Spencer, Richard C

English

Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

Indiana Law JournalVolume 4 | Issue 9 Article 66-1929Party Government in the House of Representatives,by Paul DeWitt HasbrouckRichard C. SpencerWestern Reserve UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iljPart of the Law and Politics Commons, and the Legislation CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the LawSchool Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized administrator ofDigital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contactwattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationSpencer, Richard C. (1929) "Party Government in the House of Representatives, by Paul DeWitt Hasbrouck," Indiana Law Journal:Vol. 4: Iss. 9, Article 6.Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol4/iss9/6REVIEWScovered separately in this collection because of their enormouspresent importance. Besides all these, there are collections offorms on the organization and conduct of business in the DistrictCourts, habeas corpus (including immigration) matters, courtsof special jurisdiction (the Court of Claims and the Court ofCustoms Appeals), eminent domain proceedings brought by theFederal government, and proceedings with respect to the obtain-ing of witnesses and testimony in the Federal courts. In addi-tion there is a chapter given to bankruptcy forms, most of theofficial and a large number of unofficial forms being included. Itis specifically stated, however, that this collection is not so com-plete as that generally included in special works upon bank-ruptcy.The need of a work of this sort seems fairly obvious. Theenormous amount of litigation in the Federal courts at thepresent time practically insures to any active practitioner theopportunity, and usually the necessity, of a certain amount ofFederal litigation; and in such litigation his experience in statecourt litigation is not usually helpful-rather is often positivelymisleading. A collection of forms which have been approvedin the Federal courts is, therefore, invaluable. The need thusexisting seems to be very well met by the book under review.The forms are selected very largely from litigated cases, refer-ences to which are often included. The book is adequatelyindexed and the selection of forms seems to be very well done.While, of course, no form book can ever cover all of theexigencies of actual practice, it will be a very rare situationwhen assistance will not be obtained from this full and admirablecollection. Every practitioner in the Federal courts shouldhave access to and make large use of this work.ROBERT C. BROWN.Indiana University School of Law.PARTY GOVERNMENT IN THE HOUSE OFREPRESENTATIVESParty Government in the House of Representatives is a valu-able contribution to the literature of legislative processes. Itis definitely a study in political science. The introduction rapidlysurveys the development during and since the "revolution of1910," as a background for the study. Earlier practices andprecedents are drawn upon merely to illustrate the significanceof recent changes. The bulk of the study shows the extent towhich party influences affect the legislative produce of the* Party Government in the House of Representatives. ByPaul DeWitt Hasbrouck. New York: The McMillan Company,1927. Pp. ix, 265. Price, $2.25.INDIANA LAW JOURNALHouse. -The thesis running throughout is that a workable ruleshould be adopted whereby committees may be discharged of abill or the Committee, of Rules discharged of a "special order"at the will of a majority of the House. This is urged as a checkupon the majority-party leaders.Probably contrary to the author's expectation, the book ismuch more of a contribution through its lucid explanation ofthe springs of control in the House of Representatives than inits advocacy and outlining of a desirable discharge rule. It ismade clear that few generalizations regarding procedure can bevalid. One conclusion, however, the reader cannot well escape:party control is not so highly concentrated at present as it wasprevious to 1910. A number of important committees havebecome "exclusive," and the chairmen can no longer be membersof the Committee on Rules or of the Steering Committee.Although these chairmanships are key positions, they with therest of the committee memberships are determined very largelyby seniority. Control rests with the Speaker, the Floor Leader,and several influential members, usually of long experience, ina number of the key chairmanships. Their methods of controlvary, but they are to a great extent in the nature of informalunderstandings, arrived at after a large part of the party mem-bership in the House has been sounded out on the policies pro-posed. Cruder methods of control, that through the delay inawarding of committee positions and that through the caucus,are employed as a rule early in a session to whip the appar-ently indifferent members into line for party unity. The caucus,it seems, is used less often than one is inclined to suppose-partlybecause it is crude and partly because its employment mayarouse antagonisms within the party. It is utilized principallyto organize the House at the opening of a Congress and espe-cially when a party has just come into power and that poweris not well centralized.Another inescapable conclusion is that party considerationsinfluence the great bulk of legislation much less than one isoften led to believe. A vast number of measures are passed bygeneral consent. Most of the remainder are voted upon not somuch according to party alignment as according to the effectwhich each particular bit of legislation will be likely to have onthe various home constituencies. Relatively few are treatedstrictly as party measures, and those few are selected by theleaders in consultation or by caucus action.One reason for the lack of party influence in legislation (suchas would be expected in the English two-party system) is clearlydemonstrated in Chapter IX on "The Verdict of the Country."In the period 1914-1926, 148 districts in the country remainedunchanged as Republican districts. Likewise, 122 districts re-mained as steadfastly Democratic. Republican strength in theHouse during that period was never lower than 193 and theDemocratic was never lower than 132. Thus the actual rangeREVIEWSof variation or the degree of fluidity has been relatively smalland "in many Congressional districts of the United States, thejudgment of the voters is so clouded by hereditary prejudice,by race antagonism, by rivalry between country and city, or bythe personalities of local leaders, that there is no free choicebetween parties."Because the party leaders in Congress have come largely fromthe districts which change least often and are trusted becauseof their long experience, the elections do not serve as a check onparty leadership in the House. Seniority determination, more-over, of the membership of committees-sifters of legislation-also helps to prevent individual accountability. Hence, theadvocacy of the discharge rule. It is intended to render theseleaders more accountable to the House as a whole.In spite of his desire for a workable discharge rule, the authorseems inclined to think that party allegiance in the procedureof the House should grow in regularity, meaning, and bindingforce. In so far as a discharge rule might be utilized by mem-bers of the majority party to keep their leaders within reason-able bounds, these two desires of the author may not be incon-sistent. But in so far as such a rule might be employed byinsurgents with the help of minority members, the controls lead-ing to party unity would be impaired. This would, however,mean control by a majority of the House.In style, the book is clear and concise. It gives evidence ofbeing the product of diligent research into source materials. Inaddition to official documents, biographical as well as numeroussecondary works are cited. The reviewer noted but one inade-quacy: a somewhat fuller treatment of the relations of the Senateand the Presidency to party government in the House of Repre-sentatives might more completely satisfy expectations arousedby the title.RICHARD C. SPENCI.Western Reserve University.

Party Government in the House of Representatives, by Paul DeWitt Hasbrouck

https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4251&context=ilj

Party Government in the House of Representatives, by Paul DeWitt Hasbrouck

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law