CHAPTER XLI ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 394. Principles of Government. We have discussed the principles of organized self-government. They are simple enough for all to understand. They must be understood by all who wish to live under a real democracy; for democracy is a government by all the people. It cannot be by the people unless the people understand it. If we cannot see how our government is organized some one will govern us without our consent. To make government democratic is to make it simple enough to be understood; and it is to organize it so that the elected representatives of the people have power enough to do what those who elect them require. Let us review a few of the main outlines of the principles of organized self-government. They are suited to all units of complete democracy, whether of the city, the State, the nation, or the federated world. 395. The Merit System in Public Service. We speak often of the Civil Service or the service of the community; and we expect that the merit system will be applied there. By this we mean that those who work for the people shall be selected because they know how to do some particular work; and we mean that these workers should be kept in their positions as long as they do their duty. This principle should be applied in all kinds of government where there is work of a definite kind to be done. Postal service, conservation, courts, education, police, fire protection, public buildings, all possible kinds of work must be done by people who have been trained for it; and the political opinions of the people who do it should have no effect on their term of office. The great body of the employes of a government should be permanent, trained, well-paid experts, who respect their positions and who are respected by those whom they serve. The uniform of a postman or a policeman is as honorable as that of a soldier or a marine. All alike serve their fellow-men. 396. The Head of the Government. Every government should have an executive head who is responsible to the people of the community which he serves. This head may be elected at popular elections as is the President of the United States; or he may be elected by the legislature as is the city manager or the head of many foreign governments. However he is elected, he should be the real head of the government as long as he is in office. Without such a head there is no responsible leader and our public affairs are in confusion. No private corporation can live without a head; neither can a public one do so. This head should have the right to lead in making laws; he is the director of the departments of government and therefore he knows best what laws are needed. Any one else who opposes him and tries to decide what laws shall be made is the representative of a minority and should not be permitted to have his way unless he can himself be elected head. 397. A Cabinet of Aids. But a head is not sufficient. He must be permitted to appoint a cabinet of aids who will advise him, assist him in directing the departments of civil servants, and generally make his administration successful. He must be their leader and they must obey him; otherwise the government has no leader and it cannot be held responsible. Every department should be directed by a head who is a member of the cabinet of the chief of the government, whether that chief be called governor, President, or mayor. It is clear that these department heads must be in sympathy with their chief, and therefore they must come into office and go out with him. They do not do particular kinds of work. This is the task of the permanent civil servants. They assist the head of the government, and leave office with him. 398. The Legislature. Every government of every kind must have a body of representatives who make the laws. The commission makes them for the commission-governed cities; the city council in other cities; the legislatures in the States; the Congress in the United States; and if the nations of the world are federated, a law-making body will be needed for that government. Such representatives should be able to know the wishes of all parties in the community which elects them. The head of the government tells the legislature what the administration needs and the representatives of the people tell him whether the community is ready to give him what he asks for. Since all the people cannot meet with him to talk over their needs, they send representatives to do it for them. The legislature may be divided into two houses or it may consist of only one, as the constitution-makers think wise. But it should be so related to the leader of the government that its main duty is to follow him or refuse to follow him. No member of the legislature is elected to lead him, for each member represents a small part of the community. 399. Parties to Express Opinion. The opinion of the community cannot be expressed unless groups of the people organize themselves into parties to demand what they think is useful for themselves and for the community. These groups are called parties. Under well-organized governments there are likely to be two parties; one supporting the leader in office, and one opposing him. There will be differences of opinion, honest differences, as to whether he is leading the community wisely or not. The people are not divided into honest citizens and dishonest ones. They are divided into people who have different opinions. Government will never be wise and safe until we recognize that those who do not agree with us may be as honest as we are. Our friends differ from us on many subjects and they may be right. It is likely that there are as many honest people in one party as in another; possibly as many wise people in one as in another. 400. The Budget. The central point of discussion in gov. ernments as in other associations is the handling of money. Most people could agree about the work of government if there were as much money as any one wishes to spend. Difference of opinion arises when we try to decide where the money is to come from, and what it is to be spent for. If the head of the government is the leader of the majority 'of the people; and if he is the head of the departments of administration who watch over the work of the government; then he is the person who should organize the budget of expenses. He should apportion the money among the departments. But the representatives of the people should aid him in his final decision. The budget should be laid before the legislature at least once a year; and the legislators should discuss it carefully. If it is a reasonable budget they should approve it; if it has parts which cannot be defended they should vote against those parts and be ready to defend their vote before the people of the community when the administration is under discussion. 401. The Laws. The head of the government is in constant touch through his cabinet with what the community as a whole needs. The head of the Department of Agriculture knows what the farmers need; the Department of Education knows what the schools need; the Department of Labor knows what is necessary to care for the working people; some cabinet member is in touch with the needs of conservation. All of these things come up for discussion at the cabinet meeting. They are there carefully presented from the point of view of each of the departments. The head of the cabinet and of the government is the one to go before the legislature and ask that laws be made to meet the problems that arise as the work of the government is being done. It is the part of the legislature, speaking for the people its members represent, to decide whether the community is ready for the laws the head wishes. 402. Anarchy, Autocracy, and Democracy. A community is in anarchy when it has no government. A community with a government without a head is near to. anarchy. Autocracy is the rule of a head which is not responsible to the community, is not elected by the people or by the representatives of the people. The laws of such a community are not approved by the people who must live under them. Democracy is organized self-government under a leader who is selected by the people or their representatives and is responsible to them. Many people confuse democracy with anarchy. They think democracy is a condition in which each person may do as he pleases. But this is anarchy. If I can do as I please it may please me to take your property and force you to do as I will. People live under law in a democracy; and those few who are not |