bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developments in Public Administration, 1929
Authors: White Leonard D.
Published: May 2006

American public administration continues to be the subject of an unparalleled degree of attention. In an address before the Governmental Research Conference in November, 1929, surveying administrative progress, Dr. Luther Gulick declared: “As a nation, we have adopted in conspicuous degree the habit of research. This is a milestone in our progress.” Our intense preoccupation with our administrative institutions is undoubtedly in part a reflection of their imperfection, but in part also a typical American conviction that there are no discoverable limits, as yet, to the opportunity for perfection.

On a national scale, the present tendency is signalized by the appointment by President Hoover of the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, on the basis of whose first reports the President recommended, among other things, the transfer of the prohibition unit from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice, modification of federal court structure to relieve congestion, and consolidation of frontier services. The President has also called a White House Conference on Child Health and Protection, which is to meet in 1930, and for which much preparatory investigation was carried on in 1929. More recently, the President appointed a Commission on Social Trends, and directed it to present an analysis of social movements broadly parallel to the study of recent economic trends. Several units of this study will be devoted to aspects of public administration.

An enlarged program of research in public administration was inaugurated at the University of California under the direction of Professor Samuel C. May, with the assistance of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
First Session of the Seventy-third Congress, March 9, 1933, to June 16, 1933
Authors: Herring E. Pendleton
Published: May 2006

The meeting of the Seventy-third Congress five days after President Roosevelt's inauguration marked the twenty-fifth time in our history that a special session has been called. Critical times have been faced before and remedial measures found, but the hundred days of this session are unparalleled for the speed and discipline with which Congress was brought to face and finish its task, for the political adroitness and firmness of the presidential leadership, and for the extraordinary importance and far-reaching effects of the legislation enacted. With the substantive merits and contents of the measures passed we are not concerned here, but in this session the legislative process is as worthy of consideration as the legislative product.
The German Reichstag Elections of 1930
Authors: Pollock James K.
Published: May 2006

Casting the largest popular vote yet recorded in any election in Germany, the German people elected on Sunday, September 14, 1930, the fifth Reichstag under the Weimar constitution. Using Article 48, the Brüning government had put into effect certain emergency measures which it considered necessary to alleviate the existing economic situation. But when called upon to pass upon these decrees, the Reichstag rejected them; whereupon the President, on the advice of the cabinet, dissolved the Reichstag and ordered new elections.

The campaign occurred in a time of serious economic depression. Nearly three million unemployed persons were in receipt of government relief, either national or local. Taxes had been increased, salaries decreased, and there was widespread dissatisfaction. The government headed by Chancellor Brüning, from its inception a minority cabinet, appealed to the country to return to power with increased strength the parties which had given it support. On the other hand, the government was severely attacked by the Social Democrats for its use of Article 48; by the Nationalists because of its support of the Young Plan; by the Communists on general principles; and last, but not least, by the National Socialists led by Adolf Hitler, not on general principles, but without any principles at all! In many respects this election resembled the May election of 1924 more closely than the election of 1928.

Not only was the election of critical importance to Germany and the world from an economic point of view, but it was also of great moment in the evolution of German political parties and democratic institutions in general.
Our Bungling Electoral System
Authors: Allen Joseph Cady
Published: May 2006

According to popular parlance, we elect a President and vice-president, on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November of each fourth year, by vote of the people. It is well known however that, technically speaking, we do not choose these officers on that day or at any time by popular suffrage. Instead of that, we choose in each state a committee that is called the electoral college; and these electors meet on the second Monday of January and elect the President and vice-president by ballot. The theory of the Constitution is that these electors are not to be pledged or obligated to vote for any particular person, but that they and not the people shall really make the choice.

But, practically from the start, and contrary to the expectation of those who framed the Constitution, the choice of President and vice-president was seized by state legislatures and afterwards transferred to the people, through the device of appointing electors that were virtually pledged to designated candidates. So the electoral colleges have failed of their purpose and become a useless complication. And not only are they useless, but objectionable also and dangerous in many and serious ways.

