In the beginning was the ward.

Anthony, Dennis

In his review of Twilight at Monticello (Jan 14), Bill Kauffman mentioned in some detail the ward republics that Thomas Jefferson believed were necessary to preserve our liberties. Those ward republics do actually exist, though in various degrees of dormancy. As the key elements of the Public Land Survey System, which Jefferson helped devise in 1785, they are called townships and cover six miles square, more or less. Usually associated with land measure in terms of section, town, and range, they are completely inactive here in California, but in the Midwest the township governments are quite active and might provide a basis for a township revival.

DENNIS ANTHONY

Los Angeles, Calif.