a 
 
 The National Child Labor Committee 141 
 
 said that 4ie..^lieved that this amount of money and much more could be 
 spent effectively''1n-4;dping to lighten the burdens of childhood, and that it 
 would come back many1Pt>kiin the future. He closed with an appeal to those 
 who are interested in this subject to enlist jthe active co-operation of every 
 worker, and, if possible, of those ' vs^o e^n give of their substance to the 
 financial support of the work of the Natjonal Committee and of the several 
 state and local committees. 
 
 A 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal 
 
 Parties 
 
 A Symposium on 
 
 Reform Organizations in 
 
 Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, 
 Minneapolis, Kansas City, Mo., Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 CITY PARTY. 
 
 By William Clark Mason, Esq. 
 
 On the 7th of last November the fusion forces in Philadelphia, led by 
 the City Party, after a campaign such as had never before been seen in our 
 city, polled 148,000 votes against 100,000 cast for the regular Republican 
 organization, the candidates of the City Party being elected by a clear 
 majority of 48,000 votes. 
 
 As soon as the “Organization” had recovered from the shock of defeat, 
 the prophets found their voice, and it was very generally stated that this 
 victory for the City Party was the result of a spasm on the part of the public, 
 and that before very long the eminently respectable citizens would go to sleep, 
 and the “Organization” would come to its own again. But for once the pro¬ 
 phets misjudged the sentiment of the people. The organization of the City 
 Party successfully withstood the temptations which come with victory, and 
 maintained intact its membership in the various wards. 
 
 The municipal election which was held on the 20th of this past February 
 was the anniversary of the first contest in which the City Party engaged, 
 and was regarded by all to be the test of the strength of the City Party. At 
 this time there wa* nothing unusual to arouse the interest of the voters; 
 there were none of the dramatic elements present which attended the No¬ 
 vember campaign, and the managers of the Republican organization predicted 
 a victory of at least forty thousand for their candidates. The offices to be 
 filled were those of Magistrate, to be elected by the city at large; members 
 
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 \ 
 
Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 143 
 
 of Select Councils in sixteen wards; members of Common Councils in eleven 
 wards; school directors and election officers in all of the forty-three wards 
 of the city. In those wards where there was a councilmanic contest an 
 energetic campaign was waged, and in some wards where the school directors 
 presented the only issue the lines between the City Party and the Repub¬ 
 lican organization were clearly drawn—but in none of the wards was there 
 the same personal interest of all the independent voters that was shown in 
 the November campaign. The burden of carrying on the February fight fell 
 upon the “workers” of the City Party in the several divisions. The campaign 
 lasted about four weeks, and instead of red fire and sensational newspaper 
 support which aided much in November there was the sober personal argu¬ 
 ment of the earnest adherents of the City Party, interested in obtaining the 
 proper type of men as municipal servants. When the polls had closed and 
 the votes were counted, in spite of the fact that the total vote cast was less 
 by 50,000 than it was in November, the candidate for Magistrate on the 
 City Party ticket received a majority of 11,000 over the candidate of the 
 Republican organization. Out of sixteen Select Councilmen to be elected 
 the City Party elected eight, and also elected eight Common Councilmen 
 out of the thirteen voted for, in addition to 234 school directors out of a 
 total of 516. 
 
 In February, 1905, the City Party failed to carry a single ward; in 
 November, 1905, the candidates of the City Party carried twenty-eight wards, 
 while in the recent election the City Party carried eighteen wards for school 
 directors and twenty-two wards for Magistrate. The most important feature 
 of the victory, however, is that the City Party elected the majority or minority 
 election officer in nearly every one of the eleven hundred election divisions 
 in the city, thus ensuring an honest conduct of elections for the period of at 
 least one year. The control of the elections boards has been the source 
 of greatest power for corruption and fraud on the part of the Republican 
 organization in the past, and with this element of strength eliminated from 
 the “Organization,” it only remains for the independent citizens to cast their 
 votes at the ensuing elections to assure the election of the candidates of the 
 people. 
 
 The success of the City Party in February means that the victory in 
 November was not a mere outburst of enthusiasm due to the emotions of a 
 day and the glare of red lights. It means that the people of Philadelphia 
 have seriously and soberly expressed their will that the government of our 
 city shall be retained in the hands of the citizens, and that the public servants 
 shall represent their constituents and not a group of public service corpora¬ 
 tions or municipal contractors. 
 
 The effect of this second victory of the City Party will be shown when 
 the City Councils organize in April, and from present indications it would 
 seem likely that, although the Councilmen elected by the City Party are in 
 the minority in both branches of Councils, the president of both branches 
 will be elected from the supporters of the City Party. The fact that this is 
 possible shows that members of the old organization appreciate that the 
 
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144 
 
 The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 people are aroused and will insist that their will be obeyed. It means that 
 once more the people shall have a government which shall be representative 
 of the majority instead of the minority, and that the day is not far distant 
 when every citizen shall be an active participant in the government of the 
 municipality of which he is a member. The result will be a higher type of 
 public officials, more intelligent legislation, and more efficient administration 
 of all departments of the government, to the betterment of the moral and 
 physical welfare of the entire community. 
 
