Book Reviews : The Municipal Year Book 1950. Edited by CLARENCE E. RIDLEY and ORIN F. NOLTING. (Chicago: International City Managers Association. 1950. Pp. x, 598. $10.00.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591295000300433
• Published date: 01 December 1950
• Author: Ellsworth E. Weaver
• Date: 01 December 1950
• Subject Matter: Articles

651
process is defined as the &dquo;sightly political process.&dquo; These positions in
opposition to the traditional distinction between politics and administra-
tion are supported by several score examples of federal agencies acting in
a political environment. This does not mean partisan control of adminis-
tration. The latter seems to Appleby relatively unimportant. It is politics,
not partisan affairs, which is the major part of administration. &dquo;The
administrative hierarchy is an organ receiving messages of popular de-
mands - responding to such demands - reconciling them.&dquo; The danger
of arbitrary administrative power is not great because of the constant
response to political pressures. Shifts between liberal and conservative
administrations affect the policy judgments made in the various aspects
of the administrative process. The citizen influences this process, not only
through voting, but also through complaints, writing his congressmen,
and many contacts.
As a former bureaucrat and political observer, the reviewer can find
little to question in the accuracy of Appleby’s characterization of adminis-
tration. As an American citizen living in an age of increasing bureaucracy,
the reviewer could wish that Appleby had penetrated more deeply into
the ethical and political milieu of American Administration.
GEORGE C. S. BENSON.
Claremont Men’s College.
The Municipal Year Book 1950. Edited by CLARENCE E. RIDLEY and ORIN
F. NOLTING. (Chicago: International City Managers Association.
1950. Pp. x, 598. $10.00.)
This edition of the Municipal Year Book continues to serve the needs
of political scientists and public officials with the data so essential for
informed analysis. The regular features of past years have been retained
and brought up to date.
New material in this edition includes health department organization
and standards for public library service. The basic data in certain fields
has been expanded to include information on questions now being raised
...