The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-12-14
Bruckart's Washington Digest
Bruckarts Washington Digest
Delegation Of Authority to So
Many Agencies Seen Dangerous
Clause in Act Hands Over to Uneected Officials Right
To Say What Congress Meant in Language of
Law; Makes Many Little Dictators.
By WILLIAM BRUCKART
WNU Service, National Press Bldg, Washington d. c.

WNU Service, National Pr
WASHINGTON. - subcommittee
of the house committee on appropri-
atoms have started consideration of
the various bills through which
money is supplied each year for rum
ming the federal government.
Among the first measures was that
appropriating money for the So
called independent offices. These
are the agencies that operate at
loose ends, so to speak, run their
own shows, make rules and regula-
tons which have the full force of
regular laws and otherwise conduct
themselves as they see fit.
The head men of each of these
units of government-and there are
46 listed in the one appropriation
bill-are named by the President of
the United States. They are not
elected by the people. The nearest
approach to direct responsibility to
the citizens is that appointment of
the head men must be confirmed
ton, however, is limited only to the
top executives. Scores of policy
making officials beneath the first
rank are picked without taxpayers
having any sort of say-so.
1t is well to recall just here that
each of these agencies was legally
created by congress. That is, laws
were passed which established the
several boards, bureaus, commits
sions, administrations or whatever
other names they have. Many of
us believe there are too many of
them, that the federal government
is messing around in too many diff
ferent fields. Yet, the fact remains
that these agencies do exist and
consideration of them and their pow
ers seems timely since the appro-
priationS to run them are being ex-
amined now.
The laws by which these agencies
were created are, in general, suf-
ficiently specific to define their
jurisdiction. The thing that causes
trouble for the country, however, is
one little paragraph that was in
cluded in each bill by which the
particular agency was given life.
That paragraph reads, in effect:
authority is hereby given for the
PRONUNCIATION of such rules and reg
ulations as the agency deems neces-
sary for administration of this act.
Makes Many Little Dictators
Instead of One Big One
That is the rub. That one section
of law gives to these arms of the
federal government power that even
the most highly trained lawyer can
not fully calculate. On the surface
it seems safe enough, since the laws
terms are definite, but what the pro-
vision actually does is to hand over
to groups of unelected officials the
right to say what congress meant
in the language written into law.
And, most important of all, when
congress began to delegate such
authority years and years ago, it
began to build up within the federal
government a form of dictatorship.
The condition differs from the die
tatorship of Hitler and Stain only
in the fact that there are dozens of
little dictators instead of one big
dictator. In the one appropriations
bill which / mentioned, there may
be even a thousand little dictators
If one considers all of the head
men, the bureau chiefs, the divi-
sion officials, the hard boiled law
yers who think their job is to per-
secute rather than enforce laws.
I am quite sure that the above
paragraph does not fully set forth
all of the possibilities. The outline
thus given, however, ought to be
sufficient to awaken citizens to the
dangers inherent in continued dele
cation of authority to various
branches of the government. It
calls attention to the sad fact that
nothing at all has been done within
the government to correct probably
the most dangerous trend in official
administration.
Perhaps, I ought to qualify the
statement that nothing at all has
been done within the government.
There was a feeble attempt some
years ago out of which it was hoped
there would be some corrective
program emerge. A committee was
named and, as far as I have been
able to run down the facts, it man.
aged to hold a few meetings. The
story is that the meetings became
so earnest on one or two occasions
that mention was made of the pur-
poses of the committee. But they
were soon forgotten and the COM
mittee gradually succumbed to
creeping paralysis.