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Title: How the United States government works
Author: Harry Hibschman
Release date: April 20, 2026 [eBook #78510]
Language: English
Original publication: Girard: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1929
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78510
Credits: Tim Miller, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WORKS ***
Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
* * * * *
LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1415 Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius
How the United States Government Works
Harry Hibschman
HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS
GIRARD, KANSAS
* * * * *
Copyright, 1929,
Haldeman-Julius Company
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. What the United States Government Is 5
II. Who Makes the Laws 9
III. Who Executes the Laws 11
IV. Who Renders Justice 16
V. What the President Does 18
VI. How Congress Works 25
VII. How the Executive Departments Work 37
VIII. How the Courts Work 42
IX. The Government and the States 44
X. The Government and the Individual 47
XI. The Government and the Business Man 49
XII. The Government and the Farmer 53
XIII. The Government and the Working Man 58
XIV. Summary 61
* * * * *
HOW THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WORKS
CHAPTER I WHAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IS
Government is something from which no man, woman, or child can escape.
It greets us at birth, and it parts company with us not even at death
but only after our estate, if we are fortunate enough to leave any, is
settled. Therefore, while it is not a thrilling subject, how it works
is a vital one.
The word “government” comes to us through the Latin language from a
Greek word borrowed by the Romans and meaning “to steer the ship.”
“Govern,” therefore, does not mean to “command” in the sense that
it applies to a master issuing orders to a slave. It implies rather
guidance and direction.
From one angle, then, government means the directing or managing of
the affairs of a people. From another angle government means the
group of persons set apart to carry on, direct and manage the affairs
of a people. Thus, when we speak of “the Hoover government” we mean
President Hoover, the members of his cabinet, and the Republican
majorities in the Senate and House and the subordinates who help
to carry out their policies; and when we speak of “the Mussolini
government” we mean Signor Mussolini and his “yes” men.
I have several times used the word “people” above in a rather awkward
fashion. This was necessary in order to avoid the use of several
other words referring to things that we assume to exist whenever we
speak of government. One is a state, and the other is sovereignty.
By the former we mean a body of people living within a specified
territory and permanently organized as a political entity. As one of
the chief purposes of the state is to provide civil government within
its territorial limits, the absolute power of exercising governmental
control or of providing for its exercise must be vested somewhere. This
power is called “sovereignty.” Sovereignty has frequently been regarded
as vested in a single ruler by divine right. But in the principal
modern states it is recognized to be in the people as a whole.
The United States is a federal state, being composed of organized
territorial and political units called “states,” each of which
retains control over and is supreme as to its own local affairs, but
is subordinate to the general government, which is supreme as to the
matters delegated to it.
The government of the federal state was provided for in an instrument
called the United States Constitution, which set up the machinery of
federal government and specified the matters over which that government
might exercise authority. But the federal government has only such
powers as have been granted to it by the states and the people, in whom
the final sovereignty rests.
In the modern world there are two main types of government. One
carries the idea of fusion; the other, the idea of separation. The
latter prevails in the United States with its principal of “checks
and balances.” The former is preferred in Europe, where England has
always been the best example. The new governments, including that of
Germany, have followed that model rather than ours. Our insistence
on keeping the different branches of the government separate and not
answerable to one another does not seem most practicable and conducive
to good government in the minds of European political thinkers. They
are inclined to make the cabinet or ministry the actual government
but responsive to the will of the legislative body. Thus in England
the ministers must be members of Parliament; while with us they
cannot even appear on the floor of either House. We keep a strict
line drawn between the legislative branch of the government and the
executive branch. In England or France or Germany the ministry, or
the executive part, cannot function without the approval of the
legislative branch. A vote of lack of confidence means the end of that
particular government--that cabinet or ministry. With us the President
is absolutely independent of Congress except with reference to treaties
and appointments. In France or Germany the President acts only through
his ministers. And as to the judiciary, it is subordinate in the
European countries. With us, the Supreme Court is supreme.
It is no part of my purpose to discuss the respective merits of these
two systems. In fact criticism is not included at all in the plan of
this Little Blue Book. Here we shall be interested only in what is
implied in our title, “How the United States Government Works.” We
shall be concerned merely with descriptions and explanations of how the
government under which we live operates.
CHAPTER II WHO MAKES THE LAWS
The law-making branch of the United States government is Congress,
which consists of two separate Houses, the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
The Senate has two members from each state in the Union. The House of
Representatives has a changing membership, directed by the Constitution
to be fixed as to number and reapportioned among the states, according
to the population as disclosed by the census to be taken every ten
years. The Constitution contains a provision to the effect that each
state must have at least one Representative, and that there shall not
be more than one for every thirty thousand population. Of course, that
minimum was discarded long ago. The ratio in effect at present, as
there has been no recent reapportionment, is 211,877, which gives the
House of Representatives a membership of 435.
Originally the members of the Senate were elected by the different
state legislatures; but the Constitution was amended so as to provide
for the election of Senators by the direct vote of the people of the
different states.
The members of the House of Representatives are elected from
Congressional districts into which all the states are divided, though a
state may elect one or more Congressmen-at-large if it chooses so to do.
The Senate is usually known as the “upper house” and the House as
the “lower house.” The term of a Senator is six years and that of a
Representative, two.
A person must be at least twenty-five years of age to be a
Representative. He must have been a citizen of the United States for at
least seven years and must be at the time of his election a resident of
the state from which he is chosen.
To be qualified for election to the Senate a person must be at least
thirty years of age and have been a citizen of the United States for at
least nine years, and must when elected, be a resident of the state for
which chosen.
Since the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution women as
well as men are competent to serve as Senators and Representatives.
SALARIES
Senators and Representatives receive a salary of $10,000 each. In
addition each of them receives an allowance for a secretary and for
stenographic help. Each of them also is paid mileage at the rate of ten
cents a mile for each official trip from his district to Washington and
return.
CHAPTER III WHO EXECUTES THE LAWS
The chief executive of the United States and the head of the government
is the President.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention for a while favored a
proposal to let Congress choose the President. But, mindful of the
“checks and balance” principle, they worked out a scheme under which
each state was to “appoint” in “such manner as the legislature thereof
may direct” a number of “electors” equal to the state’s combined quota
of Senators and Representatives in Congress. These electors were to
meet in their respective states and cast their votes in writing for two
persons, of whom only one could be an inhabitant of the same state as
the electors. The ballots were then to be sealed and transmitted to the
president of the Senate, where they were to be counted in the presence
of both houses, and the person receiving the most votes was to be
President and the one obtaining the next highest number Vice-President.
