Daily Kennebec journal., 1921-12-02
MERIT CAREFUL CCNSiDERA-
TION


thousand business and professional
men, among whom are found the
names of Frank A. Vanderlip. Lind
ley NJ. Garrison, David Starr Jordan
and Roscoe Pound. Recently a list
OF questions, of timely interest was
submitted to vote Of the members
and the League which now makes re-
port OF the result.
The first was: Should there be
open, visible and responsible leader
ship in matters OF national finance
and administration" The report
shows that 9s4 of the members voted
"yes" and % voted mo" What is
meant by open and visible" may be
inferred from following questions.
The second was: Should there be
an executive budget prepared under
the direction of the President and
publicity explained and defended be-
fore the Congress by members of the
Cabinet" To this a79 are reported in
favor and 72 opposed. The report al
ludes to objections that the making
of the budget by the executive would
be departure from the conceptions
of the Constitution, that when Con-
gress consents to the executive max
ing budget it will have surrendered
the most important part of legislative
government" but it argues that this
was not the view taken by Washing
ton, who sat as chairman through
the Constitutional Convention. It
was not the view of Hamilton, one of
the three great expositors of the Con-
stitution in the campaign before the
people for its adoption. They both
understood thai the Constitution
made it the duty Of the executive to
come before Congress to give an ac.
count OF stewardship and to explain
plans for the future. in support of
which appropriations were asked. But
when Hamilton, representing the
President. asked the pleasure of the
House, the leaders in this body re-
fused to permit him to come before
them"
The right to appropriate money be-
longs to the legislative branch of the
Government and considering what it
cost for the legislative branch, the
Commons Of England, to secure this
right and so hold the whip hand over
royalty. it should be jealousy guard
ed. And one of the most effective
ways to guard it is to properly use it,
which has rot always been done.
With the opportunity for log-rolling
afforded in the legisla tive branch the
leaving of the budget solely to its
mercies places it in a predicament
not altogether unlike that in which
Little Red Riding Hood is said to
have sound herself.
NA'0SA t4iC ~ CStllL puuSeI dfF2nEG-
ment it is urged that although pre-
pared by an executive bureau the
budget affords no opportunity for the
executive to explain or defend its
proposals publicly before either
branch of Congress as a whole. since
1t will be referred by each branch of
Congress to standing committees for
consideration, and when appropria-
ton bills and revenue bills arc re-
ported out, they will be. as in the
past, the measures of the committees
and not the measures of the Execu-
tive"
To this arrangement the Economic
League objects that it will not give
us visible government" that it will
not fix responsibility in way to help
the voters; that the only way execu-
tive heads can be made responsible
and the voter intelligent is to require
the Cabinet to appear personally be-
fore the appropriating, representa-
tive branch and explain and defend
their acts and proposals; that such
an open forum encounter between the
administration and its opponents will
make news: and that 1t IL only
through the news columns that forty
million voters can be reached"
This. Of course, is following the ex-
ample of England where the policy
has been productive Of good results
There 10 much to be said in favor of
1t. Whether it would accomplish all
that 10 claimed for It may well be
doubted. but ~ outlined in this pro-
posal It need not be regarded inimicaI
10 the present division Of response
etlity between the executive. the leg.
slattvs and the judicial branches.
An individual needs the coordination
ef al his members to play the part
ef the perfect whole. A government
y likewise dependent on coordi-
nation of its parts; its. success
requires Il The process Of CO.
ordination may be facilitated or
made ipcolvepient The fact that
under existins methods members
= ~ cabinet may appear only be-
sors : committee and only when spe.
~ 1srmission = given. cannot ap-