This paper will endeavor to show that our present system of presidential election is bad in every step of the process, viz. in a. the appointment of the electors, b. the membership and proceedings of the electoral colleges, c. the count of the vote in congress, d. the interval between the election and the time when the President takes office, and e. the election by the house of representatives in case the electors fail to give a majority vote to any candidate.
The Atomic Theory of Society
Authors: Orton William
Published: May 2006

In few affairs is political wisdom so put to the test as in the treatment of institutions that are growing old. Age in these cases has little to do with mere antiquity: the forms of social life are subject to no set term of years. It is a matter of continuing adaptability. Some institutions, like the British monarchy, possess this attribute in an astounding degree. Others, like the House of Lords, betray a hardening of the arteries that bodes ill for their survival in times of rapid change. For the speed of social change affects not only their physical and conceptual environment; it acts also upon, and through, the temper of the politicians and the public. In such periods society will sometimes administer a sudden coup de grâce to its more recalcitrant institutions, abolishing at one stroke both the abuses they have inflicted and the garnered wisdom they enshrine. The loss involved in these moments is seldom evident until long after, when it has to be made good ab ovo.

To such moods the Gallic genius is peculiarly liable; and it was in one of them that the French crashed open the gates of the nineteenth century and nailed the atomic theory of society to the lintel. “There are no longer any guilds in the state, but only the private interest of each individual and the general interest. No one may arouse in the citizens any intermediate interest, or separate them from the public weal by corporate sentiment.”
The Concept of “International Government”
Authors: Potter Pitman B.
Published: May 2006

There was recently published in the pages of this Review an article from the pen of Professor William E. Rappard, entitled “The Beginnings of International Government,” in which the author took issue with the use of that phrase and challenged the validity of the concept to which it refers. He took as his text, more or less, a volume published in the United States some years back which employed the contested phrase in its title. And he concluded that the term is a misnomer, and that the phenomenon referred to does not—in the possible alternative sense of supernational government—exist today to any appreciable extent.

There has subsequently appeared another volume carrying the neat title “International Government;” and another volume with somewhat the same designation is promised shortly. Some ten years ago, the writer of the present comment, in composing a similar work, was compelled to face the problems of theory and of verbal expression here involved, and decided in favor of “International Organization.” To that he has adhered in subsequent editions, with ample reference to the functional side of international government (“procedure,” “coöperation”), but, as originally, for reasons not involving a denial of the validity of the contested concept. He would like to discuss briefly the criticism of the idea of “international government” offered in his accustomed brilliant and trenchant style by Professor Rappard.

The main difficulty lies not so much in accepting the definition of government adopted by Professor Rappard (orderly exercise of authority); but that is the first point at which the writer would take issue.
The Hitler Referenda
Authors: Zurcher Arnold J.
Published: May 2006

Although the ultimate form of the National Socialist political system in Germany is not yet clear, certain institutions are emerging which bid fair to make more than a passing claim to perdurance in that system. Among these, surprisingly enough, is the popular referendum. Apparently doomed to obsolescence towards the end of the republican period because it was proving to be superfluous in a representative régime and too radically democratic, it has suddenly been accepted as a leading constitutional practice in a Germany which is dedicated to the extirpation of political democracy. In somewhat more than ten months, the Hitler cabinet has twice requested and received popular verdicts at the polls, a record of nation-wide popular consultations which is exactly equivalent to that of the fourteen years of the Republic.
The Veterans' Bonus and the Constitution
Authors: Padelford Norman J.
Published: May 2006

For fifteen years, the American public has been faced with a demand that the veterans of the World War be paid a cash gratuity for the discharge of a patriotic duty. Amendments providing for benefits, preferences, rights, or privileges are attached to bills of all descriptions in Congress. Ill-conceived marches upon Washington continue to be organized, and public speeches whet the veteran's abuse-complex. Highly paid lobbies move Congress almost at will, so that the executive stands as the public's only protection against a minority expertly organized and politically well deployed.
Kentucky Justices of the Peace
Authors: Manning J. W.
Published: May 2006

The justice of the peace is one of the most important public officials in Kentucky. He is an officer whose election, compensation, term, and qualifications are set forth in the constitution. He is both a judicial and an administrative officer, presiding over his own court for the trial of petty civil and criminal cases, and serving as a member of the fiscal court, or county board. County judicial, legislative, and administrative functions are rolled into one in the person of the justice of the peace. In this respect, the county system of government in Kentucky has a striking resemblance to the English county of the thirteenth century.

