DALE, H. E. The Higher Civil Service. Pp. xiv, 232. New York: Oxford Uni versity Press, 1942. $2.75

• DOI: 10.1177/000271624222400160
• Date: 01 November 1942
• Published date: 01 November 1942
• Subject Matter: Articles

219

lying

characteristics

of

the

Federal

Govern-

ment,

its

relations

to

the

states,

and

the

constitutional

system.

The

second,

&dquo;Bases

of

the

Commonwealth,&dquo;

discusses

citizen

rights

and

obligations,

political

parties

and

elections,

and

public

opinion.

The

third,

&dquo;The

National

Government,&dquo;

considers

the

organization

of

the

three

departments

and

their

practices.

The

fourth,

&dquo;The

National

Government-Administration,&dquo;

explains

the

working

techniques

of

personnel,

revenue,

expenditures,

relations

with

business,

agri-

culture,

and

labor,

and

the

broader

fields

of

social

security,

conservation,

transporta-

tion,

communications,

foreign

relations,

and

national

defense.

The

fifth

devotes

one

hundred

and

seventy-five

pages

to

state

governments

in

a

rather

conventional

man-

ner,

and

the

final

section,

some

seventy-five

pages,

discusses

the

&dquo;Lesser

Units

of

Gov-

ernment.&dquo;

The

conventional

pattern,

rather

than

the

functional,

is

used

throughout

the

book,

but

especially

in

treating

of

the

National

Gov-

ernment.

Operating

methods

are

inter-

woven

with

the

phase

of

organization

to

which

they

apply.

The

effort

to

tie

in

services

rendered

to

the

departments

and

agencies

affected,

which

is

obvious

through-

out

the

text,

enlivens

the

interest

and

makes

American

citizenship

a

partnership

in

government.

An

understanding

background

is

built

for

such

important

institutions

as

the

execu-

tive,

administrative,

legislative,

judiciary,

and

political

parties.

Similar

attention

is

given

to

the

development

which

preceded

existing

agencies

and

institutions.

How-

ever,

as

Professor

Zink

points

out,

chapter

essays

on

political

history

have been

dis-

tinctly

minimized.

This

plan,

which

elimi-

nated

the

usual

lengthy

discussions

of

the

Articles

of

Confederation

and

the

Conven-

tion of

1787,

allows

for

extended

treatment

of

such

subjects

as

citizenship,

politics,

and

public

opinion.

The

allotment

of

fifteen

pages

to

the

government

of

cities,

and

nineteen

to

their

administration,

creates

an

impression

that

the

author’s

impatience

on

the

home

stretch

consigned

these

important

fields

to

the

&dquo;also

ran&dquo;;

but

within

these

space

limita-

tions,

he

did

a

very

good

job.

The

re-

viewer

confesses

that

his

own

interest

in

these

seemingly

slighted

subjects

may

be

the

basis

for

this

plaintive

note.

A

well-selected

bibliography

follows

each

chapter,

and

a

fourteen-page

index

stood

up

well

under

random

tests.

The

Federal

Constitution

appears

as

the

only

appendix.

The

excellent

organization

of

the

mate-

rial,

a

reflection

of

Dr.

Zink’s

long

expe-

rience

in

handling

this

subject

matter

in

his

classes,

produces

a

marked

satisfaction

in

reading

the

text.

The

easy

style

and

in-

teresting

illustrative

material

should

not

only

minimize

student

resistance

to

the

as-

signed

&dquo;task,&dquo;

but

also

provide

a

stimulus

to

obtaining

a

realistic

picture

of

the

dy-

namic

political

atmosphere

of

these

United

States.

HENRY

G.

HODGES

Cincinnati,

Ohio

DALE,

H.

E.

The

Higher

Civil

Service.

Pp.

xiv,

232.

New

York:

Oxford

Uni-

versity

Press,

1942.

$2.75.

Mr.

Dale,

who

has

apparently

retired

from

the

service,

has

written

a

reflective

and

appreciative

appraisal

of

the

higher

civil

service

of

Great

Britain.

He

has

not

attempted

to

write

a

systematic

work

on

administration,

but

has

dealt

with

those

phases

of

the

making

and

working

of

a

policy-forming

civil

servant

in

Great

Brit-

ain.

Chapters

on

definitions,

daily

life,

and

the

general

composition

and

character

of

the

service

are

followed

by

a

searching

analysis

of

the

temper

of

mind

and

dis-

position

of

the

higher

civil

servant.

Three

additional

chapters

on

the

relations

of

the

higher

civil

servants

with

the

ministers,

with

one

another,

and

with

the

public

and

the

press,

lead

to

the

conclusions

which

constitute

the

eighth

and

final

chapter.

Only

a

former

civil

servant

could

have

written

this

book,

and

only

one

with

a

tolerant

appreciation

of

the

human

prob-

lems

of

a

career,

and

an

abiding

sense

of

humor,

could

have

written

this

particular

book.

It

is

essentially

a

book

of

insight.

Of

the

eight

chapters,

the

fourth,

the

one

on

the

temper

of

mind,

is

especially

to

be

commended

to

American

students.

This

is

not

a

treatise

on

the

civil

service

such

as

Finer’s

work,

but

it

is

a

treatment

of

experience.

Such

a

book

on

the

American

counterpart,

so

far

as

there

is

a

counter-

part,

is

badly

needed.

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