In the first two elections this scheme functioned satisfactorily;
but by the third election it was well understood in advance that
the electors would vote either for John Adams or Thomas Jefferson,
although they were not pledged in advance. By 1800, however, two well
defined political parties had arisen; and at the election of that year,
electors were chosen on the understanding that they would vote for
the nominees of their respective parties. And that marked the end of
this carefully worked out scheme, and election of the President as the
choice of a political party was inaugurated. Nevertheless we still go
through the form of voting for electors who elect the President and the
Vice-President.
POLITICAL PARTIES
However, as things have developed, no one can understand how the United
States is really governed without taking into account the part played
by political parties.
The candidates for President and Vice-President of the respective
parties are nominated in national conventions. The delegates to
these conventions are apportioned among the states on the basis of
the representation in Congress, with some exceptions so far as the
Republican party is concerned with reference to the southern states. In
the Democratic Convention each state has twice as many delegates as it
has Senators and Representatives in Congress. The delegates are elected
in some states by state conventions and in others under direct primary
systems by which the delegates chosen are virtually instructed to vote
for the candidate favored by the voters.
One of the main duties of a national political convention is to adopt
a platform, theoretically expressing the party’s position regarding
the crucial issues of the campaign which is to follow. Candidates for
President and Vice-President are then chosen; and when the leading
parties have announced their platforms and nominated their candidates,
the real campaign is on.
This whole procedure has developed independently of the Constitution;
and yet it is quite clear that we have not merely government by certain
men filling certain offices under the Constitution and laws passed
pursuant thereto, but we have, in addition, government by parties. For
the President is not merely President of the United States, but he is
also ex officio the leader of his party.
QUALIFICATIONS
A person to be President or Vice-President must be a natural born
citizen of the United States, at least thirty-five years of age, and
fourteen years a resident within the United States.
SALARY
The President receives a salary of $75,000 a year. In addition there
is an appropriation of several hundred thousand dollars annually for
the upkeep of the White House, for clerks and attendants, traveling
expenses, motor cars, a yacht and other expenditures.
The Vice-President receives a salary of $15,000 a year.
THE CABINET
Strange as it may seem, the Constitution makes no provision for a
cabinet or ministers. The only reference to anything of the sort
is that the President “may require the opinion, in writing, of the
principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices.” The departments
referred to were not named in the Constitution; and they have been
created from time to time by Congress. In the beginning there were
three: The department of state, the department of the treasury, and the
war department. To these were shortly added the department of justice
and the post office department. At present there are, in addition
to these, the navy department, the department of the interior, the
department of agriculture, the department of labor and the department
of commerce. The total number of departments, then, is ten; and their
heads are by custom the members of the President’s cabinet.
The head of each department is appointed by the President with the
consent of the Senate; but this consent is very rarely withheld. A
department head may not sit in either the Senate or the House of
Representatives. This is in marked contrast, as already pointed out,
with the English system.
The cabinet meets regularly twice a week and may be summoned for a
special meeting at any time. The members sit at an oblong table in
order of seniority with the President at the head. The proceedings are
as a rule kept secret, and no formal record of the discussions that
take place is kept.
SALARIES
The members of the cabinet receive annual salaries of $15,000
each. They have under secretaries, assistant secretaries and other
subordinates whose salaries run from $10,000 down. Each department has,
of course, an extensive personnel.
CHAPTER IV WHO RENDERS JUSTICE
The Constitution provides that “the judicial power of the United States
shall be vested in one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the
Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish.”
Under this provision of the Constitution Congress at its first session
enacted a law providing for a Supreme Court, three circuit courts,
and a number of district courts. Six justices were appointed for the
Supreme Court, but there were no separate circuit judges, and the work
of each circuit court was left to two justices of the Supreme Court and
the judge of the district in which the session was held.
One of the saddest manifestations of the imperfections of our
politically controlled government is to be found in the record of the
federal judiciary, in turn neglected, imposed upon, and buffeted by
Congress. This is not the place to tell that story; but the interested
reader is referred to “The Business of the Supreme Court” by Felix
Frankfurter and James M. Landis.
At present the United States Supreme Court has nine members. They meet
in what was formerly the Senate Chamber in the old part of the Capitol
in Washington. The Justices are appointed by the President with the
approval of the Senate and hold office for life. They can only be
removed by impeachment.
The chief justice receives a salary of $15,000 and the others $14,500
each.
The country is divided into ten circuits, and in these circuits there
are circuit judges, varying in number according to the size of the
circuit and the amount of judicial business arising within its borders.
Formerly there were circuit courts; but they have been abolished, and
the circuit judges now sit with district judges to constitute the
United States Circuit Courts of Appeal, of which there is one for each
circuit.
The lowest federal court is the District Court. Of these there are some
eighty; but a district may be cut up into divisions with one or more
judges for each division.
The salaries of the circuit judges are $12,500 each and of the district
judges $10,000 each.
There are also two special courts concerning which a word needs to be
said. One is the Court of Claims, established in 1855, with a chief
justice and four associate judges, whose business it is to hear and
determine the merits of all claims against the federal government. The
other is the Court of Customs Appeals, with the same number of judges
as the Court of Claims. It serves as the final court of appeal in all
controversies regarding the administration of the tariff laws.
All the judges of inferior federal courts, like those of the Supreme
Court, are appointed for life or during good behavior. Their salaries
may not be diminished during their tenure of office.
CHAPTER V WHAT THE PRESIDENT DOES
It is the first duty of the President, as the head of the national
administration, to see that the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the
United States as well as the decisions rendered by the federal courts
are duly enforced. In the discharge of this duty he directs the heads
of the various departments and preserves a measure of integration.
The President exercises close control over the Department of State; and
he keeps in constant touch with the activities of all the departments.
APPOINTIVE POWER
It has already been noted that the President appoints the federal
judges; but their number is insignificant with the total number of
federal appointments made by the President in connection with his
administrative duties. The most important of the appointments to civil
positions are made by the President with the approval of the Senate;
but there are also a vast number of inferior positions established
by law that are filled by the President alone or by the heads of
departments. Of the inferior appointees a large proportion come under
the terms of the civil service act, so that they are chosen from
eligible lists made up after examinations.
Party considerations naturally play a large part in the making
of these many federal appointments; and it is a settled custom to
recognize the members of Congress, when they are of the same party as
the President, in making appointments to offices in their respective
states and districts.
To what extent the President has the power of removal has been a much
controverted question. The Senate has contended from time to time that
where an appointment could be made only with its consent a removal
likewise required its consent. But strange to say the question was
not settled until a few years ago when the Supreme Court finally held
that the President could remove such an officer without consulting
the Senate. This, of course, does not apply to the federal judges,
who, under the Constitution, can only be removed as already stated, by
impeachment.
