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QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. Define a political party. Why have parties arisen?
2. Trace briefly the development of parties in the United States.
3. Outline the organization of a political party.
4. Explain clearly the three great benefits of party organization.
5. What is the basic defect of party government?
6. What can be said as to contributions to the campaign fund of political parties?
7. Name some methods whereby the party boss may dominate nominations and elections. Outline some laws designed to safeguard nominations and elections.
8. What is the spoils system and when did it arise?
9. What effect has the merit plan had upon the spoils system?
10. Are party abuses declining or increasing?
11. Distinguish between the duty of party support in National and perhaps State elections, and the duty of such support in local elections.
12. Under what circumstances should an individual abandon his party?
13. To what extent is the individual responsible for party abuses?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, chapter xxxiv.
Or all of the following:
2. Bryce, Modern Democracies, vol. i, chapter ii; vol. ii, chapter xl.
3. Guitteau, Government and Politics in the United States, chapter xxxvi.
4. Munro, The Government of the United States, chapters xxii and xxiii.
5. Woodburn, Political Parties and Party Problems, chapter xv.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. What was Washington's opinion of the political party? (Munro, page 313.)
2. Who were the Federalists? (Guitteau, pages 455-456.)
3. Discuss the principles of the Democratic-Republican party. (Guitteau, pages 456-457.)
4. What was the origin of the National-Republican party? (Guitteau, pages 457-458.)
5. What was the origin of the Democratic party? (Guitteau, page 457.)
6. What part have third parties played in our history? (Guitteau, pages 459-460.)
7. What three sets of men exist in every party? (Bryce, vol. i, pages 126-127.)
8. What are the three contributions of the United States to political science? (Bryce, vol. ii, page 27.)
9. What are the two aims of party organization? (Bryce, vol. ii, page 32.)
10. What is the relation of the party to national unity? (Bryce, vol. ii, pages 43-44-)
11. In what way does the party stabilize popular government? (Bryce, vol. ii, pages 44-45.)
12. What is the relation of constancy and faithfulness to the safety of the Republic? (Woodburn, page 338.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Which party occupies the dominant position in the political life of your community? Find out why it holds this position.
2. The history of third parties in your section, i.e., parties other than the Democratic and Republican parties.
3. The organization of any political party having official representatives in your community.
4. The work of local political committees in your community immediately preceding election.
5. Corrupt practices acts in your state.
6. The Civil Service System in your state.
7. Make a study of the different political parties with a view to determining which you would prefer to join.
II
8. Origin and growth of parties in the United States. (Beard, American Government and Politics, pages 103-108; Guitteau, Government and Politics in the United States, chapter xxxvi; Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapters liii and liv; Ford, The Rise and Growth of American Politics, chapter vii.)
9. Characteristics of the political party. (Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter i.)
10. Distrust of parties in our early history. (Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections in the United States, pages 28 36.)
11. The spoils system. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapters lxv and lxvii; Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter xiv.)
12. "Why the best men do not go into politics." (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lviii.)
13. Campaign contributions. (Brooks, Corruption in American Politics and Life.)
14. The party ring. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapters lxiii and lxiv.)
15. The state boss. (Reinsch, Readings on American State Government, pages 432-434; Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter xvi.)
16. How the party machine works. (Ford, The Rise and Growth of American Politics, pages 294-333; Kaye, Readings in Civil Governments, pages 373-377; Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections in the United States, pages 175-178; Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, chapter vi.)
17. Party government in England and in the United States. (Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections in the United States, pages I-II.)
18. Necessity of strong parties in the United States. (Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections in the United States, pages 20- 27.)
19. The struggle for good government. (Hammond and Jenks, Great American Issues, chapter v.)
20. The citizen and the party. (Bryce, _Hindrances to Good Citizenship_, all; _Hughes, _Conditions of Progress in Democratic Government_, lectures in and iv; Root, _Addressee on Government and Citizenship_, pages 1-77.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
21. Do third parties serve a useful purpose?
22. Should we pass laws limiting the total amount which any political candidate may spend in the campaign for nomination and election?
23. What are the advantages and disadvantages of placing party emblems at the head of ballots?
24. To what extent will civic education remedy the evils of the spoils system?
25. How will you determine which party you prefer to affiliate with, when you become of age?
26. How would you determine whether or not an individual ought to abandon his party? Suppose that an individual has severed connections with a party which he had reason to suppose was corrupt. Under what circumstances should he return to the ranks of that party?
CHAPTER XXXV
CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT
434. THE PROBLEM.—In an important sense, good government is a matter of getting the right men into office, hence one of the most vital problems in American democracy has to do with the choice of public officials. In any representative democracy nominations and elections must be a difficult and complex matter; in the United States the problem is rendered doubly difficult by the great size of the country, and by the rapidity with which its population is increasing. In this country hundreds of thousands of public officials are placed in office annually, all of them either elected at the polls, or chosen by agents who are themselves elected.
The problem before us involves four questions: First, how can we perfect the mechanism by means of which the officers of government are selected? Second, how can we elect officials who represent a majority, rather than a plurality [Footnote: See Section 444.], of those actually voting? Third, how can voters be helped to make intelligent choices at the polls? Fourth, how can we encourage qualified voters to make an habitual use of the ballot?
435. NOMINATION BY CAUCUS.—One of the earliest methods of choosing party candidates in this country was by means of the caucus. The caucus was an informal meeting in which the local members of a political party nominated candidates for town and county offices. Candidates for state offices were named by a legislative caucus, in which legislators belonging to the same party came together and determined their respective nominations. The legislative caucus spread to all of the states, and in 1800 was transferred to Congress as a mode of nominating the President and Vice-President.
After 1825 the caucus declined in importance. In the lawmaking bodies of both nation and states there continues to be a legislative caucus, but its influence upon the choice of public officials has greatly diminished. Outside of the state and National legislatures the caucus is now found only in towns, wards, and other small areas. In these areas it is used for the purpose of nominating candidates for local offices, and for the purpose of electing delegates to nominating conventions. Except in some parts of New England, it should be noted, this local caucus is now generally known as the primary.
436. RISE OF THE NOMINATING CONVENTION.—After 1825 the caucus was largely superseded by the convention. The convention is a relatively large meeting of party delegates chosen for the express purpose of deciding upon party policies and candidates. The convention device was developed, partly because party bosses had come to dominate the caucus, and partly because the increasing population of the country necessitated larger congregations of party members. The convention was made possible by improved means of transportation, which allowed relatively large groups of individuals to come together for deliberative purposes. By 1850 all of the political parties had adopted the convention plan for the nomination of candidates for most local, state, and National offices.
437. DECLINE OF THE CONVENTION.—The convention was an improvement upon the caucus in that it allowed a greater number of party members to participate in nominations. Unfortunately, delegates to the convention continued to be chosen in local caucuses, where the party "ring" or machine usually determined the choice of delegates. Bosses prepared "slates," bribed delegates, and otherwise manipulated what was supposed to be an expression of the party will in convention. In many cases the convention became-merely a cut-and-dried affair in which party members ratified nominations previously agreed upon by party leaders.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, and especially after 1900, these defects stimulated the development of measures designed to reduce or eliminate the abuses of the convention system. The most important of these reform measures is the Direct Primary.
438. NATURE OF THE DIRECT PRIMARY.—The terms caucus, primary, and direct primary are easily confused. We have seen that the local caucus is now generally known as the primary. The essential difference between this caucus or primary and the Direct Primary is this: in the Direct Primary, party members vote directly for the party's candidates at the forthcoming election; in the caucus or primary, on the other hand, party members do not vote directly for the more important of these candidates, but instead vote for delegates to a convention. Later these delegates meet in convention and there vote directly for party candidates. Thus the Direct Primary is really an election within the party, held for the purpose of allowing party members to choose the candidates who will represent the party at the approaching regular election. When adopted, the Direct Primary abolishes the convention by allowing party members to cast their ballots directly for their party's candidates. Those individuals are nominated who receive a plurality of all votes cast.
In most states the Direct Primary has recently been placed under detailed legal control. Such laws generally prescribe the time and place of holding the Direct Primary, the qualifications of those who may participate, and the organization and general management of this party election. There is provision for polling places, official ballots, and election of officials, just as there is provision for similar machinery in the regular election which follows the Direct Primary.
439. EXTENT OF THE DIRECT PRIMARY.—Heralded as a cure for the defects of the convention, the Direct Primary spread rapidly after 1900. By 1919 every state in the Union had adopted it in some form, and about forty states were applying the state-wide primary. At first the Direct Primary was used only to nominate candidates for local offices, but at the present time state officers, and even Federal Senators and Representatives, are often nominated by this method. In more than a third of the states the voters at the Direct Primary are allowed to express their preference directly for one of the candidates for the presidential nomination. Altogether, the Direct Primary has largely supplanted the convention in about three fourths of the states.