The Kentucky fiscal court is normally a body consisting of the justices of the peace in a county together with the county judge, and having the usual powers conferred upon boards of county commissioners or supervisors in the other states. The constitution provides that each county shall be divided into districts in such manner as the general assembly may direct, and that in each district one justice of the peace shall be elected, with the further requirement that no county shall have fewer than three nor more than eight districts. But in addition, the constitution provides that a county may have a fiscal court composed of three commissioners, elected at large from the county, and the county judge.
Internationalism in Current American Labor Policy
Authors: Wilson Francis G.
Published: May 2006

It has long been recognized by students of labor economics that a high standard of living has definite international implications. Since early in the nineteenth century, the advocates of labor reform have attempted to stimulate international action which might bring about a simultaneous elevation of the condition of the workers in order to avoid the use of labor as a factor in competition. For nearly a century now, the international treaty has been pressed as the most suitable means of avoiding competitive disadvantage as a result of social changes, and the International Labor Organization, founded by Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, is the fruit of this agitation. It is natural, therefore, that any country seeking to maintain high labor standards should welcome ultimately the possibility of international action in defense of its effort.
Concepts of Public Opinion
Authors: Wilson Francis G.
Published: May 2006

Public opinion in democracies should be the final element in political life which gives significance to the activity of the state and the fact of membership in it. The recognition of the force of opinion implies that in the overflowing of the individual's will to his neighbor's will, in the desire to administer the things common to wills, we have perhaps one of the most basic psychological foundations of the state. While one may contend that the problems of the nature of the state or of jurisprudence are more than adequately conceptualized, this certainly cannot be said of public opinion. Yet since the very early use of the term by John of Salisbury in 1159, its significance in human history has not been less than that of justice, liberty, or law. It is suggested that a statement of the elements which appear to be universal is the proper first step in the scientific study of public opinion. The method here proposed may seem barren of immediate results, but it is necessary to clarify reasoning on public opinion as force-ideas in political history. Commonly understood abstractions are necessary to pave the way for organized thinking and action.
Governor Pinchot and the Late Magistrate Stubbs
Authors: Salter John T.
Published: May 2006

Governor Pinchot's appointment of followers of two powerful politicians to the Philadelphia magistracy came at a time when the entire magisterial system was facing the stiffest criticism from the higher courts, the state bar association, and the more alert lay opinion that it has faced since Magistrate Perri was convicted of extortion and bribery in 1929. Philadelphia magistrates from time immemorial have been charged with partisanship, ignorance, and corruption; and the temper of the present times has begun actively and militantly to react against these shortcomings of a judicial system that is steeped in politics rather than pervaded with a spirit of justice.
The Potential Incentives of Public Employment
Authors: Dimock Marshall E.
Published: May 2006

Due to the necessities of post-war reconstruction, and owing also in no small part to the deflation of public confidence in the, private-initiative-in-industry presumption, it seems clear that greater nationalization and municipalization will occur in those countries where such a development is not already well-advanced. Where, as a result of revolution and dictatorship, extensive economic services are already publicly owned and operated, the problems of public administration have become enormous and disconcerting. Satisfactory bureaucracies are not built in a decade.
Political Meetings in the Chicago “Black Belt”
Authors: Gosnell Harold F.
Published: May 2006

Political meetings constitute one of the means employed by the Negro political leaders in Chicago to develop and maintain party morale. The Republican rallies in the second and third wards are unique affairs, not to be duplicated in other parts of the city. The political meetings have taken over some of the patterns of religious revivals or camp meetings. A party gathering which is not packed and which does not stir up an emotional response is looked upon as very unusual. The audience is attentive, enthusiastic, patient, good natured, and content to sit for many hours on uncomfortable seats. When a speaker says something which strikes a popular chord, the listeners shout, clap, or wave programs, hats, or hands in the air.
Some Problems of Article XXIV of the Covenant
Authors: Bailey S. H.
Published: May 2006

The majority of the early schemes for a general international organization, or League of Nations, before the Covenant envisaged its functions as principally negative—chiefly the general function of preventing war by peaceful settlement of international disputes. Little or no attention was paid before the Covenant to potentialities of positive and coördinated international action. This is all the more remarkable in view of the growing number of spheres to which international action had already been extended. Apart from Schücking and Mr. L. Woolf, only the proposals of the triumvirate of the “Union des Associations Internationales,” M. Fried, M. Paul Otlet, and M. La Fontaine, seriously urged the necessity of rational coördination and positive coöperation. Unfortunately, before the war these proposals failed to receive the serious attention which they merited. The object of the Union was well founded. Already by 1914, there existed over twenty “public unions” and nearly 150 “private associations;” while the growth in the number of international conferences revealed the volume of international activity. Moreover, the dispersion of this activity and the lack of coördination had led to unfortunate overlapping. Three active organizations were occupied with the international regulation of railways, and two with agriculture. The scientific unions worked independently of any comprehensive plan.