Obviously the responsibility for the filling of the thousands of
appointive positions at the disposal of the President, while giving him
a powerful political instrument, means that a large share of his time
must be devoted to questions of patronage. Particularly just before and
immediately after his inauguration does a President deserve sympathy in
this connection. He cannot, unfortunately, escape the rush of office
seekers even on some battleship for more than a few weeks.
WAR POWERS
The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. As has
been demonstrated, in time of war the President exercises almost
unlimited authority, not merely in the direction of the country’s armed
forces, but over the economic resources and the man power of the nation.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The President is primarily responsible for our foreign policy and its
results, though any treaties he negotiates must be confirmed by the
Senate to become effective.
Congress creates diplomatic and consular positions by law and provides
the salaries attached to them. But the President names those who are to
fill the positions, subject to the confirmation of the Senate.
In connection with our foreign relations, the President receives
the ambassadors and public ministers of foreign countries; and he
may dismiss them, although to do so may embroil the country in
international difficulties.
Not all agreements with other countries have the status of treaties;
but there are conventions and executive agreements that do not require
the approval of the Senate, as for instance, an arrangement with
foreign countries regarding the mails.
It is evident that there is a chance for the abuse of the power
referred to; and Presidents have frequently been accused of doing, by
executive agreement, things to which the Senate might not have given
its approval.
THE PARDONING POWER
The President has the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses
against the United States. This power is unlimited. A fine may be
remitted, a death sentence commuted or an offender freed altogether.
Applications for executive clemency come through the department of
justice, where there is a pardon clerk through whose hands the papers
pass.
THE PRESIDENT AND LEGISLATION
The Constitution requires that the President, from time to time, give
Congress information on the state of the Union and that he recommend
such legislative measures as he may deem necessary and expedient. The
Presidential message may be delivered orally in the presence of both
Houses or be sent to them in written form. The latter procedure was
followed for more than a hundred years until President Wilson returned
to the custom inaugurated by Washington and read his messages to the
two Houses in joint session.
The President’s message may have great political significance and
frequently suggests specific laws that the President considers
should be enacted. By means of his message and such pressure and
public opinion as he can bring to bear and muster in behalf of his
recommendations the President may materially affect legislation by
Congress, particularly when his party is in control.
The President’s positive influence on legislation is therefore
variable. But he has a distinct power under the Constitution of a
negative nature. For he may veto any act of Congress that does not meet
with his approval. Every bill or joint resolution after it has been
passed by Congress must be presented to him and becomes a law only if
he signs it or fails to return it within ten days, Sunday excepted. If
he disapproves it he must return it to the House in which it originated
with a statement of his objections, which constitutes a veto. If both
Houses again adopt it by a two-thirds vote it becomes a law in spite of
the executive disapproval. Otherwise the veto has the effect of killing
the measure. When Congress adjourns the President may quietly dispose
of any bills that he does not wish to approve by simply doing nothing.
This is known as a “pocket veto.” Its legal effect has always been
disputed but never tested, up to the present. Now, however, there is a
case before the United States Supreme Court involving this question.
GENERAL ACTIVITIES
It is unnecessary to remark that the President cannot personally attend
to the many things that the Constitution gives him power to do. He
must leave many of the details to subordinates. He cannot even read
the thousands of letters that come to the White House each week. His
secretaries select those which they think he should see and bring them
to his attention.
He spends many of his most important working hours in just seeing
people. He has to consult the leaders of his party in Congress
about legislation; and he is constantly conferring with them about
appointments.
His time is taken up with his duties as party leader and his duties as
national leader.
By a special act of Congress the President cannot go anywhere without
the protection of a bodyguard. On formal occasions he is accompanied
by army and navy officers as aides. He is accompanied at all times by
secret service agents.
Custom also decrees a great deal of entertaining by the President.
Formal receptions, dinners and dances are a matter of established
practice.
Being the head of the nation he is looked upon as belonging to the
nation; and every act of his is of public interest. Therefore he is
constantly subjected to the demands of reporters and photographers. It
has even become customary for him to set aside several hours a week
regularly in which to receive the newspaper correspondents in a body.
In his book “Constitutional Government in the United States,” published
in 1918, Woodrow Wilson said of the President: “He may be both the
leader of his party and the leader of the nation, or he may be one or
the other. If he leads the nation, his party can hardly resist him. His
office is anything he has the sagacity and force to make it.”
Whether the President plays the leading part in the drama of government
or remains subordinate, the servant of Congress rather than the servant
of the people, depends upon who is President.
CHAPTER VI HOW CONGRESS WORKS
We have already referred to the membership of Congress and incidentally
mentioned the fact that the Senate must give its approval to treaties
and to certain appointments made by the President. The time has come to
describe more fully the powers of Congress.
POWERS
The Constitution, in about three hundred and fifty words sets out all
the specific powers of Congress; and by the 9th and 10th Amendments
it was made clear that the federal government had only such powers
as were specifically delegated to it by the Constitution, all others
being reserved to the states or to the people. It is therefore rather
marvelous that authority has been found for the vast legislative power
now exercised by these two Houses. The magic lies in Section 8 of
Article I of the Constitution, the last paragraph of which reads:
18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by
this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any
department or officer thereof.
This “implied powers clause,” as it is generally called, has been
liberally construed by the Supreme court; and by virtue of it the
powers of Congress extend over subjects and into fields undreamed of by
the framers of the Constitution.
ORGANIZATION
The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the United
States. In the House, the presiding officer is the Speaker.
As much of the work in both bodies is necessarily done by committees,
their place in the scheme of things is of great importance; and the
manner in which assignments to them are made is a vital matter to the
public as well as to the members of Congress.
An important fact that needs to be grasped at this point is that
the way in which Congress goes about its work is determined to a
considerable degree by the fact that there are two main political
parties, one in control and the other in opposition.
Each party in the Senate and the House has its own caucus from time to
time at which the party program is determined. It is in such a caucus
held before the opening of each Congress that the majority in the
House chooses the Speaker and the minority puts forward a candidate
for the same office, whom it thus formally names as its leader. At the
same caucus provision is made regarding the selection of the standing
committees. The majority also decides in the caucus whether it will
adopt the rules of the preceding Congress or modify them.
