132 



National Resources Committee 



expedient." The discretionary right of the President 

 to refuse information to Congress has been claimed 

 by tlie Presidents and exercised by them from tlie ear- 

 liest times. More tlian this, they have, at times, di- 

 rected the lieads of departments not to furnish infor- 

 mation in 7-e.'^ponse to requests by Congress made upon 

 them. Refusal to meet the legitimate demand of Con- 

 gress for information is however, rarely, if ever, made, 

 though occasionally, the reply is sent that the securing 

 of the data desired would involve so great an expense 

 or so disrupt the regular work of the service, that 

 the latter does not feel that it should comply with the 

 request unless insisted upon. 



Commissions 



A common characteristic of standing, joint, and spe- 

 cial committees is that they are composed wholly of 

 members of the two Houses. At times, where the sub- 

 ject of the inquiry is a very general, or a technical, 

 one, and where the cooperation of outside aid is be- 

 lieved to be of value, Congress adopts the policy of en- 

 trusting the conduct of the investigation to a body 

 composed wholly, or partialh', of persons not members 

 of either House. A body so constituted is usually 

 known as a Commission, in contradistinction to the 

 term committee, and it is in that sense that the term 

 is here employed.-" Important examples of where this 

 type of investigatory body has been set up are: The 

 Industrial Commission created by Act of June 18, 

 1898; the Joint Commission on Immigration, created 

 by Act of February 20, 1903; and the Employers' Lia- 

 bility and Worlcmen's Compensation Commission, cre- 

 ated by Joint Eesolution of June 25, 1910. 



At times, action by Congress takes the form of re- 

 questing and empowering the President to appoint a 

 commission to make a desired investigation, none of 

 wliose members may be members of Congress. This 

 was done in the case of the Waterways Commission, 

 created by act of August 8, 1917, and the United States 

 Coal Commission, created by act of September 22, 1922. 

 At other times, the act or resolution creating the com- 

 mission provides that the commission, in addition to 

 embracing members of Congress, shall include certain 

 designated officials. Thus, the Public Buildings Com- 

 mission, created by act of July 1, 1916, to investigate 

 what public buildings were needed in the District of 

 Columbia to furnish accommodations for the Govern- 



" I'nfortunately, Congress itself does not consistently follow this 

 termlnolopioal distinction. In many cases wliat is really nothing more 

 than a joint committee is officially dPsignatcd a commission. For ex- 

 ample, the National Monetary Commission, created in 1!>ns, wliich 

 made one of the most extensive Investigations ever undertaken hy 

 Congress, and the National Waterways Commission of mot), which 

 made a general study of water transportation and the improvement 

 of waterways, were composed wholly of members of Congress, and were 

 thus in fact, but joint committees. 



ment services in Government-owned buildings, was 

 made to consist of the chairmen of the Senate and 

 House Committees on Appropriations, and on Public 

 Buildings and Grounds, two of the members of each 

 of said committees to be selected by the chairmen of 

 said committees, the Superintendent of Capitol Build- 

 ing and Grounds, the officer in charge of public build- 

 ings, and the Supervising, or Acting Supervising, 

 Architect of the Treasury Department; and the Com- 

 mission for the Purchase of Diplomatic and Consular 

 Premises, created by act of March 2, 1921, was made to 

 consist of the Chairmen and ranking minority members 

 of tlie Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

 House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of 

 State and the Seci-etary of the Treasury. The most 

 striking instance of this practice being followed, how- 

 ever, is afforded by the National Economic Committee 

 created at the close of the last session of Congress to 

 make a comprehensive investigation of the more funda- 

 mental features of our existing economic system. This 

 Committee, which is really a commission, consists of 

 three Senators, three Representatives, and six high- 

 ranking executive officials to be designated by the Presi- 

 dent. The importance of this commission is partially 

 indicated by the fact that $500,000 was appropriated to 

 meet its expenses, of which sum $400,000 was to be 

 allotted by the President. 



When the commission is composed of representatives 

 cif the two Houses and a designated number of civilians, 

 the provision is usually made that the civilian mem- 

 bers shall be selected by the President of the United 

 States, and a fixed compensation for such members is 

 usually provided. 



The President, as is well kno^vn, has, in recent years, 

 created numerous commissions for the study of matters 

 of public and governmental interest. These investiga- 

 tions, important as many of them are, fall outside of 

 the scope of the present study and are consequently not 

 here considered. 



Subject Matter of Investigations 



The character of the special investigations under- 

 taken by legislative bodies is probably of greater in- 

 terest and importance than the particular nature of 

 the agency employed in making the inquiry. An ex- 

 amination of the work of Congress in this way reveals 

 that the great majority of the special investigations 

 directed to be made by Congress fall within certain 

 fairly well-defined fields. In the pages that immedi- 

 ately follow, the attempt is made to list and describe 

 the more important of these inquiries that have been 

 made in recent years in each of these fields. "^^Hien the 

 results of the investigations have been published in a 

 series of reports or volumes it has been thought desir- 