But the absence of coördination was not the only weakness apparent in the pre-war situation. The independence of each organization and the lack of a central authority increased the difficulties of working. Elaborate negotiations necessarily preceded the summoning of an international conference, even though the conventional constitution provided for periodic but regular meetings. Further, with the exception of one or two of the most powerful unions, the force of the influence which could be brought to bear on governments was weakened by the isolation.of each union. Finally, the absence of a collective political authority often barred the way to progress in international technical organization.
Reichsreform and Prussian Verwaltungsreform in 1932
Authors: Wells Roger H.
Published: May 2006

Some forty years ago, the German Empire was described as “a compact between a lion, half a dozen foxes, and a score of mice.” Although the “lion” has lost his special prerogatives and some of the “mice” have since vanished, the problem of the “political menagerie” is still largely unsolved. Shall Germany become a unitary state, or shall it retain certain federal characteristics? What shall be the territorial organization and powers of the states and their relations to the Reich? The framers of the Weimar constitution of 1919 wrestled with these questions, but were able to reach no permanent answers. The present article is an attempt to summarize recent developments bearing upon the problem of Reichsreform, particularly the federal aspects thereof, and to link these developments with Verwaltungsreform in Prussia.
Congressional Investigations During Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Term
Authors: McGeary M. Nelson
Published: May 2006

Much has been written on Congressional investigations. The theoretical questions connected with them have been explored. Their place in our governmental system has been reasonably well established.

Recent developments give a new perspective. The high point of Congressional investigations, so far as the previous literature was concerned, came in a time of stagnating major party politics. There was an attitude of “stand by” on the part of the Administration; defeatism pervaded the official minority. Conditions in the Senate, however, permitted the dissident Republicans, in combination with the Democrats, to constitute an intermittent majority for purposes of criticism if not of construction. When malfeasance and misfeasance were allowed to creep into administration, meeting little resistance from within, the check had to come from without, and it came in the form of Congressional investigations.
County and Township Government in 1937
Authors: Snider Clyde F.
Published: May 2006

Problems of county and township government continued, during 1937, to attract considerable attention from state legislators, political scientists, and the general public. The legislative sessions of the year were productive of a large number of statutes relating to various aspects of local government and administration; and in several instances local units acted under powers previously granted in adopting governmental forms or procedures more suitable to their needs. Notwithstanding a few backward steps and the fact that progress continued to be slow, the general trend was in the direction of improvement. Clearly in evidence was a tendency to confer additional powers and duties upon the local units; and accompanying this increase in functions were efforts to supply additional revenue, modernize the machinery of government, and provide effective means of control.

The developments of the year will be summarized, as were those for the biennium 1935–36, under the following headings: (1) areas; (2) organization and personnel; (3) functions; (4) finance; (5) optional charters; and (6) intergovernmental relations. To facilitate comparison, the subdivisional arrangement of the article of last year, in so far as it is applicable, will also be followed.

Territorial Consolidation. The need for reducing the number of local government units through consolidation was given most attention in Pennsylvania. Existing laws governing the formation of new townships were amended to preclude the division of existing townships and to expedite consolidation. Other legislation was intended to facilitate the annexation of first-class townships or parts thereof to contiguous cities or boroughs. First legislative approval was given to a proposed constitutional amendment providing that no new counties shall be created except through the consolidation of existing counties. A proposed amendment for the consolidation of Philadelphia county with the city of Philadelphia was given second legislative passage, only to be rejected by the voters in the November election.
The Judicial Council of the State of New York; Its Objectives, Methods, and Accomnlishments. I
Authors: Saxe Leonard S.
Published: May 2006

The Judicial Council and Its Objectives. My assignment is to implement Professor Sunderland's brilliant primer on judicial councils by a more specific presentation utilizing the experiences of the New York State Judicial Council. Of the three elements that enter into a consideration of the judicial branch of government, the first—the substantive law, the law of rights and duties—is not within the province of the judicial council either in New York or elsewhere. The second element—the machinery of justice—is the principal field of the judicial council. If the council does its work well in that field, attention cannot fail to be focused upon the third and most important element—also part of a judicial council's problems—the judicial personnel.
The Constitution as Instrument and as Symbol
Authors: Corwin Edward S.
Published: May 2006