 BALTIMORE 
 
 a REFORM LEAGUE. 
 h MUNICIPAL LEAGUE. 
 
 By Solomon Blum^ Johns Hopkins University. 
 
 Baltimore's political position, while not unique among our large cities, is 
 certainly unusual in that the question of corruption in our civic life has not 
 been predominant for the last decade or more, nor has any new problem 
 such as municipal ownership assumed sufficient proportions to cause the 
 formation of a municipal party antagonistic to the two old parties. The 
 interest has shifted to a great degree from the political to the economic field. 
 As a consequence, civic organizations and third parties do not play the con¬ 
 spicuous part in Baltimore’s political life that they do in New York, Philadel¬ 
 phia and Chicago. 
 
 In every municipal campaign within recent years citizens’ organizations 
 have been formed either by the party machines or by Independent Democrats, 
 Independent Republicans or by “Simon Pure” Independents for the purpose 
 of aiding some candidate or measure. Frequently their campaigns are carried 
 on with great vigor through the press, by public meeting and by direct canvass 
 of the voters. 
 
 After the elections these organizations disband. At times they have 
 exerted considerable influence. In the recent election the Democratic Anti- 
 Amendment Association opposed the proposed constitutional amendment 
 which was being fathered by the Democratic organization, and was one of 
 the potent factors in its overwhelming defeat. In the elections which resulted 
 in the passage of the bills authorizing the issue of municipal bonds an organi¬ 
 zation of Independents was influential. 
 
 The Baltimore Reform League, which I described in some detail in the 
 March, 1905, Annals, is supposed to be entirely non-partisan. It is a small 
 compact organization composed of many of the most valued citizens of Balti¬ 
 more, and maintains its influence because the great body of the citizens 
 believe in the sincerity of its purposes and have confidence in the men who 
 are at its head. The chief work of the league at present is to investigate the 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 
 
 145 
 
 qualifications of judges of elections and to bring before the Supervisors of 
 elections the results of its labors. 
 
 It is probable that if any crisis in our political situation should arise this 
 body would become, as it has been in the past, the nucleus for the independent 
 movement in the city. At present any positive policy which it may have has 
 been subordinated to its efforts to promote pure elections. 
 
 The Municipal League of Baltimore was organized in February, 1905. 
 Its purpose is somewhat similar to that of the reform leagues. Its methods are 
 different, however. A call was issued to one hundred citizens supposed to 
 represent the various elements of our population irrespective of political 
 affiliation. The attempt was then made to enlist the support of as many 
 voters as possible by the circulation of petitions. As no obligation was 
 incurred by signing this petition, the number of signers was not in any 
 sense an adequate index of the league’s strength. The league then started 
 an investigation of the councilmanic candidates of both parties; and in an 
 elaborate report given to the press the qualifications of the candidates were 
 set forth. In the primaries which followed the league was not as influential 
 as its organizers had hoped it to be. And in the election the results were 
 not more promising for its future influence. It is too early, perhaps, to 
 state with certainty either the future policy or influence of the league. 
 
 There are two reasons which make the formation of a municipal party 
 particularly difficult. In recent years, owing either to the improved election 
 laws or to an actual increase in numbers, the Republican party has been able 
 to make a vigorous contest both for the Mayoralty and for members of 
 the Council. In two instances it elected its Mayoralty candidate, and in the 
 last campaign the result had to be decided by the courts. This has put both 
 parties upon their mettle, and has prevented the evils of one-party domination 
 which have afflicted other cities. This, too, has made the independent voter a 
 factor to be counted on and catered to by both parties. The most distinctive 
 feature in our municipal life is the importance of the negro vote. Of all our 
 large cities Baltimore has, next to Washington, the largest negro population 
 in the country, and by far the largest effective negro voting population. Of 
 the registered voters October, 1904, there were, of a total of 119,271, 17,880 
 negroes, or about 15 per cent, of the registered vote. This vote is almost solidly 
 Republican and the most immobile of any class of the population. No third 
 »party could hope to change the allegiance of the negro vote. As a conse¬ 
 quence, any such party would be looked upon by the Democrats, who might 
 otherwise have been attracted to it, as an adjunct to the Republicans, and, in 
 fact, it would be so. It seems, therefore, that unless both of the present 
 parties become hopelessly corrupt or incompetent or the demand for some 
 special reform as municipal ownership becomes crystallized into a great civic 
 desire which both parties refuse to satisfy, the prospect for the success of a 
 municipal party is decidedly remote. 
 
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146 
 
 The Annals 0} the American Academy 
 
 « 
 
 BUFFALO 
 
 a REFERENDUM LEAGUE. 
 b MUNICIPAL LEAGUE. 
 
 By Robert S. Binkerd^ Secretary Municipal League of Buffalo. 
 
