Evening star., 1932-08-02

and free discussion, to which the public
| and the press nave access, are shaped
and hammered out the real political is.
sues that divide public opinion. Every
constituency has its day in court.
1t is a cherished tradition of the
| Anglo-Saxon race that the raising of
revenue shall be entrusted alone to the
representatives of the people. Control
Of the public purse and the power of
! taxation lie at the very heart of SOW
| ereignty. To these two vital functions
Congress owes most of its power and
prestige. A very large portion of the
time of Congress is consumed in delib-
| Grating upon the appropriation Of mon
| les for Federal activities-to supervising
departments and either limiting or pro-
viding the scope of their functions.
Only 533 Elective Jobs.
Did you ever stop to consider that of
the five or six hundred thousand en-
ployes, functionaries and officials scat
tered throughout the Federal Union only
533 officers of the United States are
elected by the people themselves? The
ABS members of the House of Repre-
sentatives, the 96 Senators, the Vice
President and the President of the
United States-533 ofTicers-are the only
the ballot box and receive the approval
or the condemnation of the people. 1t is
the duty of Congress to hold in check
and control, in the name of the people,
this army of officials, who are not de-
pendent on the people for their con-
duct, and yet who are paid from the
Treasury and exert governmental au-
thority
There is frequent criticism of Con-
gresS that it's action is not as hasty as
the impatient demand. 1t must be re-
membered that deliberation and debate
are designed to prevent intemperate and
ill-considered action. An autocrat or a
benevolent monarch might in a moment
issue an edict or ukaSe. Important
legislation that finally affects every cit
izen must be scrutinized and examined
with care before it is written into law
The plea of efficiency and the plea
of speedy action are arguments which
have been made in behalf Of every
despotiSm that ever cursed the earth.
Let the President or the King do it.
He can do it more efficiently and more
quickly" A benevolent deSpotism is
the most efficient government on earth.
II it would function according to the
principles of benevolence continuously,
it might be a great blessing, but the
trouble about benevolent despotism is
that the benevolence dies, while the
despotism survives.
Committees Are Necessary.
And how does Congress perform its
duties with such a large membership?
It can do so only by dividing its mem
bership into committees, which special
ize on matters with their several juris-
dictions. 1t is physically impossible for
each member to examine exhaustively
each of the thousands of bills. The
jurisdiction of each committee is well
defined and relates to some particular
field of Federal power. Public hearings
are held, to which any citizen or inter-
ested party may be invited for an ex-
preston of his views. The members OF
the committee become specialists in
their particular field.
When a committee. after hearings,
investigation and study, makes a report
to the House or Senate, it advises in
detail as to the proposed legislation and
recommends either its adoption, It's