purposes and all other domestic and manufacturing and agricultural purposes," and destroy the value of water works created at great expense by various municipalities along the river.

Defendants deny jurisdiction in the Supreme Court because the bill does not set forth "within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States, any controversy between the State of Missouri and State of Illinois." The contention is that any controversy that exists is between the State of Illinois and a public corporation created by it and certain cities and towns of Missouri and certain citizens of that state residing on or near the banks of the Mississippi River. It is argued that the State of Missouri has merely lent its name to the case of the city of St. Louis, and that the suit in no wise affects the property rights of the state itself.

The issue thus raised is, of course, of great legal import, and will require a construction of the pertinent provisions of the federal constitution.

The other question of especial interest to students of sanitation is largely a problem in chemistry and bacteriology. The drainage trustees assert in their answer to the complaint that the sewage discharged into the canal will have entirely lost its noxious matter before the flow reaches the Mississippi and that it will in no wise poison or pollute that stream. They go a step farther and say that "the turning into the Des Plaines River of the sewage of the sanitary district of Chicago, together with the 300,000 cubic feet per minute of the pure water of Lake Michigan, which will accompany the same, will greatly improve the quality of the waters of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers."

It is also insisted that the State of Missouri is estopped from complaining of the canal because, while it was in process of construction for over eleven years, no objection was raised.

The Supreme Court has ordered the case for oral argument at the October term, but no date has been set for it.

Civil Service Reform. New rules adopted by the the Civil Service Commission clearly outline the method of promoting employees within the classified service. Henceforth the higher grades of work are, so far as possible, to be strictly confined to employees promoted from inferior positions, to the end that a permanent trained force of municipal servants may be developed. The rules provide that promotions shall be governed by ascertained merit and seniority of service and made after competitive examinations which shall be held whenever the next lower grade of service shall be constituted of at least two persons eligible to promotion, and competition "shall be limited to the members of such next lower rank or grade."

If, in the immediately inferior division of service, there are not two

men wanting to take the examination for promotion, then the usual original entrance test will be had. However, if after sixty days from the general examination, a requisition to fill a vacancy is received and there are then persons in the next inferior position competent to take the examination for promotion, such examination will be held for their benefit and the employee qualified for the vacant position shall be certified for promotion. In all examinations due weight shall be given to length of previous service and office efficiency. The commission, when deemed best, may appoint boards of promotion to conduct the examinations and mark the papers.

Census. The population of the city of Chicago, shown by the new census, is 1,698,575. The increase since 1890 is 598,725, a percentage of 54.44. The published returns of thirty cities having a population in excess of 100,000 rank Chicago third in percentage of increase, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio, surpassing it in this respect. The present area of the city of Chicago is 190.64 square miles. The death rate given for 1899 was 15.00.

Cleveland.1-The purpose of the Reorganization Act of 1892 was to extend to the school government of Cleveland the spirit and methods of the "federal plan," that for two years had prevailed in the municipal government of the city. It vests legislative power in a council of seven members, elected at large, whilst executive power is lodged in a school director, chosen for a term of two years, by the qualified electors of the district. In order to keep the schools out of politics, which was one of the avowed objects of the act, the business and educational departments of the schools were separated as widely as possible, the only connection being such as is provided in the following language: Sec. 10. "The school director shall, subject to the approval of and confirmation by the council, appoint a superintendent of instruction, who shall remain in office during good behavior, and the school director may at any time, for sufficient cause, remove him; but the order for such removal shall be in writing, specifying the cause therefor, and shall be entered upon the records of his office; and he shall forthwith report the same to the council, together with the reason therefor." The appointment and discharge of all assistants and teachers authorized to be employed by the council rests with the superintendent alone.

During

Recent events have subjected this law to a severe strain. the eight years of the operation of the law from April, 1892, to April, 1900, there had been but one incumbent in the office of director, Mr. H. Q. Sargent having four times in succession been chosen to the position. In the Republican primaries of this year Mr. Sargent, who was 1 Communication of Professor W. J. Truesdale, East High School, Cleveland, O.

again a candidate, was defeated by Thomas H. Bell, who had been a member of the school council. During the campaign it became generally understood that Mr. Bell, if elected, would seek to remove from the superintendency Mr. L. H. Jones, who had served in that capacity since 1894 and who, during these six years, had maintained the high excellence of the Cleveland schools and had himself become recognized as one of the most successful and progressive superintendents in the country. Mr. Bell's opposition to Mr. Jones apparently did not reflect the sentiment of any considerable number, even Mr. Bell himself deeming it necessary, in view of the storm of protests called forth by the fear, that if elected, he would remove Mr. Jones, to issue a card, which, while somewhat equivocal in statement, was understood, as it must have been intended it should be, as a pledge that Mr. Jones would be retained. Mr. Bell was elected and took office in April.

