Agricultural associations, importance in rural life, 203 Alabama, origin of county system in, 21; county officers elective in, 29; report of prison inspector quoted, 92; lack of accounting law in, 122; county local option in, 150 Alameda County, Cal., work of Tax Association in, 7; home rule charter proposed in, 81-149; classification as an urban county, 154; map of, diagram of proposed federation of, 161-162; savings effected through better purchasing methods in, 189; recommendations as to purchasing methods in, 190 Almshouse, description of early, 82, 83; insane in, 87, 137-138; in Westchester County, 200-201; a Texas, 266-273; _see_ South American Judicature Society, proposals for county judiciary of, 131 American Revolution, influence of its philosophy on local government institutions, 25 Appointive power, lack of, in county, 30 Appointive system, workings of, in eastern states, 30 Appointments, new method employed in Westchester County, N. Y., 201 Arizona, uniform accounting law in, 122 Arkansas, lack of accounting law in, 122 Assessment and taxation, county as a unit of, 125; state control over, 126 Assessors, functions of, in New Jersey, 27; elective officers since 1693, 28; local selection of, 108-109 Auditing, significance of better, 181; 187 _et seq._ Auditor, importance of independence of, 188 Automobile, effect on rural life and government, 23 Ballot, insignificance of county officers on, in many cases, 44 Baltimore, abolition of county government in, 153; classification as an urban county, 154 Board of Chosen Freeholders, powers reduced in Hudson County, N. J., 38 Board of Supervisors, clerks of, in New York, appear before constitutional convention, 3; function in fiscal administration of, 14; duty of, in law enforcement, 132-133; how constituted in ideal county, 171; text of provisions in Los Angeles County charter concerning, 220-223; _see also_ Governing body Boroughs, proposed division of Alameda County, Cal., into, 160 Boston, city-county consolidation in, 158; metropolitan district compared to London, 164 Boundaries (county), made obsolete by conditions of modern life, 23; power to change county, 113; necessity for relocation of, 153 Boyle, Prof. John A., on reporting and accounting laws, 122 Bramhall, F. D, on obscurity of urban counties, 65 Bridges, frauds in building of, 77; awarding of contracts for, 98-99; awarding of contracts for, in Polk County, Iowa, 100; _see_ Roads and bridges Bronx County, N. Y., formation of, 24 Budget, importance of adequate county executive in making of, 176; nature of, 177; significance of better, 181; accounting basis for, 185-187 Buffalo, N. Y., relation to county, 154; _see_ Erie County Bureau of Inspection, etc., in Ohio, 121