as in a pure democracy, the people are the source of all power.

Other Forms of Government. - Aristocracy is a government by a class of nobles, or by persons distinguished because of wealth or culture. In most governments of Europe there is one house of parliament that is made up of nobles, thus giving an element of aristocracy to the government.

A tyranny is a government in which supreme power is exercised unjustly, or without any restraint. Originally, as used by the Greeks, the term tyrant was applied to any ruler who had obtained his position illegally, and it is now sometimes so used. Sometimes a tyranny is called a despotism. A monarchy may be a tryanny, even though in theory it is a limited monarchy. A rather frequent form of despotism has been one created by some successful soldier, such as Napoleon. Many of the so-called republics of South America are, or have been, military despotisms.

Constitutions. The fundamental law of a state which determines its form of government and the rights and duties of citizens is called a constitution. In case the nature of the government is expressed in some written document, the state is said to have a written constitution. The United States and each state in the Union have written constitutions. Instead of a written constitution, the fundamental law of a state may be based upon a long line of customs and of rights gained from kings. In this case the state is said to have an unwritten constitution. It should not be thought that all of the constitution is written in the one case, or unwritten in the other.

The Constitution of the United States has undergone many changes, necessary on account of new developments, and these changes have generally taken place without formal amendments to the constitution. Customs and deci

sions of courts have had no less effect upon the Constitution of the United States than amendments. England has a constitution which we call unwritten, but Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights have often been termed the bulwarks of the British Constitution.

Departments of Governments. - Every government must have three departments: (1) a legislature to make the laws, (2) a judiciary to interpret and apply them, (3) an executive to enforce the laws. These powers are all exercised by the same person if the State is an absolute monarchy. In all other forms of government the powers are kept more or less distinct.

In the United States they are carefully separated, yet the President of the United States, primarily an executive officer, has the legislative power of veto and the judicial power of pardon, while the Senate acts as a court in certain cases of impeachment and has executive power confirming certain appointments.

Financial Needs of Governments. Though every government charges for some of the services which it renders, no government in the world could pay more than a very small fraction of its expenses from this kind of revenue. It is, therefore, necessary that governments should resort to taxation. Taxes may be placed upon any kind of property or even upon persons. While it is not unusual to hear people grumble, and sometimes

justly, about the amount of their taxes, yet it can be truly said that no money brings so large returns as that paid in taxes. Moreover, the government is just as much interested in the welfare of those who pay no taxes directly as in the most wealthy taxpayer.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Anarchists say that government is an evil and should be abolished. What would life be worth if there were no policemen to protect property and life, no courts of justice, no public schools, no public roads, no public libraries and recreation centers?

2. States are sometimes called Commonwealths. Show that this is an appropriate name.

3. Show the difference between the necessary and optional functions of government. Do you consider the latter functions as really optional?

4. Give an example of an absolute monarchy, a pure democracy, a military despotism.

QUESTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE TEXT

1. Is it true that if all people were good, government would be unnecessary?

2. Consult a good dictionary in regard to the meaning of the words "nation" and "state." Name a nation which is composed of "states" which are really not states.

3. Show that democracy is the best form of government for an enlightened people.

4. Name some optional functions of government not specifically mentioned in the text.

5. What have been the reasons for the recent increase in the optional functions of government?

CHAPTER II

RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Origins of Town and County Governments

Importance of Local Government. - Americans live under three distinct governmental institutions. For local affairs we have the town (or township), county, village, and city. Matters of wider interest are in the hands of the state, while the Federal Government attends to those things which affect the entire nation. Local government is concerned with such important affairs as schools, roads and bridges, police, minor courts of justice, and the care of the poor. Such matters as these have a daily influence upon the citizen. It is in local selfgovernment that citizens gain the most important political lessons, those of experience. Every voter can to some extent make his influence felt in local affairs.

Local governmental institutions differ in one important particular from the national and state governments. Written constitutions define the powers of our national and state governments, and within their fields the nation and state exercise unlimited authority. Local governments have no such power. All local governments are subject to the state, which may change or regulate them at its pleasure. Though local governments are subject to the states, they are older than either state or national government.

Origin of American Local Government. Were a company of Americans to settle in some place where no government had existed, they would have no hesitation in deciding what kind of government to establish. There would be one form of government which to them would be clearly better than any other form, and that would be the one to which they had been accustomed. It is an accepted fact to students of history and government that institutions do not suddenly spring into existence, but are the result of long experience. The English colonists in America brought with them institutions with which they were familiar just as their ancestors long before had brought the origins of these institutions from the Continent of Europe into England. In order to understand the local government introduced by the colonists, it is necessary to know something about the institutions with which they were familiar before coming to America.

Origin of the Town. - Long before our Germanic ancestors came to England, they had given up their wandering habits and had settled in groups of families in such places as attracted them on account of water, wood, and fertility of the soil. For purpose of defense the land occupied was surrounded by a strip of waste land called a mark (originally meaning boundary); a little later a hedge called a tun (pronounced toon) marked the boundary of the community's land. The entire space enclosed became known as the mark or tun; in England the word "tun" or town became the common name.

Little is known of the nature of government in the Germanic mark, but we do know that there was a popular