters of the city so enlarged, at an election to be held not less than twenty nor more than thirty days after the order therefor; and if a majority of such qualified voters, voting at such election, shall ratify such scheme and charter, then such scheme shall become the organic law of the county and city, and such charter the organic law the city, and at the end of sixty.days thereafter shall take the place of and supersede the charter of St. Louis, and all amendments thereof, and all special laws relating to St. Louis county inconsistent with such scheme. (a) of Sec. 21. Scheme and charter, how authenticated-Judicial Notice.-A copy of such scheme and charter, with a certificate thereto appended, signed by the mayor and authenticated by the seal of the city, and also signed by the presiding justice of the county court and authenticated by the seal of the county, setting forth the submission of such scheme and charter to the qualified voters of such county and city, and its ratification by them, shall be made in duplicate, one of which shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, and the other, after being recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds of St. Louis county, shall be deposited among the archives of the city, and thereafter all courts shall take judicial notice thereof. (b) Sec. 22. Charter, how amended.-The charter so ratified may be amended at intervals of not less than two years, by proposals therefor, submitted by the law-making authorities of the city to the qualified voters thereof at a general or special election, held at least sixty days after the publication of such proposals, and accepted by at least three-fifths of the qualified voters voting thereat. (c) Sec. 23. Charter in harmony with constitution and laws-various provisions under.-Such charter and amendments shall always be in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of Missouri, except only that provision may be made for the graduation of the rate of taxation for city purposes in the portions of the city which are added thereto by the proposed enlargement of its boundaries. In the adjustment of the relations between city and county, the city shall take upon itself the entire park tax; and in consideration of the city becoming the proprietor of all the county buildings and property within its enlarged limits, it shall assume the whole of the existing county debt, and thereafter the city and county shall be independent of each other. The city shall be exempted from all county taxation. The judges of the county court shall be elected by the qualified voters outside of the city. The city, as enlarged, shall be entitled to the same representation in the General Asembly, collect the State revenue and perform all other functions in relation to the State, in the same manner, as if it were a county as in this Constitution defined; and the residue of the county shall remain a legal county of the State ΧΙ of Missouri, under the name of the county of St. Louis. Until the next apportionment for senators and representatives in the General Assembly, the city shall have six senators and fifteen representatives, and the county one senator, and two representatives, the same being the number of senators and representatives to which the county of St. Louis, as now organized, is entitled under sections eight and eleven of article IV of this Constitution. (d) The Detroit Charter Law. In Michigan the Direct Legislation League in 1899 secured an act by which the people of Detroit can amend their own charter. The Common Council on its own initiative may submit a charter amendment to a referendum of the people, or 5,000 voters by an initiative petition may force the Council to submit a charter amendment. On the urging of the League, the Common Council on August 2d, by a unanimous vote, agreed to submit at the November election the following amendment to the people of Detroit: "The Common Council of the City of Detroit shall not grant to any person or corporation a franchise; nor extend the life of any existing franchise for the use or control of any public utility, unless such franchise shall have been first submitted to a vote of the people of said city, and until the same shall have been approved by a majority of the electors of the municipality voting thereon at such election. All grants in contravention of this provision, and which shall not have been first submitted to a vote of the people and approved by a majority of the electors Voting thereupon, shall be null and void. The Common Council of said city may in its discretion submit to the electors of said municipality, either at a general or a special election called for that purpose, any proposition embodying the granting of rights, privileges or franchises for the use or control of public utilities in the City of Detroit. a "Provided, that any one and all propositions which are to be submitted to referendum vote shall be publisht, by title and in full at least once a week for eight successive weeks immediately preceding said election, in at least four newspapers publisht in the City of Detroit, and at least six half-sheet poster notices displayed conspicuously in each precinct of the city; and the Common Council may require that any or all expenses thereby entailed shall be paid by the party or parties applying for franchise. And be it further "Provided, That this amendment shall not apply to the granting