Book Department
| DOI | 10.1177/000271624020700128 |
| Date | 01 January 1940 |
| Published date | 01 January 1940 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
219
Book
Department
DOYLE,
WILSON
K.
Independent
Commis-
sions
in
the
Federal
Government.
Pp.
ix,
106.
Chapel
Hill:
University
of
North
Carolina
Press,
1939.
$1.50.
This
compact
and
effectively
written
vol-
ume
continues the
discussion
of
the
status
of
the
independent
commission
in
modem
governments
and
administration.
The
prob-
lem
has
become
acute
only
since
the
multi-
plication
of
such
agencies
subsequent
to
1933,
although
in
principle
it
reaches
back
to
the
establishment
of
the
Interstate
Com-
merce
Commission
in
1887.
The
Report
of
the
President’s
Committee
on
Admin-
istrative
Management
put
it
in
the
fore-
ground
of
current
issues
of
administration.
The
conclusions
reached
by
Dr.
Doyle
resemble
those
reached
by
Professor
Rob-
ert
E.
Cushman
in
1937.
Dr.
Doyle
recom-
mends
the
reorganization
of
most
of
the
independent
regulatory
commissions
as
&dquo;subordinate
single
head
units&dquo;
within
the
appropriate
Federal
executive
departments;
the
more
frequent
use
of
general
regula-
tions
in
lieu
of
specific
orders;
the
wider
use
of
general
public
hearings
prior
to
the
promulgation
of
regulations
defining
policy;
and
the
segregation
of
judicial
powers
in
administrative
courts,
or
alternatively
their
exercise
by
commissions
with
emphasis
on
the
public
rather
than
private
interest.
One
of the
principal
contributions
of
this
study
to
the
expanding
literature
on
the
general
problem
is
the
analysis
of
the
neces-
sity
for
effective
policy
co-ordination
among
the
independent
commissions,
and
between
them
and
the
major
departments.
The
author
is
on
certain
ground
when
he
writes
that
the
fullest
measure
of
co-ordination
cannot
be
attained
so
long
as
it
rests
on
a
voluntary
basis.
He
might
have
written
that
an
adequate
measure
of
co-ordination
cannot
be
expected
short
of
effective
con-
tact
through
the
Chief
Executive.
Principal
reliance
for
better
co-ordina-
tion
is
found
by
the
author
in
common
subordination
to
the
President;
failing
this,
in
the
work
of
a
proposed
standing
commit-
tee
of
Congress.
Despite
the
authority
of
Charles
A.
Beard
for
this
alternative,
it
seems
less
than
a
second
best.
The
author
also
rightly
emphasizes
the
present
channels
of
communication
and
in-
fluence
which
undercut
the
presumed
inde-
pendence
of
the
independent
commissions.
The
pressure
of
events
is
steadily
throwing
them
within
the
sphere
of
influence
of
the
White
House;
in
the
present
reviewer’s
judgment,
inevitably
so.
This
trend
em-
phasizes
the
desirability
of
some
modifica-
tion
of
present
organization
to
preserve
adequate
consideration
of
private
rights
vis-~-vis
administrative
power,
short
of
an
eventual,
costly,
and
time-consuming
ap-
peal
to
the
judiciary.
As
far
as
this
ele-
ment
counts,
it
seems
to
point
to
the
evolution
of
our
expanding
administrative
court
structure.
LEONARD
D.
WHITE
University
of
Chicago
McCAMY,
JAMES
L.
Government
Pub-
licity.
Pp.
xv,
275.
Chicago :
University
of
Chicago
Press,
1939.
$2.50.
In
this
volume
Dr.
McCamy
presents
the
most
complete
factual
survey
to
date
of
Federal
Government
publicity
in
the
United
States.
He
also
gives
a
careful
analysis
of
the
major
problems
relating
thereto,
and
offers
constructive
suggestions
for
improv-
ing
government
practices
in
the
field
of
publicity.
The
author
finds
that
government
pub-
licity
administrators
for
the
most
part
rely
for
their
information
regarding
the
effec-
tiveness
of
publicity
programs
upon
press
clippings,
straw
polls,
and
mail
analyses.
He
strongly
urges the
use
of
more
refined
techniques
for
measuring
public
opinion
and
studying
audience
response
in
terms
of
significant
psychological
groups.
He
also
finds
a
lamentable
lack
of
co-ordination
within
and
among
the
publicity
services
of
governmental
agencies,
and
outlines
a
clear-
cut
program
for
improving
the
situation.
Finally,
on
the
basis
of
a
careful
survey
of
government
publicity
personnel-the
types
of
persons
engaged
in
this
activity,
their
salaries,
conditions
of
work,
and
morale-
he
emphasizes
the
need
for
an
enlightened
administrative
policy
that
will
give
pub-
licity
officials
a
real
career
service
and
a
at SAGE PUBLICATIONS on November 29, 2012ann.sagepub.comDownloaded from
professional
status
attractive
to
the
best
talent
available.