440. ADVANTAGES CLAIMED FOR THE DIRECT PRIMARY.—A number of important advantages are claimed for the Direct Primary. It is said that the device reduces the power of the party boss, and insures democratic control within the party. Party members are more interested in the Direct Primary than in the local caucus or primary because in the Direct Primary they actually aid in the direct selection of party candidates. The local caucus or primary, on the other hand, does not directly select the more important party candidates, but can only choose delegates to a nominating convention. Because the Direct Primary increases the control of the individual over party policies, it encourages active political work on the part of the rank and file. It is maintained that the Direct Primary brings out a larger vote than would otherwise be possible. Better candidates are secured by means of the Direct Primary, it is claimed, because the nomination of individuals depends upon the presentation of their claims to the voters, rather than upon winning the favor of party bosses.
441. OBJECTIONS URGED AGAINST THE DIRECT PRIMARY.—The opponents of the plan claim that the Direct Primary has serious faults. It is said that in supplanting the convention the Direct Primary has made more difficult the exchange of views and opinions among party members. It is declared that the Direct Primary has disorganized the party and has therefore broken down party responsibility. It is claimed that the Direct Primary has not eliminated the boss, for rather than voting directly for candidates of their own choice, electors must make a selection from a list of candidates previously arranged by party leaders. All of these candidates may be objectionable to the voter. It is also pointed out that many worthy candidates have not the money to defray the expense of competing in the Direct Primaries. Frequently the "ring" brings out a number of candidates to divide the voters, while the henchmen of the ring concentrate their votes upon one man. Lastly, it is pointed out, the excessive number of candidates to be selected renders it impossible for the average individual to make an intelligent selection. In such a case, the average individual attends the Direct Primary only to confirm the choice of party leaders.
442. OUTLOOK FOR THE DIRECT PRIMARY.—Although there is much to be said for and against the Direct Primary, the belief is gaining ground that this device does not offer the final solution of the difficulty which led to its establishment. After an exhaustive study of the subject, Professor Munro concludes as follows: "In a word, the primary seems to afford protection against the worst fault of the convention, which was the frequent selection of incapable and corrupt candidates at the behest of a few political leaders. But it has not, in twenty years or more of experience, demonstrated that it can achieve positive results of a measurably satisfactory character. It has not rid the state of boss domination; it has increased the expense which every candidate must incur, and it gives a marked advantage to the man whose name is well known to the voters, whether he be a professional politician or not. To say that the primary secures on the average somewhat better results than the old convention may be stating the truth, but it is not high praise."
443. NOMINATION BY PETITION.—The system of nomination by petition came into use between 1880 and 1890. It provides that candidates may be placed in nomination by filing with some specified officer nomination papers, or petitions, signed by a specified number of qualified voters. The filing of these papers entitles the candidates named thereon to have their names printed upon the official ballot. The merit of this device is that it prevents the party machine from dictating the choice of candidates, and that it enables independent candidates to be brought forward. On the other hand, it has encouraged the circulation of petitions for hire.
On the whole this method of nomination is proving more and more popular in local elections. It seems well adapted to the needs of municipalities, for it reduces partisanship to a minimum. It is said that in some cases it practically eliminates national politics from local elections. The supporters of nomination by petition are increasing, and it is now proposed to apply it to all local and state nominations. In such an event the Direct Primary would be radically modified, or even abolished.
444. MAJORITY REPRESENTATION.—How can we make certain that an individual nominated or elected represents a majority of those voting? When there are only two candidates, the one receiving the largest number of votes receives both a plurality and a majority. But when there are several candidates, it often happens that the individual receiving the largest number of votes does not receive a majority. Suppose, for example, that 100,000 votes are cast, and that A receives 20,000, B 25,000 C 30,000 and D 25,000. Ordinarily C will be declared successful because he has received a plurality of the votes cast. But he has not received a majority of the votes cast. This custom of declaring successful the candidate receiving a plurality constitutes a defect in our representative system, since a plurality candidate may represent only a small minority of those actually voting.
Several attempts have been made to remedy this defect. In some southern states it is the practice to require an absolute majority for election. If no aspirant receives a majority, a second ballot is taken on the two candidates standing highest on the list. In a number of northern cities, the evil of plurality voting has been attacked through the preferential voting device. This system of voting allows the voter to designate not only his first, but his second and third choices as well. If any candidate receives a clear majority of first choice votes, he is declared elected. But if no one receives such a majority, the second choices are added to the first choices. If this further calculation does not give any candidate a majority, third choices are resorted to. In cities where the plan has been tried, preferential voting is said to have proved markedly successful.
445. MINORITY REPRESENTATION.—Related to the question of making sure that successful candidates represent a majority of those voting is the problem of the adequate representation of the minority. The most notorious phase of this problem has grown out of our custom of electing one national Representative from each of the congressional districts into which every state is divided. Often gerrymandering [Footnote: The origin and nature of "gerrymandering" are discussed in Chapter XLII, Sections 542 and 543.] is resorted to, that is to say, congressional districts are so arranged as to give the minority party overwhelming majorities in a few districts, while the dominant party is allowed to carry the remaining districts by very small majorities. The result is gross misrepresentation in Congress, because the party having a bare majority often secures a large percentage of the representatives, while the minority is very inadequately represented.
Such misrepresentation also appears in connection with the choice of representatives to the state legislatures.
In the attempt to remedy this type of misrepresentation various plans of proportional representation have been put forth. In Illinois members of the lower house of the state legislature have long been chosen as follows: Each state senatorial district is given the right to elect three assemblymen. Every elector in the district has the right to cast three votes, one each for three different persons, or two votes for one candidate and one for another, or all for one candidate. By concentrating its votes upon one candidate, an average minority can be sure of at least one representative in each district. A plan employed in several other states likewise aims to give each political party representation proportional to the number of votes cast by the party, regardless of whether the number is a minority or a majority. The principle of proportional representation, if fully worked out, and if made simple enough to be comprehended by the average voter, would insure majority rule and at the same time allow the adequate representation of minorities.
446. OBSTACLES TO INTELLIGENTY VOTING.—Several obstacles to intelligent voting in this country are intimately connected with the long ballot. [Footnote: The term "long ballot" refers to the fact that so many officials are elective that the ballot on which their names appear is often of great length. The term "short ballot" refers to a reduction of the length of this ballot by making fewer officers elective.] The wave of democracy which swept the country in the last century had the double effect of increasing the number of elective offices, and of shortening the terms during which officials were allowed to hold office. A greatly lengthened ballot, together with the great frequency of elections, has made it impossible for the average voter to exercise proper judgment at the polls. The difficulty of investigating the merits of the numerous candidates, or even of becoming familiar with their names, has discouraged many from voting. Of those who still pretend to reach independent decisions regarding candidates and issues, a considerable number really rely upon the direction and advice of professional politicians. The long ballot is the enemy of democracy, since it allows politicians, rather than the masses, to control actual government.
447. SHORTENING THE BALLOT.—The chief remedy for these evils is the short ballot. The essential features of the short ballot plan are as follows: Popular elections should be resorted to only for the purpose of choosing those officials who have to do with public policies. For example, state voters ought to select only the governor, lieutenant governor, and members of the legislature; city voters ought to choose only the mayor and council; [Footnote: Where this form of municipal government is still employed.] while county voters ought to confine their attention to a small group of county commissioners or supervisors. All other officials ought to be appointed, either directly by chief executive officers, or by means of the merit plan. Along with the shortening of the ballot, we should be increasingly willing to allow officials to hold office for longer terms. A supplementary feature of great value would be the establishment of such means of popular control as would protect the public against abuse of power by officials to whom these longer terms had been extended.
448. MERITS OF THE SHORT BALLOT.—There can be little doubt that a drastic shortening of the ballot would work a great improvement in our electoral system. If the vast majority of officials were made appointive, the voter could give more time and thought to the consideration of a few important elective officials. A short ballot would lessen the possibilities of manipulation by rings and bosses. Unquestionably the interest of the voter would be quickened, since his influence upon the political life of his community would be more apparent. And not only would the short ballot make government more representative, but it would help to make it more responsible.
If the majority of the administrative officials who are now elected were made appointive, responsibility for their conduct in office could be concentrated upon the chief executive officer appointing them.
449. THE NEGLECT TO VOTE.—The last of the vital questions arising in connection with the choice of public officials is the matter of encouraging the enfranchised classes to use the ballot. The long ballot and the domination of party politics by rings and bosses discourage many from voting, nevertheless it is probably true that the slackness of the individual is the chief reason why voters neglect to use the ballot. This slackness may take the form of personal indolence, or of indifference to civic duty, or of preoccupation with the press of personal business. When individuals are busy with their private affairs the time needed for intelligent political action is often begrudged. Again, the duty to vote is not always a compelling one. When a duty is shared with innumerable other people, it appears less of a personal duty; when the individual notes that his fellow- citizens neglect that duty, his own tendency toward slackness is encouraged. In a democracy, as Lord Bryce points out, "everybody's business becomes nobody's business."
