bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Caustic Analysis of a Propagating Mode-III Crack in Functionally Graded Material Based on a Higher-order Transient Crack Tip Expansion
Authors: Yao X. F. , Xu W. , Yeh H. Y.
Published: May 2006

In this study, the influence of the material gradient on the dynamic mode-III crack tip singularity in a functional gradient material (FGM) is analyzed by means of the optical method of caustics. The elastic constants and, and the density of the FGM are assumed to vary in an exponential manner paralleling the crack, while the Poisson’s ratio is assumed to be constant. The correlation among the stress intensity factor, the material gradient, and the crack velocity is established using the equations of the dynamic caustics and the initial curves for the moving mode-III crack tip under a higher-order asymptotic expansion equation. The dynamic stress intensity factors (SIFs) of the mode-III propagating crack tip is evaluated by the characteristic distance of the caustics and the correction factors including the velocity effects and the material gradient effect. The theoretical caustics and the respective initial curves for different material gradients are simulated under the K-dominant condition. The influence of the material gradient on the shape and size of the caustics and the initial curves is analyzed. These works are helpful to understand the mechanical behaviors of the advanced polymer reinforced composites.
Recovery of Function Following Grafting of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal Cells into the Injured Spinal Cord
Authors: Himes B. Timothy , Neuhuber Birgit , Coleman Carl , Kushner Robert , Swanger Sharon A. , Kopen Gene C. , Wagner Joseph , Shumsky Jed S. , Fischer Itzhak
Published: May 2006

This study evaluates functional recovery after transplanting human bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) into contusion models of spinal cord injury (SCI). The authors used a high-throughput process to expand BMSCs and characterized them by flow cytometry, ELISA, and gene expression. They found that BMSCs secrete neurotrophic factors and cytokines with therapeutic potential for cell survival and axon growth. In adult immune-suppressed rats, mild, moderate, or severe contusions were generated using the MASCIS impactor. One week following injury, 0.5 to 1 × 106 BMSCs were injected into the lesioned spinal cord; control animals received vehicle injection. Biweekly behavioral tests included the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Scale (BBB), exploratory rearing, grid walking, and thermal sensitivity. Animals receiving moderate contusions followed by BMSC grafts showed significant behavioral recovery in BBB and rearing tests when compared to controls. Animals receiving BMSC grafts after mild or severe contusion showed trends toward improved recovery. Immunocytochemistry identified numerous axons passing through the injury in animals with BMSC grafts but few in controls. BMSCS were detected at 2 weeks after transplantation; however, at 11 weeks very few grafted cells remained. The authors conclude that BMSCs show potential for repairing SCI. However, the use of carefully characterized BMSCs improved transplantation protocols ensuring BMSC, survival, and systematic motor and sensory behavioral testing to identify robust recovery is imperative for further improvement.
Identification of consensus RNA secondary structures using suffix arrays
Authors: Anwar Mohammad , Nguyen Truong , Turcotte Marcel
Published: May 2006

Background

The identification of a consensus RNA motif often consists in finding a conserved secondary structure with minimum free energy in an ensemble of aligned sequences. However, an alignment is often difficult to obtain without prior structural information. Thus the need for tools to automate this process.

Results

We present an algorithm called Seed to identify all the conserved RNA secondary structure motifs in a set of unaligned sequences. The search space is defined as the set of all the secondary structure motifs inducible from a seed sequence. A general-to-specific search allows finding all the motifs that are conserved. Suffix arrays are used to enumerate efficiently all the biological palindromes as well as for the matching of RNA secondary structure expressions.

We assessed the ability of this approach to uncover known structures using four datasets. The enumeration of the motifs relies only on the secondary structure definition and conservation only, therefore allowing for the independent evaluation of scoring schemes. Twelve simple objective functions based on free energy were evaluated for their potential to discriminate native folds from the rest.

Conclusion

Our evaluation shows that 1) support and exclusion constraints are sufficient to make an exhaustive search of the secondary structure space feasible. 2) The search space induced from a seed sequence contains known motifs. 3) Simple objective functions, consisting of a combination of the free energy of matching sequences, can generally identify motifs with high positive predictive value and sensitivity to known motifs.
Glucocorticoid Modulation of Bcl-2 Family Members A1 and Bak during Delayed Spontaneous Apoptosis of Bovine Blood Neutrophils
Authors: Madsen-Bouterse Sally A. , Rosa Guilherme J. M. , Burton Jeanne L.
Published: May 2006

