P ROCEEDINGS OF THE PROVIDENCE CONFERENCE FOR GOOD CITY GOVERNMENT AND THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL Held November 19, 20, 21, 22, 1907 At Providence CLINTON ROGERS WOODRUFF, EDITOR NATIONAL MUNICIPAL LEAGUE 1907 PREFACE. THE Providence meeting of the National Municipal League was a striking one in many ways. It was largely attended, the discussions were interesting, suggestive and to the point, and the joint sessions with the American Civic Association were a decided success. It will long be remembered as marking a distinct forward step in the development of a wider coöperation among organizations interested in improving municipal conditions. Besides the separate meetings, the League and the Association each held a series of joint meetings. There were in all seventeen sessions and eighty-one speakers. The present volume contains all of the papers presented for the consideration of the League and those presented at the joint session on Municipal Health and Sanitation. The latter represent the inauguration of a careful and thoughtful study and investigation of the relation of the city to the health of its citizens through a special committee appointed for the purpose. The discussion on electoral reform was continued, the desirability of excluding the influence of national issues and national parties in local elections being given special consideration. To carry forward the constructive work of the League along these lines a Committee on Electoral Reform was authorized to carry forward and complete the work already inaugurated by the Committee on Nomination Reform. The four papers on the Galveston, Des Moines and Newport plans and the Chicago situation constitute a very helpful addition to the discussion of the reorganization of our cities. Dr. Munro's paper, which occupied over a year in the preparation, represents the most thoughtful study of the now famous Galveston plan which has thus far been made. The contribution is a notable one and will unquestionably prove of the greatest help to all who are interested in this phase of the municipal problem. |