The tendency to incorporate village com munities has been especially marked since 1890. More than half of all at present existing have been incorporated since that date. Three of the New England States (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire) even have allowed incor poration, though it has only in a few score instances been availed of as yet. In the north and middle Atlantic States there is a conserva tism in practice and only the larger places (over 500) are generally incorporated. In the South this has been more marked, often not more than one place in a county being incor porated and in many cases none such is found. But since 1890 and especially since 1900 many small places, particularly those on the railroads, have incorporated. In the North Central group of States incorporation of villages is most in vogue; already more than half of the total number of such are in this section, although only only-fourth of the nation is resident there.
Here, too, segregation of the incorporated village from its township has been adopted in several States. And special representation on county boards (supervisor type) has in a few cases been accorded to villages. But this repre sents' an extreme tendency; generally the vil lage remains part of the township for township purposes, while almost everywhere the school district is separate and independent of the village corporation, and is usually' more exten sive in area.
Such political independence of the American village is characteristic and unique. The Euro pean ocommune" includes both village and farm district in one political unit. Nine-tenths of the people of Russia live in such village com munities or "nzirs)) and communal life is only less widespread in other European countrics. There is practically no open country life or isolated as in this country. Moreover, the villages are more than merely. business centres for the district, as they are with us. There the farming or peasant population live in the village centres and cultivate the surrounding plots. Thus there is no motive for political separation.
In America the village has always had town and city'ambitions. In the early days the great majority of the places realized those ambitions though some, missed by the railroad and by; in dustry, stood still or suffered decline. The later ones have little opportunity of becoming cities, and see their permanent future in rela tions with their countryside.. This is the under lying reason for the less widespread desire to incorporate villages to-day thau formerly. In
corporation was usually the outcome of an ambition to become a town or city. This di vorced them politically from the farmhig com munity.
The early village was nothing more than a trading and later a shipping point. Latterly, since the 80's, it has more and more become a place of residence for retiring farmers and others for whom there was no place in the active life of the farm. This together with the investment in village business institutions on the part of surrounding farmers, tends to bind village and countryside together in interest. Retinng farmers, too, increasingly rent rather than sell their farms on retiring. In the first days of the rise of land values they usually sold. Increasingly, too, they rent to relatives, which gives them continued concern not only with the business but social interests of the country. The village schools and churches, too, draw many farmers and their families. It has become a custom to speak of village churches as country churches. School law recognizes the facts and tendenc:es of farmers' use of village schools. The village has become more broadly a business and social centre for its district. The farmers are about as much concerned with village affairs and improvements as the vil lagers themselves. The conditions and needs of the new agriculture give the farmer a nevi conceni in village business and social institu tions. Problems of marketing, credit and labor all interest him in the village. The vil lage is now, as it was not formerly, a shipping, a trade centre.
It is probable that as in a few States of the East, following the New England custom, added powers may be given the township to enable it to answer the needs of village im provements. Already many towns and villages are being made coterminous with reduced town ships. Many villages have very extensive cor porate limits and in some States some town ship powers, such as tax assessments, are being added to those of the village. In the future we may approximate somewhat to the con ditions of the European commune.
The villages are, unlike the towns and cities, by no means uniformly growing in population. Stationary or losing numbers is exceptional among larger places, although now increas ingly frequent. In the villages it is the rule. More than half are not growing in numbers. Perhaps one in four is losing rapidly.