Neutrophils are critical for innate immune defense against microbial invasion but can also cause inflammatory tissue damage if their life span is not tightly regulated. Antiinflammatory glucocorticoids delay spontaneous apoptosis in human, rodent, and bovine neutrophils, but mechanisms involved are unknown. We hypothesized here that glucocorticoids delay neutrophil apoptosis by altering expression of key Bcl-2 apoptosis regulatory proteins, A1 and Bak, via activation of the cell’s glucocorticoid receptors. To test this hypothesis, isolated bovine blood neutrophils were exposed to dexamethasone with and without glucocorticoid receptor antagonism (RU486) and aged ex vivo over 0–24 h for assessment of various spontaneous apoptosis pathway indicators and A1 and Bak abundance. Results show that dexamethasone preserved neutrophil mitochondrial membrane integrity, delayed caspase-9 activation, and reduced the rate of spontaneous apoptosis. Also, dexamethasone increased A1 and decreased Bak mRNA abundance. RU486 pretreatment of the cells abrogated each of these dexamethasone effects. Dexamethasone-induced increases in A1 mRNA were reflected in A1 protein increases, which also were observed in circulating neutrophils of dexamethasone-treated animals. Bak protein decreases were observed in neutrophils of the dexamethasone-treated animals but not in isolated neutrophils, suggesting that stimuli additional to (and perhaps regulated by) glucocorticoid are required to affect Bak protein expression changes in neutrophils. Collectively, our results are unique in demonstrating a mechanism behind glucocorticoid regulation of spontaneous apoptosis and implicate steroid receptor activation and subsequent regulation of A1 and Bak as contributors to mitochondrial membrane stability, reduced caspase-9 activity, and delayed apoptosis in bovine neutrophils exposed to glucocorticoids.
Diurnal Rhythmicity of the Clock Genes Per1 and Per2 in the Rat Ovary
Authors: Fahrenkrug Jan , Georg Birgitte , Hannibal Jens , Hindersson Peter , Gräs Søren
Published: May 2006

Circadian rhythms are generated by endogenous clocks in the central brain oscillator, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and peripheral tissues. The molecular basis for the circadian clock consists of a number of genes and proteins that form transcriptional/translational feedback loops. In the mammalian gonads, clock genes have been reported in the testes, but the expression pattern is developmental rather than circadian. Here we investigated the daily expression of the two core clock genes, Per1 and Per2, in the rat ovary using real-time RT-PCR, in situ hybridization histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry. Both Per1 and Per2 mRNA displayed a statistically significant rhythmic oscillation in the ovary with a period of 24 h in: 1) a group of rats during proestrus and estrus under 12-h light,12-h dark cycles; 2) a second group of rats representing a mixture of all 4 d of the estrous cycle under 12-h light,12-h dark conditions; and 3) a third group of rats representing a mixture of all 4 d of estrous cycle during continuous darkness. Per1 mRNA was low at Zeitgeber time 0–2 and peaked at Zeitgeber time 12–14, whereas Per2 mRNA was delayed by approximately 4 h relative to Per1. By in situ hybridization histochemistry, Per mRNAs were localized to steroidogenic cells in preantral, antral, and preovulatory follicles; corpora lutea; and interstitial glandular tissue. With newly developed antisera, we substantiated the expression of Per1 and Per2 in these cells by single/double immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we visualized the temporal intracellular movements of PER1 and PER2 proteins. These findings suggest the existence of an ovarian circadian clock, which may play a role both locally and in the hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis.
Androgens, Progestins, and Glucocorticoids Induce Follicle-Stimulating Hormone β-Subunit Gene Expression at the Level of the Gonadotrope
Authors: Thackray Varykina G. , McGillivray Shauna M. , Mellon Pamela L.
Published: May 2006

FSH is produced by the pituitary gonadotrope to regulate gametogenesis. Steroid hormones, including androgens, progestins, and glucocorticoids, have all been shown to stimulate expression of the FSHβ subunit in primary pituitary cells and rodent models. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of steroid induction of FSHβ has been difficult due to the heterogeneity of the anterior pituitary. Immortalized LβT2 cells are a model of a mature gonadotrope cell and express the endogenous steroid receptor for each of the three hormones. Transient transfection of each receptor, along with ligand treatment, stimulates the mouse FSHβ promoter, but induction is severely diminished using receptors that lack the ability to bind DNA, indicating that induction is likely through direct DNA binding. All three steroid hormones act within the first 500 bp of the FSHβ promoter where six putative hormone response elements exist. The −381 site is critical for FSHβ induction by all three steroid hormones, whereas the −197 and −139 sites contribute to maximal induction. Interestingly, the −273 and −230 sites are also necessary for androgen and progestin induction of FSHβ, but not for glucocorticoid induction. Additionally, we find that all three receptors bind the endogenous FSHβ promoter, in vivo, and specifically bind the −381 site in vitro, suggesting that the binding of the receptors to this element is critical for the induction of FSHβ by these 3-keto steroid hormones. Our data indicate that androgens, glucocorticoids, and progestins act via their receptors to directly activate FSHβ gene expression in the pituitary gonadotrope.
Choosing the Appropriate Methodology: Understanding Research Philosophy
Authors: Holden Mary T. , Lynch Patrick
Published: May 2006