 The Municipal and Referendum Leagues took an active part in the 
 municipal election of last November. The Referendum League ran three 
 unsuccessful independent candidates for Alderman, and secured the submission 
 on the voting machines of the question, “Shall the City of Buffalo own a 
 municipal electric lighting and power plant?” About 12 per cent, of the 
 citizens voted on the proposition, four-fifths of the vote cast being in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 The Municipal League followed the well-known Chicago plan and ran 
 no independent candidates, but investigated and published the records of 
 party candidates. Of twelve candidates for Alderman recommended six 
 were elected. Notable victories were secured in the defeat of two boodle 
 candidates for nomination in the Sixth and Twenty-fifth Wards, while in 
 the final elction an indicted boodle Alderman in the Fifth Ward was defeated. 
 The greatest victory, however, was the defeat of “Honest John” Martin, of 
 the Twentieth Ward, one of the worst figures in the Common Council. His 
 former plurality of 656 w'as changed to defeat by 45 votes. 
 
 Out of thirteen candidates for supervisor recommended six were elected, 
 and at the primaries the former leader of the Republican gang was defeated 
 for renomination. The independent conduct of the new supervisors has had 
 a tonic effect on that board. 
 
 The league set out to elect one assessor and to defeat another, and 
 succeeded. The recommended candidate received the highest vote cast,39,ooo, 
 and the condemned candidate the lowest vote cast, 23,000. 
 
 For Councilman the league recommended only two candidates, one of 
 w'hom received the highest Councilmanic vote cast, the other running at the 
 head of the Republican Councilmanic candidates. Both of the league’s 
 recommendations for morning justice were elected by large majorities. 
 
 No attempt has been made to organize a distinctly municipal party. 
 The idea of independent voting in municipal elections is just beginning to 
 take hold of Buffalo, ‘which is not yet sufficiently awakened. The presence 
 of about 80,000 Poles and 20,000 Italians creates a serious problem, while 
 the large German vote moves slowly to independent action. 
 
 The Municipal League is a permanent organization, carefully watches 
 the work of the city and county governments, keeps up to date the records 
 of all officials, and stands ready at any time to crystalize public sentiment 
 and action against bad measures. 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 
 
 147 
 
 CINCINNATI 
 
 a CITIZENS’ MUNICIPAL PARTY. 
 b HONEST ELECTION COMMITTEE. 
 
 By Max B. May^ Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 The only «ty organization that has participated actively in municipal 
 elections is the Citizens’ Municipal Party, which was organized in the spring 
 of 1903 in the municipal election of that year, nominating a municipal ticket. 
 That party was supported by the Democratic organization, but the ticket was 
 not successful. The Citizens’ Municipal Party aims to be entirely independent 
 and to bring about a total separation of national, state and municipal politics, 
 but owing to the fact that in 1904 the spring elections which had heretofore 
 occurred in Ohio were abolished and the elections this year were held on the 
 same day that the state and county elections took place, the Citizens’ Party 
 as such was unable to nominate a ticket of its own, and therefore co-operated 
 with a Democratic party by endorsing the municipal ticket, which was suc¬ 
 cessful. 
 
 On November 7, 1905, there took place in Cincinnati one of the most 
 important elections in her history. For many years past the city and county 
 have been under the domination of the Republican machine. In the spring 
 of 1903 there was nominated against the Republican city ticket the Citizens’ 
 municipal ticket, which was defeated by a majority of 15,000. In the county 
 and city election in the fall of 1903, and in the Presidential election of 1904, 
 the Republican majority in the county was so large that there seemed little 
 hope of dislodging the machine. So confident were the Republican leaders 
 that, during the legislative session of 1904, there was passed a bill abolishing 
 spring city elections and providing that the next city election should take 
 place in .the fall of 1905. In Hamilton county there was nominated in the 
 * last week of September the usual city and county ticket. The leaders of 
 the City Municipal Party, seeing that the only chance of success lay in the 
 nomination of a strong Democratic ticket, wisely agreed to lend its support 
 to this ticket. One of the strongest Democrats in the city. Judge Edward J. 
 Dempsey, was nominated for Mayor. At the time of the nomination it 
 seemed almost of an herculean task to overcome the Republican majority 
 of 1904, which amounted to 42,000 in the county and some 36,000 in the city. 
 However, all friends of good government united in this great task, and a 
 victorious and aggressive campaign was begun. The Republican organiza¬ 
 tion did nothing. The Times-Star and the Commercial-Tribune and the 
 Republican German papers made a vigorous campaign on behalf of the 
 ticket. The only support the Democratic ticket received in the way of active 
 campaign work was from the Evening Post and the Citizens’ Bulletin, a 
 small weekly that has appeared regularly since the spring of 1903. The 
 prospects did not seem the brightest, but when the citizens of Cincinnati, 
 Sunday morning, October 21, read in the Cincinnati Enquirer (the only morn¬ 
 ing paper in Cincinnati that carried the speech in full) the great speech of 
 
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148 
 
 The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 the Secretary of War, Honorable William Taft, that had been delivered 
 the day before at Akron, Ohio, in which he stated that if he were in Cincin¬ 
 nati he would vote against the Cox municipal ticket, every one felt that the 
 knell of the Cox reign had been sounded. From that time on the work in 
 favor of the Democratic ticket became more aggressive, and it was in the 
 air that Judge Dempsey and the entire Democratic ticket would win. At the 
 election held in November last this prediction w’as verified. Judge Dempsey 
 being elected by a majority of nearly 7000, and the county ticket, with the 
 exception of Probate Judge, was elected by a majority of 6000; the Repub¬ 
 lican state ticket only carried Hamilton county by majorities of less than 500. 
 
