Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 1.djvu/564

 552 political deterioration, it is, in fact, perhaps the least hopeless of our political problems; for the reason that its direful state has come to be almost fully and quite generally realized, and is giving rise to the most earnest, eager, and patriotic political movements of the time. In these movements, so widespread and so interesting, we are all having a word to say; and it seems to me worth while to sum up, in what I have called a programme, a statement of what it seems to me is the work to be done; and which will possibly furnish to some readers a clearer conception of the obstacles that municipal reform has to encounter.

These obstacles divide themselves into two classes: first, defects in charters and other legal equipment—in laws or constitutions; and, secondly,deficiencies in volunteer support by the people—support which cannot be supplied by laws or constitutions.

The first class of obstacles I shall treat as summarily as possible, because I am more anxious to accent the other; and because it seems to me that so much is habitually said about reforms in the mechanism and laws of city government that far too much trust is placed in them.

I shall, then, in the form of a summary, and with little or no discussion or comment, enumerate those features of a city charter which, being most favorable to the introduction of business methods, most discouraging to those who would use the government for their own ends and most encouraging to the other sort of citizens, are necessary in a programme of reform.

First: Executive Independence—the independence of the mayor, and, under the mayor, the independence of each head of a department.

To insure this independence the executive work of the government must be wholly in the hands of the mayor; and all appointments to office, in the executive departments, must be made by the mayor without confirmation by the council.

Second: Executive Responsibility.

Just as the mayoralty is filled by one man, not only for the