On Monday, July 2, the early editions of the afternoon papers contained a copy of a letter which the superintendent had that morning received from the Director, informing him that he was removed from his position on the grounds of "incompetency, inefficiency, neglect of duty and misconduct." At the same time a communication containing more detailed charges had been sent to the president of the school council, which body was to have a regular meeting that evening, but the superintendent was not furnished with a copy of these specifications. It was further reported that Professor Addison B. Poland, superintendent of schools in Paterson, N. J., was to be Mr. Jones' successor and that his confirmation would be sought at the approaching meeting of the council. The director supposed that he had thus complied with every requirement of the law and that Mr. Jones had ceased to be superintendent at the moment of receiving his letter of removal. He regarded the notice of his action which the law required him to send the council as a mere formal announcement of an accomplished fact. The friends of Mr. Jones immediately set to work to find some means of preventing this summary ousting of the superintendent. They accomplished two things; first, several members of the council were prevailed upon to absent themselves from the meeting, so that in the absence of a quorum, no action could be taken upon the nomination of Mr. Poland; secondly, an injunction was secured temporarily restraining the director from removing Mr. Jones, and ordering him to accord Mr. Jones a hearing on the charges preferred.

On the following day the Director sought the legal advice of the corporation counsel, whose duty it is to act as legal adviser and representative of the school officials. The unofficial opinion of the law department had been made public in a communication from the first

assistant corporation counsel, which appeared in the morning papers of Tuesday. This opinion was based upon a decision of the Ohio Supreme Court (58 Ohio State Reports, p. 504) upon the question of the power of removal from office by a mayor. In the decision referred to it is held that the mayor's power of removal "cannot be exercised arbitrarily but only upon complaint and after a hearing had in which the officer is afforded opportunity to refute the case made against him. Nor has the mayor in such case authority to proceed to the hearing until charges have been preferred which embody facts that in judgment of law constitute neglect of duty or misconduct in office and of which the accused has had due notice." The opinion concluded, therefore, that the school director had acted contrary to law, for whether he had "sufficient cause" for the removal of the superintendent could only be determined after he had notified the superintendent of the special charges made against him and given him an opportunity to make his defence. It was a matter of no surprise when the corporation counsel, called upon by the school director to assume his defence in the injunction proceedings, practically refused to do so, pronouncing the director's position untenable. The Director not yet willing to admit defeat, next sought the advice of a private lawyer, but the best this lawyer could do for him was to discover a technical flaw in the petition for the injunction. Convinced at last that he had erred, and probably somewhat influenced by the severe condemnation of his course expressed by the entire respectable press of the city, including the morning Republican that had advocated his election, the Director, on July 6, sent a second letter to Mr. Jones "revoking, cancelling and annulling" his order of removal. At the same time the charges which had been sent to the school council were withdrawn and the injunction proceedings were therefore dropped. Since that time no further steps have been taken against the superintendent. National Municipal League.-At the Milwaukee meeting of the National Municipal League, held in September last, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That the chairman of the Executive Committee be authorized and empowered to appoint a committee, which may include members not members of the League, to ascertain the extent to which instruction in municipal government and its betterment is offered by American institutions of learning; and further

Resolved, That this committee, when apointed, shall have authority to bring to the attention of college authorities the necessity of offering more extended instruction in these subjects.

In pursuance of the power vested in him, Charles J. Bonaparte, Esq,, chairman of the Executive Committee, has appointed the following committee to carry out the foregoing resolution:

Professor John H. Finley, Princeton University; Dr. William H. Allen, University of Pennsylvania; Dr. William F. McDowell, secretary, Methodist Board of Education, New York City; Professor Charles Zeublin, University of Chicago; President Thomas M. Drown, Lehigh University; Dr. Robert C. Brooks, Cornell University; Professor E. L. Bogart, Oberlin College; Clinton Rogers Woodruff, Secretary, National Municipal League.

Municipal Code Commission of lowa.-The municipal code commission of Iowa is a direct result of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Baker vs. the Village of Norwood. The holding of the court is to the effect that special assessments for public improvements must be in proportion to the benefits conferred upon the property thereby and not in excess of them. Many able lawyers throughout the state held that this did not invalidate the special assessment laws, in that provision was made for a hearing before the city councils and an appeal from their decision to the courts, which were empowered to make proper assessments. None of the municipalities, however, had sufficient confidence to assume the cost of a test case, and public improvements were brought to a standstill. The effect upon street paving was particularly noticeable. The plan of assessing abutting property so much per front foot to pay the cost of the improvement was so clearly contrary to the ruling of the court, that paving entirely ceased. Under these conditions the cities were a unit in demanding of the General Assembly the passage of some measure that would enable them to continue their improvements. The importance of the subject, however, and the difficulties involved in revising all the special assessment laws during one brief sesssion of the assembly, were so great, that it was thought best to enact a temporary measure and appoint a joint commission to recodify the municipal laws.

The act3 creating the commission provides that it shall consist of six members, three from the senate and house respectively, appointed by the presiding officers of those bodies. This commission is "carefully to revise and codify all the special assessment laws, and such other laws in relation to the government of municipal corporations, as may be by the committee deemed necessary and expedient, and recommend such changes therein as may be desirable." The terms of the law are so sweeping that it is probable that the committee will not content itself with the revision of the special assessment laws alone, but will go over the whole subject of municipal government, and,

1 Communication of Professor W. R. Patterson, University of Iowa. "Federal Reporter," vol. 74.

Laws of 28 G. A., chap. 176.