The caucus only partly serves the purpose of concentrating power; and
necessarily there must be in practice a leadership vested somewhere in
a smaller number than the whole party membership. Until about twenty
years ago the leadership in the House was in the Speaker; but, at
length, after the matter had even been made a campaign issue in some
instances, it was provided that the rules committee should be enlarged
and elected and the Speaker ousted from membership on it. Later the
Speaker was shorn of all his power over the appointment of committees
and their selection was left to the party caucus.
The Speaker, however, still has enormous powers. He may refuse to put
motions that he thinks are intended merely for purposes of delay; he
may recognize or refuse to recognize any one who wishes to speak or to
call up a measure for consideration; he may rule members out of order
and must decide questions of parliamentary law--subject, of course, to
appeals from the decision of the chair.
In the House the rules committee plays a dominant part. It may bring in
resolutions stating what measures shall be considered, how long they
shall be debated, and when the vote shall be taken.
Contrary to popular opinion, a Congressman cannot get up and make a
speech whenever the spirit moves him. No member can speak without being
accorded the privilege by the Speaker; and in practice members are
recognized only if they have arranged with the Speaker or with their
floor leader in advance for time. Nor can a member bring a pet measure
before the House whenever he wishes. In the latter case he must have
the approval of the rules committee as in the former he must have the
recognition of the Speaker.
An important element in the leadership as well as in the operation
of the House of Representatives embraces the chairmen of the most
important of the committees. Among these the leading one is the
chairman of the ways and means committee. Next to him, probably, stands
the chairman of the appropriations committee.
Memberships on the different committees are assigned through the
party caucus; but there is no such thing as an open selection. Each
party chooses a committee on committees, and the two bodies work in
collaboration. It is the custom to give all the chairmanships to the
majority members who have served longest in the House; and on each
committee the chairman is that majority member who has served longest
on that committee. The majority party and the minority are both given
memberships on each committee according to a proportion established.
And each party sees to it that members who have been in service the
longest get the most important committee assignments. So it will be
seen that the Speaker and a small group of experienced members largely
dominate the proceedings of the committees and of the House.
In the Senate leadership is more likely to be found in a few men
of long service and outstanding character, added to the prestige of
important committee appointments. The caucus exists as in the House.
So do floor leaders and steering committees. But the individual
Senator has more weight in the party councils and more independence of
action on the floor than the members of the House. Two of the leading
committees in the Senate are those of finance and foreign relations,
respectively.
A word or two more needs to be said about the work of committees in
Congress. Their number varies from time to time but at present there
are about thirty in the Senate and about twice that number in the
House. Their functions can be gathered from their names. In addition
to those already mentioned, the following in the Senate are important:
Appropriations, banking, commerce, education and labor, immigration,
interstate commerce, the judiciary, military affairs, naval affairs,
privileges and elections, and civil service. In the House the following
may be noted: Banking and currency, interstate and foreign commerce,
agriculture, labor, immigration and naturalization, elections, and
pensions.
Each committee has a well furnished office and perquisites not to be
despised, such as clerk hire and stationery.
As we come shortly to a more specific consideration of the process by
which laws are made, it is important to bear in mind that only bills
favorably reported from committees have much chance of being acted
upon, and that much of the real legislative work is actually done in
committee rooms behind closed doors.
Every bill, no matter what its nature, when it is first introduced is
referred to the committee having jurisdiction over the subject matter
to which it relates. Thousands of bills thus sent to committees are not
considered at all.
However, a committee need not limit its work to the consideration
of proposed measures submitted to it for consideration. It may, and
frequently does, prepare bills of its own relating to the matters
placed under its authority. In many instances committees hold extensive
hearings on proposed measures, summoning department heads and other
witnesses.
The committee’s action with reference to any particular measure may be
to amend it, to recommend its adoption, to report adversely on it, to
delay a report indefinitely, or to ignore it altogether.
In the House, a bill may be brought out of a committee, in spite of
the inaction of the committee, and laid before the House whenever one
hundred and fifty members sign a petition demanding such action.
The more important committees have so much work now that they are
compelled to apportion a great deal of it among sub-committees. They
report, of course, to the main committee.
Special committees are also appointed from time to time to deal with
questions out of the ordinary. Investigating committees, in particular,
have been rather common of late.
Another kind of committee, the existence of which the reader must
understand, is the conference committee. It is called into being
whenever the House and the Senate fail to agree upon a given measure.
Each then appoints a delegation to work out a compromise.
Another institution that needs to be mentioned is the committee of
the whole. This is merely the entire membership of the House sitting
as a great committee, with this difference as compared with a regular
session--the Speaker does not preside, the strict rules of procedure
do not apply, one hundred members make a quorum and there are no roll
calls. In short it is an arrangement enabling the House to deliberate
informally, and large use is made of this procedure.
When the House is in session, a member desiring to be heard rises in
his place and addresses the presiding officer as “Mr. Speaker.” The
Speaker, if he decides to recognize the member, asks: “For what purpose
does the gentleman rise?” Congressmen are not addressed by name on the
floor of the House. The custom is to say, “The gentleman from New York”
or “The gentleman from Missouri.”
The Speaker loses none of his rights or privileges, as a member, when
he becomes Speaker. He has a vote, like any other member; and he may
take the floor if he desires to do so.
THE PROCESS OF LAW-MAKING
The procedure by which a bill or draft of a proposed law is introduced
is simple. The Congressman merely writes his name on it and drops it
into a box at the clerk’s desk. During the opening days of a session
thousands of bills are thus introduced. All of the bills are sorted
out, given serial numbers, and referred to the regular committees. If
there is any doubt to which committee a certain bill should go, the
Speaker decides. The bill is put into printed form meanwhile at public
expense.
The possible action of the committee to which the bill is referred
has already been described. If we assume that after a hearing and
due consideration, the committee reports favorably on a bill, what
happens next is that the bill is placed on the calendar. There are in
fact three calendars containing favorably reported measures of three
different categories; and matters on a calendar are not necessarily
taken up in their order, for a bill may be advanced by a proper vote.
Every bill must have three readings in the House. The first is by title
only; the second is a reading of the whole measure; and the third is by
title only unless some member requests that it be read in full.
There are four methods of voting in the House. The common plan is by
_viva voce_ vote. If any member doubts the result he may call for a
rising vote. Or the vote may be taken by tellers, appointed by the
Speaker. And finally, under the Constitution, if one-fifth of the
members ask for it, the ayes and nays shall be recorded.
After a measure has gone through this whole process of introduction,
action by a committee, report from the committee, readings and votes,
it goes to the Senate; and there a similar course of procedure is
followed.
