Can we read the signs of the times and be mistaken in the belief that there is an insistent demand for disinterested non-political study and work in administrative law. The words of Dr. Andrew D. White, calling for endowments for the study of comparative administration, are fresh in our minds. At a recent eastern university commencement, at which the Governor of New York was publicly honored, no words were spoken more fitting and more timely than those in praise of his "thankless" constructive labors in the fields of public finance and public administration. A thousand doctrines and dogmas have fallen by the way, a thousand will fall-but who can doubt that the law and the privilege of service, the religion of work, will continue to increase in

of administrative law is to be found in the school tribunals of America, or, more immediately, in those of Iowa. If it were attempted to trace exactly the jurisdiction of the county and State superintendents, a very devious line would result. In Iowa there is a shadowy borderland in which both the school courts and the regular judicial tribunals exercise jurisdiction, and there is a wide field in which the judicial tribunals may supplement, direct, or even control the school courts, through their writs of mandamus, certiorari, or injunction.

The school court is as yet embryonic, and, like all administrative courts in this country-saving always the justices of the peace of the colonial and early State period—it is an exotic. But it should none the less be carefully preserved. It probably contains the germ of much that will prove beneficial in American government. It will develop slowly, no doubt, but the separation of justice from administration in continental countries has been only a very gradual thing. As Gneist says of the development in the German states: "Trennung der Verwaltung von der Justiz' macht sich daher zuerst im Polizeirecht als eine gebieterische Forderung des practischen Lebens geltend, vollzieht sich aber in den einezelnen Territorien sehr langsam und unter zahllosen Variationen." Rudolph Gneist, Der Rechtsstaat, p. 118.

the cubits of its strength. And, if so, in what field, considering our present public needs, can it plead more eloquently for followers than in the field of administrative study-a field barren to the outlook, and, it may be, discouraging to the first research, but containing the secrets of social organization and the practical solutions of social difficulties. HAROLD M. BOWMAN

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARTY ORGANIZA

TION IN IOWA

The importance of party organization is but dimly recognized by the average citizen. The part it plays in the working of our governmental system-from the school district to the national government itself—is not generally understood by the great mass of voters in whose loyal adherence it finds its chief support. Though the fact of organization is seen on every hand, the motives which are behind it, the methods used by it, and the results attained through it are not so evident. On the contrary, there is a distinct lack of appreciation of the real significance of these great organizations whose beginnings date back to our first experience as a nation. This unsatisfactory condition is due partly to actual ignorance and partly to the confusion which has arisen from the extreme emphasis placed by many students of politics upon that portion of the party organization which has come to be known popularly as the "machine." The failure to distinguish properly between the rural party organization and that of the city has added to this confusion. Indeed, the question of rural party organization has been almost wholly neglected, while that of municipal party organization has received extended discussion and has been taken as representative of the organization throughout the entire country. And this is the real situation in spite of the fact that the great majority of our people are members of the rural organizations.

The study of party organization in its larger aspects is a work of the future, but it is a work which must be accomplished before any adequate understanding of our party history and our governmental theory can be attained. A number of points of view will be elucidated in such a study. Among these are: (1) the party organization as the agent of the people in the administration of government in harmonizing the interests of the legislative and executive departments; (2) party organization as a unifying force in the life of the people; (3) the psychology of party organization; (4) the significance of party discipline; (5) the influence of party organization upon the social, educational, and even religious life of the people; (6) the immense power wielded by the organization through the control of party nominations. In addition to these are the well worn questions of the spoils system, the corrupt use of money, and the use of the party machinery to promote the selfish interests of the party managers. In all these different phases the subject of party organization offers opportunities for investigations which will, no doubt, be valuable contributions to our stock of knowledge and throw additional light upon our local and national history.

The following brief account of the beginnings of the party organizations in Iowa is not an attempt to discuss the subject in the manner suggested above, but is simply the foundation for a future study in which the elaboration of these points of view may be undertaken. For the present, it is the purpose to trace the development of party machinery in Iowa from its beginning to its present perfect state. The result will be the outline of the mechanism of our political

parties; their motives and methods are reserved for future consideration.

There are two kinds of party organization, the distinction between which should be made at the outset. There is what may be called the "paper" organization, which may be easily effected; and there is what may be called the "institutional" organization, which has its roots deep in the minds of its members and which requires years for its development. The former is best illustrated by the organizations of the minor parties. A State central committee com. posed of one member from each congressional district is appointed; a congressional committee composed of one rep. resentative from each county is chosen for each congressional district; a similarly constituted committee is selected for each judicial district; and in each county a committee is organized which is composed of representatives from all the townships in the county. The mechanism is complete, but in spite of its completeness is ineffectual because it is artifi cial in its nature and does not exist in response to the demands of any considerable part of the people. It exists for the most part in the minds of the few men who are its promoters and managers. It is not a great organic party, although it manifests all the outward signs of an organic party. As a matter of fact it is far from possessing this complete machinery-a condition which only emphasizes the radical difference between this imperfect organization and that which is genuinely institutional in its character.

This latter type is illustrated by either of the great parties, but especially by the Democratic party which has be hind it a century of unbroken tradition. Its outward