Evening star., 1939-02-19
Growing Pains Of Democracy
Bring About 3>Point Struggle
Battle Between Roosevelt and Congress Compli.
Gated by Relentless Poundngs
of Father Time.
By John Lear.
Associated Press STAN Writer.

s. STAN Writer.
the Presidents jurisdiction, would be
completely reorganized by a bill intro
duced by Senator Burke, Nebraska
Democrat. who led the successful attack
against the Presidents plan to enlarge
the Supreme Court two years ago. Its
powers would be limited to prosecution
of cases. and hearings would be held in
the regular courts This would be
sweeping curb, for the N. L. R. B. now
has power to make labor regulations, en-
force them and judge them.
This NTH bit of refining in" has served
to demonstrate to Congress that dele
gated power Is easier to give away than
it is to take back The Labor Board
has been thorn in many legislative
sides, but there is little agreement on
how 1t can be removed. A half dozen
members of the House tried to knock it
out of existence by cutting off its ap-
preparation. When that failed, a move
was made to nick out $39 900 of the ap-
preparation as protest against the
boards procedure. 1t was defeated be-
cause 1t would only throw some stenog-
raphers out OF work.
Agencies Become Closely Knit.
Administrative agencies now play such
major role in our everyday life it is
difficult to remove them without tearing
holes in the fabric of government.
There are dozen independent agencies
nkA fhA Tah0r pnord Thoro
others in the form of bureaus and
boards in executive departments. There
are more than 10000 corporations set up
by the Government all over the land.
How can they all be brought under the
control of Congress as the Constitution
provides? In other words, how can the
machinery of Congress be brought up to
date?
One suggestion is to have a standing
joint committee from both Houses of
Congress keep constant eye on what
the administrative agencies are doing.
Another suggestion is to have confer
ences between administrators of the
agencies and existing committees of Con-
gress to discuss all new regulations be-
administrators and the committees could
not agree, the question would be taken
to the floor of Congress.
Another suggestion is to have Congress
name new committees, directly parallel
ing the administrative agencies, to act as
bridges between the Congress and the
executive function. This suggestion is
much the same as the previous one. ex-
cept that the committees would be more
specialized and hence better acquainted
with the problems that would concern
them.
Whichever of these plans is adopted
Government students are convinced one
must be If our Government is to remain
In democratic balance-it is generally
agreed the congressional committees
should operate on long-range rather
than piecemeal program, and should
have permanent research stats to aid
them.
Powerful Restraint Suggested.
Committees are not the only strings
Congress can tie to the Executive to see
that he manages the Government the
way the Congress wishes. A powerful
alternative was proposed in the report of
the Presidents Committee on Govern
ment Reorganization. Generally over
looked in the controversy stirred up by
the committees recommendation for six
assistants to the President and creation
of two new departments Of public works
and public welfare, it provides:
Pre-audit and post-audit of all Gov
ernment spending by an agency re-
sponsible only to Congress
This would make possible the most
potent of all control-control of the
pocketbook-uninterruptedly, If a stand
ing committee on the audit were estab-
lished.
The Reorganization Committee, made
up of non-partisan researchers, con-
tended that its reorganization plan in its
entirety would help Congress control the
growing power Of the Executive.
This plan would put all administrative
agencies under the Presidents thumb.
Then 1t would divide each of them into
two distinct parts-administrative and
judicial. The judicial part would limit
itself to passing on disputes and would
be responsible only to the courts. The
administrative part would make rules,
prosecute them and he directly re-
sponsible to the Presioenr ant through
him to Congress.
Initiation of legislation is another
President Congress battle-ground. The
Constitution says the President should
propose laws from time to time. But
President Roosevelt has run into lot
of criticism because so many of the
New Deal laws were drafted at the
White House and marked must"
Perhaps he, himself, will dissolve the
whole controversy over the powers of
the White House and Congress. He
already has taken one step in that di-
rection. He has let 1t be known he no
longer intends to have bills drafted at
the White House, but will leave that
work to the body for which 1t was origi.
nally intended-the Congress.