A measure having passed the House is certified by the clerk and sent
to the Senate chamber. Then the Senate may pass it without change, may
defeat it, or may let it die in committee. Or instead of doing any of
these things, the Senate may make amendments, in which case the bill
must go back to the House for a vote on the amendments. If they are
accepted, the matter is settled; but if there is a disagreement, the
usual plan, as already mentioned, is to have a conference committee
appointed to straighten out the differences between the two Houses. If
no agreement is reached, of course, the measure fails. For nothing can
become a law unless both Houses have concurred in every word of it.
We have been speaking of a bill introduced in the House. But, of
course, a bill may originate in the Senate, although the Constitution
contains the specific provision that “All bills for raising revenue
shall originate in the House of Representatives.”
When a bill has passed its various stages in both the House and Senate,
it is signed by the presiding officers of the two chambers and then
transmitted to the President for his approval or veto. If the President
signs it or permits it to become a law without his signature, it goes
to the state department and in due course is published in a book
containing the federal statutes, and finds a place in the United
States Code.
Little has been said above regarding the oratory which many people
imagine plays a large part in Congressional action. As a matter of
fact its importance is greatly exaggerated; and most of it is far more
closely related to politics than it is to legislation.
When a bill is reached on one of the House calendars or is called
up out of turn, the chairman of the committee which has reported it
usually opens the debate, though some other member of the committee may
be given that task. If the report has not been unanimous, some member
of the committee representing the minority point of view then follows
with a speech in opposition. Other members of the House are recognized
after the members of the committee have been heard. No member may
address the House for more than one hour without unanimous consent; and
if there is any likelihood of a long debate, the House usually, at the
beginning of the discussion, fixes a time at which the vote will be
taken. The previous question may also be moved at any time as a means
of bringing a debate to a close.
When the House is in committee of the whole, speeches are limited to
five minutes each.
In the Senate debate is not limited as it is in the House; and
ordinarily a Senator may speak as long as he wishes whether he has
anything to say or not. Since 1917, however, it has been possible
for the Senate, by a two-thirds vote, to bring any debate to an end
within a reasonable time. Still there is no other legislative body in
the world that gives its members the same unrestricted chance to talk
that the Senate of the United States does. It is a matter of common
knowledge that the privilege is frequently abused, especially towards
the close of a session, when, by what is known as a “filibuster,” a
measure may be talked to death.
Perhaps it should be added that the mere fact that a Congressman’s
speech appears in the Congressional Record is no sign that it has
actually been delivered, for a member may obtain “leave to print.” It
is not the practice of the Senate to grant “leave to print”; but in the
House it is a very common practice.
The Senate, of course, in addition to its legislative functions, as
already mentioned, participates in the making of treaties and in the
appointment of federal judges and other officials.
The negotiations for a treaty with a foreign country are conducted
by the department of state. After the formal document has been
prepared and signed by the diplomatic representatives of the countries
concerned, it is presented to the Senate. Here it is referred to the
committee on foreign relations, which may hold hearings on it if such a
course seems desirable. The committee recommends either that the treaty
be approved or that it be rejected; and the matter is then before
the Senate for action. If the Senate gives its approval, the treaty
goes into effect. If the Senate refuses its approval, the efforts of
the state department and all the proceedings between the countries
involved, with reference to the matter, come to naught.
So far as the appointive power is concerned when the President has
occasion to fill any office he sends a nomination to the Senate.
There it is referred to the appropriate committee. If the nomination
be that of a federal judge, for instance, it goes to the judiciary
committee. The committees to whom the nominations are referred, make
investigations as to the qualifications of the persons nominated
and hear objections. In due time they make reports favorable or
unfavorable, which are followed by the action of the whole Senate,
either affirming or rejecting the President’s nominees.
While the sketch here given of the way in which Congress works, is
necessarily brief, it should suffice to give a fair conception of how
the two Houses function both separately and as the Congress of the
United States.
CHAPTER VII HOW THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS WORK
We had occasion in a preceding chapter to name the different executive
departments. We shall now glance briefly at the different functions
they separately perform. Each of them, of course, is divided into
numerous bureaus and divisions with duties so varied and extensive that
the mere description of the work of one corner would fill pages of a
book like this. Their machinery is exceedingly complex; and most of
them are continually expanding. We cannot do more than give the barest
outline of their functions.
The Department of State has charge of the relations of this country
with other countries. It negotiates treaties, sends and receives
diplomatic correspondence, issues passports, and gives instructions
to our ambassadors and ministers abroad. It also has charge of the
consular service with representatives scattered all over the world.
The Secretary of State is also the custodian of the national archives
and the keeper of the great seal of the United States.
The Department of the Treasury is the financial agency of the
government. It collects the public revenues and is the custodian of
the public funds. It supervises the work of the customs officers
and of the collectors of internal revenue. It issues regulations
relating to the revenue and customs service and decides appeals from
the rulings of subordinate officers. It audits the accounts of all
departments, supervises and regulates the national banks, has charge
of the coinage of money, and at present has the responsibility for the
enforcement of the National Prohibition Law. This department also has
the duty of preparing an annual budget; but it has no actual authority
in determining expenditures or financial measures. These matters
remain in the hands of Congress; but the Secretary of the Treasury and
his assistants may and do advise Congress regarding them. Congress,
however, may give scant heed to the Secretary’s advice.
The War Department is chiefly concerned with military affairs. It
has charge of the military forces and defenses of the nation. Even
in time of peace its tasks are of great magnitude and importance.
But, in addition to his military authority, the Secretary of War
has considerable civil authority. He has supervision of certain
public works undertaken by the National Government, such as the
dredging of harbors and the improvement of waterways. His department
has jurisdiction over all navigable waters, and no obstruction to
navigation, such as a bridge, may be erected without its consent.
The War Department also supervises the administration of our insular
possessions, like Porto Rico and the Philippines.
The Navy Department has all the duties implied in its name. The
construction and distribution of naval vessels, the maintenance of navy
yards, and the general administration of the country’s armed forces on
the water, all come under the jurisdiction of this department.
The Department of Justice has charge of the nation’s legal affairs. It
gives legal advice to the federal authorities and it conducts all the
litigation in which the United States is concerned. All the district
attorneys in the different judicial districts of the country are
subordinate to the Attorney General, and so are all the United States
commissioners and marshals. The Attorney General is, in short, the
chief law officer of the federal government.
The Post Office Department, under the Postmaster General, has the
largest number of employees, and is one of the largest single business
enterprises in the world. In addition to transporting the mails, the
department operates a vast financial system in the handling of money
orders and the operation of postal savings banks.
The Department of the Interior has been facetiously called “the
department of things in general,” because its functions are so varied.
