The St. Louis Republic., 1903-02-22

years. The Representatives are elected for
four years. The Queen can dissolve both
chambers at will.
The chief executive part Of the Govern
ment is the Queen. with her Cabinet. The
Queen is rather figurehead. the Cabinet
doing the work.
This has eight members much after the
fashion of President Roosevelts Cabinet,
save that there is Minister Of Public
Works and Commerce. including the water
staat, and Minister of the Colonies. Each
of the members Of the Cabinet gets s., 900 a
year.
You have all heard Of the Burgomasters.
They have part in nearly every Dutch
story, and the usual idea of them Is that
they are old fellows in long coats, full pam
falcons. short vests and quaint hats, with
pipes in their mouths yard long.
1t is supposed that they preside over the
cities or villages rather than the country
districts.
The real Burgomaster Of to-day is more
likely a young man of 80 or 40 than one of
70 or 20. and IL he belongs to one of the
cities his dress Is such that 1t would not
look out of place in any city of the United
States. Indeed, the better class Of citizens
dress the same here as they do at home, the
old Dutch costumes being confined to the
country.
The Burgomasters are appointed by the
calties which they govern They do not
make the laws. but merely aid in carrying
them out.
COUNTRY DIVIDED UP INTO -
COMMCNES OR DISTRICTS.
The real local Government of Holland Is
much the same as that of the United
States.
The country is divided UP into COM
munes or local districts. according to pop
ulation. Sometimes commune will be on
ly a part Of city. like one of our city
wards. or Ii may be a village and again It
may be village and country combined.
There are eleven hundred such communes
here, each Of which has Its own council
elected by its efti3enA
These councils have to do with certain
classes Of taxes. They issue licenses and
levy petty dues. They regulate the streets
and roads, and for the uses of the COM
mune can add to the taxes on property
neys or the number Of servants a man has
as well as to the many other things for
which the Dutch are taxed.
There are also provincial or State coun-
ellis Holland has eleven provinces and each
province has its own representative body
which deals with matters relating to It.
Thus you have IN Holland a congress much
like our National Congress, a set OF pro-
vincial assemblies much like our State leg
islatures. and a set Of communes much like
our counties or City Councils-al! elected
by the people. Indeed the Government is
almost Republican.
AS far as l can learn, Holland is very well
governed. You find perfect order every
where. There are no beggars and few poor
houses. Vagabondage Is treated as a crime
and persons so convicted are placed in some
Of the State work establishments.
There are no poor taxes. and such poor as
there are are chiefly relieved by the various
charitable societies.
Taxes are comparatively low. the total Of
direct and indirect taxes averaging some
thing like so per head.
Holland runs its own railroads. its tele-
graphs and telephones and it makes money
out OF them. giving good service at COM
pa aratively low cost.
The State railway receipts are steadily
increasing. They We're more than e 900, 900
guilders last year. the most they had ever
been up to that time, and one third more
than they were in 1880.
Our postal service runs behind every
year. The Dutch make about 900 guild
ers a year out of theirs. They are losing a
little on the telegraph service but they send
messages for one-haH of the American
charges, and the service is fully as good
as ours.
You can send a telegram of ten words
anywhere in Holland for 10 cents, and for
each additional word you will pay about
of a cent.
TO UNITED STATES
COSTS FORTY CENTS A WORD.
A fiye-word dispatch to Great Britain
costs only 20 cents, and one to the United
States costs 40 cents and upward per word
The telephone rates are equally low. Ev-
cry city has good service. with the wires
on steel towers 100 feet high. SO that they
rise far above the houses.
/ see them erecting such poles here In
The Hague. They come in sections and look
much like the towers of enormous wind
mills.
The Dutch Government officials are OBJ /
iecting to our tarin on their exports. They