Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/138

 124 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

of the English city and the sources whence they are derived (pp. 260-69). The paragraphing of a "chapter" of from one hundred to one hundred and seventy pages is, however, a difficult task.

Much of the material presented is fairly familiar to students of municipal administration; though we have -not, elsewhere, a com- prehensive survey of the municipal government of each country taken separately. Dr. Munro misses the opportunity Dr. Fairlie has of giving a comparative study, point by point, of the several munici- pal governments. He has the advantage, however, of giving an idea of, say, Prussian municipal government as a unit; and a synopsis or outline would make comparative study very easy of accomplish- ment. The present work, moreover, contains many new minor points which serve to throw light on the subject; as, for example, in the case of the explanation of the roles of politics and political parties in municipal elections in Germany (pp. 146-50) ; and in the reasons for the high standard of municipal councilors in that country (pp. 150-54) ; and the position of the Deputationen as executive committees is brought out especially well (pp. 197-205). Many points are made much clearer than in previous books, as, to cite two more instances from Germany, the result of disagreement between the council and the Magistrat (p. 161), and the payment of members of the Magistrat (p. 163), not to mention more.

Certain features have been cited by previous writers on Euro- pean municipal government, and even given space out of proportion to their relative importance because they were so radically different from what we have in America. Dr. Munro has, in several in- stances, shown how some, at least, of these features are more or less occasional rather than regular. Thus, for example, the formal regulation of a heavy fine to make civil service compulsory (p. 154) ; and the refusal of the king of Prussia to ratify the selection of a certain man as burgomaster of Berlin (p. 188).

The footnotes are adequate for the student who wishes to trace statements to their sources, and yet there is not a superabundance of them. Dr. Munro has steered very successfully between Scylla and Charybdis, in this respect. He has usually made his points clearly, using cross-references and footnotes where necessary. In some few instances, however, there is something to be desired ; as, for example, is the case with the "higher authorities" referred to cm p. 164. This is always a difficult point for American students, since we do not have higher administrative officers who have more