 The defeat of the Cox machine is not entirely complete, because the City 
 Council is still Republican, but there are not enough Republican votes to 
 override the Mayor’s veto. 
 
 Of course, the question now asked by every one is what will the Demo¬ 
 crats do with their victory? This remains to be seen. The Legislature that 
 meets in January next, though Republican by a small majority in the House, 
 will be called upon to enact some very important remedial legislation, such as 
 a new ballot law. An effort will be made to have the state adopt the pure 
 Australian ballot. Should this be done, the friends of the ballot and of good 
 government expect to repeal the Dana law, which prohibits the candidate’s 
 name from appearing more than once on the ballot. The Legislature will also 
 be called upon to enact a civil service bill for the state, county and city, and the 
 local branch of the National Civil Service Reform League is now preparing 
 such a bill. 
 
 Two important constitutional amendments were adopted at the November 
 election—the one exempting from taxation all bonds of the state of Ohio, 
 bonds of any city, village, hamlet, county or township in the state, and bonds 
 issued in behalf of the public schools of Ohio and the amount of instruction 
 in connection therewith, and the other amendment provides that hereafter 
 municipal elections shall be in odd years and county and state elections in 
 even years. The adoption of this amendment will give the Ohio cities a 
 separate municipal election. 
 
 The Citizens’ Municipal Party, now that municipal elections are to be 
 held in odd years by constitutional amendment, is endeavoring to organize 
 on a permanent basis. It is securing pledges from citizens generally to 
 become members of the party whose platform is total separation of state 
 and national from city politics and the nomination of candidates solely upon 
 merit. This party has an executive committee, and its leaders publish a 
 weekly paper devoted to its cause called the “Citizens’ Bulletin.” 
 
 . The maintenance of a distinctively municipal party is particularly difficult 
 in this city, because the regular election machinery is in the hands of the 
 central committee of the two dominant parties, parties which are national 
 in scope, and under the existing election laws it is impossible for a purely 
 municipal party to have its ticket placed upon the official ballot without 
 presenting petitions properly signed as required by law. Then, again, the 
 local press, with one exception, has given no support whatever to a dis- 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 
 
 149 
 
 tinctively municipal party, and heretofore the public at large has to some 
 extent been so terrorized by the local machine that the majority of people 
 were afraid to come out publicly in support of any movement opposed to 
 the machine. 
 
 During the last campaign the Honest Election Committee was organized 
 and did effective work. This committee has prepared important legislation 
 which has already been introduced into the legislature, and when adopted 
 will remove many of the difficulties which now stand in the way of inde¬ 
 pendent movement. It is too early to state whether or not such movement 
 will be successful. This legislation contemplates the Massachusetts ballot law, 
 the direct primary law, a new registration law, a corrupt practice law and 
 also the repeal of the Dana law, which prevents a candidate’s name appearing 
 more than once on the official ballot. Without some change in the election 
 laws it will be extremely difficult for an independent municipal movement to 
 succeed permanently. 
 
 PITTSBURGH 
 
 VOTERS’ CIVIC LEAGUE. 
 
 By Tensard De Wolfe, Secretary Voters’ Civic League, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 On February 20th Pittsburgh elected as Mayor George W. Guthrie. He 
 is a Democrat in national politics, but his election was made possible by the 
 support of the independent element. This is a decisive victory for the inde¬ 
 pendent voters of Pittsburgh. It also means the end of the present Republican 
 machine in this city. A reorganization will be necessary, and it is believed 
 that it will be headed by a better element than has heretofore taken part in 
 political affairs. 
 
 The present reform victory, which is complete and substantial, comes 
 after four years of constant political warfare. In 1902 the old Republican 
 machine, which had ruled the city for twenty years, was overthrown. But 
 the new machine was just as bad as the old, and its three years of administra¬ 
 tion were no improvement on the past. Mr. Guthrie was nominated for 
 Mayor by the independent element, and through various political deals all 
 the machine bosses—both new and old—were arrayed against him. Thus the 
 independent victory was complete. Mr. Guthrie is a man of the highest 
 character, wide experience, large ability. 
 
 Several independent municipal parties have been formed in Pittsburgh 
 to meet the needs of the occasion. None of them have been permanent, 
 although they may have lasted through one or more campaigns. They were 
 formed along distinctively municipal lines. They have had the support of 
 the best element in the city, and had much to do with the present independent 
 victory. 
 
