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Transcribed by Elaine Rathmann
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Chapter III
Civil Township
Civil Township. We have learned that the congressional
township is merely a tract of land six miles square, and that it was
created of the purpose of locating land. The civil township, on the
other hand, is the unit or basis in local government. Every county
is divided into several civil townships, and each township is named.
Township names were given by the early settlers, and often in honor
of some prominent member of the first company of settlers that
entered the township. Many counties in Iowa were settled about the
time the Civil War began, and in those counties such names as
Lincoln, Douglas, Liberty and Union are common. The boundaries of a
township may be the same as those of a congressional township, but
very often a civil township is formed from parts of two or more
congressional townships. This often occurs when the congressional
township is divided by a river. The early settler established the
civil townships to suit their own convenience, and in some counties
but few of them have the same boundaries as the congressional
townships.
To the
people of Iowa, the civil township is a very important division.
Comparatively few state and county officers are needed, but there is
scarcely a county in the state that does not have at least 400
officers whose duties are confined to the civil township. A large
part of all the money raised by taxation is expended in the township
under the direction of its civil and school officers.
The civil township is nearly a pure democracy, that is, a government
carried on the by the people directly, rather than “a government of
the people, by the people, and for the people” exists in its truest
sense. It is here that the people meet at stated times to determine
how their local government shall be carried on.
Activities of Township Government. The activities or
functions of a township government in Iowa include:
1.
Holding elections
2.
Repairing highways
3.
Listing property for
taxation
4.
Equalizing taxes
5.
Relief of the poor
6.
Caring for township
property
7.
Protection of public
health
8.
Protection of persons
and property
Township Officers.
The officers of a civil township are:
3 trustees
1 clerk
1 assessor
2 justices of the
peace
2 constables
These officers are
elected by the people and serve two years. A fine of five dollars is
imposed upon any one who, having been elected to a township office,
refuses to serve, but no one can be compelled to serve two terms in
succession.
Contested Elections. If the defeated candidate has good
cause to believe that the election was unfairly conducted, he may
contest the election and have the ballots recounted.
Trustees. The township trustees have many important duties
to perform. They decide upon the place of holding elections, levy
taxes for township purposes and act as a board of review in
equalizing assessed valuation. They constitute the board of review
in equalizing assessed valuation. They constitute the board of
health of the township, act as fence viewers, overseers of the poor,
and judges of election. The three trustees are chosen at each
general election for a term of three years.
The
regular meetings of the trustees are held on the first Monday in
February, April and November of each year. At the April meeting they
estimate the amount of property tax to be used in improving highways
and purchasing plows, scrapers, and material for building and
repairing bridges. With the exception of listing property for
taxation they have charge of all the activities of the township
government.
Public Highways and Property. The trustees have charge of
all the public property in the township. They are custodians of
building s and lands belonging to the township, and have charge of
cemeteries which are not under the supervision of some private
society. There is a growing sentiment in favor of “community halls”
where the people of the township may meet for social, educational,
cultural, recreational and political purposes. Such halls would be a
desirable extension of public activity and would do much to make
rural life more attractive, to only to men and women, but to the
thousands of boys and girls that are annually drawn to the cities
because of their cravings for just such opportunities. In some
states such community halls are part of the public property of the
township, and there is no doubt that this movement will spread to
Iowa. The public property, however, which at present demands most of
the attention is the township roads.
Most
of the work on township roads is under the authority of the
trustees, who appoint a road superintendent to direct it. All
able-bodied male residents of the township, between the ages 21 and
45, are required to perform two days’ labor upon the highway
annually or pay the equivalent. In addition to this road poll tax,
the trustees levy taxes upon the taxable property of the township as
follows: (a) road fund, for the purpose of improving roads,
purchasing plows, scrapers, et.; (b) drainage fund, for the purpose
of draining roads; (c) drag fund, for the purpose of dragging all
mail routes and main-traveled roads, the township being divided by
the trustees into road-dragging districts and a superintendent
appointed to have charge of this work in each.
All
township roads together with the less important county roads
constitute the secondary road system of the state, and
residents served by any such roads may petition the board of
supervisors to establish a road improvement district. Good roads in
such districts are constructed under the authority of the county,
one-fourth of the expense being borne by special assessment on the
farms directly benefited, one-fourth by the county road funds above
named…
Relief
of the Poor. The trustees of each township are the overseers
of the poor, and shall provide of the relief of such poor as should
not, in their judgment, be sent to the county poor farm. The cost of
providing for the poor is always borne by the county, whether they
are cared for at the county poor farm or are supported directly with
money, food or clothing in their homes. The poor are provided for at
public expense only when their near relatives have not sufficient
means to support them; and upon failure of relatives of sufficient
wealth to provide support, the trustees may apply to the district
court for an order to compel them to do so.
No persons who have served in the army or navy of the United States,
or their widows or families, requiring public relief, shall be sent
to the poor house, when they can, and prefer, to be relieved to the
extent provided by public charity. The state is especially
charitable to the soldiers and sailors who have served in the army
or navy during any war. Any such person, who dies without sufficient
means to defray burial expenses, shall be buried at public expense,
and shall not be buried in that part of a cemetery that is used
exclusively for the burial of paupers. Any person receiving public
charity must first gain a “settlement,” that is, he must have lived
in the county a year. A person who has not gained a settlement is
provided for temporarily until an order is obtained from the
district court to return him to the county or state from which he
came…
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