of any franchise for an extension not exceeding one and one-half (12) miles in length on any street where a street railway franchise exists, for a term equal to the unexpired term of the franchise on the line so extended." APPENDIX II. CHARTER MAKING. Suggestions that may be Useful in Making Charters under the Proposed Home-Rule Amendment (Appendix I. C.). Or, if the Legislature is Unwilling to give Cities full Liberty to Make their own Charters, it may still be Willing to Adopt a Liberal Municipal Corporations Act, Prescribing in Concise Terms the Main Outlines of City Organization, fixing the Features in respect to which Uniformity is deemed desirable and leaving the rest to be determined according to the judgment of each particular city. In such case the following provisions (with some modifications and additions which will occur to any legislator dealing with the matter) may be found valuable as suggesting the means of framing a liberal and flexible law. The dual nature of a municipality must be kept clearly in mind. It is an agency of the State in respect to state interests, and it is also in business on its own account. In respect to order, education, general commerce, health, etc., it has interests common to the whole state, and in dealing with them acts for the state as well as for itself. Within such agency and so far as it may be seriously affected by the form and conditions of the city gov. ernment, it is right for the state to prescribe by general laws what the city may do and how it may organize. But in respect to such matters as street paving, local transit, municipal franchises, etc., it is clear that the local interest is paramount, and full freedom within the limits of just dealing should be accorded the city in such affairs. Even where the state interest is strongest as in matters of justice, education, defense, etc., the local interest is still stronger. The citizens of a city are more deeply interested in the order, education, and safety of the city than the rest of the state can possibly be. By the fundamental principles of free government the power should go with the interest, and the city should have full liberty to work out its own well being in its own way subject to such general limitations as may be necessary to conserve the vital interests of the state. It is right for the state to set 1 The contrary system now in vogue whereby the city has no rights of its own but is the "creature of the legislature,' as our law-books put it, is one of the principal reasons for the mismanagement of our cities, the corruption of XII SUGGESTIONS FOR A MODEL CHARTER. XIII up general standards in respect to state interests below which no municipality must fall in dealing with such interests, but beyond which any city or town may go as far as it chooses. As a matter of fact cities frequently do exceed state requirements in provision for education, fire protection, etc. The charter of a city bears the same relation to the city and its government that the constitution of a state bears to the state and its government, and ordinances are to the city what statutes are to the state. The municipal constitution like the state constitution should ne simple, brief, comprehensive—a statement of elementary facts and principles, an outline of municipal policy, the framework of local government. The details should be left for the ordinances. This will make the government clear, strong and flexible-easily understood and easily molded as occasion may require. With this thought in mind in addition to those expressed in preceding pages respecting municipal sovereignty in local affairs, and free initiative in all affairs subject only to the constitution and general laws relating to state and national interests, we present the following outline as a suggestion of what may be done in the way of reducing a charter to its lowest terms, and making it the simple, concise and vigorous instrument it ought to be. Criticisms and suggestions from our readers in regard to this outline are specially requested in order that we may render it more perfect in future publications.2 Our our legislatures and the lack of municipal patriotism among our people. It would be manifestly absurd for the National Government at Washington to control the internal affairs of New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, deciding that one street shall be paved with asphalt, another with stone; that one company should have a telephone franchise, another a gas privilege and a third enjoy the street railway monopoly; that one city officer should be elected and another appointed; that the salary of one city official should be $5,000, another $10,000, and the terms 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. people would regard such control as despotic interference of outsiders in affairs of local concern. Yet it is only a little less absurd to allow a Legislature in Albany, Harrisburg or Springfield to determine such matters for New York, Philadelphia or Chicago. The legislature determines whether or no a city may own and operate its street railways, telephones and water service, how wide its streets shall be, what officers it shall have. Down to the minutest detail our Legislatures may and do regulate the organization, methods, powers and activities of our cities. If it were not for the blinding power of usage we should regard this also as despotic control of outsiders in local concerns, and would start a crusade to free our cities from their "abject slavery to legislative despotism." 