 The only permanent organization looking forward to a betterment of 
 civic conditions is the Voters’ Civic League. It takes no other part, however, 
 
 (407) 
 
 •V 
 
150 The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 in active politics than investigating and reporting on candidates for city and 
 county offices. Its work has been very effective, and the league in the future 
 must be reckoned with by political parties, 
 
 Pittsburgh has suffered much from machine rule, but from the recent 
 mayoralty election it is apparent that the honest voters of the community 
 have discovered that they can elect their own officers. For the future it is 
 believed that no machine will be able to entrench itself so substantially that 
 it cannot be dislodged. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS 
 
 a CITIZENS’ PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION. 
 h CITIZENS’ LEAGUE. 
 
 By James J. McLoughlin, New Orleans, La. 
 
 The reform element in municipal elections in New Orleans has been 
 spasmodic in its manifestations. The city being overwhelmingly Democratic 
 in its politics, of course all reform movements to be successful must be within 
 the party, and whenever they have succeeded, they have worked in line with 
 the principles of the national Democratic party. 
 
 In 1888 the first reform movement of any consequence began; it was 
 organized under the name of the “Young Men’s Democratic Association,” was 
 formed within the party, and was composed principally of citizens of means 
 and influence. Their organization was throughout the entire city, and was 
 in a sense semi-military in this, that armed guards were used at all polls 
 where trouble was anticipated, to ensure an honest count of the votes. The 
 election was won by the reformers, and their government controlled the city 
 for four years. This “Young Men’s Democratic Association” was purely a 
 local affair, taking no part in state or national politics, and during the four 
 years of its office-holding it lost most of its virility through inaction on the 
 part of the better element of citizens of the city, and in 1892 one of the 
 worst municipal tickets ever known was put before the people by the regular 
 party and was elected. 
 
 This administration had not been in office very long before rumors of 
 corruption were in the air. A franchise was granted to a railroad company 
 to run its tracks through one of the most aristocratic residence avenues of 
 the city. The franchise was of enormous value and covered some of the most 
 valuable and influential sections of the cit}''. The people were aroused at 
 this grant on the part of the Council, and demands were made for the repeal 
 of the ordinance. Immediately the “Citizens’ Protective Association” took 
 the matter up, and almost the entire Council was indicted, some of them 
 being sent to the penitentiary. The Maj^or was impeached before the court, 
 but the court acquitted him on the ground that what he had done was done 
 upon the advice of his counsel. The association, which was formed primarily 
 
Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 151 
 
 to punish these corrupt officials, grew in numbers, and was converted into 
 the “Citizens’ League,” which led the next reform movement, in 1896. 
 
 It was carefully organized, with a central body and branches in each 
 ward. Wealthy citizens contributed large sums of money, and as the months 
 passed by it was seen that this association had gotten control of many of 
 the wards of the city. The evidence of corruption brought out in the trials 
 of the Councilmen and Mayor no doubt contributed largely to the success of 
 the “Citizens’ League.” 
 
 In the election of 1896 the league elected twenty-seven of the thirty City 
 Councilmen and all of its usual ticket. 
 
 Its plan of organization was, while nominally independent of both parties, 
 still to retain the support of both. In this election of 1896 the “Citizens’ 
 League” carried the city of New Orleans for the Legislature, and its members 
 in the Legislature secured a new city charter, which was a vast improvement 
 upon the old one. As the state election was a close one, the Republican 
 candidates coming within a few thousand votes (some say even closer than 
 that) of being elected, the independents sought to elect a United States 
 Senator, and came within one vote of electing their man to the United States 
 Senate. This was their greatest achievement outside of the municipal gov¬ 
 ernment. 
 
 They controlled the city for four years, from 1896 to 1900, and it is 
 agreed by all parties that the “Citizens’ League” administration was the best 
 ever known in the history of New Orleans. This administration carried into 
 execution the sewerage and drainage scheme, by which the city of New 
 Orleans will spend $16^000,000 under a non-partisan board for sewerage 
 and water. 
 
 An attempt was made to make this “Citizens’ League” a permanent 
 independent movement. The league was incorporated; but towards the end 
 of its administration politics began to creep in, and the leader of the league, 
 who successfully led it through a victorious campaign, deserted its colors, 
 and, with a number of followers, went over to the regular Democratic party. 
 This, and a widespread belief amongst a large number of people that the 
 “Citizens’ League” Mayor was in sympathy with certain corporations, con¬ 
 tributed materially to the defeat of the league in 1900. Again, in 1904, an 
 independent movement, including some of the old reform element, took up the 
 municipal campaign, but the regular party was so well organized, and the 
 people were so generally apathetic, that the result was a complete victory 
 for the regulars. Since then nothing has been done to organize a distinct 
 reform movement, although several suggestions have been made by various 
 prominent citizens. 
 
 One peculiarity of the local situation which makes it difficult to organize 
 a successful reform movement is our poll tax law. Under the laws of 
 Louisiana no one can vote unless he has paid poll taxes for the two preceding 
 years. In other words, in order to take part in the elections of 1906, he 
 must have paid his poll taxes for 1904 and 1905 during those two years; he 
 cannot pay them after the last day of the year for which they are levied. 
 
