The power to call a special session has occasionally been made use of by a governor to force upon the attention of an unwilling legislature some measure favored by him, and at the same time to give emphasis to the subject in order to create a public opinion in its support.

2. To adThe power of dissolution of the legislature at will possessed by journ the the colonial governor has disappeared; but in case of disagreement legislature between the two houses as to the time of adjournment, the governor may adjourn them. In such a case, the time of adjournment must be not later than the date of assembling of the next regular session. In cases of emergency, such as at time of public danger, the governor may adjourn the legislature or call it in session at some other than the regular place of meeting.

3. To send

messages:

(a) Regular message

In every state, the governor, by constitutional mandate or by custom, sends messages to the legislature. In many states he is directed to communicate by message "the condition of the state and recommend such measures as he may deem expedient." His messages may be said to be of three kinds: first, a formal opening message; second, special messages; third, the final or valedictory message upon retirement.

In general it may be said that the formal message delivered at the opening of the legislative session consists of two parts. First, it contains a general review of the state of public affairs, including any conditions, economic or social, which may affect the course of the public business or the public welfare. This presentation varies widely with the inclination and the character of the governor. It sometimes is a carefully prepared and businesslike survey of conditions in the state; at other times, it degenerates into a stump speech, rhetorical and platitudinous. Its second part consists of recommendations of various subjects for the consideration of the legislature and for possible enactment. As the governor has come to be looked to by everyone as a leader of the legislature, such recommendations have great significance, and attract a large measure of public interest. In the message are likely to be mentioned the various constructive measures advocated in the party platform, but especially those which the governor himself has adopted as his own personal platform in the campaign. Sometimes some of the latter are merely mentioned in the regular message, more comprehensive treatment being reserved for a special message later.

A feature of the better type of messages, especially in recent years, has been a discussion of the finances of the state. In several

states the governor is required to account to the legislature for money received and paid out under his authority. The accounting for this sometimes appears as a sort of appendix to the regular message. This requirement seems to be an outgrowth of the custom of placing at his disposal an "emergency fund" to be expended by him at his discretion for extraordinary purposes not to be anticipated by the legislature. Where the executive budget has been introduced, matters of finance are now reserved for presentation in the "budget message" at a later date in the session. This becomes, then, in effect a second regular message.

From time to time during the legislative session, the governor (b) Spemay send special messages. These may be suggested by some un- cial foreseen circumstance, or, as has been suggested above, when messages some subject of paramount importance has been reserved from the regular message for more extensive discussion. Special messages frequently deal with topics which the governor has stressed in his campaign and upon which he has to a certain degree staked his official record. In such cases there is frequently at the same time introduced by a close supporter of the governor, a bill embodying the governor's policy on the subject, which thereupon takes on especial legislative importance as an "administration measure." Such special messages on administration measures were infrequent before the latter years of the nineteenth century, but are to-day very

common.

In every state except North Carolina, the governor has the power 4. To of veto, though the occasions and the conditions on which it may veto bills be applied vary from state to state. Where the power to veto exists, every bill which passes the two houses must be presented to the governor. This requirement is usually, even when not specifically stated, construed to extend as well to joint resolutions, except such as relate to matters of legislative procedure, sending messages to a popular referendum and constitutional amendments.

in

Thus far, only the legal powers of the governor over legislation 5. Politihave been considered. In addition, he possesses political influence cal which, though not set down in formal statement, is quite as real influence and sometimes more effective than his legal powers. The governor legislation does not, except in the case of the appropriation bill accompanying the budget, regularly introduce bills. It is, however, not uncommon, as has already been said, for some of the most important measures before the legislature to be presented by a spokesman of the governor, and to be known to have been prepared for the governor. These

"administration bills," as has been indicated, occupy a prominent place in the course of legislation.

For the political purpose of securing support for a measure, the governor sometimes employs his legal powers of budget-making and veto as well as his power of appointment and removal. The use of these, or a hint of their possible use made as a skillful politician well knows how, are very powerful in winning support for the governor's measures. Added to these is the purely political influence which the governor exerts as a popular leader. Through speeches, interviews for the press, and conferences with local leaders, he can mould public opinion in favor of a measure to such an extent that legislators will hesitate to risk popular as well as executive disapproval by voting against it.

All of these powers and influences: message, appointment, threat of veto, and the various means of stirring public opinion, may be used with equal vigor and effect in opposition to any measure of which the governor disapproves.

