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Theory and Practice of State Administration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Read Bain
Read Bain
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Miami University
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Type
American Government and Politics
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , June 1938 , pp. 495 - 508
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1938

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References

1 In California, state functions grew from 73 in 1880 to 414 in 1031. Graves, W. B., American State Government (1936), pp. 372–373Google Scholar. H. D. Simpson admits this, but says the ratio of governmental activities to the sum total of human activities is probably no greater now than it was in the laissez-faire era a hundred years ago. “The Problem of Expanding Governmental Activities,” Amer. Econ. Rev. (Supplement), Mar., 1934, p. 154Google Scholar. See J. W. Martin's discussion, ibid., pp. 162–165, for the effect of technological changes on state government.

2 Bain, Read, “Technology and State Government,” Amer. Sociol. Rev., Dec. 1937, pp. 860–877Google Scholar.

3 Bromage, A. W., State Government and Administration in the United States (1936), p. 341Google Scholar; Graves, W. B., American State Government (1936), p. 360Google Scholar; Holcome, A. N., State Government in the United States (3d ed., 1931), Ch. 11Google Scholar. See also the works of J. M. Mathews, J. A. Fairlie, R. Moley, G. Weber, A. E. Buck, and reports of reorganization commissions in various states, especially Illinois, New York (1919, 1926), Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Tennessee.

4 Coker, F. W., “Dogmas of Administrative Reform,” in this Review, Aug., 1922, pp. 399–411Google Scholar; for difficulty of measuring financial effects, J. M. Jacobson, “Evaluating State Administrative Structure—The Fallacy of the Statistical Method,” ibid., Nov., 1928, pp. 928–935.

5 Data for density and per capita cost are for 1930 and 1932. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1934, pp. 3 and 202Google Scholar. Of 26 states with per capita costs above the average, 16 had densities below the average.

6 H. D. Simpson, citation in note 1. R. S. and Lynd, H. M., in Middletown in Transition (1937), pp. 120–128, 342–343Google Scholar, and elsewhere, give many instances of this parasitic effect. On the whole, however, they seem to think the long-run effects may be beneficial. For an intensive study of small community parasitism, see Zimmerman, C. C. et al. , “Littleville: A Parasitic Community During the Depression,” Rural Sociology, Mar., 1936, pp. 54–72Google Scholar. See also, Ecker-R, L. L., “Revenues for Relief,” State Government, Nov., 1934, pp. 235–246Google Scholar. Sixteen states had 15 per cent or more of their total population on relief—six, 20 per cent or over—in July, 1934. Altogether, 13.8 per cent of the total population of the United States was on relief. During 1933–34, the federal government furnished 63 per cent of relief funds, local communities 21 per cent, states 16 per cent.

7 Mass. Manual for the General Court, 1937–1938, pp. 256–284Google Scholar.

8 Albright, S. D., How Does Your Ballot Grow? (1933)Google Scholar, quoted by Graves, op. cit., pp. 117–118.

9 Pollock, J. K., “Election Administration in Michigan,” Nat. Mun. Rev. (Supplement), June, 1934, pp. 343–359Google Scholar.

10 Harris, J. P., Election Administration in the United States (Washington, 1934), pp. 386–387Google Scholar.

11 A. W. Bromage, op. cit., p. 382; Graves, op. cit., pp. 345–349. See also the work of L. D. White, L. Brownlow, L. W. Wilmerding, W. F. Willoughby, and the two reports of the Commission of Inquiry on Public Service Personnel, Better Government Personnel and Problems of the American Public Service, both published by McGraw-Hill in 1935. Also Graper, E. D., “Public Employees and the Merit System,” Annals Amer. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Sci., Sept., 1935, pp. 80–89Google Scholar. For criticisms of the merit system, see Haggerty, T. J., “Spoils and the Racket,” Annals, Jan. 1937, pp. 17–21Google Scholar. This entire issue is devoted to public personnel problems. See especially articles on training and internship by Wingo, Reeves, and Miles.

12 The best treatise on this subject is Forbes, R., Governmental Purchasing (New York, 1929)Google Scholar, but state purchasing is treated only slightly, and the book is, of course, nearly ten years out of date. See also White, L. D., Trends in Public Administration (New York, 1933), pp. 201–209Google Scholar. Up-to-date research in this field for states is greatly needed.

13 Maxwell, A. J., “After Three Years,” State Government, Jan., 1934, pp. 21–23Google Scholar, says that the North Carolina reorganization (1931) has saved millions and has given better services; MacCorkle, S. A., “Administrative Reorganization in Tennessee,” Southwestern Soc. Sci. Quar., March, 1934, pp. 319–332Google Scholar, says that it has not cured all the ills but has helped a great deal.

14 State Government, May, 1930, p. 2Google Scholar.

15 Aylsworth, L. E., “Nebraska's Non-Partisan Unicameral Legislature,” Nat. Mun. Rev., Feb., 1937, pp. 77–81Google Scholar.

16 “Two Houses or One?,” State Government, Oct., 1934, pp. 207–208Google Scholar. How many of the 6,000 ballots were returned is not indicated.

17 Report of Commission on Administration and Finance, Part II, 1935, p. 1Google Scholar.

18 The judiciary cannot be dealt with here except to say that the legislature should appoint the supreme court, which should appoint all other judges according to the principle of group representation; appointments should be made from a panel nominated by the interest groups in the jurisdiction where the judges will sit; recall or dismissal should not apply to judges, but every six or eight years the people in the jurisdiction should vote upon their retention. All judges should be state officers.

19 Walker, Harvey, “Theory and Practice in State Administrative Reorganization,” Nat. Mun. Rev., April, 1930, pp. 249–254Google Scholar. After criticizing wholesale reorganizations, Professor Walker offers more radical proposals than any thus far adopted. However, the governor is retained as an elective officer and made the center of the government. Professor Walker's idea is essentially political. The Griffenhagen proposal, on the other hand, appears to be entirely economic and seems to ignore the social and political realities which are basic to the problem. I have not, however, been able to get the entire report. See Porter, Kirk H., “Surveys of State Administrative Organization: Iowa and Wyoming,” in this Review, Vol. 28, pp. 481–488 (1934)Google Scholar. The Iowa report by the Brookings Institution is very conservative; the Griffenhagen report (Wyoming) is almost startling.

20 Rogers, Lindsay, “The Independent Regulatory Commissions,” Pol. Sci. Quar., March, 1937, pp. 1–17Google Scholar; Witte, E. E., “A Break For the Citizen,” State Government, April, 1936, pp. 73–75Google Scholar; Dodd, W. F., Administration of Workmen's Compensation (New York, 1936), pp. 790 ffGoogle Scholar; Andrews, J. B., Administrative Labor Legislation (New York, 1936)Google Scholar.

21 Odegard, P. H., “Majorities, Minorities, and Legislation,” Annals, Sept., 1933, pp. 29–46Google Scholar. See also Odegard's other work and that of E. P. Herring, E. B. Logan, H. S. Rauschenbush, F. E. Lumley, W. E. Mosher, and others.

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