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152 
 
 The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 Consequently, citizens have to prepare themselves two years in advance in 
 order to be legal voters. Many of our most prominent citizens neglect to pay 
 this poll tax and, consequently, are disqualified from voting. The president 
 of the cotton exchange the other day was pronounced ineligible for election 
 to a State Financial Board because he had not paid his poll tax for 1904. 
 The result of this is that when some great popular movement arises, the 
 citizens who compose it find themselves in a position where they cannot vote, 
 because they neglected to pay their poll tax. 
 
 At present the great era of material prosperity which seems to prevail 
 in New Orleans has taken possession of the better element of the city, and 
 they take little part in politics, and the regular ward politicians have no 
 opposition to their schemes of government. 
 
 Nevertheless, and beyond it all, I believe that our present municipal 
 government is less corrupt than that of almost any of the large cities, and, as 
 for actual bribery, I think that has passed away with the great victory of the 
 “Citizens’ League” when it drove out of office, and to the penitentiary, the 
 corrupt officials of that day. 
 
 Our present City Council, while not to be compared with the “Citizens’ 
 League” government of eight years ago, is nevertheless a fairly good working 
 one, and I think it is doing all it can, hampered as it is by its traditions and 
 the manner in which it was chosen, to give the people of New Orleans a 
 fairly good system of municipal rule. 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS 
 
 VOTERS’ LEAGUE. 
 
 By S. P. Jones, Secretary Voters’ League, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 Only one civic organization participated in the last municipal election in 
 Minneapolis, that of 1904—the Minneapolis Voters’ League. 
 
 This is an organization enlisted for practical and permanent effort for 
 good municipal government in Minneapolis and Hennepin county. It works 
 along exclusively non-partisan lines and confines its activities to the election 
 of members of the City Council and the Board of County Commissioners, 
 limiting its work chiefly to the investigation of the records and qualifications 
 of candidates and publication of the same to the world through the local 
 papers. The league co-operates with all existing party organizations, en¬ 
 dorsing and supporting for nomination and election the men who, regardless 
 of their party affiliations, are, in its judgment, best qualified for public service. 
 
 The Voters’ League is a strongly centralized organization. Its immediate 
 sponsors were sixty-five prominent business and professional men of !Min- 
 neapolis. From this number an executive committee of seven was selected 
 to shape the policy and to direct the details of the work. This committee 
 is self-perpetuating and wholly independent of all direction from any source. 
 
 (410) 
 
Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 
 
 153 
 
 It reports only to the public. The original sixty-five members, known as 
 the advisory committee, never meet as a committee. Individual members are 
 called in consultation with the executive committee as their services are 
 needed. There is an associate membership of about 500, made up of those 
 who have by card expressed approval of the purposes of the organization. 
 
 The league is a permanent organization, keeping constant watch of 
 municipal affairs within its jurisdiction, and at the conclusion of a campaign 
 beginning immediate preparations for the next one. It rarely seeks to direct 
 legislation in either city or county government. 
 
 No attempt has been made in Minneapolis to organize a distinctively 
 municipal party. There has been very little sentiment for such a move, the 
 prevailing opinion being that, with the large independent vote in this com¬ 
 munity, better results can be reached by the plan of the league to raise the 
 standard of the respective party nominees by organizing disinterested citizens 
 for the support of the best qualified men, irrespective of their party brand. 
 We have found that a large share of the voters will choose rightly, if given 
 proper direction from a reliable and disinterested source. The direct primary 
 system in Minnesota gives such an organization the opportunity to take an 
 active part also in the selection of the party nominees. 
 
 The local issues have not, up to date, been sufficiently clean cut, or the 
 situation in the dominant parties so discouraging, as to necessitate the 
 formation of a distinctively municipal party. The large independent vote 
 tends to keep up the standard of candidates as well as of official performance. 
 
 KANSAS CITY 
 
 CIVIC LEAGUE. 
 
 By Allan O. Harrison, Secretary Kansas City Civic League. 
 
 The Kansas City Civic League was organized in the fall of 1901, and 
 incorporated under the laws of Missouri January ii, 1902. . The purpose 
 of the league is to “secure the nomination and election of aggressively honest 
 and capable men to all city, township and county offices.” The conditions 
 which called for the civic league were: a generally demoralized city gov¬ 
 ernment, failure to enforce the law, graft, election frauds, incompetency of 
 appointees, and indifference of good people to these things. 
 
 The plan of the league is to investigate the character and fitness of 
 candidates for local offices and issue a report to the public, urging the election 
 of those found worthy, and the defeat of those found unworthy, regardless 
 of political party. After the election the league watches the conduct of those 
 elected to office, and before the expiration of their term the league issues 
 another report covering their official conduct. At the last two local elections 
 it was noted that fully three-fourths of the League’s recommendations had 
 been followed by the voters. 
 
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154 
 
 The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 The chief obstacles we have found in the way of electing high grade 
 officials have been spoils, politics and election frauds. We have sought to 
 remove the former by advocating civil service, and the latter by aiding in 
 the prosecution of those found violating the election laws. Through the 
 efforts of the league three men have recently been convicted and sentenced to 
 two years each in the penitentiary for election frauds. 
 
