538 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
Future contests are much more likely to be waged for its exten- sion rather than for its safety.
The civil-service provisions of the San Francisco charter are said by Dr. Albert Shaw to be " the most advanced of any modern municipal instrument." Mayor Phelan has shown his friendship for the merit system by appointing a friendly com- mission, with J. Richard Freud, of the Merchants' Association, as chairman. Three suits instituted to test the constitutionality of the civil-service article have been decided in its favor.
While not wholly agreeing with those who maintain that civil-service reform is the " only cure for our much-lamented municipal ills," I do believe that there can be no complete trans- formation of our municipal politics until the offices are removed from the reach of spoilsmen. The establishment of the merit system in our cities is essential to the betterment of our city governments, and all efforts directed toward the establishment of a sound public opinion on this subject are to be encouraged. Our numerous civil-service reform associations scattered through the country are therefore to be encouraged, as are also the women's auxiliaries ; but we must be careful to guard against the view that there is but one panacea for our ills. I think we shall find that we shall have a municipal problem on our hands even after the merit system has been generally inaugurated.
For instance, are not just, equitable election laws fundamen- tally essential ?
Can any community long retain a democratic form of gov- ernment, even though the most approved and most stringent civil-service regulations may be in force, if the election laws connive at and protect frauds, and are so arranged as to enable corrupt men to maintain their creatures in office ? Ballot and electoral reforms form paramount issues in certain states at this time. In Pennsylvania a Union Committee, representing the Ballot Reform Association, the Civil Service Reform Associa- tion, and the Municipal League, has been formed to promote the cause of electoral reform in the state. The politics of Penn- sylvania have achieved and retained their unpleasant and unfor- tunate notoriety largely through the existence of a set of laws
