so the legislature has virtually governed them by special
laws.]

The Mayor.--The chief executive of the city is the mayor. He is the
head of the police department and has more or less authority over the
other administrative departments to be discussed later in this chapter.
In the cases of both mayor and aldermen, the facts concerning their
terms, salaries, and other details vary so greatly in different cities
that no general description is possible.

The city judiciary includes the ordinary State courts and also special
or municipal courts of various degrees.

Other City Officials.--Besides the officers enumerated, every city
has its clerk, treasurer, attorney, and assessors. The auditor, or
comptroller, is an important official who controls city finances.

Administrative Departments.--The greatest difficulties of city
government arise in connection with the numerous administrative
departments; these are quite complex in their operation. In large cities
the number of officials and the variety of their duties render it almost
impossible for the average citizen to become informed concerning these
affairs; consequently, opportunities for fraud and mismanagement occur
frequently.

Why, it may be asked, is such complex machinery necessary in municipal
government? It is because social and industrial conditions (that is, the
circumstances under which men live and work) are quite different from
those that we find in towns and villages; and city government must be
adapted to these conditions.

Conditions Peculiar to City Life.--Let us notice some of the ways
in which this is true. (1) The mere fact that population is dense
increases the possibility that a citizen may interfere with the rights
of his neighbors even in the conduct of ordinary business. (2) There is
greater liability that public health and safety may be endangered, both
in the homes and in the shops and factories of cities, than in less
densely settled communities. (3) The opportunities for evil-doing and
for concealment that exist in cities draw to them a larger proportion of
the vicious classes who need control and suppression. (4) Finally, in
cities it is less easy than in the country for each family to supply
itself with certain conveniences, such as water, light, and
transportation; consequently, the government must regulate to some
extent the supply of these necessities.

These are some of the conditions that are peculiar to city life; and we
find