Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 1.djvu/92

 80 which this paper will describe is not the center and circumference of the new civic spirit in Chicago; it is rather the rallying point around which the civic patriotism of Chicago citizens has gathered. But, as will be explained, the work accomplished, partly through the agency of the Civic Federation, has been performed by a great many individuals and associations in combination, each representing a different element of public interest.

I. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CIVIC FEDERATION.

In order to mark the contrast between the outlook in Chicago previous to 1893 and the present condition, the form of the Civic Federation must be described in brief. The organization consists, then, according to the by-laws as recently amended, of a central council, composed of 134 members, and an affiliated council of 100 members in each ward. Of the 34 wards in the city, 32 are already organized as branches of the central council. Of the 134 members of the central council, 100 were selected by the incorporators; the remaining 34 are presidents of the ward councils. The central council is divided into six departments, the jurisdiction of which was not originally, and has not yet been precisely defined; but the scope of the different departments has been arranged without difficulty, so that there is a practical understanding about division of labor. The six departments are (1) political, (2) municipal, (3) philanthropic, (4) industrial, (5) educational, (6) moral. The ward councils are organized with committees corresponding to the departments of the central council. The members of the ward councils are kept in touch with the plans and efforts of the central council by means of meetings called by the departmental committees of the several departments, in which meetings all members of the corresponding ward committees participate. The constitution of the Federation provides for the organization of precinct councils, which shall have the same relation to the ward councils which the latter hold to the central council. Thus far the organization of precinct councils has been attempted in only one