450. IMPORTANCE OF CIVIC EDUCATION.—The perfecting of our nominating and elective machinery, together with the shortening of the ballot, is doing a good deal to awaken interest in the proper use of the vote. But the problems of democracy cannot be solved by purely mechanical means. If our voters are to regard the use of the ballot as a civic duty, we must rely largely upon civic education. Young people, soon to be voters, must be impressed with the responsibilities of democracy. They must be taught the vital importance of using the vote. In Belgium and Spain it is customary to penalize individuals for neglecting to vote, but the idea of compulsory voting is repugnant to the American spirit. Moreover, law alone can neither build up nor sustain individual morality. The remedy for indifference to the ballot would seem to be not law, but the education of voters to their moral obligation toward the government under which they live.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What four questions arise in connection with the choice of public officials?
2. Describe nomination by caucus. To what extent is this method still used?
3. Why did the nominating convention arise?
4. What forces were responsible for the decline of the convention?
5. What is the nature and purpose of the Direct Primary?
6. To what extent is the Direct Primary used in this country?
7. What are the chief advantages of this device?
8. What defects are urged against the Direct Primary?
9. What does Professor Munro conclude as to the value of the Direct Primary?
10. What is nomination by petition?
11. What is the problem of majority representation?
12. Discuss the nature and purpose of the preferential voting device.
13. What is the purpose of gerrymandering?
14. What is the nature and purpose of proportional representation?
15. What is the relation of civic education to the proper use of the ballot?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, chapter xxxv.
Or all of the following:
2. Bryce, The American Commonwealth vol. ii, chapter lxvi.
3. Guitteau, Government and Politics in the United States, chapter xxxvii.
4. Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter iv.
5. Reed, Form and Functions of American Government, chapter vii.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. Is the number of elective officers in the United States greater or less than in Europe? (Bryce, page 146.)
2. How is the caucus used at the present time? (Ray, page 75.)
3. What is a "self-announced" candidate? (Ray, page 75.)
4. Describe the workings of the "nomination by petition" device. (Ray, page 76.)
5. What evils attend the unregulated caucus or primary? (Ray, pages 80-83.)
6. Describe the work of the state nominating convention. (Guitteau, pages 467-468.)
7. Outline the procedure in the national convention. (Guitteau, pages 471-472.)
8. What are the two chief types of Australian ballot? (Reed, pages 82- 84.)
9. What is the chief weakness of the Direct Primary? (Reed, page 87.)
10. Name some states in which the presidential preference primary is used. (Reed, page 87.)
11. How is a typical presidential preference primary conducted? (Reed, page 87.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Use of the caucus or primary in your community.
2. The nominating convention in your state.
3. The Direct Primary in your state or community.
4. Legal control of the Direct Primary in your state.
5. The extent to which nomination by petition is employed in your state.
6. The representation of minorities in your state legislature.
7. Recent ballot reform in your state.
II
8. The framework of the convention. (Ford, Rise and Growth of American Politics, chapter xvi; Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter v; Woodburn, Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States, chapters xi-xiii.)
9. The nominating convention at work. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lxx; Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter viii.)
10. Structure of the Direct Primary. (Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, chapter vi.)
11. How the Direct Primary works. (Cleveland, Organised Democracy, chapter xvii; Woodburn, Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States, chapter xxi.)
12. Effect of the Direct Primary upon party organization. (Holcombe, State Government in the United States, pages 193-204.)
13. Direct nominations. (Reinsch, Readings on American State Governments, pages 383-394)
14. Tyranny of the majority. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lxxxiv.)
15. Safeguarding the rights of the minority. (Gettell, Readings in Political Science, pages 322-325.)
16. The nature of proportional representation. (Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections in the United States, pages 164-168; Commons, Proportional Representation.)
17. Objections to the principle of proportional representation. (Gettell, Readings in Political Science, pages 324-325.)
18. Preferential voting. (Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Bulletins, 1917.)
19. The gerrymander. (Woodburn, Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States, chapter xx.)
20. The short ballot. (Childs, Short Ballot Principles; Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Bulletins, 1917.)
21. What proportion of qualified voters actually use the ballot? (Hart, Practical Essays on American Government, No. 2.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
22. The desirability of extending the Direct Primary in your state.
23. The closed versus the open primary.
24. Advantages and disadvantages of nomination by petition.
25. Advantages and disadvantages of holding local, state and National elections at different times.
CHAPTER XXXVI
HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE
451. MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM.—How can we insure the honest and efficient administration of American government? Civic education and the perfection of nomination and election devices will do much toward securing this end, but there remains a troublesome question. This has to do with reorganizing our legislative and administrative machinery, so that public officials may be allowed or encouraged to perform their duties in a responsible and effective manner.
The problem is a vast one, the adequate treatment of which would require volumes. In this chapter, therefore, it will be necessary to confine the discussion to a few of the more pressing aspects of the problem. Of these the following are perhaps the more important: First, the defects in legislative procedure; second, the reorganization of state administration; third, budget reform; and fourth, the reform of municipal government.
A. DEFECTS IN LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
452. AMERICAN LEGISLATURES ARE OVERWORKED.—It has frequently been pointed out that in the United States both state and National legislatures are overwhelmed with work. One reason for this is that the extension of government control over industrial corporations has rendered legislation more complex and greater in volume. The development of public interest in health, education, and related fields has 'of recent years markedly increased the amount of legislation. The custom which many legislators have of attempting to get as much special legislation for their respective districts as possible has likewise increased the number of laws upon the statute books. Lastly, it should be borne in mind that throughout our history we have tended to believe legislation a cure-all for the defects of American life. This attitude has led to an excessive number of laws on subjects which in European countries are ordinarily left to the discretion of administrative officials.
The combined effect of these developments has been to confront our legislatures with so much business that honest and efficient legislation has been rendered exceedingly difficult.
453 THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM.—The chief defects of American legislation appear in connection with the committee system which exists in both National and state legislatures. The committee system is the practice of dividing the legislative body into a large number of small groups or committees whose duty it is to consider various types of legislative business. The great merit of this device is that it expedites business. Indeed, the membership of our legislatures has become so large, and the amount of legislative business has increased so rapidly, that it is difficult to see how the committee system could be dispensed with. Without some such division of labor, chaos and endless delay would result. [Footnote: For the part played by the committee system in the actual making of a law, see Chapter XLIIL]
At the same time, the committee system has numerous faults. As Lord Bryce has pointed out, it destroys the unity of the legislature by breaking it up into a number of small groups among which there is no appreciable degree of cordination. The committee system limits debate. Since most committee business is transacted in secret session, the public is deprived of light upon public affairs. So minutely does the committee system divide legislative labor that even the most important piece of legislation cannot secure the attention of the best men. There is a diffusion of responsibility when various committees work upon related problems without regard for the work being done by one another. Finally, the committee system throws power, unaccompanied by adequate responsibility, into the hands of the committee chairman.
454 LOG-ROLLING. Log-rolling is the trading of votes among individual legislators. Many of the faults of our state and National legislatures are connected with this practice. Some legislators are so intent upon securing the passage of bills in which they are personally interested that they are willing to vote for a fellow-legislator's pet bills, regardless of merit, provided that legislator will return the favor. In this way special legislation often displaces bills which are drawn in a wider interest,—taxation, education, and other vital matters being neglected so that members may pursue personal ends.
There is as yet no limit to the number of bills which may be introduced by state or National legislators. As a result there is a large number of unnecessary and hastily framed bills for which no one is definitely responsible. It is supposed to be the duty of all legislators to weed out bills which are poorly framed, or which are designed to promote special interests. But in this case everybody's business becomes nobody's business. Such machine-like formalities as repeated readings of a bill, and a series of committee reports upon it, are generally substituted for individual scrutiny of a measure.
455. LEGISLATIVE REFORM.—The reform of legislative procedure is attracting an increasing amount of attention among students of American politics. Many recent state constitutions define in detail the powers and procedure of the state legislature. A considerable number of states now have legislative reference bureaus, which enable legislators to keep track of legislation in other states, as well as to have ready access to important data bearing upon their own problems. There is a growing tendency for state legislatures to employ expert bill drafters to draw up laws on technical and highly-complex subjects. The expert bill drafter and the legislative bureau help materially to reduce the amount of defective and unwise legislation on the statute books.
Much remains to be done, however. Important public bills ought invariably to be given first consideration by legislators, instead of, as is still many times the case, being put off until the end of the session in order to allow time for log-rolling. Filibustering and other time-wasting tactics should be curbed, because they tend to obstruct legislation. Many students of government advocate the extension of a plan already adopted in Massachusetts and a few other states, whereby all bills are given a public hearing. It is also clear that some method ought to be devised whereby the work of the various committees dealing with related subjects could be correlated and harmonized. Lastly, any measures which will reduce the amount of unnecessary and ill-advised legislation must prove of great value.
B. THE REORGANIZATION OF STATE ADMINISTRATION
456. DEFECTS IN STATE ADMINISTRATION.—Originally the state administration consisted of the Governor and a few elective officers, notably a Secretary of State, a Treasurer, and an Attorney-General. With the rapid development of the country, education, health, dependency, corporations, and similar matters have required more and more attention from state governments. To perform a host of new functions the state administration has expanded to include numerous commissioners, boards, and departments, some of them elected by the people, and some of them appointed by the Governor.