2 Dr. Taylor desired an outline or skeleton of a city, charter to send to legislators and other progressive men along with the reasons for municipal liberty and the proposed forms of constitutional amendment and statutory enactment intended to secure such liberty, so that if the reader were disposed to take a part in this great movement for truer self-government, he might have before him the model of a liberty charter whereby he might attain a clearer idea of the work to be done in this field from start to finish. The intricacy and difficulty of the task and the lack of any satisfactory precedents made me very reluctant about attempting to draw a model charter. But the Doctor mildly persisted as he always does when he knows he has a good idea, and finally I said I would make the effort provided the thing should not be called "a model charter," but only "suggestions for a model charter" to which the Doctor readily assented, that being in fact exactly what he wanted. So I gathered a pile of freehold charters adopted in western cities under the home-rule amendments, got out my notes of the various municipal acts or statutory charters in our States, analyzed the "Municipal_Program" put forth by Dr. Albert Shaw, Hon. Clinton Rogers Woodruff, Prof. Rowe of Pa. University, Prof. Goodnow of Columbia, and other eminent authorities, made a list of the principles and methods successfully applied in public affairs in England, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand, and 1. Name and boundaries of the city. § 2. Wards or divisions of the city to be fixed by ordinance and changed as occasion may require. ARTICLE 2. POWERS. § 1. The city shall have entire control of its streets, local franchises and public utilities, roads, parks, fire, water, gas and electric light services, street railways, local telephone exchange and other distinctly municipal affairs. In respect to safety, order, health, education, general commerce and communication, and other state interests the city shall be free to act in any way it deems best provided it does not run in our own cities, States and nation, and lastly set down such possible methods as I could think of in aid of the great purposes of municipal sovereignty in local affairs, real government by and for the people, the merit system of civil service and public ownership of public utilities. Then I crossed off clause by clause what seemed superfluous or objectionable or clearly unattainable, classified and condensed what remained, and so worked out a charter form which was submitted to a referendum (the Dr. was the referendum as well as the initiative in this case) and so fortunate was the suggested charter that it was adopted on the first ballot by unanimous vote with no change but in three or four words of Art. 3, and Art. 10. It will be found very unlike the complex, verbose municipal acts that cumber the statute books of so many States. It is much more simple and concise than even the newly adopted freehold charters of St. Louis. Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc. The habit of putting in city charters a large amount of matter which ought to be left to the ordinances makes such charters needlessly cumbersome. For example it is usual to describe the wards in full in the charter, filling sometimes several pages with the details of a subject that is in flux and must be dealt with from time to time by ordinance and should be left to ordinances from the start under a broad charter clause. If brevity is really the soul of wit, our suggested charter is certainly a witty document (tho you might not discover the fact without the aid of this time-honored maxim) and it contains, moreover, many novel features such as the overlapping term for appointive offices of a non-political nature (a new plan of cooling the plunder motive and barring the spoils system now presented for the first time, so far as I am aware), the civil service court, the expanded system of mutual checks between administrative departments and between legislative and administrative officers, the popular recall and the definit sphere of municipal sovereignty (the first attempt I believe to define the sphere of local government, or reduce the principle of the popular recall to definit phrasing in a charter provision), direct nominations, majority choice, direct legislation, proportional representation, etc. The substance of the provisions relating to public ownership of public utilities is taken from the new freehold charter of San Francisco-a free rendering and much condensed, but retaining the spirit and essence. The provision for gradual extinguishment of the capital of public service plants was suggested by the policy of Prussia and Belgium and other countries in respect to national railways and other public utilities, and the practice in many of our own cities in respect to water and electric plants. The industrial arbitration clause and the co-operative construction of public works find abundant justification in the wonderful success of these methods in New Zealand. The safeguards against corrupt practices and the power of executive and legislative authorities to push each other out of office and carry the whole policy of the government to the people, are applications of principles that have proved of the utmost value |