This paper introduces novice researchers to the differences in philosophical perspectives and the major research implications arising from them. It is our contention that research should not be methodologically led, rather that methodological choice should be consequential to the researcher's
philosophical stance and the social science phenomenon to be investigated. Several philosophical approaches are possible in the science of research, however we perceive that more extreme approaches can be delimiting. We argue that only an intermediate philosophical approach allows the researcher
to match philosophy, methodology, and the research problem.
Proteomics: A New Diagnostic Frontier
Authors: Hortin Glen L , Jortani Saeed A , Ritchie James C , Valdes Roland , Chan Daniel W
Published: May 2006

Background: Analysis of proteins has been an integral part of the field of clinical chemistry for decades. Recent advances in technology and complete identification of the human genome sequence have opened up new opportunities for analysis of proteins for clinical diagnostic purposes.

Methods: Content of a recent conference of proteomics is summarized.

Results: New analytical methods allow the simultaneous analysis of a large number of proteins in biological fluids such as serum and plasma, offering partial views of the complete set of proteins or proteome. Plasma presents many analytical challenges, such as the complexity of components, predominance of a few major components, and the large concentration range of components, but the number of proteins that can be detected in plasma has expanded dramatically from hundreds to thousands. At the same time, there is increased capability to detect structural variations of proteins. Recent studies also identified the presence of complex sets of small protein fragments in plasma. This set of protein fragments, the fragmentome or peptidome, is potentially a rich source of information about physiologic and disease processes.

Conclusions: Advances in proteomics offer great promise for the discovery of markers that might serve as the basis for new clinical laboratory tests. There are many challenges, however, in the translation of newly discovered markers into clinical laboratory tests.
Origin of the System of Mandates Under the League of Nations
Authors: Potter Pitman B.
Published: May 2006

The present arrangements for the government of the colonial territories taken from Germany and Turkey in the World War, arrangements which may collectively be described as the system of mandates under the League of Nations, may work well or they may work badly. They may persist into an indefinite future, they may come to an abrupt termination and leave nothing of their own kind in their place, or, most probable of all, they may be progressively modified in one way or another with the passage of time and changes of circumstances. But, whatever happens hereafter, the present system is now an accomplished fact, and will necessarily be taken as the basis for any action in the future. The apparent inclination of at least one great power to insist upon all its rights in former German and Turkish territories now under mandate to other powers, and the firmness of the latter in defending their position under the mandate system, indicate, further, that the present system has already created rights, interests, and claims on one side and another which will call for constant consideration and regulation as time goes on.
Freedom of Speech: During and Since the Civil war
Authors: Eliel Richard H.
Published: May 2006

Of all the clauses in the Bill of Rights, the free speech guaranty stands foremost in the significance of the political principle it defends, and in the enduring vitality of the problems it puts before us. In an age of toleration bordering on indifference, the phrase protecting the free exercise of religion has been reverently consigned to a life of honored retirement; in the days of conscription “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” finds a place in constitutional structure similar to that of the vermiform appendix in the human body; and the good old search and seizure clause now is roused from a senile contemplation of other days only at rarest intervals, relapsing soon into a customary desuetude. But no such fate will ever befall the free speech clause. The human interest it defends is in a very real sense the most fundamental and permanent in the Bill of Rights, and no changes brought by the onward movement of civilization are ever likely to make the need for its protection less necessary.

For as long as human beings have tongues and minds they will say what they think, and they will think differently. Where the question is important and the issues vital or seemingly vital, such hatred and bitterness is likely to develop as will require a very strong constitutional guaranty and a reverential respect for the written word if oppression is to be prevented. In fact, all the rancor and bitterness attached to actual physical conflict are frequently found in scarcely diminished intensity to have gathered about mere polemics.
Ministerial Responsibility versus the Separation of Powers
Authors: Haines Charles Grove
Published: May 2006