This development has been haphazard, rather than orderly and planned. As a result, the administrative department is in most states a confused and tangled mass of boards and commissions, departments and single offices, often duplicating the work of one another, and largely working without any appreciable degree of cordination. In most states numerous administrative officers are elective, rather than appointive. This situation has two drawbacks: In the first place elective officials are responsible to no one but the people at large, and therefore these officials cannot be efficiently directed or supervised by the Governor. In the second place, no definite person or persons can be held responsible for the conduct of this numerous body of elective administrative officials.
457. THE REFORM OF STATE ADMINISTRATION.—The reorganization and consolidation of state administrative offices is attracting an increasing amount of attention. In New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, and several other states, administration has been notably simplified and systematized. The Illinois Administrative Code of 1917, for example, consolidated the work of more than a hundred administrative offices into nine main departments. Each department is in charge of a director, appointed by the Governor, and each department is responsible to the Governor. Cordination of this type economizes time and energy, and saves the state's money by reducing the number of salaried officials. The centralization of the entire administration under the Governor not only allows efficient supervision, but permits the people to hold this official strictly accountable for the administration.
The need of reform in state administration is recognized throughout the Union, but in most states the reorganization of administrative offices is retarded in two ways: First, the movement is opposed by officeholders who fear that their positions will be abolished by a consolidation of departments; second, in many states the consolidation of administrative offices is impossible without substantial amendments to the state constitution.
C. BUDGET REFORM
458. THE QUESTION OF A BUDGET.—In contrast to the leading countries of Europe, our National government until very recently had no budget system. Some of the estimates were prepared by the administrative departments, under the direction of the President, while other estimates were prepared by various committees in the House of Representatives. In Congress there was little or no cordination between the various committees considering different appropriations. Nor were these committees properly cordinated with the administrative departments which were responsible for the original estimates.
After appropriations had been granted, Congress had no scrutiny over the actual expenditure of the money. Thus the administrative departments might waste their appropriations, and then secure the passage of deficiency bills to make up the shortage. At no time did the various departments and committees considering appropriations take into careful account the amount of government revenue. For this reason it was purely an accident if appropriations kept within the limits set by available revenue.
A similar situation formerly prevailed in many of the states. The various administrative departments transmitted to the legislature an estimate of what each required for the coming year. These estimates, together with an unlimited number of appropriation bills introduced by individual members, were referred to various committees. Whether particular appropriations were granted depended, not upon the amount of state revenue, but upon the political pressure brought to bear in favor of those measures. As in Congress, neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, neither particular committees nor individual legislators, could be held wholly responsible for any appropriation measure. Excessive waste of public funds was the result.
459. BUDGET REFORM.—The last two decades have witnessed a growing demand for a national budget. Under the direction of President Taft a commission investigated the general question of responsibility in the handling of Federal finances. The report of the committee favored a national budget, but the unfriendly attitude of Congress checked the movement. Interest in a national budget increased during the two terms of President Wilson, stimulated, especially, by the wave of postwar economy which swept the country after the signing of the armistice in November, 1918. In the spring of 1921, a bill establishing a budget system for the National government passed both houses of Congress, and on June 10, 1921, the bill became law by the signature of President Harding. This system is expected markedly to improve Federal finances.
Practically unknown a few years ago, the budget movement among the states has spread so rapidly that at the present time almost all of the commonwealths have some sort of budget system. Three methods of preparing the budget are found among the several states. In some states, as in New York, budget-making is in the hands of the legislature; in other states, as in Wisconsin, both legislature and executive participate in budget-making; in still other states, as in Illinois, the executive alone is responsible for the preparation of the budget. Many authorities claim that the last-named type of budget preparation is preferable but, in many states it is objected to as giving too much power to the executive.
D. THE REFORM OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
460. MUNICIPAL REFORM: CHANGES IN THE MAYOR-COUNCIL PLAN.—Until the opening of the twentieth century practically every American city was governed under what is known as the mayor-council plan. This plan provides for a council to make the laws, and a mayor to act as executive. Formerly the council of the larger cities was very often composed of two chambers, a board of aldermen and a common council, but of late years the single-chambered council has become more and more common.
The mayor-council plan still prevails in most American cities, particularly in the larger municipalities. But everywhere the growing demand for honesty and efficiency in government is leading to the reform of this system. In order to reduce the length of the ballot, the appointive power of the mayor is being increased. In the interests of economy and responsibility the administrative offices are in many cities being consolidated, cordinated and centralized under the mayor. To guard against the abuse of financial power there is in many commonwealths a tendency for state constitutions and statutes to limit the debt-incurring and franchise-granting powers of city councils.
461. MUNICIPAL REFORM: THE COMMISSION PLAN.—In September, 1900, a tidal wave seriously demoralized the mayor-council form of government in Galveston, Texas. To meet the emergency, the state legislature authorized the establishment of a new type of government, known as the commission plan. Instead of selecting a mayor and councilmen, the voters of Galveston now choose a commission of five officials. All of these commissioners are equal in power, except that one presides as mayor-president. The commission form of government spread rapidly, chiefly among the smaller cities, until in 1921 there were more than 300 municipalities governed under this plan. In every case the commission has both legislative and executive powers. Collectively the commissioners act as a legislative body for the city, individually they head the various administrative departments.
A number of important advantages are claimed for the commission form of city government. Responsibility is no longer divided among mayor and councilmen, but can be definitely placed upon the small group of commissioners. It is believed by many that commission government allows a greater harmony of action than is possible under the mayor- council plan. Finally, it is declared, a group of five or seven commissioners can administer city government with more efficiency than can a mayor and a numerous council.
The opponents of commission government maintain, on the other hand, that the plan is undemocratic and oligarchical because it centralizes great power in the hands of a small group. The plan is said to increase the danger of corruption, since appropriating and spending powers are placed in the same hands. The opponents of this form of government also maintain that it renders easier the corruption of the city administration, since party bosses may easily gain control of a few commissioners. A final, and perhaps the most serious, objection is that commission government does not go to the logical conclusion in concentrating responsibility. There is no head to the administration, and no way of preventing the diffusion of responsibility among the commissioners. Jealousy among the commissioners has often led to friction and to working at cross-purposes. [Footnote: Of recent years a number of cities have abandoned commission government for either the mayor-council or the city manager plan.]
462. MUNICIPAL REFORM: THE CITY MANAGER PLAN.—A recent modification of commission government is the city manager plan. This provides for a small elective commission, which does not itself administer the government of the city, but which chooses, instead, an experienced executive or city manager. The city manager is supposed to be a non- partisan expert whose duty it is to administer the city in accordance with business principles. As the agent of the commission choosing him, the city manager enforces all ordinances, prepares annual estimates, and appoints all other city officials and employees. He also accepts full responsibility for the administration of the city's affairs.
The first city to apply the city manager plan was Dayton, Ohio, which began the experiment on January 1, 1914. Since that date the plan, or some variation of it, has been established in about a hundred cities. The city manager plan is an improvement over the commission plan, in that it allows a greater concentration of responsibility. Another advantage over commission government is that the city manager plan insures a high grade of professional skill at the apex of the city's administration. The plan appears to work well in the smaller cities, provided a high grade manager can be found, and provided, also, that his position can be safeguarded against corrupting political influences.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What four questions are discussed in this chapter?
2. Why are American legislatures overwhelmed with work?
3. What are the merits and defects of the committee system?
4. What is log-rolling, and why is it objectionable?
5. What is the purpose of the legislative bureau?
6. What is the function of the expert bill drafter?
7. What are the chief defects of state administration?
8. What has been done to correct these defects?
9. Discuss the movement toward a national budget.
10. What are the three forms of budget making in state government?
11. What is the mayor-council plan, and what changes are being brought about in it?
12. What is the commission plan of city government? How did it arise? What can be said for and against it?
13. Compare the commission plan with the city manager plan.
14. What is the chief merit of the city manager plan?
Required Readings
1. Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, chapter xxxvi.
Or all of the following:
2. Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. i, chapter xlv.
3. Munro, The Government of the United States, chapter xxxi.
4. Reed, Form and Functions of American Government, chapter xli.
5. Illinois Efficiency and Economy Committee, Report, 1915, pages 18- 24 and 74-77.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. What are the chief defects of state government in general? (Bryce, page 556.)
2. What is a book of estimates? (Reed, page 483.)
3. Describe the procedure in Congress with regard to appropriation bills. (Reed, page 484.)
4. How are provisions against special legislation evaded in some states? (Bryce, page 559.)
5. Enumerate and briefly characterize the chief administrative offices in the various states. (Munro, pages 447-457.)
6. What are the two distinctive features of state administration? (Munro, pages 457-458.)
7. What are the chief defects of state administration? (Illinois Report, pages 18-24.)
8. Summarize the advantages of a reorganized and consolidated state administration. (Illinois Report, pages 74-77.)
9. What is the purpose of a "state auditing" system? (Reed, page 489.)
10. Explain the need for uniform accounts for cities and counties? (Reed, pages 491-492.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Interview any citizen of your community who has served in the state legislature. Ask for his personal opinion concerning the amount of legislative business to be transacted, the workings of the committee system, and the practice of log-rolling.
