Public Administration and Private Interest

• Author: Wesley C. Clark
• DOI: 10.1177/000271625228000110
• Published date: 01 March 1952
• Date: 01 March 1952
• Subject Matter: Articles

67

Public

Administration

and

Private

Interest

By

WESLEY

C.

CLARK

PUBLIC

administrators

at

every

level

JT

operate

in

an

atmosphere

generated

by

special

interest

groups.

In

fact,

in

the

Federal

Government,

where

many

policy

decisions

have

been

delegated

by

law

to

the

administrators,

much

of

the

busi-

ness

of

public

administration

consists

of

reconciiug

the

competing

demands

of

these

pressure

groups

in

what

may

be

conceived

to

be

the

public

interest.

In

a

society

such

as

ours

it

is

in-

evitable

that

the

great

majority

of

these

groups

which

have

found

the

climate

of

Washington

so

favorable

to

their

growth

represent

private

business.

Increas-

ingly,

however,

government

bureaus,

government

employees,

political

parti-

sans,

and

labor

groups

are

represented.

It

is

unavoidable

that

some

policy

decisions

of

administrators

shall

favor

one

group

as

against

another.

In

many

cases

the

question

as

to

which

group

shall

be

favored

hinges

on

the

specific

facts

and

pressures

brought

to

bear

upon

the

administrator

charged

with

the

decision.

Or

to

put

it

another

way,

some

of

the

pressures

which

might

be

centered

upon

a

particular

point

are

not

brought

to

bear,

chiefly

because

there

are

no

vehicles

for

their

expres-

sion.

In

this

category

are

the

interests

of

such

large

unorganized

groups

as

consumers.

ELEMENTS

OF

THE

ADMINISTRATIVE

CLIMATE

But

over

and

above

the

special

pres-

sures

and

the

particularized

arguments

which

are

used

to

secure

special

and

sometimes

illegal

concessions

is

the

pres-

sure

of

the

general

administrative

cli-

mate

which

exists

at

all

times

in

Wash-

ington.

This

climate

is

not

a

constant;

it

varies

from

time

to

time.

Depend-

ing

upon

many

factors,

it

may

favor

administration

in

the

public

interest,

and

again

it

may

favor

administration

in

the

private

interest.

In

this

varia-

tion

is

to

be

found

the

answer

to

many

of

the

ills

which

beset

the

federal

ad-

ministration

today.

An

examination

of

the

factors

which

compose

and

condi-

tion

this

administrative

climate

reveals

the

reason.

Five

major

factors

contribute

to

this

administrative

climate,

and

there

are

a

multitude

of

subdivisions

of

these

fac-

tors.

First

there

is

the

moral

tone

of

the

nation,

second

the

machinery

of

ad-

ministration,

third

the

staff

of

adminis-

tration,

fourth-and

perhaps

most

im-

portant-the

leadership

which

guides

the

staff

and

controls

the

machinery

of

administration,

and

fifth

the

news

spot-

light

in

which

administrative

activities

are

conducted.

Moral

tone

of

the

nation

The

basic

attitudes

of

federal

admin-

istrators

cannot

be

expected

to

differ

greatly

from

the

attitudes

of

the

na-

tion

as

a

whole.

It

is

axiomatic

that

,Washington

in

any

area

cannot

lag

far

behind

or

run

far

ahead

of

the

think-

ing

of

the

people

of

the

nation.

This

is

just

as

true

in

respect

to

moral

stand-

ards

as

in

respect

to

defense

or

tax

measures.

Thus,

if

the

moral

stand-

ards

of

the

nation

are

lax,

if

there

is

a

negligent

attitude

toward

other

people’s

money,

this

attitude

will

be

reflected

in

administrative

Washington,

as

well

as

in

legislative

and

judicial

Washington.

The

moral

tone

of

any

nation

may

be

likened

to

a

great

river

into

which

hun-

dreds

of

tributaries

pour

their

waters.