On
the
basis
of
a
factual
survey
of
gov-
ernment
publicity
practices,
in
terms
of
publicity
objectives,
audiences
to
be
reached,
publicity
planning,
content,
and
media
used,
Dr.
McCamy
reaches the
con-
clusions :
(1)
that
newer
Federal
agencies
plan
their
publicity
programs
more
elab-
orately
and
make
a
more
extensive
use
of
media
than
the
older
or
pre-New
Deal
agencies;
(2)
that
Federal
publicity
offices
distribute
their
releases
primarily
to
the
three
privately
owned
media
of
mass
circu-
lation,
namely,
newspapers,
magazines,
and
radio,
rather
than
through
their
own
con-
trolled
media
such
as
pamphlets,
exhibits,
posters,
and
film
strips;
and
(3)
that
no
single
objective
dominates
the
publicity
program
of
any
Federal
agency.
The
last
conclusion
is
based
upon
a
very
careful
analysis
and
classification
of
publicity
ob-
jectives.
The
author
finds
that
&dquo;clear-cut
conclusions
as
to
the
amount
of
effective
publicity
reaching
audiences
of
deter-
minable
sizes
are
impossible,&dquo;
and
uses
as
a
measure
of the
relative
extent
of
publicity
among
the
agencies
the
number
of
varied
types
of
campaigns
employed.
Dr.
McCamy
is
emphatically
of
the
opin-
ion
that
government
publicity
in
the
United
States
today
is
not
a
threat
to
democracy
as
some
have
asserted.
In
the
concluding
paragraph
he
states
his
position
effectively.
&dquo;The
administrative
publicist
as
an
aide
to
the
executive,
skilled
in
using
the
instru-
ments
of
persuasion
and
explanation,
ex-
perienced
in
knowing
what
the
public
thinks
and
says,
sensitive
to
the
changing
temper
of
audiences,
and
confined
to
the
role
of
communicating
policy
but
not
making
it,
is
no
more
a
threat
to
personal
freedom
than
is
the
responsible
leadership
which
he
serves.
Liberty
for
the
individual,
as
dem-
ocrats
hope
to
preserve
it,
is
more
likely
to
be
drowned
in
the
flood
of
publicity
is-
sued,
not
by
bureaucrats
but
by
dema-
gogues
who
speak
the
people’s
language
and
serve
other
gods
than
freedom.&dquo;
This
is
about
the
only
and
certainly
the
best
treatment
of
the
subject
of
govern-
ment
publicity
now
available.
It
is
care-
fully
documented,
well
organized,
and
clearly
written.
In
addition
to
relevant
literature,
the
author
has
made
extensive
use
of
personal
interviews
and
question-
naires
in
collecting
his
data.
HARWOOD
L.
CHILDS
Princeton
University
BATES,
FRANK
G.,
and
OLIVER
P.
FIELD.
State
Government.
Rev.
Ed.
Pp.
ix,
561.
New
York:
Harper
&
Brothers,
1939.
$3.50.
It
is
a
fairly
common
practice
to
begin
the
college
teaching
of
political
science
with
a
survey
course
in
American
Government,
taught
in
the
lower
division.
The
first
semester
is
usually
given
over
entirely
to
national
government,
while
the
second
is
devoted
to
state
and
local
government.
There
are
several
textbooks
which
essay
to
include
the
entire
gamut
in
one
volume.
However,
the
demand
for
more
extensive
treatment
has
resulted
in
some
books
deal-
ing
with
the
states
alone.
The
subject
of
this
review
is
a
revised
edition
of
one
of
the
standard
texts
originally
issued
in
1928.
The
book
is
a
balanced
piece
of
crafts-
manship
produced
by
two
well-known
and
respected
scholars
and
teachers.
The
style
is
clear
and
understandable,
thus
making
for
that
quality
which
teachers
sometimes
refer
to
as
&dquo;teachability.&dquo;
At
the
same
time,
the
book
satisfies
the
dictates
of
pol-
ished
and
scholarly
style.
The
subject
matter,
both
as
to
content
and
as
to
ar-
rangement,
conforms
to
accepted
prac-
tice.
Any
good
book
can
be
criticized
from
the
standpoint
of the
reviewer’s
own
pedan-
try,
a
fact
which
makes
one
hesitant
to
suggest
minor
shortcomings.
Among
the
most
significant
developments
in
state
ad-
ministration
in
the
past
decade
are
the
growth
of the
welfare
and
social-security
activities
and
the
revival
of
interest in
civil
service.
The
enactment
of
merit-system
laws
in
Minnesota,
New
Mexico,
and
Rhode
Island
may
have
transpired
after
the
final
manuscript
was
submitted
to
the
printer.
Public
welfare
is
treated
in
a
traditional
manner
which
fails
to
set
forth
the
dy-
namic
problems
in
this
field
forced
upon
public
authorities
during
recent
years.
JOHN
M.
PFIFFNER
University
of
Southern
California
220
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221
FIELD,
OLIVER
P.
Civil
Service
Law.