2. Status of the expert bill-drafter and the legislative reference bureau in your state. If these devices have not been adopted, interview or write to a member of the state legislature concerning his opinion of these legislative aids.
3. The enactment of appropriation bills in your state legislature.
4. The development of the administrative department in your state.
5. Make a diagram showing the relations of the various boards and commissions embraced in the administrative department of your state. Point out instances of duplication and lack of cordination. Draw up a plan for consolidating these boards and commissions.
6. The budget in your state.
7. Form of government in your municipality.
II
8. The business of Congress. (McCall, The Business of Congress.)
9. The faults of state legislatures. (Kaye, Readings in Civil Government, pages 282-295.)
10. The legislative reference bureau. (Reinsch, Readings on American State Government, pages 63-74.)
11. History of state administration. (Illinois Constitutional Convention Bulletins, 1920, pages 623-709.)
12. The reorganization of state government. (Munro, The Government of the United States, chapter xxxvi.)
13. A National budget. (Cleveland and Buck, The Budget and Responsible Government, chapters xviii-xx.)
14. State budgets. (Cleveland and Buck, The Budget and Responsible Government, part iii; Munro, The Government of the United States, pages 466-469.)
15. Revenues and expenditures of cities. (Beard, American City Government, chapter v.)
16. Home rule for cities. (Beard, American City Government, chapter ii.)
17. The mayor-council plan. (Munro, The Government of American Cities, chapters viii and ix.)
18. The commission plan of city government. (Munro, The Government of American Cities, chapter xii; Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Bulletins.)
19. The city manager plan. (Munro, The Government of American Cities, chapter xv; Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Bulletins.)
20. The civil service as a career. (Foltz, The Federal Civil Service as a Career.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
21. Would shortening the length of the legislative session improve the quality of legislation? (See Bryce, The American Common-wealth, vol. i, chapter xlv.)
22. Should there be a limit to the number of bills which a legislator may introduce?
23. Methods of cordinating committees in your state legislature.
24. Advantages and disadvantages of the commission form of government. (See the Debaters' Handbook Series.)
25. Advantages and disadvantages of the city manager plan. (See the Debaters' Handbook Series.)
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL
463. BASIS OF POPULAR CONTROL.—The fact that our government is a representative democracy entitles the voters to choose, direct, and control the public officials who act for the people at large. We have discussed a few of the methods whereby the nomination and election machinery might be improved; we must now go a step further and examine the means by which officeholders may be controlled.
Supposedly, officials are chosen because the people believe them able and willing to discharge public duties with honesty and efficiency. But after officials have taken office it may develop that they have secured their positions by unfair means, or that they are dishonest, or that they are inefficient or otherwise unsatisfactory. Wherever it develops that officeholders no longer meet with the approval of the people, truly representative government is impossible unless some method of effective popular control is found.
A. INDIRECT METHODS OF CONTROL
464. REFUSAL TO RELECT.—If the voters are dissatisfied with the conduct of their representatives, they may express their disapproval by refusing to relect those representatives. This effects a measure of control, even though it is negative and not immediate.
465. REMOVAL BY THE APPOINTIVE AUTHORITY.—If satisfaction is not rendered by subordinate administrative officials who have secured office through appointment, such officials may be removed from office by the authority appointing them. The power of the President, Governor, or mayor to appoint generally carries with it the power to remove from office. Such removal may be on the initiative of the appointing authority, or it may be in response to a popular demand. From the standpoint of the voters at large, however, this method of removal is indirect and often ineffective.
466. IMPEACHMENT.—Unsatisfactory officials are sometimes removed by the impeachment process. In the various states either a part or the whole of the legislature may sit as a court of impeachment for the trial of certain important officials accused of serious crime. In the National government the House of Representatives may initiate impeachment proceedings against the President, Vice-President, and all other civil officers of the United States. In such cases the Senate acts as a court of trial.
Yet as a method of popular control impeachment is unsatisfactory. It is indirect, since a part or the whole of the legislature acts for the people. It is slow and cumbersome. It does not extend over the entire list of public officials, nor over the entire range of offenses.
467. CONTROL THROUGH THE AMENDING PROCESS.—The powers and duties of public officials may be partially controlled through the formal amending process. In all states except New Hampshire the constitution may be amended through legislative action, subsequently ratified by popular vote. About two thirds of the states also provide for amendment by a constitutional convention composed of delegates elected by the voters. In a number of states, as we shall see a little later, constitutional amendment may also be secured by means of the Initiative and Referendum.
The Federal Constitution may be formally amended in four different ways. The two most important methods are, first, by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress, and second, by a convention called by Congress upon application of the legislatures of two thirds of the states. In either case the amendment must be ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the states.
The formal amending process is an important part of our governmental machinery, but as a method of popular control it is open to a number of criticisms. It is slow. It is indirect, for the people must rely chiefly upon their legislatures. Constitutional amendment cannot remedy all of the abuses of office. Furthermore, it is too drastic and far-reaching a remedy for many of the minor abuses of office.
B. DIRECT METHODS or CONTROL
468. THE INITIATIVE.—In more than a third of the states popular discontent with the state legislature, together with the growing self- confidence of the voters, has led to the adoption of the Initiative. The Initiative is a device whereby any person or group of persons may draft a statute, and, on securing the signatures of a certain percentage of the voters, compel the state officials to submit the measure to popular vote. If at this voting the measure secures the required popular approval, it becomes law.
When the measure is submitted to the voters directly after the fulfilment of the petition requirements, the device is known as the Direct Initiative. When, after passing the petition stage, the measure goes to the legislature and does not come before the people at the polls unless the legislature fails to accept it, the device is known as the Indirect Initiative. In a dozen states, chiefly in the West, the Initiative is also used to propose amendments to the state constitution.
469. THE REFERENDUM.—Early in our national history, it became an established principle that proposed constitutions or constitutional amendments should be referred to the voters for ratification. Of recent years about a third of the states, chiefly in the West, have extended the referendum device to cover ordinary legislation. This type of referendum may be defined as a plan whereby a small percentage of the voters may demand that practically any statute passed by the legislature must be submitted to the voters and approved by a specified majority before going into effect. [Footnote: A few types of laws are not subject to the Referendum.]
The Referendum is variously applied. In the Compulsory Referendum, which is the most common form, a measure must be submitted to the people whenever a designated number of voters petition that this step be taken. The Optional Referendum allows the state legislature to decide whether or not an enacted measure should be submitted to the people. The Statutory Referendum applies only to proposed statutes, while the Constitutional Referendum is limited to proposed amendments to the state constitution.
470. DIRECT LEGISLATION.—The Initiative and the Referendum are found together in more than a dozen states. The two devices are supplementary: the Initiative is a positive instrument which may be used to set the wheels of direct legislation in motion; the Referendum is a negative measure which gives the people a potential veto on laws passed by the legislature. The Initiative and the Referendum are known collectively as Direct Legislation, that is, legislation directly by the people, as opposed to legislation enacted entirely through the legislature.
471. ADVANTAGES CLAIMED FOR DIRECT LEGISLATION.—Important advantages are claimed for Direct Legislation. It is declared that the Initiative and Referendum keep lawmaking from being dominated by special interests. Because it constitutes a check upon constitutional conventions and state legislatures, Direct Legislation is said to make government more truly responsive to public opinion. It is claimed that Direct Legislation does not supplant, but rather supplements, improves, and renders more democratic, the formal legislative machinery. In several states, and especially in Oregon, it is claimed that the device stimulates political interest on the part of the voters. In Oregon the authorities print a pamphlet containing a statement of proposed laws, and summarizing the arguments of both advocates and opponents of each measure. Some weeks before the measure is to be decided at the polls this pamphlet is sent at public expense to every registered voter in the state.
472. OBJECTIVES URGED AGAINST DIRECT LEGISLATION.—Critics of the Initiative and the Referendum maintain that Direct Legislation has many serious defects. It is declared that by breaking down and weakening the state legislature, this type of legislation threatens the integrity of the framework of government established by the state constitution. It is pointed out that Direct Legislation shifts lawmaking from a definite group (the state legislature), to a large and indefinite group of persons (the voters as a class), upon whom responsibility cannot be fixed. By robbing the legislature of power and responsibility, the Initiative and Referendum are said to degrade rather than to improve that body: the best class of men is not attracted to a legislature which has been shorn of dignity and influence, and if the people rely upon the Initiative and Referendum, the voters deem it less necessary to choose honest, capable legislators.