Anything that did not seem to fit anywhere else appears from time
to time to have been turned over to this department. It has charge
of patents, of pensions, of Indian affairs, of public lands, of the
geological survey, of the reclamation service and of the educational
work of the National Government, to mention just a few of its unrelated
fields of activity.
The Department of Agriculture, as its name indicates, has a varied
number of duties, but they all relate to the subject of agriculture.
It maintains experimental stations and institutions for the study
of soils, plants and live stock. It establishes cattle quarantines
and has charge of the inspection of meats and other food products.
It makes scientific studies of such subjects as road construction,
irrigation, and drainage, and issues bulletins for the information of
the public. It controls the weather bureau, compiles crop reports, and
fights noxious insects. In fact, it is superlatively a department of
constructive service.
The Department of Commerce exists for the primary purpose of developing
foreign and domestic trade. It has developed into an instrument of
vital value and importance to American business. Among some of the
specific functions of this department are the licensing and inspection
of steamboats, the regulation of fisheries, the lighthouse service,
the making of coast and geodetic surveys, the taking of the census,
the maintenance of the bureau of standards, and the publication of
commercial statistics.
The Department of Labor has as its main duty the advancement of the
welfare of labor; and in that connection one of its functions is the
adjustment of the relations of capital and labor. It has charge,
also, of the immigration service and of the administration of the
naturalization laws. The department includes a women’s bureau, a
bureau of conciliation, a bureau of labor statistics, and a bureau of
industrial housing.
These are the ten regular departments. But in addition there are a
number of other federal agencies, usually called boards or commissions,
that deal with various matters outside the scope of the work of the
regular departments. A few of them are the Civil Service Commission,
the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Veterans’ Bureau.
A moment’s consideration of the varied interests and duties of any one
of the departments described will be sufficient to convince one that
the head of the department and the heads of the different bureaus and
divisions have their time fully occupied, particularly as committees
of Congress and individual members are constantly making demands for
information and data and requesting favors or making suggestions. The
worst trouble with the whole complicated system is that it has grown
up in haphazard fashion and has never been properly classified or
integrated.
CHAPTER VIII HOW THE COURTS WORK
The federal district court is the court in which practically all
federal cases are brought and tried. The Supreme Court has original
jurisdiction in certain cases mentioned in the Constitution; for
instance, such as involve ambassadors or consuls; but the district
courts are the courts of original jurisdiction in most cases. And it is
in these courts that most trials, both civil and criminal, take place.
The circuit courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction to review,
by appeal or writ of error, final decisions of the district courts. No
cases are begun there.
Certain cases may be taken to the Supreme Court from the circuit courts
of appeals and from the state courts of highest appellate jurisdiction,
when a federal question is raised or “where is drawn in question
the validity of a statute of any state, on the ground of its being
repugnant to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States,
and the decision is against its validity”; and there are others that
may reach the Supreme Court on the action of the circuit courts of
appeals or on the action of the Supreme Court itself.
The jurisdiction of the district courts extends, to put it briefly,
over controversies between citizens of different states, if the amount
involved is three thousand dollars or over; over cases arising under
the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States; over cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; and over cases to which the United
States is a party, including criminal prosecutions.
The procedure followed in the district courts is similar to the
procedure followed in the state courts where the respective districts
are located. Thus, in a state like California with a code practice
the pleadings in the federal courts follow the code, while in a state
like Pennsylvania where the state courts use common law pleadings, the
federal courts do likewise.
Trials in the district courts, whether before the judge, as in equity
cases, or before the judge and a jury, are conducted very much like
those in the state courts, except that there is somewhat more formality
and decorum in the federal courts in many parts of the country.
Appeals in the circuit courts of appeals and in the Supreme Court are
heard on printed records and briefs and oral arguments of counsel.
The law administered in the federal courts is both statutory law and
common law. The former consists mostly of the acts of Congress. The
latter is the common law of the states as it applies to causes properly
before the federal courts, for there is no federal common law. The
federal courts apply the rules of the common law as they exist in the
states where the controversies before the courts originate.
CHAPTER IX THE GOVERNMENT AND THE STATES
Under the American scheme of government it was intended that the states
should surrender certain powers to the national government; but all
powers not specifically granted were retained by the states.
The dividing line between the powers and functions properly exercised
by the federal government and those belonging to the state governments
has become very tenuous; and at present the federal government is
certainly doing many things that, strictly speaking, belong to the
states. The tendency towards centralization and towards the extension
of the federal powers has greatly increased since the opening of the
present century.
There was a beginning in this direction during the Civil War when
certain public lands were set aside for the benefit of the states to be
devoted to the maintenance of agricultural colleges. At first Congress
made the gift unconditionally; but later conditions as to management
and administration were imposed, and the Bureau of Education was given
the duty of seeing that the law was observed.
In 1887 Congress made a lump sum appropriation to each state for an
agricultural experiment station. In 1907 it increased the appropriation
and laid down additional rules regarding the expenditure of the money.
Eight years later it established in the Department of Agriculture
a division having supervision over the agricultural colleges and
experiment stations. Now the relationship between the state and the
federal authorities has reached a point where federal control of these
state institutions is practically absolute.
Other federal acts under which the national authority has been extended
into the affairs of the states, usually through the power of money, are
the following:
(1) The Smith-Lever Act of 1914, under which appropriations were made
for extension work in agriculture to be undertaken jointly by the
federal Department of Agriculture and the agricultural colleges of the
states.
(2) The Smith-Hughes Vocational Educational Act of 1917, which
appropriated federal funds to aid the states in teaching trades,
industrial subjects, and home economics.
(3) The Industrial Rehabilitation Act of 1920, which provides for
federal aid in restoring to civil employment persons injured in
industry. The work must be done in co-operation with the states that
accept the terms of the Act.
(4) The Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921, by which federal money was
appropriated to the states for the purpose of promoting the welfare of
mothers and infants at the time of child-birth.
These are a few of the ways in which the federal government operates
in conjunction with the states. According to present indications the
powers of the federal government are more likely to be extended further
in this direction than they are to be curtailed.
Of course, there are certain duties and powers that are definitely
either federal or state. All the states, for instance, are entitled to
the protection of certain guaranties and rights at the hands of the
federal government. And conversely there are certain constitutional
obligations on the states.
Among the things guaranteed to the states are, first, a republican form
of government; and second, protection against invasion.
Among the obligations of the states are, first, that each shall give
full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial
proceedings of the others; and, second, that each shall permit
extradition of criminals.
Each state must also provide the machinery for the election of
Senators and Representatives, and must, in other ways, co-operate with
the national government. In fact, our scheme of government requires
continual co-operation between the states and the nation.
