Show Bruck arCs washington digest delegation of authority to S so 0 many agencies seen dangerous clause in act hands over to eil officials right to say what congress meant in language of law makes many little dictators by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press washington D C washington subcommittees of the house committee on appropriations have started consideration of the various bills through which money is supplied each year for running the federal government among the first measures was that appropriating money for the so called independent offices these are the agencies that operate at loose ends so to speak run their own s shows hows make rules and regulations which have the full force of regular laws and otherwise conduct themselves as they see fit the head men of each of these units of government and there are 48 46 listed in the one appropriation bill are named by the president of the united states they are not elected by the people the nearest approach to direct responsibility to the citizens is that appointment of the head men must be confirmed by the senate senate consideration however is limited only to the top executives scores of policymaking officials beneath the first rank are picked without taxpayers having any sort of say so it is well to recall just here that each of these agencies was legally created by congress that is laws were passed which established the several boards bureaus commissions administrations or whatever other names they have many of us believe there are too many of them that the federal government is messing around in too many different fields yet the fact remains that these agencies do exist and consideration of them and their powers seems timely since appropriations are being examined now the laws by which these agencies were created are in general sufficiently specific to define their jurisdiction the thing that causes trouble tor for the country however is one little paragraph that was included in each bill by which the particular agency was given life that paragraph reads in effect authority is hereby given for the promulgation of such rules and regulations ions as the agency deems necessary tor for administration of this act makes many little dictators instead of one big one that is the rub that one section of law gives to these arms of the federal government power that even the most h highly lily tr trained affied lawyer can not fully calculate on the surface it seems safe enough since the laws terms are definite but what the provision actually does is to hand over to groups of un flecked officials the right to say what congress meant in the language written into law and most important of all when congress began to delegate uch such authority years and years ago it build within the federal began to av up government a form of dictatorship the condition differs from the dictatorship ship of hitler and stalin only in the tact fact that there are dozens of little dictators instead of one big dictator in the one appropriations bill which I 1 mentioned there may be even a thousand little dictators if one considers all of the head men the bureau chiefs the division officials the hard boiled lawyers who think their job is to persecute rather than enforce laws I 1 am quite sure that the above paragraph does not fully set forth all of the possibilities the dutli outline ne thus given how however evert ought to be sufficient to awaken citizens to the dangers inherent in continued delegation of authority to various branches of the government it caus calls attention to the sad fact that nothing at all has been done within the government to correct probably the most dangerous trend in official administration perhaps I 1 ought to qualify the statement that nothing at all has been done within the government there was a feeble attempt some years ago out of which it was hoped there would be some corrective program emerge A committee was named and as tar far as I 1 have been able to run down the facts it managed to hold a few meetings the story is that the meetings became so earnest on one or two occasions that mention was made of the purposes of the committee but they were soon forgotten delegation of new power to executive officers goes on through all of the years there tore fore there has continued to be a delegation of new power to executive officers of the federal government it is nearly as bad in the state governments moreover through all of the years officials of these agencies being human have continued to reach for and obtain more power than was ever intended to be in their hands there is no mushroom that can grow faster than a federal agency once it gets in in proper soil and temperature it is well to remember also that there are many types of mushrooms that are poisonous all ali of this brings us to what the american bar association is trying to do it brings to the front seat efforts made by a special committee of the association by way of getting legislation through congress to fence in these boys and girls on public payrolls so that the rank and file of citizens have a chance the special committee is headed beaded by col 0 R mcguire who lately resigned as an attorney in the general accounting office colonel mcguire saw the black death approaching and he believes the disease of granting more and more power to executive offices of the government is surely going to reach the vitals of our republican form of government unless drastic medicine is given I 1 am not prepared to say that the bill which colonel mcguire almost single handedly pressed before con gressional committees is the proper corrective measure there have been loopholes found in it plenty of them there has been opposition to it from among members ol of the national lawyers group doubtless other weak spots win will be found but it must not be said that the principle of checking the vicious trend is wrong and it seems to be an opportune time tor for real work to be done the american bar association is big enough its members have brains enough its membership has power enough to force something through congress whether it is s the e mcguire bill as it stands a modification of that or a completely rewritten measure the bar association had better assert itself in the interest of the public lawyers objects of barbed darts from the president the american bar association and lawyers generally have been subjected to barbed darts from president roosevelt on one pretext or another mr roosevelt has put tacks in the seats of lawyers pants ever since he entered the white house fundamentally that critic criticism I 1 sm always has been based in the presidents belief that lawyers were not working in the public interest here then it seems to me is a fine opp op port unity inasmuch as the associations ciati ons governing body meets early in 1940 and inasmuch as 1940 is a year of national elections why I 1 ask does not the bar association get busy why not demand of the candidates tor for the house of representatives and the senate a pledge that they act on some legislation that will partially restore a representative form of government as distinguished from the thousand little dictators now running our federal machinery and in connection with what may be done in in seeking a solution for the problem I 1 want to suggest a rather simple method let congress create a joint committee of representatives and senators who would be empowered to pass upon all of these rules and regulations that are issued in the countless offices of government not only the 46 independent teachers pets but all arms of the federal government having the right to set up enforcement powers it long has been regarded as a prerogative of congress to inquire into the operations of the executive branch of the government co congress n has been jealous of that prerogative as it should be it if it would create such a committee as I 1 have suggested therefore it would be a means of preventing the evils of a million rules about which congress now has nothing to say and it would restore to congress as the elected representatives of the people the authority which it has foolishly given away and if there needs to be face saving on badly drawn laws congress would be able to do that without having to admit that it is cr has been wrong well Holdi nHim U M 2 now I 1 am so I 1 1 MEN 1 ski swill a 4 |