Book Reviews and Notices : Readings in American National and State Government. Edited by DAVID FELLMAN, LANE W. LANCASTER and A. C. BRECKENRIDGE. (New York: Rinehart & Co., Inc. 1950. Pp. xi, 399; ix, 347. $2.40.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400145
• Date: 01 March 1951
• Author: Lashley G. Harvey
• Published date: 01 March 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

168

Brogan

considers

cabinet

officers

simply

nominees

of

the

President;

and,

since

they

are

not

&dquo;independent

political

powers,&dquo;

he

believes

that

reform

through

cabinet

officers

&dquo;would

not

deal

with

the

basic

difficulty.&dquo;

In-

stead,

Brogan

suggests

an

executive

council

in

which

party

leaders

from

each

house

of

Congress

would

become

associated

with

the

President

and

share

his

responsibilities

for

the

party

program.

Essential

to

this

solution

is

the

sharing

by

party

leaders

of

the

President’s

powers.

Harold

Zink

observes

that

reconstruction

of

the

cabinet

&dquo;to

include

congressional

leaders

as

well

as

a

small

number

of

heads

of

general

administrative

agencies&dquo;

could

offer

a

solution

to

the

problem.

Hans

J.

Morgenthau’s

contribution,

&dquo;The

Conduct

of

Foreign

Policy,&dquo;

is

most

significant

in

view

of

current

arguments

concerning

the

allocation

of

responsibilties

between

the

President

and

Congress

for

the

making

of

foreign

policy.

The

President

has

powers

in

the

field

of

foreign

rela-

tions

which

are,

in

the

words

of

the

Supreme

Court,

&dquo;delicate,

plenary,

and

exclusive.&dquo;

Executive

agreement

has

in

recent

years

become

the

normal

medium

for

international

compacts.

&dquo;It

can

safely

be

said

that,

in

a

period

of

international

relations

dominated

by

the

psychology

and

technique

of

the

’cold

war,’

the

executive

branch

of

the

government

of

the

United

States

must

make

a

greater

effort

to

maintain

friendly

rela-

tions

with

the

U.

S.

Congress

than

with

the

Soviet

Union.&dquo;

Only

if

the

President

reasserts

his

historic

role

as

the

initiator

of

policy

and

leads

in

the

awakening

of

public

opinion

can

adequate

leadership

be

main-

tained

in

foreign

affairs.

W

estern

Washington

College.

ALBERT

H.

CULVERWELL.

Readings

in

American

National

and

State

Government.

Edited

by

DAVID

FELLMAN,

LANE

W.

LANCASTER

and

A.

C.

BRECKENRIDGE.

(New

York:

Rinehart

&

Co.,

Inc.

1950.

Pp.

xi,

399;

ix,

347.

$2.40.)

This

is

a

volume

consisting

of

the

second

edition

of

Professor

David

Fellman’s

Readings

in

American

Notional

Government

and

a

collection

entitled

Readings

in

American

State

Government,

by

Professors

Lane

W.

Lancaster

and

A.

C.

Breckenridge,

published

in

the

summer

of

1950.

The

volume

was

evidently

arranged

to

supply

essential

collateral

ma-

terial

for

courses

in

American

government

organized

on

a

two-semester

sequence

plan,

with

the

first

semester

devoted

to

the

study

of

govern-

ment

at

the

national

level

and

the

second,

at

the

state

level.

The

popularity

of

Professor

Fellman’s

volume

of

excerpts

from

docu,

mentary

sources

and

challenging

statements

by

scholars

and

statesmen

is

evidenced

by

the

fact

that

it

is

now

in

its

second

edition.

The

col-

lection

by

Professors

Lancaster

and

Breckenridge,

similar

in

type,

will