 There is no distinctively municipal party in Kansas City. The two 
 leading national parties are strongly intrenched in local elections, and there 
 has been little or no effort to start a municipal party. The chief difficulties 
 in the way of a purely municipal party are: First, the strong allegiance to 
 one of the other of the national parties, which has amounted to a reverence 
 with many Missouri voters in the past; and, second, the form of ballot used 
 in Missouri. Each party has a separate ballot, and thousands of voters cast 
 their ballots, not according to the merits of the candidates, but according to 
 the caption of the ballot. This form of ballot is also conducive to vote 
 buying. The Civic League is advocating the abolishment of the separate ballot 
 or party column and the substitution of the single ballot, with the names of 
 all candidates for each office under the designation of that office. 
 
 The Civic League is the only civic organization in the city that partici¬ 
 pates actively in municipal elections. During its early efforts the League was 
 ignored by the politicians, but later they came to respect it, and candidates 
 now respond promptly to the questions put to them by the league for infor¬ 
 mation. The league is generally recognized as a power for good, and a large 
 number of voters look forward regularly to the league’s report as a guide 
 for voting. 
 
 DENVER 
 
 LEAGUE FOR HONEST ELECTIONS. 
 
 By James H. Causey, Denver, Col. 
 
 The only civic organization which has taken an active part in our elections 
 has been the League for Honest Elections. 
 
 This organization has not co-operated with any political party, but has 
 devoted itself entirely to the work of purging our city of election frauds. 
 The plan of organization was the simple one of forming fifteen men into a 
 non-partisan body, with a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. 
 It opened a permanent office, which it has maintained until this time, by having 
 an office secretary and keeping the public in touch with its progress. It did 
 not attempt to organize a municipal party for the reason that the field is 
 pretty well covered by the two principal national parties. The flood of light 
 which it threw on our election situation resulted in the arrest and conviction 
 of many of the tricksters. A new registration law has been obtained from 
 the Legislature which we think will be of great benefit hereafter. 
 
 The work of the League for Honest Elections is now being supplanted 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 
 
 'iSS 
 
 by the State Voters’ League along the lines of the Municipal Voters’ League 
 of Chicago, which will attempt to bring pressure to bear on both parties to 
 nominate good men. 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 MUNICIPAL LEAGUE. 
 
 By C. D. Willard, Secretary Municipal League, Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Los Angeles, California, is a thoroughly American city of from 175,000 
 to 200,000 population. It is normally Republican about two to one. There 
 are 108 precincts in the city. At the last Presidential election Roosevelt 
 carried 107 of these, his total majority being 13,000. One month later a 
 municipal election was held, at which the Democratic nominee for street 
 superintendent, endorsed by the Municipal League, carried 104 out of the 
 108 precincts. The Republican candidate secured the nomination fairly and 
 was supported by the party organization. He and his friends put up a 
 courageous fight, but went down to defeat with the overwhelming majority 
 of 9,500 votes against him. This vote would seem to indicate that about 
 half the electors of Los Angeles are prepared to vote independently of party 
 nominations. 
 
 Up to 1896 there was no organized independent movement in Los Angeles, 
 although a strong independent tendency showed at times in municipal and 
 county affairs. The municipal election occurs every two years, just one 
 month after the national or state and county elections (alternating). This 
 arrangement is not much better than the simultaneous holding of the city and 
 national elections. The partisan activity and enthusiasm stirred up by the 
 larger issues is still in force when the municipal battle comes on, and nomina¬ 
 tions for city offices are often used as trading material in the county, state 
 and national conventions. 
 
 In 1896 an organization known as the “League for Better City Govern¬ 
 ment” came into existence, with an active membership of several hundred 
 and an allied membership of about 6,000. The latter was obtained by taking 
 signatures of citizens who would pledge themselves to the principle of non¬ 
 partisan voting. All these signers were allowed to participate in a ballot 
 through the mail. In this way a direct primary vote was secured and vacan¬ 
 cies in the ticket (where there was no majority) were filled in by a convention 
 of delegates chosen through this same postal primary. Several independent 
 nominations were made, but for the most part the nominees of the regular 
 organizations were endorsed. The result was the most satisfactory Council 
 the eity ever had, and the suppression of a systematic graft that ‘ had been 
 carried on for years in the Board of Education. The league, however, went 
 out of existence before the next municipal election was held. 
 
 The present Municipal League was established in the fall of 1901, with 
 a resolve to “keep out of politics,” and devote itself to civic improvement. It 
 
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The Annals of the American Academy 
 
 156 
 
 passed the election of 1902, but by 1904 the bad condition of the city’s streets 
 brought the organization in direct conflict with the street superintendent, and 
 a protest was entered against his renomination. The outcome of this contest 
 is narrated above. At the same time the league advocated the election of a 
 non-partisan school board, and .secured the nomination of seven men of 
 high standing for membership in that body. These were refused by the 
 Republican convention, but accepted by the Democrats. They were elected 
 by 3,000 majority against the Republican nominees. The remainder of the 
 city ticket was left to itself. Most of the administrative offices were excellent, 
 but the Council is very unsatisfactory. 
 
