9.Each house has to have a chairman，whose duty it is to keep order.The presiding officer of the senate is the vicepresident of the United States The representatives elect their own chairman，who is called the speaker .Did you ever attend a debating society，or a public meeting of any sort？If so，you must have noticed that some one had to preside.He was called perhaps the “chairman”or the “president”of the meeting.In congress it is just the same，only a new chairman is not chosen each day.The speaker presides in the lower house at every meeting of the two years，and the vicepresident may preside in the senate for four years.
10.We have seen （in Chap.IV）how congress makes laws.Theselaws，when made，must be obeyed by everybody in the republic，and thestate legislatures must make no laws which interfere with the laws of congress.
11.The Senate.The senate has some other duties besides helping the house of representatives to make laws.
12.By the Constitution the president of the United States has the power to make treaties with foreign nations.A treaty is merely an agreementwhat business men call a “contract.”The United States has many treaties with the principal nations of the world.For example，in 1783，at the end of the revolutionary war，Great Britain made a treaty with the United States in which agreements were made about the boundaries between Canada and the new republic，about the right of Americans to catch fish near the British island of Newfoundland，and about other matters.Now，under the Constitution no treaty which the president may make is binding unless the senate approves it.So every such treaty the president sends to the senate，and they discuss it，and then take a vote on the question of approval.
13.The president also，by the Constitution，has the right to appoint manyTHE SENATE CHAMBER IN THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTONofficers of the United States.But he can make no such appointment，excepta temporary one，unless the senate approves.
14.The State Legislatures.Each of the fortyfive states also has a legislature，which，like congress，consists of two houses.The state legislature is sometimes called by some special namein Illinois it is the general assembly but usually it is simply the legislature .The upper house is always called the senate ，like the upper house of congress.The lower house has different names.In Maryland it is the house of delegates ，in New York it is the assembly ，in Virginia it is the house of burgesses .In most states，however，it is called by the same name as in congressthe house of representatives .
15.The members of each house of the state legislature are elected by the people.The state is divided into as many senate districts as there are senators，and usually also into as many representative districts as there are representatives.The people of each senate district choose a senator，and the people of each representative district choose a representative.
16.In Illinois there are fiftyone senate districts and no representative districts.The people of each senate district choose one senator and three representatives.Thus the Illinois legislature has fiftyone senators and one hundred fiftythree representatives.The number of senators and members of the lower house differs in the different states.The same is true about the term of office.But there are always fewer senators than members of the lower house，and in most of the states the senators are elected for a longer term.
17.In some states the legislature meets every year，in others it meets only once in two years.
18.The presiding officer of the state senate is the lieu tenant①governor，
if the state has one （Chap.XII）.If not，then the senatorselect their chairman.The lower house always elects its own speaker.
19.Each state has a constitution，just as has the United States.And the state constitution tells what the legislature may and may not do.So the lawmakers are not free to do as they please.They must make①In Massachusetts the president of the senate is elected.
no law which interferes with the Constitution of the United States，or with a law of congress，or with the state constitution.But yet the state legislatures make a very large number of laws every time they meet.Perhaps it would be quite as well if they made fewer.
20.The County Law Makers.Believing，as we do，that home rule，or local selfgovernment，is a good thing，our state legislatures leave purely local matters，as far as possible，for the people of each smaller neighborhood to decide as they please.So each county has some sort of lawmaking body，usually called a board .If the county is divided into towns，the people of each town may choose a supervisor ，and all the supervisors together form the county board.If the county is not divided into towns，and in some states even if it is，the county board consists of a few men，usually three，called commissioners，elected by the people of the whole county.In some states there is no county board at all.
21.The business done by a county board is different in different states.They may allow a toll road or a toll bridge to be built；they provide for such county buildings as are needed a jail，for instance，and offices for the various county officersand they decide what tax the people shall pay in order to provide for doing the county business.
22.Village and City LawMakers.A village is an other neighborhood which is allowed to make its own local laws.The people of the village usually elect a “board”sometimes called “trustees”to manage village business.And these trustees make such rulesusually called “ordinances”
as they think proper.But ordinances are really laws.People must obeythem，just as they must obey the laws made by the state legislature.
23.A city，too，has a lawmaking bodythe “council”it is usually calledwhose members are often known as “aldermen.”In some cities the city legislature is a double body，like congress and the state legislatures.In others there is but one house.Often the members are chosen from the wards.In the city of Chicago，for example，the “common council”consists of sixtyeight aldermen，two being chosen by the people of each ward.
24.The city council makes laws“ordinances”they are calledaboutall manner of things not covered by the laws of the state and the nation.