It is also maintained that the Initiative and Referendum do not promote independence of political thought, since only a mechanical "Yes" or "No" is demanded of the voters. In all states where Direct Legislation is applied, it is said, so few persons actually vote that legislation is really determined by a small minority of the voters. Again, the ease with which the Initiative and Referendum may be set in motion allows so many measures to be brought before the people that they cannot vote upon them intelligently. It is also said that Direct Legislation is primarily the instrument of the propagandist, because in many cases cranks and professional agitators monopolize the privilege of circulating petitions.
A serious defect of Direct Legislation is that the drafting of many laws requires detailed and technical information which the average voter is in no position to secure. In several states, notably in Maine, the recognition of this difficulty has led to the adoption of a modified Initiative. According to this plan, the state legislature may examine any measure proposed by the voters, enact an alternative measure of its own, and submit both to popular approval. The voters decide between the two. The difficulty with this plan is that it is not only expensive, but that by doubling the number of measures to be weighed and studied it imposes an added burden upon the voter at the polls.
473. THE RECALL.—The Recall is a device whereby certain elective officials who have not given satisfaction in office may be required to stand for reelection before the end of their terms. The Recall is set in motion when a petition has been duly signed by a specified percentage of the voters, usually at least twenty-five per cent. The Recall cannot be employed until the official in question has been in office a specified period, so that he shall have had an opportunity to give satisfaction before being subject to recall. Accused officials may forestall the Recall by resigning when a petition is launched against them, otherwise they must stand for relection. The ballot which goes to the people contains, in brief, the objections to the official, and, in some states, also the reply of the accused officeholder. If defeated at the polls the accused official must retire from office; if vindicated, he continues in office during the remainder of his term.
The principle of the Recall was recognized in American state government before the end of the eighteenth century, but in its present application it is much younger. In its modern form the Recall was first used in 1903, when the city of Los Angeles applied it to elective municipal officials. Five years later Oregon adopted it for all state officers, and since 1908 it has spread to a number of other states, most of them in the western part of the country. The Recall has been used chiefly against city officials, though in several states it may be applied to a majority of both local and state officials. In Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada, the Recall may also be used against judges.
474. ARGUMENTS FOR THE RECALL.—Those favoring the Recall maintain that it is the natural and legitimate expression of the right to remove unsatisfactory officials. It is pointed out that the Recall permits longer terms for elective officials, for if the voters know that they can use the Recall to remove officials who prove unsatisfactory, they will feel safe in electing those officials for relatively long terms. By reducing the number of elections, the device lightens the burdens of the voter. The Recall is said to be a wholesome reminder of prelection promises. It is also maintained that since the Recall is a threat, it encourages officeholders to be honest and efficient.
475. OBJECTIONS URGED AGAINST THE RECALL.—In answer to the above arguments, the opponents of the Recall claim that the device encourages officials to curry popular favor, regardless of public duty. It may also place officials at the mercy of popular passion and caprice. When it is applied to judges, the Recall threatens the integrity and independence of a branch of government which ought to be removed from popular clamor and prejudice. This last is a serious objection, for it may happen that judges subject to the Recall will hesitate to hand down decisions that may prove unpopular, however just those decisions may be. For this reason the extension of the Recall to judges is being strongly resisted. Even the most ardent advocates of the device are beginning to admit that the Recall is more applicable to administrative officials than to judges.
476. STATUS OF THE RECALL.—A satisfactory decision upon the merits of the Recall is difficult because it is so recent a development and still so little used that few data are available. The state-wide Recall has been in existence for a number of years, yet few state officials have been removed by it. Los Angeles used the Recall to unseat the mayor in 1904 and in 1909, and in 1911 the device was used against the mayor of Seattle. But the Recall is primarily a threat, and is rarely used. In view of this fact, the arguments for and against the device rest upon theory rather than upon actual experience. The Recall has great possibilities for good if wisely administered, but it may become an evil influence if carelessly or revengefully used.
477. SIGNIFICANCE OF POPULAR CONTROL.—The development of the Initiative, the Referendum, and the Recall indicates a growing impatience with the abuses of party power, the evils of the long ballot, and the corruption and inefficiency of many legislative bodies. It is significant that direct popular control has accompanied the widespread movement to reform municipal government, and that it is playing an increasingly important part in the movement to reform state administration.
Up to the present time, the Initiative, the Referendum, and the Recall have been confined chiefly to the West, where political problems are less acute than in the East, and where, too, the tendency toward direct participation in government has always been marked. Nevertheless, there is some indication that the future will see an extension of direct popular control, not only in the West, but also in other parts of the country. Whether or not this extension is desirable we cannot now say. But certainly it is an interesting and important development, and one demanding careful study and mature deliberation on the part of those who seek to make American government highly effective.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What is the basis of popular control?
2. Name several methods of indirect control, and point out the objections to each.
3. What is the Initiative?
4. Distinguish between the Direct and the Indirect Initiative.
5. What is the Referendum?
6. What is the extent of the Referendum in this country?
7. What is Direct Legislation?
8. Summarize the arguments in favor of Direct Legislation.
9. What objections are urged against Direct Legislation?
10. What is the Recall?
11. To what extent has the Recall been adopted in this country?
12. What arguments are used to justify the use of the Recall?
13. What are the chief objections to the Recall?
14. What is the present status of the Recall?
15. What is the significance of direct popular control?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, chapter xxxvii.
Or all of the following:
2. Beard, American Government and Politics, chapter xxiii.
3. Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Bulletins (1917), No. 6.
4. Munro, The Government of the United States, chapter xxv.
5. Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, chapters xiii, xiv, and xv.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. Summarize the principles underlying the Initiative and Referendum. (Beard, pages 469-471.)
2. Name some states in which the Initiative and the Referendum have been established. (Beard, page 463.)
3. Describe the workings of the Initiative. (Munro, page 506.)
4. Describe the workings of the Referendum. (Munro, pages 507-508.)
5. To what extent has there been an attempt to apply the Initiative and Referendum to national legislation? (Beard, pages 465-466.)
6. In what ways does Direct Legislation establish a system of minority rule? (Munro, page 515.)
7. To what extent does Direct Legislation delay law-making? (Lowell, pages 226-228.)
8. What is the nature of the laws enacted by the Initiative? (Lowell, pages 205-206.)
9. What has been the attitude of the courts toward the Initiative and Referendum? (Massachusetts Bulletin, pages 41-43.)
10. Enumerate the forms of the Recall. (Beard, pages 472-473.)
11. What part did the Recall play in early American history? (Munro, page 516.)
12. Describe the Recall election. (Munro, page 520.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. The proportion of the public officials of your municipality who may be removed by an appointing authority.
2. Impeachment in your state. (Consult the state constitution.)
3. Extent to which the constitution of your state has been amended.
4. The Initiative in your state.
5. The Referendum in your state.
6. Extent to which the Initiative and the Referendum are found together in your state.
7. The Recall in your state. If this device has not been adopted in your state, find out whether or not its adoption is being agitated.
II
8. Development of Direct Legislation in the United States. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapter iv.)
9. Representative versus Direct Legislation. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapters vii and viii.)
10. The Initiative and Referendum in Oregon. (Kaye, Readings in Civil Government, pages 295-303; Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapters ix and x.)
11. The Initiative in Switzerland. (Annals, vol. xliii, pages 110- 145.)
12. The Referendum in Switzerland. (Annals, vol. xliii, pages 110- 145; Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, chapter xii.)
13. Development of the Recall. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapter xii.)
14. The Recall in Los Angeles. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapter xiv.)
15. The Recall in Oregon. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapter xi.)
16. The Recall in Seattle. (Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapter xv.)
17. The Recall in Switzerland. (Annals, vol. xliii, pages 110-145.)
18. The Judicial Recall. (Annals, vol. xliii, part iii.)
19. Judicial decisions relating to the Initiative, Referendum and Recall. (Beard and Schultz, Documents on the State-wide Initiative, Referendum and Recall, chapters xxxi-xxxvi.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
20. Should the Initiative and Referendum be applied to National legislation?
21. Do the Initiative and Referendum increase the burden upon the voter?
22. The effect of the Initiative and Referendum upon the character of the state legislature.
23. Should the Recall be applied to judges?
24. Merits and defects of such forms of direct popular control as exist in your state.
25. Future development of direct popular control in the United States.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
PUBLIC OPINION
478. THE NATURE OF PUBLIC OPINION.—One of the most powerful influences in any community is that intangible something which we call Public Opinion. Though everyone is familiar with it, the term Public Opinion is difficult to define. Public Opinion is intimately connected with the opinion of the individual, and yet is something more than a mere total of individual opinions.
Every man has a set of opinions or beliefs which are characteristic of his native instincts, his home training, and other influences which have helped mould his personality. Wherever individuals associate, the opinions of each person affect and are affected by the opinions of his fellows. As the result of this interaction we think of public opinion as being made up of a number of different currents, each embodying a view, a belief, or a doctrine. Where many individuals support a given view with moderate intensity, or where a small group feels very intensely upon a given topic, we say that Public Opinion has formed.
