among other desirable reforms, seriously consider a uniform system of accounting. The law' under which assessments will be made until the meeting of the next assembly, when the report of the commission is due, provides that such assessments shall be in proportion to the special benefits conferred upon the property thereby, and not in excess. The amount assessed not to exceed 25 per cent of the actual value of the property at the time of the levy, as shown by the preceding assessment roll. Duluth has had her fair share of maladministration, a natural consequence of new environment and rapid growth. Occasional spurts of reform have been followed by longer periods of relaxed vigil and loose methods. The local civic spirit has, however, grown apace. To-day all our political parties are declaring in their local platforms in favor of the principle of municipal ownership of public utilities. These declarations are not all of them either enthusiastic or honest. But the average politician, even though he be the henchman of some special interest, hardly cares or dares to run riot with public sentiment. He therefore falls into line or, at least, appears to do so. After a bitter struggle with selfishness and corruption, extending over a period of years, Duluth finally acquired the ownership and control of its water and gas supply. The plant of the private company was purchased for $1,250,000, less by almost one million dollars than the price at which it was originally attempted to unload it upon the city, but still more by almost $500,000, according to some authorities, than its actual value. A supplementary water system built by the city, guaranteeing a pure water supply, with a new and adequate pumping station, an intake about ten miles from the heart of the city, a reservoir and miles of force main to make connection with the old system, together with necessary repairs and outlay on the old system, involved an additional expenditure of over $1,100,000. The total investment to date is, therefore, $2,350,000. Duluth has been most fortunate in two prerequisites to success along the lines in question. The first is that the control and management of the water and gas plants have been vested in a non-partisan board of public-spirited business men, who serve without compensation; the second, that this board had the good judgment and good fortune to secure the services of an active manager, who, as superintendent for many years of the Detroit (Michigan) water works, established a national reputation for competency and probity. Notwithstanding that the price of water by meter was reduced from five cents to four cents per hundred gallons and the price of gas for 1 Laws 28 G. A., chap. 29. Contributed by W. G. Joerns, Duluth, Minnesota. illumination from two dollars to one dollar and a half, per thousand cubic feet, there is a net profit on the first year's business of $15,681.86. The total earnings were $176,469.37; the expenses for operation and maintenance, including repairs, $49,587.51, leaving a surplus of $126,881.86. The above profit remained after paying interest on bonds, $111,200. The effect of the reduction in the price of gas upon the total output is indicated by the following: Gas made from January 1 to July 1, 1899, 13,522,000 feet. $15,470.20. Receipts from January 1 to July 1, 1899. . . The citizens of Duluth have likewise voted for a bond issue of $110,000 for the erection of a public electric lighting plant. A new charter has also been adopted, similar to those of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The question whether this charter has been legally adopted is now pending before the State Supreme Court. The city after asking for competitive proposals also granted a franchise to a new telephone company, an active competitor of the Bell Company, with greatly reduced maximum rates and with the privilege of purchase by the municipality at the end of stated five year periods. The new plant is now in active, satisfactory and successful operation. The old company also remains in operation, though its franchise has expired. Before the new telephone system, or in fact, any further public utilities can be acquired by the city, additional legislative action will probably be necessary, as a refunding measure passed since the last session of the legislature in the interests of Duluth contains a provision that is evidently intended to tie the hands of the municipality in the direction named. This provision was injected into the original draft prepared by the city authorities against their protest and that of many other public-spirited citizens. II. THEORETICAL SOCIOLOGY. The Fourth Congress of the International Institute of Sociology met in Paris from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-seventh of September, inclusive. The society was organized in July, 1893, and since then sessions have been held in 1894, 1895, 1897 and 1900. All of the sessions of the Fourth Institute were held in the chemical amphitheatre of the Sorbonne. De Greef, rector of the New University, of Brussels, is president of the Institute, but owing to illness he was unable to be present. J. Novicow, the oldest of the vice-presidents, was chosen by the unanimous vote of those present to preside. The members present were: Novicow, Kovalewsky, René Worms, Rodberty, Tarans, Lester F. Ward and Émile Worms. Besides these, many associate members were present. The first session opened with the address of the president, J. Novicow, which was responded to by René Worms, the general secretary. Kovalewsky read a paper on the "Clan," which was discussed by Raoul. Two sessions were held on each of the following days: the 25th, 26th and 27th. Those of the 25th and 27th were presided over by the president, while the first session of the 26th was presided over by Kovalewsky, and the second by Lester F. Ward. At the first session of the twenty-sixth, Lester F. Ward read a paper on "Social Mechanics," which provoked considerable discussion. At other sessions, papers were read by Rodberty on Premises of Coutemporaneous Sociology," by Albert Joffe, on "Industrial Associations," and on the "Peaceful Solution of Strikes." A very important place was given to the discussion of "Historical Materialism." Not less than three full sessions were devoted to it, and most of the members of the congress participated in the discussion of the subject. Before adjournment the Institute received an invitation from the International Association for the Advancement of Science, to attend its session to be held in Glasgow, in 1901. The Origin of Punishment.