Formerly political scientists were inclined to criticize the American theory and practice of the separation of powers in the federal and state governments and to commend instead the cabinet or parliamentary form of organization. Thus Walter Bagehot, Sir Henry Maine, Woodrow Wilson, Frank J. Goodnow, along with many others, pointed to the advantages of cabinet or parliamentary government over presidential government as developed in the United States. A consensus of opinion was expressed by Wilson who said, “As at present constituted, the federal government lacks strength because its powers are divided, lacks promptness because its authorities are multiplied, lacks wieldiness because its processes are roundabout, lacks efficiency because its responsibility is indistinct and its action is without competent direction.” At one time the American plan of separation of powers was compared unfavorably with the French system in which governmental powers were divided into two branches—a policy-forming branch or “Politics” and a policy executing branch or “Administration.” On another occasion the tripartite system of the separation of powers was charged with responsibility for much of the political corruption prevalent in American politics. The same theory of separation has often been condemned as requiring too many checks and balances and as involving a do-nothing policy for legislative and executive officers.
Four Years of Congress
Authors: Leake James Miller
Published: May 2006

When the sixty-third congress was called in extraordinary session on April 7, 1913, it was the first time since 1895 that both branches of congress and the executive had been under Democratic control. For nearly two decades the policies of the nation had been shaped and directed by the Republicans. Now after many years the minority had become the majority, and a Democratic President sat in the White House. In the congressional elections of 1910, dissatisfaction with the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the growing friction between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican party had given the Democrats a net gain of 56 seats in the house of representatives, and control of that body by a majority of 66 votes. The senate during the sixty-second congress, however, still remained Republican by a majority of 10 votes. In 1912 the three-cornered presidential contest had resulted in the election of Wilson by an unprecedented electoral vote, although he did not have a majority of the popular vote cast. The schism in the ranks of the Republican party and the drift that had set in toward the Democratic ticket had increased the Democratic representation in the lower branch of congress to 290, while the Republican representation had fallen to 145, including 18 Progressives who did not go into the Republican caucus and who could not always be counted on to vote with the minority. In the senate the Democrats had gained enough seats to give them a majority of 6, a net gain of 16 seats over their membership in the sixty-second congress.
The Labor Clauses of the Clayton Act
Authors: Mason Alpheus T.
Published: May 2006

The Supreme Court's decision in the Danbury Hatters' case marked the beginning of a new era in trade-union activity, for laborers well realized that the Sherman act, as interpreted and applied by the court in that case, was a measure with which they would eventually have to reckon. The provision expressly declaring that equity courts may be resorted to in order to restrain violations of the act was an objection in itself, serious enough. But the statute held for laborers a much more vital concern: they also perceived that a strict construction of its provisions might even jeopardize the existence of the trade union itself. Laborers naturally felt very keenly even the suggestion that the Anti-Trust Act might be interpreted in such a manner as to deny to laborers the right to organize, and they undoubtedly believed, and not without a certain justification, that the dissolution of the trade union, as a combination in restraint of trade, would be the probable, if not the necessary, result of the court's decision in the Hatters' case.

“Under the interpretation placed upon the Sherman Anti-Trust law by the courts,” Mr. Gompers averred, “it is within the province and within the power of any administration … to begin proceedings to dissolve any labor organization in the United States.” Labor unions exist only “at the suffrance of the Department of Justice.”
The Washington Meeting of the American Society for the Judicial Settlement of International Disputes
Authors: Marburg Theodore
Published: May 2006

Although the peace movement is still a movement of intellectuals it is no longer confined to idealists. That fact is amply illustrated by the personnel of the congress held at Washington, December 15–17, 1910, under the auspices of the American Society for Judicial Settlement of International Disputes.

The various groups of practical men in close touch with affairs—legislators, statesmen, educators and business men—who addressed the congress were likewise liberally represented in the crowded and interested audiences of the congress.

The explanation of this change in the personnel of the peace workers lies partly in the fact that the growing waste of armaments has projected this question into the arena of practical politics; partly in the actual results accomplished by certain existing institutions, notably those set up at The Hague; together with the manifest need of additional institutions of a simple nature which it is folly to continue without. Among the latter that which in the minds of many men will do more to make war difficult than any institution thus far existing or suggested is a true international court of justice.
Recent and Pending Constitutional Changes in England
Authors: Porritt Edward
Published: May 2006

There are two obvious reasons for welcoming a new and revised edition of Sir William Anson's “Law and Custom of the Constitution.” The first edition was issued twenty-four years ago. The preface is dated March, 1886; so that the book must have been passed for the press within a few months after the first general election that followed the extension of the franchise and the redistribution of seats due to the legislation of 1884 and 1885. In the intervening years—1885–1909—there have been great changes in the general political conditions of England—changes which mainly affect the constituencies. There have also been large additions to the permanent work of many of the state departments—notably the home office, the local government board, the board of trade, the department of education, and the department of agriculture. Moreover resulting from these additions to the permanent work of the state departments and the increasing complexity of political conditions in the constituencies, there have been sweeping changes in the procedure of the house of commons—changes which by 1909 had made the cabinet practically dominant in that chamber.
Primary Elections and Majority Nominations
Authors: Lush Charles K.
Published: May 2006

The question of majority nominations in primary elections has been before the Wisconsin legislature during the last two sessions. (1905, Special Session, Bill 11A, and 1907, Bill 350A). Both times the proposition of securing majority nominations by means of the “second choice” has met defeat.