On an early page of his celebrated Constitutional Limitations, Judge Cooley defines “constitution” in the following curt terms: “That body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.” Returning later to the subject, he quotes with approval a more elaborate conception, couched in these words: “What is a constitution, and what are its objects? It is easier to tell what it is not than what it is. It is not the beginning of a community, nor the origin of private rights; it is not the fountain of law, nor the incipient state of government; it is not the cause, but consequence, of personal and political freedom; it grants no rights to the people, but is the creature of their power, the instrument of their convenience. Designed for their protection in the enjoyment of the rights and powers which they possessed before the constitution was made, it is but the framework of the political government, and necessarily based upon the preëxisting condition of laws, rights, habits, and modes of thought. There is nothing primitive in it, it is all derived from a known source. It presupposes an organized society, law, order, property, personal freedom, a love of political liberty, and enough of cultivated intelligence to know how to guard it against the encroachments of tyranny. A written constitution is in every instance a limitation upon the powers of government in the hands of agents; for there never was a written republican constitution which delegated to functionaries all the latent powers which lie dormant in every nation, and are boundless in extent, and incapable of definition.”
Treaty-Making Procedure in the United Kingdom
Authors: Stewart Robert B.
Published: May 2006

The power to conclude and ratify treaties in the United Kingdom is one of the few remaining prerogatives of the crown. We may search in vain for constitutional laws, provisions, and decrees specifying the required formalities incident to the negotiation, conclusion, and ratification of treaties by Great Britain, because these matters are not governed by any act of Parliament or by any written regulations. British constitutional law on these points has not been embodied in statute and rests upon the common law alone. Thus there is no express definition of the treaty-making power and no reference to the authority by whom the treaty-making power may be exercised. Nevertheless, it may be said that under British constitutional law, which in this instance is common law, the authority to make treaties is vested absolutely in the crown as the unquestioned prerogative of sovereignty.
Constitutional Provisions Governing State Borrowing
Authors: Ratchford B. U.
Published: May 2006

The power to incur public debts is one which may have a vital influence on all governmental services. Since borrowing is often the easy way out of a difficult financial situation, the state's credit must be jealously guarded against abuse by the unscrupulous, the inefficient, and the over-ambitious. As a result of their experiences during the nineteenth century, most of the states in this country placed constitutional restrictions upon the use of the state's credit. But despite limitations many states have contracted large debts during the past twenty years, and several of them have been embarrassed by debt problems.
Recent Proposals to Reform the Electoral College System
Authors: Kallenbach Joseph E.
Published: May 2006

Since the 1932 election, developments have occurred which indicate a growing disposition to simplify the presidential election ballot and suggest that a revision of the mode of electing the chief executive may be eventually realized through constitutional amendment. The so-called “presidential short ballot” reform, which was first adopted in Nebraska in 1917, has moved forward rapidly in recent years. Sixteen states now have enacted statutes eliminating the names of presidential electors from the general election ballot, thus permitting their voters to choose electors by indicating a preference only for a party's presidential candidates.
Metropolitan Government in Cincinnati
Authors: Lowrie S. Gale
Published: May 2006

In the approaching national election, one of the paramount issues seems to be the problem of adjusting our governmental structure to permit the consideration of economic and social questions by political agencies of appropriate size. The powers of government should be as broad as the problems with which they must deal. But this truth is equally applicable to affairs which, traditionally, have been of municipal concern. The area of the city's influence has been widening and the centrifugal forces have had too great speed and volume to permit solution by the earlier method of enlarging city boundaries to encompass urban areas.
The Legal and Political Philosophy of Leonard Nelson
Authors: Gresh Levi D.
Published: May 2006

The legal philosophy of Nelson is fundamentally a liberal doctrine. It is, on the one hand, opposed to the philosophy which places a supreme trust in human reason and which believes that man can sit down and codify a system of laws in which there will be no gaps; and, on the other, it is opposed to a belief in the necessary rationality of existing institutions in the onward sweep of human history, the idea which was so dear to the Historical School of jurisprudence.

Nelson is aNaturrechtlehrerin the sense that he believes in the existence of metajuristic criteria of justice. That there are elemental principles of justice which are universal, and according to which laws are either just or unjust, decisions either right or wrong, Nelson believes cannot be denied. The moment we admit the injustice of a statute, or a judicial decision, we admit that we have used a criterion on which to base our opinion. The mistake we make, however, is to suppose that we can discover criteria, either empirically or logically.
Congressional Control of the Public Service
Authors: White Leonard D.
Published: May 2006

Since the English Revolution of 1688, it has been a part of the Anglo-American tradition that elected representative assemblies control the policies and acts of the executive branch of the government. This doctrine was firmly embedded in the American state and federal constitutions. With some wartime reservations, it has been universally accepted throughout our country. At the present time, however, there is an uneasy feeling that practice does not square with theory. There is even a suspicion that practice contradicts theory—that a vast body of officials has in fact escaped the possibility of control by the people's representatives.