CHAPTER X THE GOVERNMENT AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Under the philosophy of government held by the founders of this nation,
the individual was looked upon as the possessor of certain supreme
rights and competent to participate in the determination of his
political destiny. Pursuant to this conception the Constitution and the
bill of rights, added soon after its adoption, definitely named certain
rights which it is one of the highest duties of the federal government
to protect. Among these are the right to be immune from punishment
by any bill of attainder or ex post facto law, religious liberty,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, security
of person and home against unreasonable search and seizure, security
against being twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense, the right
to a speedy and public trial by jury and the right to due process of
law in general.
The right to be protected in life, liberty and property and to have the
equal protection of the laws extends, of course, to every part of the
Union, although some of the rights enumerated above will be protected
by the federal government only against federal encroachment.
The individual has a right to pass freely from state to state, to
acquire a residence wherever he pleases, to own property and to carry
on any legitimate business.
Of course, the individual also has his obligations to the government.
He may be called upon, for instance, to serve on a jury or to bear arms
for his country’s defense.
CHAPTER XI THE GOVERNMENT AND THE BUSINESS MAN
The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce between
the several states and with foreign countries. Formerly the prevalent
view was that the government should interfere with business under this
grant of power as little as possible. But during the last forty years
or so the federal government has extended its power over business by
many regulatory laws and has set up federal agencies to execute and
enforce this legislation.
At the same time the Supreme Court, through numerous decisions, has
recognized, as within the Constitution, this interference of the
government with business.
This is not the place to discuss the legal developments; but we may
appropriately look at some of the constructive measures adopted for
the benefit of American business and note how some of the executive
departments and bureaus already described, serve the business man.
The Department of Commerce, as its very name indicates, exists for the
specific purpose of developing American industry. So to a large degree
does the Consular service.
Through these sources an American business man can obtain information
regarding trade opportunities in any part of the world. The
information is gathered by the consuls, by special agents and by
commercial attaches. Information of this sort is available for those
requesting it and is published from time to time in bulletins and
reports. These can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.
The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, in the Department of
Commerce, also has a division that pays special attention to foreign
patent and trade-mark legislation. Perhaps only those who have engaged
extensively in foreign commerce realize the importance of this service.
But it has often happened to an American business man that after he had
made a certain trade-mark internationally known he found it impossible
to use it in certain foreign countries because some one else had
registered it before he thought of entering that particular market.
Through the consuls and other representatives, the bureau mentioned
also acts as mediator in disputes arising between American exporters
and their customers in foreign countries.
The consular service, of course, comes under the jurisdiction of the
State Department. It is charged with the duty of assisting American
citizens in foreign commercial transactions.
The Tariff Commission created by an Act of Congress passed in 1916, is
an investigating body whose duty it is to gather information and make
recommendations regarding all questions of tariff. While its work is
not at all spectacular, it is of great importance to American industry.
Its work may affect the American business man, on the one hand, through
any recommendations it may make for change in tariff rates on goods
brought into this country; and, on the other hand, it may be of value
to the American business man in giving him information concerning the
duties levied in countries with which he proposes to do business.
The government, through the various bureaus, renders extensive service
to specific industries, such as mining, fishing, and lumbering. We do
not have space to go into detail regarding them; but any business man
interested can readily obtain information by writing to the proper
department or bureau.
There are three bodies more that need to be named specifically because
of their relation to American business.
The first is the Federal Trade Commission, which has the following
work to do: (1) To investigate, at the direction of Congress or the
President, abuses in commerce and in the relation of industry to the
public; (2) To investigate on its own initiative interstate business
and to recommend legislation to Congress to correct any abuses found;
(3) To receive complaints from any manufacturer, wholesaler or
retailer and to take steps, through its legal department, to correct
any unfair business methods it may find to exist; (4) To collect and
compile data from corporations engaged in interstate commerce; (5) To
investigate trade conditions in foreign countries; (6) To prevent
price discrimination and rebates; and, (7) To see in general that trade
and corporation laws are observed.
The second of these bodies is the Federal Reserve Board, which has
general supervision over the whole banking system in the United States.
The third is the Interstate Commerce Commission, some of whose
principal duties are as follows: (1) The regulation of railroad rates
and of the rates of other common carriers; (2) To receive complaints
against carriers, to investigate them and to take appropriate
proceedings, such, for instance, as ordering a refund or a reduction of
rates; (3) To prescribe uniform accounting systems for common carriers;
(4) To receive and file reports of common carriers; (5) To maintain a
department of statistics, making material data available to the public;
(6) To ascertain the value of properties owned by common carriers; (7)
To investigate railway accidents; (8) To enforce the laws regarding
safety appliances and hours of labor; and, (9) To regulate the movement
and distribution of cars, so as to prevent car shortages.
CHAPTER XII THE GOVERNMENT AND THE FARMER
In spite of the fact that “farm relief” has been a slogan and political
football for the last few years, the fact remains that the government
is already extending a tremendous lot of help to the farmer.
A slight idea of the activities of the Department of Agriculture may
be gained by a glance at some of its principal divisions and bureaus.
We find, for instance, an administration of packers and stockyards,
the weather bureau, the bureau of animal industry, the bureau of plant
industry, the bureau of chemistry, the bureau of soils, the bureau of
entomology, the bureau of agricultural economics, and the insecticide
and fungicide board.
This department, therefore, renders innumerable kinds of service to
those engaged in agriculture. The service begins before ever a seed is
planted and continues until the product is marketed.
Take, for instance, the Bureau of Plant Industry. It ascertains what
kind of crops may be produced in a particular section of the country,
it searches the world for useful grains, fruits, vegetables, grasses
and legumes, it secures new varieties and it tests seeds on demand.
The value to the agriculturists and to the country in general of the
work done in introducing new crop plants and fruit cannot be estimated.
Rice, adapted to conditions in southern Louisiana, was found only after
extensive explorations in Japan, China and India. Wheat, adapted to our
semi-arid regions, was brought from Russia. And the seedless grapes of
Italy and Greece gave to California its raisin industry.
The Bureau continues to bring in new seeds and plants each year.
The Bureau also tests seeds and reports on the results of the tests.
This work and the educational work done through schools and experiment
stations, has been of tremendous value.
Soil information, of a general nature or of a specific nature, is
available for any one who calls on the Bureau of Soils for help. So is
information regarding fertilizers.
The Bureau of Crop Estimates sends out monthly reports regarding
acreage, conditions, yields, qualities, prices, etc. There are also
weekly reports covering truck crops. And, finally there is a Year Book.