 Possibly by the time the next municipal election occurs the members of 
 the league will be prepared to order that organization to take a hand in the 
 contest. The league has procured an amendment to the city charter whereby 
 the next election will be for a three years’ term. This brings subsequent elec¬ 
 tions to non-political years, with an increase, it is believed, of the strength of 
 the independent sentiment. 
 
 SEATTLE 
 
 MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP LEAGUE. 
 
 By Prof. J. Allen Smith, University of Washington. 
 
 There is at present an active sentiment here in favor of municipal reform. 
 Seattle, like other rapidly growing cities, has learned something of the power 
 of public utility corporations to defeat the will of the people. The sub- 
 .scrviency of the City Council to the street railway and allied interests and 
 its disposition to grant new privileges to these corporations without exercising 
 such power as it now possesses to ensure adequate service, has awakened the 
 people to the fact that something must be done to protect their interests. 
 The opposition to these evils has within the last few weeks crystallized in 
 a municipal ownership movement, or rather two movements—a municipal 
 ownership league largely made up of business and professional men and a 
 similar movement having its origin in and supported by the labor unions of 
 the city. These two organizations have united in placing a municipal owner¬ 
 ship ticket in the field, and are making an active campaign. It is probable 
 that the Democrats will endorse the candidates of the municipal ownership 
 party. 
 
 The platform adopted favors the direct nomination and the recall of 
 public officials, and the prohibition of campaign contributions by public utility 
 corporations. It opposes the grant of any franchise or other privilege except 
 by direct vote of the people, and demands that no new franchise shall be 
 granted to any street railway corporation, but that the city shall at once 
 proceed to construct and operate a municipal system to supply the transporta¬ 
 tion facilities now badly needed in many parts of the city, which system shall 
 be extended as the growth of the community may require. 
 
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Civic Organizations and Municipal Parties 157 
 
 The municipal ownership movement really began several years ago, when 
 the city purchased the old water plant and built the present gravity system, 
 which has proved to be a most satisfactory and profitable venture. Encour¬ 
 aged by the success of municipal ownership in this field, the people demanded 
 and finally compelled the submission of a proposal to vote bonds for an 
 electric light plant. The vote in favor of this was overwhelming, but, 
 although the plant has been built, it has not yet become a serious competitor 
 of the corporation which controls the distribution of light and power as 
 well as the street railways. The extension of this municipal service to private 
 consumers has been opposed and retarded in every way possible by the cor¬ 
 porations, whose profits would be endangered by the active competition of a 
 municipal plant. 
 
 The present municipal ownership movement here is in reality an effort 
 to secure democracy. What the people want more than any thing else is a 
 local government that will represent them rather than the public utility 
 corporations. 
 
 Just what the local Republican machine will do remains to be seen. Its 
 leaders have been consistent opponents of any thorough-going municipal 
 ownership policy, but they now realize that some concessions must be made 
 to public opinion before they can hope to win the support of a majority of the 
 voters. 
 
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BOOK DEPARTMENT 
 
 
 f 
 
 r-vJ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Adams, G. B. The History of England (1066-1216). Vol. II of “The 
 Political History of England.” Pp. x, 473. Price, $2.60. New York; 
 Longmans, Green & Co., 1905. 
 
 Reserved for later notice. 
 
 The Charity Organization Society of New York. Twenty-third Annual 
 Report. Pp. 230. New York, 1906. 105 East Twenty-second Street. 
 Such an annual report as this is worthy of note. We have not merely the 
 customary accounts of the work of various committees, and of the several 
 officers of the organization, but we have likewise some monographs written 
 by experts in philanthropic work, which deserve general attention. For 
 instance, twenty-three pages are devoted to a report of the Committee on 
 Social Research, which gives very definite information regarding the work 
 done for a large number of families which have come under the care of the 
 society in recent years. Any student of such conditions will find in this 
 report of Miss Lillian Brandt much information which he would have 
 difficulty in getting elsewhere. There is likewise a report of an investigation 
 in regard to the purchase and management of food by one hundred tenement 
 house families, which is of decided interest. The work of the School of 
 Philanthropy for the past year is given, together with a report of the 
 Committee on the Prevention of Tuberculosis. 
 
 In the appendix are studies dealing with “Tuberculosis Among Negroes,” 
 “Lodging House Investigation,” and an article telling of country employment 
 for poor consumptives. It is impossible to do more for them in this bald 
 way, to hint at the contents of this interesting volume, which may be obtained 
 free, so long as the edition lasts, by sending ten cents to cover postage. 
 
 Crosby, O. T. Tibet and Turkestan. Pp. xviii, 332. Price, $2.50. New 
 York; G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1905. 
 
 Reserved for later notice. 
 
 D’Eichthal, E. La Formation des Richesses et ses Conditions Sociales 
 Actuelles. Pp. xxvii, 456. Price, 7.50 fr. Paris; Felix Alcan, 1906. 
 Reserved for later notice. 
 
 Denby, Charles. China and Her People. Two volumes. Pp. xvi, 256; viii, 
 276. Price, $2.40. Boston: L. C. Page & Co., 1906. 
 
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