The trends of the last half-century have certainly complicated the problem of congressional authority over administration. This has occurred in part because administration has made impressive gains in effective organization and operation, while relatively Congress has stood still. Within the administrative system there has developed a capacity for self-direction which might well challenge the dominance of Congress, if Congress continues to be the laggard partner in the governmental team.
The Dilemma of the Peace-Seekers
Authors: Schuman Frederick L.
Published: May 2006

“Right without Might is weakness,” wrote Blaise Pascal three centuries ago. But “Might without Right is tyranny. We must therefore combine Right and Might, making what is Right mighty and what is mighty Right.” To achieve such a combination in the community of nations is, by common consent, the major problem of world politics in our time. Outside of the dwindling ranks of the anarchists, few would any longer dispute the propositions that peace among men is unattainable without the organization of men into government, possessed of effective power to enforce law, and that justice among men is unattainable without the subordination of government itself to law, reflecting men's conception of right. How these goals are to be reached among nations is still a matter of controversy. But after participating in two world wars against tyrants, dedicated to world unity through conquest, most Americans are now agreed that peace and justice among nations depend upon order and law among nations and that these, in turn, depend upon the efficacy of what has long been called “international organization” or, more optimistically, “international government.”

The Great Debate of 1944–45, like that of 1919–20, is not over ends, but over means. How can an effective world organization be brought into being, and how can it be made to function for the maintenance of peace, the enforcement of law, and the achievement of justice? In an age whose slogan in grappling with its most fateful problems has too often been “too little and too late,” it is not strange that American discussion of the problem of world order has largely taken the form of old disputes as to the terms upon which the United States should assume membership in an association or league of nations to keep the peace. The tacit assumption behind the discussion is that such a partnership of sovereignties can and will keep peace, enforce law, and promote justice if only it be organized with sufficient cleverness and joined by a sufficient number of states.
Vichy's Sham Constitutionality
Authors: Koessler Maximilian
Published: May 2006

Writers on the constitutional aspect of the Vichy régime in France have now shifted the focus of their attention. In the beginning they were concerned almost exclusively with the study of how far the Constitutional Law of July 10, 1940, did or did not square with the constitution of the Third Republic. Later publications broached the question as to whether, assuming the legitimacy of the Constitutional Law of July 10, 1940, Marshal Pétain's government, by its actions under the cover of that Enabling Act, had remained within the scope of the authority conferred by that measure. Pierre Tissier, the author of the most comprehensive published study of the Vichy régime, argues that for a correct construction of the Enabling Act the ratification “by the nation” of the new constitution must be considered as a condition precedent, in the technical meaning of that term, rather than as a condition subsequent. He further points out that since this refers to a temporary change of the constitution, as well as to a permanent one, the pretended and self-styled “constitutional acts” of Marshal Pétain, even though he himself ascribed to them only an interim character, were merely “so many coups de force.” According to the same author, a comparison between the powers delegated to the Marshal by the National Assembly of Vichy and the use he made of them leads to the conclusion that his government “betrayed its own solemn engagements.” Tissier charges the Marshal also with an “abuse of power.” Similarly, another French author of a pertinent monograph makes the emphatic statement that the constitutional acts of the Pétain régime, “despite their name, were really abuses of power,” since the mandate conferred by the National Assembly “was not—despite all that has been reported—a blank check,” and the conditions for putting into effect any constitutional act have so far not been met.
A Proposed Reorganization of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government
Authors: Woods E. Charles
Published: May 2006

The various suggestions for reorganization of the War Agencies now pending in the Congress pose two other questions, perhaps as fundamental to the successful prosecution of the war as the question whether the nation's war effort is itself best centralized and organized. The first is: Are the War Agencies, and is the war effort, correctly related to the various other portions of the government, that is, those portions of the executive branch of the government which were in existence prior to 1940? The second question is: Is the entire federal government, in all of its military, quasi-military, and civilian aspects, in need of far-reaching reorganization in order that the war effort may effectively be administered, and that the peace which is to follow may be well administered also?
First Session of the Seventy-fifth Congress, January 5, 1937, to August 21, 1937
Authors: Altman O. R.
Published: May 2006

In an atmosphere of profound awe of the unprecedented popularity of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the members of the Seventy-fifth Congress convened, on January 5, 1937, for their first session. Many legislators were keenly conscious that their presence in Washington was due largely to that inspired political leadership which had produced tremendous Democratic majorities throughout the nation. With the surviving remnant of opposition benumbed and quiescent, the view was prevalent that the patriotic duty of Congress would be “to have the courage of the President's convictions.”
Mr. Justice Black and “Senatorial Courtesy”
Authors: Cole Kenneth C.
Published: May 2006