Public Opinion may be defined as a definite focus of individual opinions which are either numerous or intense enough to constitute a recognizable force, and to exert a noticeable influence upon the life of the community.
479. PUBLIC OPINION AND LAW.—It is characteristic of the human mind that we perceive concrete and tangible things more easily than we understand abstract and intangible forces. Law is a definite, concrete, almost tangible thing; we perceive its outlines, recognize its various forms, and understand its nature and significance. But it is less easy to understand that law may be only a symptom of Public Opinion, only the concrete expression of intangible community sentiment. There is an interaction between law and Public Opinion, but the latter is the more fundamental and the more powerful. Public Opinion which is vigorous and well-organized may force the enactment of law; on the other hand, a law which runs counter to the prevailing state of Public Opinion may cease to be effective, because individuals will not coperate in enforcing it. Law half leads, half follows Public Opinion, and when legislators are skilled in discerning and influencing the mental attitudes of the people, law and Public Opinion pretty well keep pace with one another.
480. PUBLIC OPINION IN A DEMOCRACY.—The beliefs and opinions of the masses have been an important force even in the most absolute of monarchies; in representative democracies Public Opinion is even more important. Under a democratic form of government the attitude of the masses tends to be one of inquiry, self-confidence, and self- expression upon public questions. Lord Bryce has pointed out that because democracy permits and encourages freedom of discussion, Public Opinion in a country like the United States becomes much more powerful than in less democratic countries.
And not only is Public Opinion more powerful in a democracy, but democracy is impossible without the regular exercise of a well- informed and sensible opinion by the majority of its citizens. Democracy emphasizes government by the people rather than government of the people. Thus if genuine democracy is to be developed and sustained, the people must cultivate an attitude of constant vigilance against civic indifference. Nominations and elections are focal periods in government, but government is a continuous obligation which requires constant rather than intermittent attention. Where civic interest is neither strong nor consistent, the virtues of democracy may be diffused in blind and leaderless wanderings.
481. DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION.—Even though never definitely focused or expressed, the vague beliefs, fancies, and prejudices of individuals may influence public affairs by causing community leaders to feel that "the people" will or will not tolerate a contemplated line of action.
But the influence exerted will be much greater if the opinions of the individual are definite, and if there is some method of clarifying, cordinating and expressing the opinions of groups of individuals upon a given subject. If the opinions of the individual are to be definite and concrete, he must habitually come in contact with forceful persons and institutions; if the opinions of various individuals are to be cordinated and expressed there must be either physical contiguity among people, or else adequate means of transportation and communication.
We may now consider a few of the forces which serve to make definite and to organize the opinions of individuals.
482. THE HOME.—Certainly no institution exerts a more powerful influence upon the beliefs and opinions of the individual than the home. Our basic ideals and traditions pass from generation to generation through the continuity of the family life. During the plastic and impressionable period of infancy the child is constantly under the influence of the parents. At first fashioned largely by the parents, the beliefs and sentiments of the growing child are later modified by contact with other family members. When children go out to the school, the church or the workshop, beliefs and attitudes encountered outside the home are weighed in the light of family teachings. When young men and young women make homes of their own, they in turn imprint upon their children a complex of tradition and opinion which is the compromise result of their own family training, modified by influences later encountered outside the family circle.
483. THE SCHOOL.—Supplementing, and in some respects supplanting, the influence of the home is the influence of the school. While still in the plastic stage the child is given over to the moulding influences of teacher and fellow-students. New contacts are made, new opinions are encountered, new avenues of thought and action are opened to the young and growing mind. Of recent years the tendency of the school to identify itself more closely with the practical life of the community is increasing the power and influence of that institution. The school is proving a genuine means of transition between the relatively localized influence of the home and the more widely diffused influences of the community.
484. THE CHURCH.—Closely related to the school as a determinant of opinion is the church. In the early stages of social development the home was equally the center of intellectual and religious life, but in recent times the church and the school have become separate, though related, institutions. The child spends more time in school than in the company of religious instructors other than his parents, but affiliation with the church often continues throughout the life of the individual, while the average child leaves school at a relatively early age. From the standpoint of Public Opinion, the primary importance of the church is that it exerts a powerful influence upon the ideals and conduct of both young and old. And as in the case of the school, this influence is being deepened by the increasingly close connection between the church and the practical life of the community.
485. THE THEATER.—The theatre has always been a vital influence in man's aesthetic and emotional life. Drama, opera, comedy, and burlesque are variant forms, but they are alike in that they influence the audience. In the last decade the moving picture has greatly increased the power and influence of the theatre. The low price of the moving picture brings the theatre to millions who formerly were excluded from any appreciable degree of theatrical entertainment. The daily moving picture attendance of ten million people, the stimulating effect of music, the strong emotional appeal, the tender age of many of the audience, and the growing use of the moving picture as propaganda, all combine to make the film a powerful factor in the formation of Public Opinion.
486. THE PRESS.—The press is the nervous system of the nation. Supplemented by other means of communication, and aided by agencies of transportation, the press cordinates individuals not physically contiguous, and thus enables them to act in concert. It lets everybody know what everybody else is thinking, or at least what they are supposed to be thinking. The forms of the printed page are infinitely various: daily papers, weeklies, monthlies, pamphlets, and books,—all of these are increasingly numerous. Statesmen, teachers, reformers, propagandists, and professional writers combine to turn out tons of printed matter a day. Pictures, jokes, contests, and stories are resorted to for the purpose of attracting attention. Editorials, advertisements, and news articles are among the vehicles of expression used. Printed matter does not wait for the individual to seek it out, but instead it goes to him. In various forms it encounters him in the street, stares at him from shop windows and billboards, forces itself upon his attention in the street cars, and knocks at the door of his private dwelling. In all its forms, it should be remembered, the dominant aim of the printed page is to influence the individual, to cause him to do something or to refrain from doing something.
487. GROWING IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC OPINION.—Despite the volume of European immigration to this country, American ideals and institutions are rendering our population more and more homogeneous, and thus more open to unifying influences. The increasing ease of transportation and communication is everywhere making isolation more difficult. Not only are the school, the church, the press, and the theatre widening in scope and increasing in influence, but new forms of expression are developing. There is a growing number of private organizations advocating social, economic, or political reforms. The popularization of psychology has encouraged the rise of innumerable forms of propaganda designed to influence the opinions of the community and nation. Occupational and social groups are everywhere organizing, clarifying their opinions, and expressing common principles in the effort to influence the public mind. All of these factors combine to increase the importance of Public Opinion in present-day American life.
488. DANGERS OF UNREGULATED PUBLIC OPINION.—The growing power of Public Opinion brings with it increased possibilities for good, but also increased possibilities for evil. In an important sense, this is the age of the propagandist, the crank reformer, and the subsidized newspaper, the age of the agitator who spreads lies through anonymous letters, unsigned posters, and irresponsible whisperings. The individual must be constantly on his guard against this flood; he must recognize that Public Opinion is often capricious, and that a sudden hysteria may inflict untold injury. The morality of a mob is inferior to the morality of the individuals composing the mob, because in a mob the sense of power is dominant and the sense of responsibility is suppressed. Properly speaking a mob depends upon physical contiguity, but the cordinating influence of rapid transportation and communication may create a mob spirit between individuals not physically in contact. When propaganda lashes into a passion groups of people in widely separated areas, democracy becomes the most dangerous of all forms of government: there is no sure hand upon the helm, the people control en masse, in a burst of passion they may lay waste the social heritage of centuries.
489. FREEDOM A PARTIAL SAFEGUARD AGAINST UNSOUND PUBLIC OPINION.— While democracy facilitates the creation of the mob spirit, it likewise carries within itself at least a partial remedy for unsound Public Opinion. Men's opinions are infinitely various: the same community that produces the fanatic or the impractical idealist generally produces sensible and practical men as well. In politics men everywhere tend to divide into a radical group and a conservative group, between which control of the government oscillates.
Where freedom of expression is permitted, the existence of these two antagonistic camps is automatically a safeguard of the public welfare. Any one of a number of groups of people might ruin the country if left to themselves. But they are not left to themselves. Their opponents are constantly criticizing and checking them. When cranks launch propaganda, conservative critics launch counter-propaganda; when special interests attempt to influence the public mind, public- spirited individuals or organizations force both sides of the question before the public. When public officials neglect their duties, a thousand discerning men are ready to shout the fact from the housetops. Though the majority party secures control of government, the minority is never idle. Rather, it is constantly watching, waiting, marshaling opinion against the majority, calling public attention to the mistakes of their opponents, and agitating for a change of administration.
490. THE GUIDANCE OF PUBLIC OPINION.—Let us briefly consider the question of guiding or directing the formulation of sound Public Opinion. In a free country, such guidance may sometimes prove dangerous, and yet careful direction of the formulation of Public Opinion is justified by two facts: First, the formulation of sound opinion is retarded by the great difficulty of securing adequate information on the great problems of modern civilization. Here the individual needs some help. Second, everyone who can distinguish between license and liberty must agree that we should limit the influence of individuals and institutions which suppress minority opinion, and distort facts in the effort to pervert Public Opinion.