The steady stream of people: legislators and citizens, which is constantly passing between the two houses and the executive chamber, during the session, is an indication of the power which the governor exercises over legislation between the delivering of his message and the time when the bills reach his desk for approval or veto. This influence is sometimes deplored by writers as an encroachment by the executive on the province of the legislature. It is, however, but the natural result of a demand on the part of both the public and the members of the legislature for a leadership in policy-forming which, under our political system, no member of either house is in a position to assume.

REFERENCES

CRAWFORD, F. G., Readings in American Government, (New York, 1927), Chap. XXI.

MOTT, R. L., Materials Illustrative of American Government, (New York, 1925), Chap. XLVIII.

BEARD, C. A., Readings in American Government and Politics, (New York, 1910), Chap. XXIV.

REINSCH, P. S., Readings on American State Government, (Boston, 1911), Chap. I.

WILLOUGHBY, W. F., Government of Modern States, (New York, 1919), Chap. XIV.

MATHEWS, J. M., Principles of American State Administration, (New York, 1917), Chaps. II-V.

FINLEY, J. H. and SANDERSON, J. F., American Executive and Executive Methods, (New York, 1907), Chaps. V-IX.

TH

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

function

HE second function performed by the executive branch of gov- The ernment is that of administration. This consists in carrying adminisinto effect the plans and policies determined upon by the legislative trative body and interpreted by the courts. Its mission is to carry out orders, and to furnish the policy-forming organs with that information derived from daily contacts and intimate knowledge which is necessary to the wise determination of policy. The work of administration is carried out under the supervision and direction of the executive authorities. If one seeks to distinguish further the executive from the administrative, it will be found that while the executive function partakes of the nature of policy-forming, and hence is political in character, the administrative does not, and is nonpolitical. Again, while the executive function is concerned with the state as a whole, and its general well-being, the administrative is concerned with specific activities for their own sake.

The mistake should not be made of attempting to distinguish. between the two functions by saying that the executive exercises discretion while the administrative does not. The fact is, rather, that administrative officers also exercise discretion, but that it is directed, not to the question of what is to be done, but as to how it shall be done. Their discretion is not of such breadth and character that a policy laid down by the political organs of government can be seriously affected by it as to success or failure.

The executive branch of government in the early states was made Growth up of the governor, in whom were vested the more strictly executive of adminfunctions, and of certain officers of general administration. Both istration the titles and the functions of these officers of general administration-secretary, treasurer, and attorney—reveal their origin in the corporate nature of the colonies. Such "service" functions as were undertaken by government were performed by local officers with little or no supervision by the state. The idea that the state was to be employed in the rendering of a great variety of services for the promotion of the general welfare had not yet dawned upon the

public. Indeed, such an idea would have been contrary to the accepted political theories of that day. Government was thought of as a necessary evil, made necessary by the perverseness and wickedness of mankind, and to be restrained within as narrow bounds as possible. The more optimistic even looked forward to a day when governments should become altogether unnecessary.

The economic developments of the first half of the nineteenth century brought sweeping changes, social and material; and the Civil War found the country undergoing transition from a pioneer agricultural to an industrial society of increasing complexity. The new condition had already arrived along the northern Atlantic seaboard and was creeping over the mountains into the Ohio Valley. This change involved, among other things, a large growth of population which tended to concentrate in the towns. The new commerce and industry with the aggregations of capital involved brought new problems in their train. These changes and new problems bred, quite unconsciously, a new and broader view of the function of government. It was to government that the people turned more and more for aid in the solution of these vexing questions. So the range of state activities, at first so narrow, broadened with accelerated speed and by the end of the century had attained immense proportions. Relatively early a widespread interest in education developed which led, by the middle of the nineteenth century, to a stateorganized system of common schools, at the head of which was a state superintendent or board of education. At first, criminals were confined in the jails and the insane were confined either with the criminals or kept in the local poorhouses with the other dependent classes. The need of segregation and specialized treatment of various delinquent and defective classes led to the establishment from time to time of an increasing number and variety of state institutions for these classes of the population. Illinois established its first penitentiary in 1827, New York created a board of prison commissioners in 1846, and the Massachusetts Board of Charities dates from 1863. As surplus wealth accumulated, it was desirable to extend supervision over the private institutions, such as banks and insurance companies, to which the savings of the people were intrusted. New York began the supervision of banks in 1829, and Massachusetts, in 1855. In the course of time, corporate capital began to devote itself to supplying communities with services which are naturally monopolistic in character, such as transportation, water, gas, and, later, electricity in its various applications. When these corpora