On August 12, President Roosevelt nominated Senator Hugo L. Black of Alabama to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. On receipt of the message, Senator Ashurst moved for its immediate consideration on the ground that “whenever the Executive honors this body by nominating a member thereof, that nomination is confirmed without reference to a committee, for the obvious reason that no amount of investigation or consideration by a committee of the Senate could disclose any new fact or shed any new light upon the character, attainments, and ability of the nominee, because if we do not know him after long service with him, no one will ever know him.”
I. The War and the Constitution: President and Congress
Authors: Corwin Edward S.
Published: May 2006

The chief lesson of the war to date for constitutional interpretation is that the Constitution is an easily dispensable factor of our war effort—perhaps one might say an “expendable” factor. That the Constitution is not needed as a source of national power for war purposes has been stated by the Court itself. Speaking in 1936 for himself and brethren in United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation, Justice Sutherland said: “The investment of the Federal government with the powers of external sovereignty did not depend upon the affirmative grants of the Constitution. The powers to declare and wage war [my italics], to conclude peace, to make treaties, to maintain diplomatic relations with other sovereignties, if they had never been mentioned in the Constitution, would have been vested in the Federal government as necessary concomitants of nationality” (299 U.S. 304, 318).
The Dominion-Provincial Tax Agreements in Canada
Authors: Kraft Theodore
Published: May 2006

Canada has recently instituted a significant war-time fiscal plan. As a federal state, the Dominion has been plagued by the complicated problems of federal finance; and to meet the severe burdens of war finance, it has found it necessary to simplify the federal financial structure. This change has been accomplished by formal agreements between the Dominion and the provinces whereby the latter have agreed to retire from certain fields of taxation for the duration of the war.

The agreements do not require amendment of the British North America Act (1867), but they do necessitate abstinence of the provinces from exercising a portion of their authority under it. By the terms of that fundamental law, the provinces are authorized to levy “direct taxation within the province in order to the raising of a revenue for provincial purposes” and “shop, saloon, tavern, auctioneer, and other licenses in order to the raising of a revenue for provincial, local, or municipal purposes.” The Dominion, however, is granted the power to raise revenue by “any mode or system of taxation.” Under this distribution of tax authority, it was natural that various sources should eventually be taxed by both the Dominion and the provinces. By 1940, not only the provinces and the Dominion, but also in some instances municipalities, were levying income and corporate taxes. Inasmuch as the rates varied from province to province and from municipality to municipality, there was inequality of the tax burden throughout the Dominion. In order to secure a maximum of revenue for war purposes, the Dominion government deemed it necessary to tax corporations and incomes at the same rate throughout Canada; and for this reason, the government requested the provinces (and municipalities) to retire from these fields of taxation for the war period.
The Administration of Permanent Registration in Philadelphia
Authors: Horlacher John P.
Published: May 2006

Permanent registration for Philadelphia voters was instituted in 1937 by a state act applicable to the city exclusively. The administration of the act has been under fire almost continuously since 1938. Criticisms have emanated from the local political parties, the press, and civic organizations. Two governors have appointed investigating committees: Governor Earle in 1938 and Governor James late in 1940. The report of the latter committee was made in June, 1941. Two federal investigations were conducted during the period of the James inquiry. A federal grand jury undertook to determine whether a conspiracy to deprive persons of their right to vote in a national election existed. An abortive investigation was made by the Gillette Elections Committee of the United States Senate following charges of wholesale disfranchisement of Democratic voters.

The Philadelphia registration system is administered by a commission of five members with majority and minority representation, the commissioners being appointed by the governor with senate approval. The charges made against the Commission run the gamut from lax administration to deliberate fraud, although the latter has never been made to stick. The findings of Governor James' committee, whose investigation was the most thorough of any undertaken, show a considerable administrative failure.
Labor Participation in the Office of Price Administration
Authors: Afros John L.
Published: May 2006

The movement for labor participation in governmental agencies began long before America's entry into World War II, but no significant progress was made until the beginning of the national defense program. Recent economic pressures and the enlarged wartime influence of federal administrative agencies have intensified labor's demand for a more direct voice in the affairs of these agencies.

