Relation of the Federal Government to Research 



151 



the work of the commissions their best efforts. Espe- 

 cially is the post of chairman highly regarded, and the 

 excellent results achieved are often in large part due to 

 the conscientious effort and skill with which such offi- 

 cers discharge the duties of their office. Thirdly, 

 great care is taken in framing what are known as the 

 terms of reference, to make clear and definite the na- 

 ture of the task that is entrusted to the commission. 

 Thus, for example, the commission setting up the India 

 Statutory Commission of 1927 recited that the commis- 

 sion was created : 



for the purpose of inquiring into tlie worlilug of tlie system 

 of government, tlie growth of education, and tlie development 

 of representative institutions in British India and matters con- 

 nected therewith ; and shall report as to whether, and to what 

 extent, it is desirable to establish the principle of responsible 

 government, or to extend, modify, or restrict the degree of 

 responsible government then existing therein, including the 

 question whether the establishment of second chambers of the 

 local legislatures is or is not desirable. 



The organization and work of these commissions 

 have recently been subjected to intensive study by two 

 American students, and we cannot do better than con- 

 clude this sketch of them by reproducmg from their 

 work some paragraphs in which they sum up the reasons 

 why these commissions have proven to be such excellent 

 research bodies and have produced such important 

 results. They write : *^ 



The most admirable results have been obtained from royal 

 commissions composed of expert or impartial persons. There 

 are two requisites for the successful conduct of an Inquiry. 

 There must be, first, thorough and disinterested investigation 

 of the facts pertinent to the subject. Secondly, and even more 

 important, is the mature interpretation of the evidence with a 

 view to the determination of a mode of future treatment of 

 the subject at issue. These two things, patient investigation 

 and unprejudiced weighing of causes and effects, which may be 

 called research and judgment, are best undertaken by experts 

 and nonpartisans. 



Expert commissions, i. e., those manned by persons whose 

 special competence in the subject of the inquiry, or in related 

 fields, is recognized, have been used quite frequently for ad- 

 visory purposes in such technical matters as public health, 

 local government, administration, and other problems in which 

 professional competence is an admitted asset. The chief advan- 

 tage of this kind of inquiry is that the issue is removed from the 

 arena of political debate and subjected to scrutiny by influential 

 authorities who have no personal concern or commitment of 

 party afliiliation. It provides an opportunity for utilizing the 

 services of specialists who are not normally members of legis- 

 lative bodies and who do not happen to possess official con- 

 nection with the administrative departments. Being already 

 prepared and trained, specialist commissioners do not have to 

 undergo the "educative" work which so frequently forms the 



" Hugh McDowaU Clarke and J. William Robinson : Royal Commis- 

 sions of Inquiry, Harvard Piess, 1937, pp. 163, 168. For a further con- 

 sideration of these bodies, see : A. Harrison Cole : A Finding List of 

 British Royal Commission Reports, Cambridge, Mass., 1935 ; Harold F. 

 Gosnell : British Royal Commissions of Inquiry^ Political Science Quar- 

 terly, March 1937 ; Report of the Departmental Committee on the Proce- 

 dure of Royal Commissions, Parliamentary Papers, 1910 (Cmd. 5235). 



first part of the work of the inexpert commissioners. From the 

 very outset the commissioners bring to the investigation a 

 body of information and experience which enables them to 

 proceed immediately to the heart of the matter, to sifting out 

 indisputable facts, weighing the various Interpretations which 

 are offered in explanation of social phenomena, and arriving 

 at a matter of collective judgment. * * * 



In conclusion, it may be said that It has been the admirable 

 nature of the personnel of royal commissions In the past which 

 has contributed more than anything else to the satisfactory 

 results obtained from the commission system of inquiry. 

 Whether the members have been expert or biased, representa- 

 tive or impartial. It can rarely be said that they were In- 

 competent or negligent. Whenever the Government of the Day 

 has really sought elucidation of a subject it has received a care- 

 fully conducted study of the matter. For the members of 

 these commissions are not only men of position who take 

 their duties seriously. The work is seldom delegated to sub- 

 ordinates—indeed it might be more frequently than it is— but 

 is undertaken personally at considerable sacrifice of leisure, 

 earnings, and even social reputation. But whether from beiag 

 clever politicians, unquestioned specialists, or sincerely dis- 

 interested persons, the fact is that a number of reports have 

 carried sufficient weight to Influence policy in the long run ; and 

 this has been so continuous that the use of the royal commis- 

 sion has been regarded as a certain and satisfactory way out 

 of all manner of difficulties. 



There is, of course, no reason why American commis- 

 sions should not have as high a character and be pro- 

 ductive of as beneficial results as the British commis- 

 sions. All that is required is the development of the 

 same care in setting up such bodies and spirit of serv- 

 ice on the part of those selected as commissioners. 

 Probably the nearest approach that we have had to 

 the creation of a commission of the British type is the 

 National Commission on Law Observance and Enforce- 

 ment created by the First Deficiency Act of June 1, 

 1929, of which former United States Attorney General 

 George W. Wickersham was chairman and which in- 

 cluded among its other members such eminent citizens 

 as Newton D. Baker and Koscoe Pound. There are a 

 number of subjects which readily come to mind the 

 investigation of which by a commission of the British 

 lyi>e would be highly desirable. Among these, men- 

 tion may be made of the subject of taxation. It is 

 generally recognized that the whole situation as re- 

 gards taxation in the United States — Federal, State, and 

 local — is unsatisfactory in the extreme. There is much 

 overlapping and duplication as regards objects of tax- 

 ation between the several layers of government, and 

 it is highly desirable that some arrangement should be 

 arrived at under which the use of the several forms 

 of taxation should be allocated among these layers in 

 such a way as to avoid this duplication under which 

 two or more layers not only use the same tax but, at 

 great avoidable expense and trouble to the taxpayers, 

 maintain duplicate services for its assessment and col- 

 lection. Furthermore, there is general agreement that 

 the system of Federal taxes needs a thorough over- 



