Why have the people put up with this sort of thing?  For one thing, they have not understood where the trouble lies.  There is also seen the influence of the political “boss,” who thrives under this confusion.  But among the causes is the desire of the people to maintain control over government.  They have attempted, in their constitutions, not only to say just what services should be performed for them, but also to specify just what machinery should be used for their performance.  For every new service, they have created a new and independent piece of machinery.  Then, to make their control complete, as they thought, they have made most of their new officers elective.  Experience has shown that control of this kind has been gained only at the sacrifice of efficient service, through failure to provide trained leadership and effective organization.  Moreover, experience has also shown that control of this kind is largely a delusion; for the people cannot keep in touch with their multitude of officers, and in many cases yield their control, often unknowingly, to the political “boss.”

EXPERIMENT NECESSARY TO PROGRESS

In noting these defects, it is not to be concluded that our state governments have been a failure in all respects.  Far from it.  Notable progress has been made toward the ideals toward which we have been striving.  We have tried one experiment after another, some of which have been highly successful, but others of which have not met the test of new conditions.  It is important, however, that we should face our failures squarely and profit by them.

REORGANIZATION OF EXECUTIVE

At the present time there is a marked effort to overcome the defects that we have just noted, and a good deal of progress toward it has been made in some states.  One of the most progressive states in this particular is Illinois, which has recently enacted a law for the reorganization of its executive branch of government.

Under the new “Civil Administrative Code” of Illinois, the executive branch of government is organized in nine departments:  the departments of finance, of agriculture, of labor, of mines and minerals, of public works and buildings, of public welfare, of public health, of trade and commerce, and of registration and education.

At the head of each department is a director, who is appointed by the governor, is responsible to him, and whose term of office is the same as that of the governor.

Each department is organized into various bureaus, or other subdivisions, with officers in charge who are directly responsible to the director of the department.  Thus, in the department of agriculture there is an assistant director, a general manager of the state fair, a superintendent of foods and dairies, a superintendent of animal industry, a superintendent of plant industry, a chief veterinarian, a chief game and fish warden, and a food standard commission of three members.