This is written with the hope of making plain the basic principle upon which the second choice amendment to the primary rests. It is the principle that the nominee of a political party should represent the party principles or policy of the majority of the voters of the party. It prevents the possibility of a man representing the principles of only one-fourth of the voting strength of the party being nominated as the candidate of the party, and in direct conflict with the views of three-fourths of the voters of the party. It was the recognition of this principle that caused the conventions to nominate by majority vote of the delegates instead of by plurality. The present Wisconsin primary law prevents a number of candidates representing the majority sentiment as to party principles from coming into the field as candidates for the nomination for fear the candidate of a minority may be named by receiving a higher vote than any one candidate among the majority candidates. The present primary is, in effect, a convention to which every voter is a delegate and in which the candidate receiving the most votes on the first ballot is the nominee. The remedy lies either in the adoption of the second choice amendment (derisively known as the Mary Ann law), or by return to the convention system.
The Reorganization of State Government
Authors: James Herman G.
Published: May 2006

The oft quoted remark of James Bryce concerning the government of American cities was certainly justified insofar as it condemned our American city government. To the extent, however, that it seemed to imply a recognition of the successful operation of our state governments it would appear to be in need of considerable limitation. Indeed there is evidence to show that the defects of our state organization made themselves pretty generally felt even before the evils of our city administration were recognized, and constitutional changes looking toward remedying those defects were undertaken before any serious attention was given to the consideration of municipal problems.

On the other hand, it is true that once the evils in our American municipal system were recognized a more comprehensive, wide-spread, and successful campaign has been waged against them than has even been inaugurated against the manifest defects in our state governments. It is no exaggeration to say that today there are immeasurably more persons seriously and actively engaged in the cause of good city government than there are persons interested in the same effective way in improving our state governmental machinery. There are, of course, several good reasons why one would expect this to be the case, but our prime interest is sufficiently served by pointing out the fact without going into an examination of the explanation.
The Delegation of Legislative Power by Congress to the States
Authors: Barnett James D.
Published: May 2006

It is an essential theory of our constitutional system that the relations between the Union and the States are determined by the Constitution of the United States, and hence that the powers of the government of the one may be neither increased nor diminished (except in the few instances provided for in the Constitution) by the action of the government of the other. How far this theory has been actually embodied in law it is important to inquire in regard to all three functions of government, legislation, jurisdiction, and administration, but the present discussion will be limited to illustrations of the delegation of legislative power by congress to the States. The acts of congress with which we are here concerned form three distinct classes: those involving the concurrent powers of the States which may be exercised in the absence of conflicting congressional legislation; those involving powers of the States which may be exercised only by reason of some positive action of congress; and, last, a class in which there is an adoption of laws of the States as laws of the United States.
Political Developments in Germany, 1917–1918
Authors: Ogg Frederic A.
Published: May 2006

A former issue of the REVIEW (November, 1917) contained a résumé of German political affairs from the outbreak of the great war to the accession of Chancellor Michaelis, July 14, 1917. The summary will here be continued to the abdication of Emperor William II in November, 1918.

The appointment of Michaelis came at a time when the imperial government was under fire, both in the Reichstag and throughout the country. The Russian revolution and the entrance into the war by the United States had given a new impetus to the movement for political reform.
Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States on Constitutional Questions: 1914–1917. III
Authors: Powell Thomas Reed
Published: May 2006

Two instances of race discrimination which came before the court were aimed against aliens. Truax v. Raich annulled an Arizona statute which required every employer of not more than five workers to employ not less than 80 per cent qualified electors or native born citizens of the United States. The decision was based, not only on the equal protection clause, but also on the principle that the states must not interfere with the acknowledged powers of the nation. The power to admit aliens which Congress possesses and has exercised would be nugatory if the states after their admission could deny them the opportunity of a livelihood.

