Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/142

 128 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

A Defense of Organized Charities. The only assumption of organized charity workers is the recognition of the patent fact of actual suffering. They have no dispo- sition to retard social reform. < )rgani/ed charity deals with the causes of poverty and -plendid record in making dependents self-supporting- It ieco^ni/es not only the social, but the personal causes of poverty. The mistaken methods of almsgiving criticised are the raison d'etre of organized charities. The charge of bad methods of charity mxani/ations should not be laid against organized charity as such. Organized charity, instead of taking the soul out of charity, puts a soul into it through the sympathetic studv and personal attention given to every case. FREDERICK WILLIAM 11 AMI i ./<-, April 1897. * r -

The Development of American Cities. Our municipal government is in theory more democratic than that of Europe. But when results are compared we find that the European cities do far more than ours for "the people," so that we have much to learn from them.

Good government is largely a question of good administration. This can be had in a large city only by intrusting to some one man the full power of executive direction. Civil service must be vigorously applied.

Municipal functions are of three kinds : (i) Those of primar necessity, such as police and fire protection (2) others now looked upon as necessary, such as food inspec- tion, and the regulation of the liquor traffic ; and (3) those affording opportunities for higher education, recreation, and comfort, as libraries, parks, play grounds, and public baths. In this third class, although our conception of the functions of government is widening, we have much to learn. Our cities should do everything promotive of the well-being of the people. JOSIAH QUINCY, Mayor of Boston, in Arena, March, 1897.

M.

Democratic Tendencies. Democracy is an old idea, but is now working under new conditions. There wtre democracies in Greece. But there ability was recog- nized. Here the dogma of equality instead of meaning equality of political rights and burdens has gone farther and belittled "special ability" and "capacity." Then, too, the functions of government, just as our whole life, have broadened, demanding an ever more complex machinery and more highly skilled administration. While we have recognized " fitness " in some of our minor offices, our larger ones have become political " spoils," and as a result we have really less, instead of greater, ability to correspond to the greater needs. That we are not securing increased " intellectual equipment" corresponding to the greater need for it is our most serious problem. K. L. GODKIN in the Atlantic Monthly, February 1897. M.

The Problem of Municipal Government. " Municipal government is doing certain lines of work for a city for the least sum of expense. .... Contracts are the center and almost the entire circumference of municipal government, " and there- fore " furnish the chief municipal problem." It is impossible to find any one thing which will solve the problem for all time. Minimizing the number of contracts by an extension of municipal ownership and of the "day wages" system can do much. The most effective way of then dealing with contracts is to refer them to the people by means of the referendum. HAZEN S. PINGREE in Arena, April, 1897. M.