As early as 1939, when the National Resources Planning Board was created by President Roosevelt, labor manifested its concern over the failure to provide for its representation on the Board. At its 1939 convention, the AFL adopted a resolution providing that “on all War Boards, Labor shall be adequately represented by men appointed from the trade unions themselves.” A similar demand for appropriate representation on all important federal and state administrative agencies was made by the 1939 convention of the CIO.
The Constitutional Initiative in Operation
Authors: Crouch Winston W.
Published: May 2006

Out of the period at the beginning of this century in which revolt and revision of the lines of established political control produced the Progressive movement, the initiative was developed as a means for amending state constitutions. It may not be said with accuracy, however, that the initiative was a product solely of the Progressive movement. Men such as Dr. John R. Haynes of California and W. S. U’Ren of Oregon were urging the initiative in their respective states before the Progressive movement crystallized. Nevertheless, the initiative was a tool much to the Progressives’ liking, and most of the states that adopted it as a method of amending their constitution did so during the time in which the Progressives were at the height of their effectiveness as a party group.
III. The Rôle of Latin America in Relation to Current Trends in International Organization
Authors: Whitaker Arthur P.
Published: May 2006

Latin America's part and problems in the international order that is now emerging have not taken final shape at the present writing (March, 1945), and may not do so for some time after the United Nations Conference scheduled to open at San Francisco on April 25. Nevertheless, most of the main outlines seem to have been sketched in by recent developments, notably by the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals of October, 1944, and two subsequent conferences: the Great-Power conference held at Yalta in February of this year, and the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace (commonly called the Chapultepec Conference) held at Mexico City in February and March.

I

The Dumbarton Oaks Proposals, although neither complete nor definitive, did give an official and rather detailed picture of the kind of general international organization the Great Powers were planning to establish. From the point of view of this paper, the two principal features of the plan were (1) that it established a pattern of Great Power ascendancy in the general organization, particularly with reference to its central organ, the Security Council, and (2) that it encouraged the development of regional arrangements and agencies, such as the inter-American system, within the framework of the general organization (Proposals, Chap. VIII, Sec. C). The former feature was reinforced by the Yalta Conference, the latter by the Chapultepec Conference, which was devoted primarily to the task of strengthening the inter-American system and adapting it to the projected general organization outlined by the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals.
Public Opinion and the Legislative Process
Authors: Cantwell Frank V.
Published: May 2006

The rôle played by public opinion in a democracy, particularly as it affects the legislative process, has long been a subject for speculation by political scientists. The advent of controlled quota sampling permits of the study of this important relationship in measurable terms. The object of the present discussion is to trace the interaction of public opinion and the executive and legislative branches of government as they have dealt with a single public question—reorganization of the Supreme Court, as presented to Congress for consideration by President Roosevelt on February 5, 1937. Enlargement of the Supreme Court from nine to fifteen members was the most controversial feature of the general reorganization of the federal judiciary proposed by the President, aimed at speeding up the process of clearing cases through the federal court system, and making the system more “representative” of the wishes of the people.

The debate on enlargement of the Supreme Court provides a useful and interesting case study for several reasons. The case as a public issue has a definite beginning and end, ranging from the proposal of the judiciary reform bill by the President on February 5 to the death of Senator Joseph T. Robinson on July 14, 1937. As it was debated by public and legislators, the issue was a relatively clear-cut one, uncomplicated by side issues or utterly foreign events that might have influenced the course of either legislators or the public. Finally, and of decided importance, the American Institute of Public Opinion made weekly measurements of opinion toward the proposal during the entire period that reorganization of the Court was a public question. This permits the correlation of reliable opinion samplings with events in the debate and the observation of their relationship.
A Proposal to Correct the Perverse Elasticity of Legal Debt Limitations
Authors: Scholz Karl
Published: May 2006

During the depression years, many American municipalities were unable to engage in a program of local public works, with the aid of loan funds, because of legal limitations upon their borrowing power. In a number of states, there are constitutional limits to the incurring of local non-self-supporting indebtedness. For example, Pennsylvania limits the debt “of any county, city, borough, township, school district, or other municipality or incorporated district” to seven per cent of the assessed value of the taxable property therein. But the city of Philadelphia is permitted to incur non-self-supporting indebtedness up to ten per cent of the assessed value of the taxable property in the city.
IV. Adjusting the Departmental System
Authors: Short Lloyd M.
Published: May 2006

Structural reorganization of the administrative departments and independent agencies of the national government has been on the agendas of the President and Congress almost continuously since World War I. A brief review of the principal developments during the period between the two wars will give us perspective as we undertake to present the problem in its current setting.