CHAPTER XVI

THE ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS

"Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good and the government cannot be bad; or if it be ill they will cure it. But, if men be bad, let the government be ever so good they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn."

-William Penn

Some automobilists are racing up and down the street or road on which you live. An accident may happen and life is in danger. What can you do about it? The laws forbid such speeding. But the laws do not enforce themselves. You must get some officer of the law to enforce them. You may call an officer and he may have to call on some higher officer for help.

Some years ago a terrible epidemic broke out in the eastern part of the United States. The health authorities of one large city at once ordered all public meeting places, where the infection might be spread, to be closed until further notice. The schools and the churches promptly complied with this order, but the theaters and the saloons did not want to lose the profits they were making and so kept them open as usual. Thereupon the Department of Health of that city applied to the state health department to exercise its higher authority. The response was prompt and effectual, and all public places where people gathered were closed.

The city then appealed to the federal Public Health Service to send its experts to study the disease and help find preventives for it. With both state and national aid, the dreadful malady was finally conquered. This shows

how local, state, and national governments may coöperate to administer the law for the benefit of all.

Mayors of Cities. In our cities and towns the chief executive officer is called the Mayor. Small towns in a few states are called boroughs and their executive officer is called the Burgess. Our cities, as a rule, have now so simplified their forms of

government as to secure centralized responsibility. The Mayor generally has full power to appoint and to remove all department heads. Minor officers are usually under civil service. Many of our cities have adopted a Commission form of government. Under this plan all legislative and executive functions are placed in the hands of five elected Commissioners, each of whom is the responsible head of one of the five departments into which the city work has been divided, and all of whom together constitute the city legislature. This plan has proved to be better in practice than the older plan of two branches of a city legislature elected by wards, with powers diffused among legislators, department chiefs, independent boards, and the Mayor.

Courtesy Oakland Chamber of Commerce

THE CITY HALL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
A stately building which houses the city

government.

The Governors of the States. In the states the leading executive officer is called the Governor. In most of our states the Governor does not appoint all the principal officers

of the departments in the state government, as does the President in the national government. Instead, there is a large number of independent officers and boards in the state government. There is usually a Secretary of State, a State

The tower of this beautiful and unusual building rises four hundred feet above the rolling prairies of this fertile state.

Treasurer, a State Auditor, a State Attorney, and a State Superintendent of Public Instruction, some or all of whom are elected by the voters. Then there are numerous other departments, boards, and commissions, some of which are elected and some appointed, all with little relation one to the other. The result of this lack of organization is an over

lapping of effort and inefficiency. A few states-notably Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nebraska, and Ohio-have reorganized their state administration along the lines of the national administration, putting into the hands of the Governor power to appoint nearly all the important administrative

PRESIDENT COOLIDGE TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE

Chief Justice Taft administers the oath while the responses of the President are carried all over the country by the radio microphones in the foreground.

officers and making it possible for them to work together as does the President's Cabinet. We shall discuss these reorganization plans in a later chapter.

The President. The President is the responsible executive officer of the United States of America. He is elected for a term of four years and is eligible for re-election. The Constitution provides that, to be eligible for the presidency,

"In

one must be a natural born citizen of the United States, at least thirty-five years of age, and must have been a resident within the United States for at least fourteen years. case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice-President." (Constitution, Article II, Section 6.)

But suppose the Vice-President is disabled. Our country is too important to be without a definite leader for many hours. Hence Congress has gone further and provided that, if both President and Vice-President are disqualified or dead, a member of the Cabinet shall fill the place. The vacancy is filled in the order in which these Cabinet offices were created (p. 329), the Secretary of State (the oldest office) coming first.

The President takes the following oath of office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of My Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The President's Work. The President is the nation's chief executive. His first duty is to see that the laws are faithfully executed. To this end he nominates, and "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate" appoints, the important officers of the United States. The minor officers are under the civil service.

The President has large powers in legislative matters. From time to time he sends messages to Congress recommending such legislation as he deems necessary and expedient. His position gives great importance to these recommendations. Every bill passing Congress must be presented to the President before it can become a law. If he approves the bill, he signs it. If he does not approve it, he vetoes it. This veto power, together with his appointive power, gives to the President and his advisers a large influence in the framing and passing of important bills. His