The need of organized action to control insect pests must be apparent
to any one who has actually seen the destruction wrought by some
species like the Japanese beetle or the boll weevil. The Bureau of
Entomology has as its task the controlling of insects destructive to
agriculture and harmful to man or beast.
Extensive experiments are conducted in fields, gardens and orchards;
and laboratory tests are made and checked with the field work.
The Bureau will furnish at any time the latest scientific information
regarding any phase of this subject; and it cooperates with state
bureaus and with the public health service in the fight against insects
destructive to crops and injurious to health.
The Bureau of Animal Industry has as its duty the fostering of the
live stock industry of the country. Its work includes the making
of investigations, experiments dealing with the broad problems of
the industry, and education. It also carries on extensive work
regarding animal diseases and cooperates with state authorities in the
enforcement of federal and state quarantine laws.
The Bureau has a division devoted entirely to dairying. It has a
research laboratory where investigations are made regarding milk,
cheese, ice cream, etc. It has a department engaged in field research
work and another engaged in extension work in cooperation with the
state agricultural colleges.
The Department of Agriculture, deeming it important that the business
efficiency of the farmer should be brought up to the highest possible
standards, maintains a division called the Office of Farm Management,
which gathers information directly from farms in practical operation
and puts it in shape for the use of the individual farmer in any part
of the country.
The Bureau of Markets is concerned with every phase of marketing
and makes investigations and demonstrations, furnishes reports and
assists to enforce such laws as The Grain Standards Act and The
Standard Container Act. Cooperative marketing has received special
study and is encouraged and helped by this Bureau wherever possible.
Standardization, of such tremendous importance to the industry, is
enforced with reference to grades, packages and containers so far as
the law permits; and when there is no law, the Bureau nevertheless
recommends standards and encourages their adoption.
This Bureau also makes daily reports regarding perishable fruits and
vegetables, and other reports regarding other subjects.
The government also extends financial help to the agricultural industry
through The Federal Land Banks, twelve in number, established since
1916.
In the matter of public health the government is doing important work
with regard to diseases prevalent in rural districts, such as malaria
and pellagra.
To sum it all up, the government makes available to the farmer
information and help regarding nearly every phase of the industry in
which he is engaged, and, not satisfied with that, assists him and
his family so far as their health, education and general welfare are
concerned. The farmer is coming more and more to make use of these
facilities; and it may be that a still more extensive use of them will
prove the salvation of the agricultural industry.
CHAPTER XIII THE GOVERNMENT AND THE WORKING MAN
The Department of Labor was organized for the benefit of all the
workers of the United States, whether union or non-union. And it
attempts to function in such a way as to be of general help and value.
One of its important functions is performed by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the duty of which, as its name indicates, is to gather and
publish information concerning labor, especially information regarding
hours and earnings of laboring men and women, the relations of capital
and labor, and the material and social welfare of labor.
The Bureau publishes a monthly review and various bulletins. These
contain, in addition to news of interest to labor, statistics on
immigration, unemployment, cost of living, etc.
The Department also maintains an Employment Service, which deals with
the labor requirements of the country in agriculture, in the factories,
in the mines and in the workshops.
This Service functions through headquarters and sub-branches
established in different parts of the country.
Considering the cruel wrongs and impositions of many of the old-time
labor agencies, it can be seen that a government agency of this sort
may be a boon to the working man looking for a job. It is the policy
of the bureau in such cases to get the employer and the employee into
direct personal touch with the Service itself.
The work of the Department of Labor regarding which the public hears
the most is its mediation service. This Service is authorized in the
Act creating the Department of Labor. The Secretary of Labor acts in
labor disputes, not as a judge, but as a mediator. The policy of the
Department, therefore, is one of conciliation and its representatives
attempt to act with fairness to employers, employees and the public,
alike.
Many threatened strikes are prevented annually and hundreds of disputes
settled.
Another government agency operated for the welfare of the laboring
man is The Bureau of Mines. Its primary concern is to see that high
standards of safety and health are maintained in the mining industry
of the country. It investigates the causes of accidents, makes
recommendations, and cooperates with mine owners and miners in working
out plans for the improvement of conditions in any given mine.
The Bureau maintains rescue cars in every mining district of the
country. They are equipped with experts in rescue work and with first
aid appliances of every sort. When not actually required in connection
with some disaster, the cars are sent from place to place, and the
members of the crew act as teachers of first aid and rescue work in the
mining centers. With each of the cars there is a mining engineer who
gives talks and personal advice regarding sanitation and the general
problem of the improvement of living conditions.
Cooperating with the Bureau of Mines in many mining communities will be
found the Public Health Service. It has been called upon in particular,
to fight against miners’ consumption.
Another Bureau maintained in part for the benefit of labor is the
Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce, which supervises
the labor contracts of seamen on merchant vessels engaged in foreign
trade. In this way seamen are protected against fraud and assured that
their pay will be forthcoming in accordance with their contracts, which
are made under the supervision of the Bureau.
In these various ways the government works to promote and protect the
welfare of the laboring men and women of the country, though, of course
we have here only glimpsed its activities in outline.
CHAPTER XIV SUMMARY
In the preamble to the Federal Constitution we read that the Fathers
ordained and established it “in order ... to establish justice ...
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.”
They believed that in order to accomplish these objects a government of
“checks and balances” would be most likely to succeed and to survive.
Consequently, they attempted to have the executive branch and the
legislative branch and the judicial branch each distinct and yet each
acting as a balance for the others. We have seen how the President
checks Congress with the veto power, and how the Senate checks the
President through the requirements of its approval for treaties and
executive appointments. What the men who framed the Constitution
probably did not foresee was the development by which the Supreme Court
finally became the supreme check over both the President and Congress.
At present then, as we have seen, the three branches function lustily
and vigorously, each to some extent doing for the others what was
originally expected. But under the tremendous changes that time has
wrought, each has also become vastly more powerful than the originators
of this scheme of government ever dreamed.
However, executive branch, legislative branch, judiciary--they all
serve, perhaps as well as any human machinery at present can in the
United States to fulfill the purposes named in the preamble to the
Constitution.
We have examined the ways in which the work of the government is
done. We have watched the two Houses of Congress making laws, we have
seen the President at his desk, we have seen the various executive
departments and their bureaus operating to promote the general welfare,
and we have seen the courts rendering justice.
It is not our task here to criticise and to evaluate. Shortcomings are
apparent; and that there is room for improvement both from a material
and from a human standpoint, there can be no doubt.
But when all is said and done, this outline rather shows after all that
the government of the United States does work with fair efficiency. It
is probably much better than its founders dared to hope and as good as
those of us who are living today deserve.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
been corrected.
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