Pp.
ix,
286.
Minneapolis:
University
of
Minnesota
Press,
1939.
$5.00.
This
excellent
and
long-anticipated
vol-
ume
fills
a
large
gap
in
the
civil
service
literature.
Apart
from
brief
articles
on
special
jurisdictions
on
particular
topics,
there
has
been
no
treatment
of
the
judicial
interpretation
of
the
civil
service
statutes,
ordinances,
rules,
and
practices.
The
diffi-
culty
of
organizing
such
a
systematic
study
is
very
great,
since
most
of
the
law
is
stat-
utory
and
the
decisions
of the
courts
must
be
rendered
in
view
of
statutory
phrase-
ology
rather
than
the
common
law
of
officers.
This
difficulty
has
been
sur-
mounted
by
the
author
in
the
statement
of
trends
of
judicial
opinion
and
in
the
formulation
of
such
generalizations
as
the
courts
themselves
have
developed.
The
book
is
written
for
personal
officers
and
draftsmen
of
laws
and
regulations.
The
student
of
administrative
law
and
of
public
administration
will
also
find
the
vol-
ume
of
interest
and
value.
The
law
of
the
principal
civil
service
operations
is
exam-
ined
in
turn:
classification
(in
the
sense
of
extension
of
the
merit
system);
examina-
tion ;
appointment
and
veterans’
prefer-
ence ;
promotion
and
transfer;
demotion
and
layoff;
suspension
and
removal.
The
law
of
public
pensions
is
not
dealt
with,
nor
is
there
a
discussion
of
the
legal
posi-
tion
of
unions
of
civil
service
employees.
The
extent
of
Professor
Field’s
study
is
indicated
by
the
table
of
cases;
a
quick
estimate
indicates
that
at
least
fifteen
hun-
dred
cases
have been
cited.
Among
the
general
conclusions
we
may
note
a
few
to
suggest
the
present
position.
As
to
the
constitutionality
of
civil
service
legislation
we
read:
&dquo;Fortunately
for
American
gov-
ernment
and
for
those
who
believe
that
the
commori Iaw
is
a
law
of
growth
as
well
as
of
precedent
and
logic,
most
courts
have
acted
the
part
of
statesmen
in
the
law
and
have
used
legal
theory
and
governmental
necessity
to
make
civil
service
laws
consti-
tutionally
possible....&dquo;
Concerning
the
moot
point
of
prerequi-
sites
for
examination,
the
author
concludes
that
&dquo;the
personnel
agency,
by
virtue
of
its
power
to
formulate
rules
to
make
the
civil
service
law
effective,
may
make
such
addi-
tional
requirements
if
they
are
reasonable
and
have
a
substantial
bearing
upon
merit
or
fitness.&dquo;
Where,
however,
an
enumera-
tion
of
types
of
prerequisites
has
been
made
by
statute,
it
would
appear
to
the
reviewer
doubtful
whether
the
rule-making
power
would
include
authority
to
impose
other
types
of
prerequisites.
In
adopting
a
new
civil
service
law,
the
courts
are
disinclined
to
interpret
the
stat-
ute
in
such
manner
as
to
bring
under
it
those
not
clearly
included
by
the
terms
of
the
act.
For
example,
they
look
with
dis-
favor
upon
including
temporary
appointees.
The
largest
single
section
of
the
study
is
devoted
to
the
power
to
suspend
and
re-
move.
Professor
Field
finds
in
general
&dquo;that
civil
service
laws
curtail
the
removal
power
under
existing
statutes
only
insofar
as
they
expressly
or
by
clear
implication
substitute
different
procedures
or
causes
or
new
rules
concerning
participation
in
the
exercise
of
the
power
to
remove.&dquo;
There
is
a
tendency
to
require
cause
for
removal
if,
by
ordinary
canons
of
interpretation,
it
can
be
required.
The
nature
of
the
cause
and
the
form
in
which
it
must
be
stated
are
examined
at
length,
with
a
brief
reference
to
a
complicated
jurisprudence
surrounding
the
perplexing
question,
When
is
a
police
officer
drunk?
These
are
merely
examples
of
the
con-
tent
and
form
of
treatment,
buttressed
throughout
by
extensive
citation
of
cases
which,
to
the
student
of
public
administra-
tion,
reveal
also
the
many
tricks
and
dodges
by
which
some
seek
to
circumvent
the
civil
service
law
and
rules.
The
book
is
an
im-
portant
and
timely
addition
to
the
litera-
ture.
LEONARD
D.
WHITE
University
of
Chicago
HODGES,
HENRY
G.
City
Management.
Pp.
xx,
759.
New
York:
F.
S.
Crofts
and
Co.,
1939.
$4.50.
If
one
may
judge
from
the
number
of
books
appearing
in
the
field
of
municipal
government
and
administration,
this
prob-
lem
is
receiving
increased
attention.
The
present
volume
is
limited
to
a
discussion
of
the
problems
of
municipal
administra-
tion.
The
author
states
in
his
preface
that
the
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