-Dr. Westermarck has contributed an excellent article on the "Origin of Punishment," to the October and November numbers of the "Zeitschrift für Socialwissenschaft.” He states that it is a generally accepted view that punishment as an institution of society is of comparatively recent origin, and may be traced to the custom of individual and family revenge. He finds this view contradicted by relations which exist in nearly every tribe. He claims that punishment, from the point of view of society, is exercised by every tribe. We have no knowledge of a people with some customs, the observance of which is not compulsory and the transgression of which is not visited with punishment. Revenge is not the parent of punishment. They are both offsprings of animosity. The satisfaction of revenge proceeds from the desire to avenge the injuring party or his representative. Punishment has its root in the public disapproval which is aroused by evil-doing. Revenge is a genuine form of animosity, for it is the outpouring of selfish feeling, while public disapproval is caused, sometimes if not always, by the altruistic feeling of sympathy. Revenge is contrasted with wrath. It is the result of reflection, while wrath is not. The latter is also a selfish feeling. It is met with in animal life, and is there serviceable as a means of protection. Instances of feelings of sympathy also are not wanting in animal life. The members of savage tribes are often bound together by closest ties. In some cases the individuals are closely identified with the group, and participate in group action. If the group is attacked, the individual considers himself attacked and so takes up arms. The disapproval of the group plays an important rôle in the life of the savage. He respects the rights of others, and he fears the lash of public opinion which is always applied when he transgresses the precious traditions of the tribe. In some tribes the disapproval of public opinion is the severest of punishments. The belief that to the savage is permitted freedom of speech and of conduct is absolutely untrue. The kinds of punishment employed are various. In some places the crimes are classified and the punishment is then adapted to the crime. Some tribes distinguish between crimes committed against the individual from those committed against the group. In some cases reliance is placed on bodily punishment as a deterrent from evildoing, while in other cases public opinion plays a very important rôle. Where the right to revenge an injury is recognized the obligation resting upon the avenger is always exacting. There also goes with the avenging of a crime the inflicting of an injury corresponding somewhat to the injury received. However, the experiences of many tribes show that there is often not a close adjustment of the punishment to the offence. Folksjustiz, as the oldest form of punishment, prevails in many tribes to-day, with the system of private revenge. In old Rome the transition from primitive justice to the organized obligation of punishment followed far earlier than the transition from private revenge to the system of private punishment. Primitive justice is, in a large community, a difficult process, as it is practically in the hands of the leaders. A sort of legal organization is a frequent phenomena with primitive peoples. Sometimes the chiefs alone consider offences and fix the punishment, and in other tribes they act after a consultation with the old people. The powers of the chiefs vary widely with different tribes. In some cases they are considered as lawgivers and have almost unlimited power, while in other cases their powers are only nominal. The existence of courts of justice among savage tribes is considered to be peculiar when it is observed how long the custom of revenge persisted among civilized peoples. It is met with to-day in Japan and among the Scots and in Germany it did not disappear until the close of the fifteenth century. Some of the essentials connected with the transition from revenge to punishment explain this phenomenon. The custom of blood revenge persists in accordance with a desire to see the evil-doer suffer. The feeling of sympathy develops when the punishment is greater than the offence should warrant it to be. In this is found a reason for the transition. Punishment presupposes a desire for retribution, and the disapproval of the group is seen when it is not adapted to the offence. In the system of revenge there is no certainty that the evil-doer will suffer. If the injured are weak they must turn to the ruling authority for aid. The requirements of justice demand that the king should have a right to interfere, and the experience of numerous tribes shows that it was one of the functions of the kings to protect the weak. In other cases the feeling of sympathy works to prevent overpunishment and the state is called in to act as a judge. Another observation is important in explaining the transition from revenge to punishment. The welfare of the group often demands that the members should live in peace. The substitution of blood money for revenge is suggestive in this connection. The author thinks that it is very probable that in most cases the legal power of the chiefs developed in the interests of the security of the state. The opportunity which, acting as mediators between parties, gave the chiefs an increase of power also aided in establishing a legal power. The author concludes that the displacement of revenge by punishment is no infallible sign of advancement in culture. A small tribe whose members are closely bound together is disturbed more by dissensions than a large one whose members are not so closely knit together. Hence is seen the greater need for internal peace in the one. Sociology in Institutions of Learning.-The students of the University of Michigan have an incorporated organization known as the "Good Government Club." It was organized in 1896 and incorporated in 1899. Its aim is to promote inquiry into the ultimate |