agency, builds upon the ancient and well-established science of law. Though the science of legal methods and government, based upon the scientific principles which have developed therefrom, have had a slow growth, and, though much in lawmaking is still uncertain and haphazard, the legal phases of government in the processes of lawmaking and law-enforcing by the courts are becoming more scientific in character. As the principles of the recognized sciences now employed extensively in government administration are put into systematic form, a technic is developed which constitutes a basis for a science of administration. Such a technic has been accurately and systematically formulated in only a few fields, as in the administration of health departments, of police departments, and of fire departments. The method is capable of development and extension, however, to other branches of public affairs. Government, then, like other branches of human knowledge, is in the process of becoming a science. Enough has been accomplished to indicate that the scientific method will close in upon and eventually dominate parts of political science, in which chance, rough guesses, and crude rule-of-thumb practices still prevail to a considerable degree. But since human nature is varied and extensive in its manifestations, and since not all of human conduct can be brought under the exact measuring stick of science, there will always be room for the exercise of the imagination and the analysis of the intricate factors which determine human conduct and which are scarcely susceptible of systematic calculation. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS The Teaching of Government. Report to the American Political Science Association by the Committee on Instruction (The Macmillan Company, 1916), see especially Part IV-Report on Instruction in Colleges and Universities, pp. 135 ff. JAMES BRYCE, "Relations of Political Science to History and to Practice," American Political Science Review, Vol. III, p. 1, February, 1909. H. G. JAMES, "The Meaning and Scope of Political Science," The Southwestern Political Science Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1 (June, 1920), p. 3. J. W. GARNER, Introduction to Political Science, Chap. I (American Book Company, 1910). E. B. ROSA, "The Economic Importance of the Scientific Work of the Government," Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences Vol. X, No. 12, June 19, 1920. An excellent summary of the activities of the federal government for research, education, and developmental work. CHAPTER I PUBLIC OPINION AND POPULAR CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT' There is hardly anywhere a work on political science that does not, when it examines the phenomena of public opinion, either indulge in some wise and vague observations, or else make a frank admission of ignorance. And yet what can there possibly be to a political science with the very breath of its life left out? He who writes of the state, of law, or of politics without first coming to close quarters with public opinion is simply evading the very central structure of his study. -A. F. BENTLEY, The Process of Government, p. 163. PUBLIC OPINION A POTENT FACTOR IN GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT in ancient times-in fact, during all times-has been based to a certain degree upon mystery. But especially was this true of the ancient world when rulers believed that they derived their powers from unseen spirits whose will could be evoked and executed only by the chosen few. Monarchy prospered for many years under the assumption of the mystical connection between the rulers and a divinity, and even to this day there still remain a few nations supposedly existing under the domi 1 Secure the publications of the following associations and societies and note in particular efforts to formulate and direct public opinion: American Public Health Association American Social Hygiene Association National Municipal League American Proportional Representation League Short Ballot Organization National Child Labor Committee American Association for Labor Legislation Play Ground and Recreation Association of America American Federation of Labor National Association of Manufacturers National League of Women Voters Addresses of these organizations may be found in The World Almanac or The Survey. |