But neither of these principles was held applicable to the exclusion of aliens from employment on public works. The opinions in Heim v. McCall and Crane v. New York went so far as to declare that a state must be as free as an individual to decide for itself what persons shall be employed on work done for it. Yet it must be seriously doubted whether the court by actual decision would go so far as to sanction discriminations against Quakers or Methodists or Republicans or Democrats. The exclusion of aliens may be justified on grounds which would not apply to other whimsicalities.
The New Philippine Government
Authors: Kalaw Maximo M.
Published: May 2006

When the American government decided for the first time to try the experiment of colonial government in the Philippine Islands, they had no light to guide them save the experience of other European nations which had colonies in Far Eastern Asia. Ignorant of Philippine conditions, the American statesmen at first thought that the problem of governing the Islands was similar to the task of the European powers in governing our neighbors, Java, the Malay States, and India. Their first idea was, therefore, to study the colonial systems of these countries. One of the first public documents printed by the American Congress, in 1899, accompanying the Treaty of Paris, was devoted to the study of the colonial systems of the Orient with a view to their application in the Philippines. But upon a closer observation of Philippine conditions they found that the principles of European colonization would not work in the Islands, not only because American aims were more altruistic but because political conditions were entirely different. Roughly, colonial government in the neighboring countries is based on the existence of native rulers, rajahs or princes, whose authority has been for centuries recognized by the natives themselves. Apparently and ceremoniously the native princes still rule, but in reality it is their respective European “advisers” or “resident-generals” who are the actual rulers. Instead of establishing a new form of government, abolishing the rajahs and native rulers, the Dutch and the English simply improved the native institutions, using these same rulers as instrumentalities through which to impose their own governments.
The Commission Plan of City Government
Authors: Ryan Oswald
Published: May 2006

To appreciate the real significance in municipal affairs of the lately inaugurated movement toward city government by commission some knowledge of the general trend of American municipal development is necessary; for it is as a phase of a general tendency and not as an isolated experiment that the movement is to be properly regarded. Like most of our institutions, our city government, both in form and substance, was transplanted from England to the colonies, where it underwent the usual differentiation under the influence of changed conditions. This differentiation, however, did not proceed to any marked degree during the colonial period, and at the beginning of the national era the general form of municipal government, with the exception of the New England town-meeting system, was that of the English borough. Then began a new period, during which the influence of the federal and state governments dominated the organic development of the municipalities. That the “federal analogy” should have thus become the controlling factor in this development was due partly to a widespread belief in the efficacy of the governmental principles which it involved, and partly to a misconception of the functions of the municipality. A cardinal feature of the federal plan was Montesquieu's principle of the separation of powers, having for its object to safeguard the interests of the people against the arbitrary and ill-advised acts of public officers.
The Congressional Caucus of Today
Authors: Haines Wilder H.
Published: May 2006

The convening of the 64th congress makes timely a brief discussion of the organization and operation of the Democratic caucus system in the house of representatives during the last two congresses; since the Democratic party remains in control of the present congress, it is to be presumed that the past caucus system will be continued in substantially the same form.

The caucus system used in the 62d and 63d congresses was adopted by the Democrats, upon their accession to control of the house in 1910, to replace Cannonism, which had become of ill repute among the voters, and which had been partly over-thrown at the preceding session. The unwieldy size of the house, as well as the exigencies of party, required some extra-legal machinery to coördinate and direct the action of the members; the substitute chosen by the Democratic leaders was an adaptation of the senate caucus, formerly known as Aldrichism. The essence of Cannonism had been the control of the house by the speaker through his power of appointment of committees and his domination of the rules committee, backed by the power of the majority party caucus; the essence of the new system is direct control of legislative action by the caucus itself.
Purchasing of Highway Equipment in Texas
Authors: Stewart Frank M.
Published: May 2006

Students of centralized purchasing give Texas the credit for being the pioneer state in the movement. With the creation of the office of purchasing agent for the eleemosynary institutions in 1899, centralized purchasing in state government is said to have had its beginning. Purchasing organization in Texas remained unchanged until 1919, when, following an investigation into all departments by a legislative committee, a number of departments, including that of the state purchasing agent, were consolidated into a state board of control.

