ABSTRACT
James Bryce many years ago described the failure of its city governments as the one conspicuous failure of the Amerivan people. Various attempts have been made to escape from inefficiency and corruption in city government. City administration is not so rigidly separated from State administration as is that of county boroughs or cities in Britain from that of the administrative county. The author emphasise that valuable health work is being done in American cities, even where the principles of undiluted democracy are not followed. This certainly is so in the three cities in which I had special opportunities of seeing public health administration, Baltimore, New York, and Chicago. Bribery and corruption are a phenomenon special to American government. Dr. Hermann M. Biggs was General Medical Officer and he had control of all medical matters. He was able to resist the machinations of "boss" government of the city, and whoever was displaced from office, he was retained.
