municipal activity.[4] City governments spend great amounts of public
money for this purpose. The work of our educational institutions is
constantly being enlarged; courses in commerce, manual training, and
domestic science are intended to strengthen the practical side of
education. In some cities special schools are maintained for the
defective classes and for truants.

[Footnote 4: This subject is also treated in the chapter on Public
School Systems.]

Libraries, Parks, and Playgrounds.--The educational advantages
furnished by the city are not for the children alone. Public libraries
and museums serve adults as well. Recreation is provided by means of
parks, public playgrounds, and open-air gymnasiums. These will become
more common when their educational influence is more fully understood.

Committees or Boards.--The important questions that arise in
connection with administrative departments are, how shall they be
organized? and how shall the officers who control them be appointed? Two
general methods prevail: (1)In the smaller cities the members of the
council are grouped into _committees_, which have charge of the various
administrative departments. In large cities there are _boards_ or
_commissioners_, distinct from the council, and these may be composed of
salaried officers. In either case the board may employ a superintendent
to take charge of the work under its jurisdiction. The principal
criticism which can be offered against this method of managing
administrative departments is that responsibility cannot be definitely
located. No single member of a board or commission will assume
responsibility for mismanagement; and when responsibility is divided
among several persons, none of them feels it very strongly.