This board is composed of three members appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate, for a term of six years, one member being appointed every two years. Each member receives $5,000 a year. A division of purchasing is one of six divisions under the board, others being (1) public printing, (2) auditing, (3) design, construction, and maintenance, (4) estimates and appropriations, and (5) eleemosynary institutions. The board is authorized to appoint a chief of the purchasing division, whose qualifications are prescribed by law. But since its organization in 1920, no chief of the purchasing division has been appointed, a member of the board taking direct charge of this division. In addition to the board member, four other people are engaged in the work of this division, including an assistant purchasing agent. No increase in personnel has occurred since the organization of the board. Responsibility is vested in the board for purchasing all supplies used by the departments and institutions of the state, including furniture and fixtures, and all other things except strictly perishable goods, technical instruments, and books.
The Doctrine of the Sovereignty of the Constitution
Authors: Rockow Lewis
Published: May 2006

The contemporary criticism in England of the traditional theory of the state can conveniently be traced to the famous introduction of Maitland to the fragment of Gierke. It is significant to note that Maitland's analysis followed by one year the classic restatement of the orthodox view by Bosanquet, thus perhaps offering another illustration of the common observation that when a doctrine has received its fullest elaboration, its decline has already set in. During the first twelve or fifteen years of the present century, this criticism became an important undercurrent of political thought, as shown by the emergence of Distributivism and Guild Socialism, the passing of the zenith of the conventional Fabianism with the publication in 1909 of the Minority Eeport on the Poor Law, and the publication of Figgis's Churches in the Modern State in 1913. This later view was as yet, however, only an undercurrent; for the main stream of thought as indicated by L. T. Hobhouse in his Liberalism (1911) did not show any effects of the new leaven. Only during the next decade, say between the publication of Russell's Principles of Social Reconstruction (1916) and Professor H. J. Laski's Grammar of Politics (1925), did the novel movement become the main current. Viewed in wider perspective, Russell, Hobhouse, the Webbs, Tawney, Cole, Laski, and Hobson offer variations on the same theme. The completeness and comprehensiveness of Professor Laski's Grammar of Politics make it especially significant. The book is, in fact, a summary of the development of English thought since 1900.
The Japanese Privy Council
Authors: Colegrove Kenneth
Published: May 2006

For more than a decade, the Privy Council has been the subject of political controversy in Japan. Today, a group of liberals look upon the Council as an obstruction to the progressive development of parliamentary government and urge its reform, if not abolition. Under these circumstances, there is a tendency to subject the Council to considerable scrutiny from a utilitarian viewpoint. What is its purpose? Does it adequately fulfill this purpose, or does it obstruct the present trend of representative government in Japan? What reforms in its structure and functions are to be recommended? The answers to these questions are suggested largely by the varying liberal or conservative views of the various critics.

An evaluation of the achievements of an organ of government such as the Privy Council may be guided by several standards of value. One standard aims to measure the success of the institution in achieving the purpose of the states men who were the architects of its being. Another attempts to measure the success of the institution in promoting what is generally accepted at the present time by intelligent persons as good government. Measured by the first of these standards, the Privy Council would probably disappoint the author of the constitution, or at least disappoint his expectations as expressed in the almost naive language of the celebrated Commentaries on the Constitution wherein the Council was designed “to serve as the highest body of the emperor's constitutional advisers,” and was “to be impartial, with no leanings to this or that party, and to solve all difficult problems.”
Chambres de Commerce: Their Legal Status and Political Significance
Authors: Herring E. Pendleton
Published: May 2006

The public character of the chambers of commerce in France and in Europe generally is a commonplace. Their intimate relationship with the government is taken as a matter of course. This very complacency is significant acceptance of the close rapprochement of the political and economic hierarchies. These organizations of entrepreneurs in France function as the legally recognized representatives of definite interests. It is regarded as no novel idea that business men as such have public duties and governmental responsibilities that must be conducted in coöperation with the state. The chambre de commerce is the usual agency for carrying on these contacts; it is classified as a “personne civile” and an “établissement public.” It is provided for by statute, given specific powers, and entrusted with definite functions. It is representative of local business men holding a mandate from the Republic authorizing them to perform specified tasks of government and requiring them to offer advice upon commercial and industrial problems.

Regarded merely as agencies through which the government may secure a degree of perfunctory agreement from a selected number of employers and capitalists, the chambres de commerce would have little to offer. They are significant, rather, because of the fact that they provide a recognized means whereby discussion may be held upon questions by those who are directly affected by the outcome. Through such a consideration, the opportunity is offered to secure not only acquiescence but also understanding. The winning of consent is but one step in legislation.
British Trade Union Law Since the Trade Disputes and Trade Union Act of 1927
Authors: Witte Edwin E.
Published: May 2006

Judging from articles on the subject, American interest in British trade union law has been considerable, but spasmodic. Every important decision or statute affecting the legal status of the British trade unions has been followed by articles on this side of the Atlantic outlining the entire history of the British law of labor combinations and attempting to forecast the outcome of the most recent developments. Between times, the subject has not been discussed and no one has presented the actual results of the heralded developments. The Trade Disputes and Trade Union Act of 1927 is the most recent of these developments noted in this country.
Special Interests and the Interstate Commerce Commission, II
Authors: Herring E. Pendleton
Published: May 2006

