As a matter of fact, the mayor's veto power has not, on the whole, contributed very greatly to the efficiency of the American municipal system. It has, no doubt, served the cause of economy and sound administration in a great many instances, but it has quite as often been an effective instrument of the political bully. Mayors have used it in cases without number to bulldoze and browbeat councils into submission. By vetoes and threats of vetoes councilmen have time and again been forced to choose between the executive assassination of their own measures and a policy of subserviency to the mayor in other matters. Boards of aldermen have been compelled to confirm appointments made by the mayor under the threat that measures in which aldermen and their constituents were interested would be decapitated. The power has, in a word, been used as a mayoral asset that might be traded for legislative compliance. It has become an instrument of political jugglery. Its existence has allowed councils to evade responsibility for an ordinance or an appropriation by putting the burden upon the shoulders of the mayor, and has allowed the mayor to reciprocate by tossing it back to the council, all this political play serving no other end than to befuddle the tax payer. Not least among the merits of the commission plan of city government is the fact that it relegates the mayoral veto power to the political scrap-heap.-Op. Cit., pp. 224-227.

3 The Comptroller-New York City.-At the head of the department of finance is the city comptroller, who, like the mayor, may be removed by the governor on charges. Also, like the mayor, he receives an annual salary of $15,000 and casts three votes on the board of estimate and apportionment. The comptroller has power to inspect and revise the financial acts of all departments of the city. He may prescribe the forms of keeping their accounts. All payments by the city, unless otherwise specially provided by law, are made through a disbursing officer of the finance department by means of a warrant drawn on the city treasury by the comptroller and countersigned by the mayor. Whenever any claim against the city is presented to the comptroller he may require the person presenting it to be sworn and to answer any questions in regard to its validity. His

authority to settle and adjust all claims against the city does not authorize him, however, to dispute the amount of any salary established under authority of law or to question the performance of his duties by any public official except when necessary to prevent fraud.

There are six bureaus in the department of finance. One of these is the bureau for the collection of rents, and revenues arising from the use or sale of property belonging to the city. This bureau has charge of the city's markets. It is the duty of the second bureau to collect the taxes; and of the third bureau to collect special assessments and delinquent taxes and water rents. The fourth bureau has charge of the auditing of accounts. The fifth bureau is the city treasury and is in charge of an officer called the city chamberlain, who is appointed by the mayor. The sixth bureau has charge of municipal investigations and statistics. At the head of this bureau is a supervising statistician and examiner. As many expert accountants may be employed under this official as the comptroller deems necessary. The principal duty of this bureau is to compile statistics. It also has charge of the old records of the various municipalities which were consolidated to form Greater New York. All of the heads of bureaus in the finance department, except the city chamberlain, are appointed by the comptroller. It can readily be seen that the office of the comptroller in New York City is hardly second to that of mayor. As experience has demonstrated in the last few years, when the comptroller is opposed to the construction of subways with municipal funds he is in a position to throw many obstacles in the way and make it practically impossible to proceed without resorting to private capital.

The appropriation for the maintenance of the department of finance outside of the city treasury was $1,489,090 for the year 1909. The appropriation for the chamberlain and his subordinates in the treasury bureau was $55,950.-Delos F. Wilcox, "Great Cities in America,” pp. 109-10.

4 Need for a Municipal Budget.-As in the case of the state government, the most important functions of the city at present are those connected with raising and disbursing funds

and, inasmuch as corruption and inefficiency are constantly arising in our municipal finances, special attention has been given within recent years to the problem of budget-making and effective control over city expenditures. In our great cities the financial problem is vast and complicated. The budget of the city of New York for the year 1909 totalled $156,545,148.14-five times the budget of the state for the same year, and four times the combined budgets of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, and Georgia. The annual increase of the budget of New York within recent years has been greater than the total budget of St. Louis or Baltimore and Cleveland combined-five times greater than the total budget of Louisville, Ky., and ten times greater than the total budget of Kansas City.

Even if all of the officials of the city administration are men of unquestioned integrity, great waste and extravagance in expenditure will inevitably arise unless there is provision for the most scientific bookkeeping and adequate scrutiny and control by capable and responsible authorities. An investigation in New York City, in 1908, resulted in some remarkable revelations. It was discovered that cheap coat hooks which any citizen could buy for five cents apiece had been purchased by the city at sixty cents apiece, with an additional charge of five cents for each small screw used to put up the hooks. One hundred and sixtyfive hooks, 172 bolts, and 18 screws cost the city of New York $117, and it took two workmen thirty-one days at $8 a day to put up the 165 hooks-making a total cost in materials and labor of $365.10, or $2.21 a hook. It was found also that the police department paid 21 cents a pound for nails which any private citizen could get for 41⁄2 cents. A charming bit of “high finance" in street contracting was also unearthed: a contractor who was paid to make excavations for paving a street was also paid $900 for filling in a near-by road with the dirt removed from the first one. Similar extravagances and wastes could undoubtedly be discovered in any other large city in the Union.-Charles A. Beard, "American Government and Politics," p. 603.