RURAL STATESMANSHIP 201 



SOME LIMITATIONS TO GOVERNMENTAL EFFICIENCY 



Laws in themselves carry limitations. It is rare that 

 a law meets all situations adequately. Moreover, un- 

 der the law there arises an increasing necessity for ad- 

 ministrative rule which, while only purporting to be an 

 interpretation of the law, has all the force of law. 

 The great difficulty with these laws and rules is that 

 they are so iron clad; if their wisdom is questioned, 

 there is slight redress. What is best and wisest and 

 most effective may be buried in the reiterated answer of 

 the official, " This is the law." One of the penalties we 

 pay for the reign of law, which of course is the bedrock 

 of civilization, is the temptation on the part of admin- 

 istrators of the law to become tithers of mint and anise 

 and cummin. 



In all government affairs, there is a growing necessity 

 for order and system; so we develop formal written 

 projects and memoranda. They are valuable, prob- 

 ably indispensable. But their use tends to the emphasis 

 upon a paper plan rather than upon the significance of 

 the results to be achieved by the plan. The considera- 

 tion of these documents consumes time and energy and 

 often causes serious delays. As these things increase, 

 greater becomes the lack of personal responsibility and 

 personal judgment, and more and more decisions are 

 made on the basis of precedent and rule and form 

 rather than on actual needs. The administration be- 

 comes rigid rather than plastic and practical. Govern- 

 ment officials find themselves under the almost irresist- 

 ible necessity of forming judgments in the office rather 

 than in the field. In a great organization, it is not easy 

 to secure the best man for the most important adminis- 

 trative positions and it is difficult to get rid of incom- 