In the juristic sphere, the Interstate Commerce Commission is charged with enforcing and interpreting certain statutes, hearing and weighing evidence, and rendering formal judgment when the facts have been ascertained. But the recognized judicial character of this work does not render the Commission immune from efforts to influence its judgments. The struggles of contending economic groups and political influences give rise to actions intolerable in a court of law and to repeated efforts to obtain favorable decisions through the use of propaganda. The Commission performs its duties in surroundings far from neutral, and must cope with pressures too powerful to be exorcised by simple exhortation or condemnation. The problem is one of canalizing influences which cannot be eliminated, to the end that they may increase rather than decrease the efficiency of the administrative process and that the public interest may not be submerged in the undertow of sectional and political cross-currents.
Minnesota's Congressional Election at Large
Authors: Shumate Roger V.
Published: May 2006

On November 8, 1932, Minnesota, for the first time in her history, chose Democratic presidential electors. The breach in the ranks of the Solid South in 1928 was hardly more of a break with tradition. That, however, was not the only interesting feature of the recent election. In the first place, all nine of the state's representatives in Congress were elected at large. That alone would not confer any great distinction, but the importance of an election at large was magnified in the present case by the fact that Minnesota is the only state in the Union in which a genuine three-party system prevails. The third party, or Farmer-Labor party is in this instance not only a factor in state politics, but at present the dominant one.
Toward a Consistent Foreign Loan Policy
Authors: Laves Walter H. C.
Published: May 2006

The Securities Act of 1933 marks the inauguration for the United States of what seems to be a consistent policy toward private loans to foreign governments. In view of the continued importance of such loans in our foreign relations, it appears appropriate to consider in some detail how the new policy differs from the old, and what its implications are likely to be.

It is unnecessary in this journal to discuss the individual cases of friction arising from private loans to foreign governments during the last fifty years. What concerns us, rather, is the cause of such friction.
The Proposed Generalization of the Minorities Régime
Authors: Calderwood Howard B.
Published: May 2006

The racial policy of the present German government has created a new interest in the problem of protection of minorities. Governments hitherto apathetic in regard to the problem were aroused by the Bernheim petition to the League in the spring of 1933 complaining of the discriminatory character of legislation in violation of the German-Polish convention of 1922. They were also compelled to give attention to the renewed demand of the minorities states for a treaty binding all members of the League to respect the rights of their minorities. States like Italy and France, with large sections of their territory populated almost entirely by German-speaking people who are deeply conscious of their cultural differences with the majority of the state's population, would be expected to show considerable interest in the demand of the minorities states. Other states in whose territory reside many people differing in race, language, or religion from the majority of the population would also necessarily be concerned. The minorities régime and some of the problems created by it have been described in several publications. It is the purpose of this note to trace the movement for, and to attempt an evaluation of, the so-called generalization of the obligations which certain states, members of the League, have assumed.
A Latter-Day Tyranny in the Light of Aristotelian Prognosis
Authors: Sherman Charles Lawton
Published: May 2006

The world as Aristotle and his contemporaries saw it was already a spent world. Its original creativeness had flowered during the sixth and fifth centuries in an outburst of discovery and invention in political and social as well as in literary fields. By the middle of the fourth century, it was the turn of the philosopher to take the results of the discoveries, and synthesize and publicize them in such a way that all the Greek communities should be enabled to work out the combination of forms of society and government best suited to their needs. The study made by Aristotle of the states of his own day maintained its authority across empire and into nationalism, through antiquity and the Middle Ages, up to the threshold of our own modern capitalistic civilization. From that time, however, a new era of inventions seems to have erected an insurmountable barrier between the old and the new, and the relevance of earlier thought for modern problems is called in question.
State Constitutional Law in 1932–33
Authors: Haines Charles G.
Published: May 2006

One of the best known members of the bench in the United States raised the query whether constitutional law was not becoming so textual and so formal in its applications that it was losing touch with the realities of life. For the operations of government to be “cabined and confined” under ordinary circumstances raises difficulties not readily surmounted; but in times of unusual stress, either constitutional limitations unduly restrict urgent and necessary action or they must be ignored to permit emergency measures. A resumé of the decisions of state and federal courts affecting state constitutions for the year 1932–33 indicates the tendency both toward undue formality in interpretation and toward the warping of the constitutional mold to sanction ways and means of dealing with extraordinary conditions. Law, like life, is a matter of growth, and, as Lord Bryce long since observed, under written constitutions ways of growth must be found either within or without the provisions of fundamental laws.