Excerpt from Proceedings of the Conference for Good City Government and the Annual Meeting of the National Municipal League: Held November 15, 16, 17, 18, 1909 at Cincinnati, Ohio "Civic pessimism has received some hard knocks in recent years; but the recent Cincinnati civic convention - the annual meeting of the National Municipal League and the American Civic Association - dealt it a body blow," in the opinion of The Survey, "in the very spot where many people think hope shines feeblest The literature of municipal forebodings," according to this authority, "has ordinarily poured forth its most doleful lament over the difficulties and dangers which our hordes of immigrants contribute to municipal politics and problems." This was the very fear which was most effectively dispelled by two of the most striking and convincing papers of the entire convention. Their reasoned interpretation and vindication of our immigrant population were strengthened by corroboratory testimony "from men of tried temper and experience" and afforded a striking illustration of what another commentator happily designated as the "new politics" for which the National Municipal League has come to stand. Social and civic phases of the great municipal problem were discussed at large and in detail; by the seasoned veteran and the enthusiastic recruit; by college professors and city officials; by the public-spirited amateur and the growing class of trained workers and investigators. There were formal papers showing long and arduous study and informal round-table discussions by men in the thick of the fight, and an abundant opportunity for the exchange of views and experiences. The League has come, through a process of evolution, to represent in its membership and its meetings a high type of public service which is gradually transforming standards and enlarging the spheres of influence of those who have regard for the welfare of the whole community above that of any party or any faction no matter how large or how respectable. The Cincinnati meeting represented high-water mark; as did the Pittsburgh meeting in its turn. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.