The city of St. Louis and the county of St. Louis are two totally separate and distinct political subdivisions of the state of Missouri. The city of St. Louis is, for all political purposes, a county as well as a city, and has been such since the adoption of the Scheme and Charter in 1876. It is the existence in the city of St. Louis of the powers of a county, and its character as a political subdivision of the state, which makes it unique among the cities of the United States. At the time of the adoption of the charter I believe there was no other city in the United States which was organized in a similar manner, though subsequently other cities have framed charters more or less along the lines of that of St. Louis. In fact, the St. Louis Charter was, at the time of its enactment, considered by many a model instrument. The idea of “home-made” charters became popular. The spread of the so-called “Missouri Idea” was shown by amendments to the constitutions of several states. Most of these provided for a degree of “home-rule” for cities. The importance of the separation between the city and county which had taken place in St. Louis seems to have been largely overlooked in the legislation which followed, both in Missouri and elsewhere. That separation, however, was absolute. It was not a consolidation of the city and county. The city was carved out of the county of St. Louis, and made, for all intents and purposes, a separate county.