These considerations suggest two distinct lines of action.
First, we can aid in the formulation of sound opinion by making it easier for the individual to secure data and information on current topics. The extension and perfection of the postal service, the improvement of our system of transportation, the spread of the school and library, and possibly the free distribution of literature dealing with the nature and functions of government, these and similar measures would prove helpful.
Second, law and moral education ought to coperate in suppressing influences which seek deliberately to poison or pervert the public mind. Free speech is a priceless element in democracy, but just as we must harmonize individual liberty with the interests of the group, so we must prevent the use of free speech for criminal purposes. Especially ought the press and the school to be encouraged to give both sides of debatable questions. Every agency dealing with the issues of American life, indeed, ought to be careful not to distort those issues by suppressing or misusing facts. Above all, we must be careful not to pander to low ideals by emphasizing the negative and destructive side of our problems.
491. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL.—A progressive civilization confers more and more benefits upon the individual, but his duties and responsibilities increase with equal speed. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, "It is not difficult to be virtuous in a cloistered and negative way," but honestly and effectively to fulfill the obligations of citizenship in a complex society is less easy. And yet the need of individual responsibility is infinitely greater in a modern community than among the members of an isolated and self-sufficient group. When small isolated villages were the dominant form of American settlement, the laxness of one group did not vitally affect the welfare of other groups. But so entwined are the present-day citizens of the United States that the acts of one individual may vitally affect the national well-being. The carelessness of a food canner on the Pacific coast may cost the life of a family on the Atlantic seaboard; a swindle originating in the East may demoralize individuals throughout the country. The obligations of citizenship have become national as well as local; in thought and in action the individual must function, not only in terms of his locality, but in terms of the nation as well.
492. THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL.—Measuring himself against more than a hundred million of his fellows, the average American citizen is likely to be overpowered by the apparent futility and powerlessness of his personal opinions. And yet the power of the nation is only the result of the combined influences of its individual citizens. All power is with the individual. However much the absolute monarchy may have suppressed the individual, in a democracy he can become a vital force in government. We are too fond of taking censuses on the one hand, and of deferring to governmental mechanisms on the other. The individual is master of his fate, and he is the ultimate determinant of government. If government is sound, the misbehavior of the individual can ruin it; if government is defective, the assumption of responsibility by the individual must ultimately reform it. We do not need a fool-proof government half as much as we need active, responsible individuals to run the government we already have. "How long will American democracy last?" a European statesman once asked. "Just so long," the answer might have been, "as Americans honestly and intelligently grapple with the problems confronting them, holding themselves individually responsible for the conduct of government, and seeking consistently to exert an influence upon their community life which shall be constructive and inspirational."
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. Define Public Opinion.
2. What is the relation of Public Opinion to law?
3. What is the importance of Public Opinion in a democracy?
4. Why should the opinions of individuals be clarified and organized?
5. Describe the importance of home life in this regard.
6. How does the school affect the opinions of individuals?
7. What is the significance of the church with regard to Public Opinion?
8. What is the effect of the theatre upon Public Opinion?
9. Explain clearly the relation of the press to Public Opinion.
10. What are the dangers of unregulated Public Opinion?
11. In what way is freedom a safeguard against unsound Public Opinion?
12. What two facts justify the guidance of Public Opinion?
13. Discuss the relation of Public Opinion to the individual.
14. What can be said as to the power of the individual?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, chapter xxxviii.
Or all of the following:
2. Brewer, American Citizenship, chapter v.
3. Bryce, Modern Democracies, vol. i, chapter xv; vol. ii, chapter xliv.
4. Lowell, Popular Government and Public Opinion, chapter iii.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. What is the relation of homogeneity of population to Public Opinion? (Lowell, pages 34-35.)
2. Why must the minority be free to express its dissent? (Lowell, pages 36-37.)
3. How is the drift of Public Opinion to be determined? (Bryce, vol. i, pages 155-156.)
4. What is the relation of Public Opinion to voting? (Bryce, vol. i, pages 159-161.)
5. Compare Public Opinion in the United States with Public Opinion in other countries. (Bryce, vol. ii, pages 112-113.)
6. Compare the press of the United States with that of Europe. (Bryce, vol. ii, page 118.)
7. What is the relation of Public Opinion to local self-government? (Bryce, vol. ii, pages 115-116.)
8. What is the relation of Public Opinion to social legislation? (Bryce. vol. ii, page 126.)
9. What is the great defect of Public Opinion? (Bryce, vol. i, page 162.)
10. What is the one great clear purpose in civic life? (Brewer, pages 120-121.)
11. What qualities must we possess in order to carry out this purpose? (Brewer, pages 120-121.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Make a list of some of your beliefs and opinions concerning the recent World War, and try in each case to trace the origin of each belief or opinion.
2. Toward which political party are you inclined? To what extent is this inclination due to
(a) the influence of your parents;
(b) what you have read in the newspapers;
(c) what you have personally observed?
3. Make a list of the opinions which you originally acquired in your home, and which have since been modified by what you have studied in school.
4. To what extent are your personal standards of conduct traceable to what you have seen at the theatre?
5. List the private organizations in your community which exist for the purpose of advocating reforms of various kinds.
6. Make a study of the forms of propaganda utilized in a single copy of any metropolitan newspaper.
7. To what extent does your local press give both sides of debatable questions?
II
8. The nature of Public Opinion. (Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, chapters i and ii.)
9. Relation of Public Opinion to law. (Forman, The American Democracy, pages 235-238.)
10. Government by Public Opinion. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lxxvii.)
11. The type of questions to which Public Opinion can apply. (Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, chapter iv.)
12. The relation of tradition to Public Opinion. (Bryce, Modern Democracies, vol. i, chapter xiii.)
13. Private associations for the advancement of group interests. (Young, The New American Government and its Work, chapter xxvii.)
14. Tyranny of the majority. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapters lxxxiv and lxxxv.)
15. Attitude of the individual in a democracy. (Speare and Norris, World War Issues and Ideals, pages 170-182.)
16. The obligations of citizenship. (Cleveland, Organized Democracy, chapter viii; Brewer, American Citizenship, chapters i-iv.)
17. The hindrances to good citizenship. (Bryce, The Hindrances to Good Citizenship.)
18. Leadership in a democracy. (Bryce, Modern Democracies, vol. ii, chapter lxxvi.)
19. Relation between freedom and responsibility. (Hadley, The Relation between Freedom and Responsibility in the Evolution of Democratic Government.)
20. The influence of ideals upon civic conduct. (Adams, The Power of Ideals in American History.)
21. Wherein Public Opinion fails. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lxxxvi.)
22. Wherein Public Opinion succeeds. (Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. ii, chapter lxxxvii.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
23. Suppose the public highways in your locality were in bad condition. How would you go about it to remedy the situation?
24. Which has more influence upon the opinions of people, the school or the press?
25. Are the Initiative and the Referendum adequate methods of ascertaining the prevailing state of Public Opinion?
26. Is freedom of speech an adequate safeguard of the rights of minorities?
27. To what extent, if to any, should Federal and state authorities distribute free literature concerning the nature and functions of American government?
28. How might coperation in the study of civic problems be promoted in your community?
PART V—THE MECHANISM OF GOVERNMENT
A. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
A. BACKGROUND OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION [Footnote: For a fuller discussion of the background of the Federal Constitution, see Chapters II and III.]
493. COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS.—It is possible to classify the American colonies as charter, royal, and proprietary, and to point out important differences between these three types.
But these differences fade in importance before the broad and fundamental similarities existing among the colonies. Just as there was among the colonies a substantial unity of race, language, and religion, so there was a basic similarity in political institutions. All of the colonies were under relatively the same degree of control by England, and consequently all of them had much the same degree of freedom in managing their own affairs. In each colony a governor acted as chief executive. In each colony, likewise, there was a legislature. In most of the colonies this legislature consisted of two houses, the lower of which was elected by the people. Colonial jurisprudence everywhere grounded upon the common law of England. In each colony there was a system of courts, largely following English judicial procedure. In local government there was a good deal of variation among the colonies, but everywhere the English model was followed, and everywhere the principle of local autonomy was asserted and championed.
494. EARLY ATTEMPTS AT UNION.—These fundamental similarities, together with the rise of common problems and the pressure of outside enemies, encouraged federation among the colonies. A notable attempt at union was made in 1643, when Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven united in a league of friendship, primarily for mutual defense against the Indians. This league rendered effective service during the forty years of its life. In 1754 delegates from seven colonies met at Albany and adopted a plan of union proposed by Benjamin Franklin. The project was never carried through, but it is significant as indicating the trend toward union. Still later (1765) the Stamp Act Congress showed that the delegates of at least nine colonies could join in a protest against England's taxation policy. The two Continental Congresses may also be considered as steps toward union. The first of these (1774) concerned itself chiefly with a declaration of rights and grievances, but the second (1775-1781) went so far as to assume and exercise revolutionary powers. |
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