the great quantity and variety of the city's
manufactured goods, the excellent shipping facilities, and the consequent
low cost of living, are prominent features of the physical life of the
city.

_Government_.--Although the charter under which Baltimore is governed came
into effect as late as 1898, it is only the second one for the city, the
first one having been in force for 101 years. The mayor is now elected for
a term of four years; he must be at least twenty-five years of age and must
have property in the city valued at $2000 or more, on which he shall have
paid taxes for two years preceding his election. Great responsibility is
centred upon him by giving him power to appoint the heads of departments
and sub-departments, subject to the approval of the second branch of the
council, and permitting him to remove at pleasure for six months after an
appointment; in appointing a board or commission, however, he is required
to choose the members from more than one political party. He has five days
in which to veto an ordinance, and an affirmative vote of three-fourths of
the members of each branch of the council is required to pass an ordinance
over his veto. The council, constituting the legislative department,
consists of two branches. The first branch is composed of one member from
each ward, elected for a term of four years; the second branch of two
members from each of four districts, and a president elected by the city at
large, all for a term of four years; a property qualification is prescribed
for members of each branch. All municipal officers are elected in May in
order to separate municipal from state and national elections. No street
franchise can be granted for a longer term than twenty-five years, and the
right to regulate the exercise of each and every franchise is reserved to
the mayor and council. A board of estimate, composed of the mayor, the city
solicitor, the comptroller, the president of the second branch of the city
council, and the president of the board of public improvements, has control
over appropriations, the council having power to decrease the amount of any
item but not to enlarge it. To create a debt for any purpose other than to
meet a temporary deficiency, the mayor and council must first obtain the
consent of both the state legislature and the city electorate. The
department of education is intrusted to an unsalaried board of nine
commissioners, appointed by the mayor with the approval