Book Reviews : The Cabinet and Congress. By STEPHEN HORN. (New York: Columbia Univer sity Press, 1960. Pp. ix, 310. $6.00.)
| Published date | 01 December 1961 |
| Author | Clyde E. Jacobs |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296101400424 |
| Date | 01 December 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
979
taken
place
in
race
relations
in
the
state
in
which
Graham
lectured,
the
lack
of
good
will
is
discouraging
to
say
the
least.
Furthermore,
it
is
doubtful
that
Graham
is
correct
in
thinking
that
friendliness
and
Christian
neighborliness
of
Americans
is
more
in
evidence
in
the
smaller
cities
than
in
the
great
urban
centers.
This
reviewer’s
observations
of
small
cities
of
the
West
Coast
is
that
the
people
of
the
small
cities
are
not
any
different
in
this
respect
than
people
in
the
urban
centers
and
that
in
fact
the
good
will
of
the
small
community
is
political
folklore.
In
any
event
Graham’s
work
is
exceedingly
stimulating.
As
the
subtitle
sug-
gests,
it is
only
preliminary
thoughts.
He
suggests
that
we
re-evaluate
the
forgotten
asset
of
good
will
and
put
it
to
work.
This
sceptical
reviewer
looks
forward
to
a
future
book
as
to
the
means
to
permeate
all
municipal
functions
with
good
will.
Orange
Cove,
California
GEORGE
A.
HOPPER
The
Cabinet
and
Congress.
By
STEPHEN
HORN.
(New
York:
Columbia
Univer-
sity
Press,
1960.
Pp.
ix,
310.
$6.00.)
This
is
a
study
of
an
important
facet
of
legislative-executive
relationships
in
American
national
government.
As
the
author
states,
this
work
is
&dquo;the
study
of
an
idea
which
has
waxed
and
waned
intermittently
since
1789&dquo;
-
the
idea
of
establishing
closer
formal
ties
between
the
Cabinet
and
Congress.
Manifestations
of
this
idea
have
occurred
in
various
proposals
to
seat
department
heads
in
Congress
and
to
authorize
them
to
participate
in
debate
and
in
the
more
recent
proposal
to
establish
a
legislative
question
period.
At
the
outset
Dr.
Horn
addresses
himself
to
several
questions:
&dquo;Why
was
the
reform
suggested
originally?
What
motivated
its
proponents
to
sponsor
the
measure?
What
were
the
overt
and
underlying
reasons
of
those
who
opposed
it?
What
conditions
within
our
political
society
-
and
especially
our
legislative,
executive
relations
-
have
given
impetus
to
this
idea?
Under
what
conditions
might
it
function
successfully?
Can
it
ever
be
enacted?&dquo;
The
author
enjoys
varying
success
in
answering
these
questions.
On
the
whole
he
presents
a
very
able
and
comprehensive
history
of
the
idea
beginning
with
the
proposals
advanced
and
the
practices
established
during
Washington’s
administration
and
extending
through
the
Pendleton
proposals
of
the
post-Civil
War
era
to
the
recent,
and
more
modest,
proposals
of
Congressman,
later
Senator,
Kefauver.
The
motivation
of
both
proponents
and
opponents
of
the
reform
emerges
quite
clearly.
Of
particular
interest
is
new
data
obtained
through
ques-
tionnaires
circulated
among
all
members
of
the
Eighty-fifth
Congress
(1957).
Although
responses
were
fragmentary
-
less
than
one-half
the
membership
of
each
chamber
replied
-
Dr.
Horn,
through
careful
analysis,
provides
some
fresh
insights
into
the
reasons,
both
ostensible
and
real,
for
acceptance
or
rejection
of
proposals
for
reform.
The
weaknesses
of
this
book
may
be
traced
to
the
seeming
lack
of
a
well-
defined
theoretical
framework
in
which
present
practice
and
the
various
proposed
reforms
may
be
analyzed.
Scant
attention
is
given
to
the
constitutional
problems
which
have
been,
for
some
opponents
of
reform,
extremely
important.
In
his
con-
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