puts it to popular vote; and in one state it is left to the state superintendent of public instruction." "

The Efficiency and Economy Committee recommended the creation of a department of education to include the work of the superintendent of public instruction, the normal school boards, the university trustees, the state library, a natural resources commission and other state agencies. The superintendent of public instruction was to be the executive head of the proposed organization. The educational agencies which have been consolidated in the department of registration and education, if divorced from the registration functions which are but vaguely related to education, form a good basis upon which to organize such a department, in combination with that of the superintendent of public instruction.

Corporations. The department of trade and commerce has jurisdiction over insurance companies, and through its nominal supervision of the public utilities commission, it has some jurisdiction over public utility corporations. The secretary of state issues charters of incorporation to most classes of corporations, and exercises some supervision over a great number of ordinary business corporations. He is also charged with the administration of the "blue sky law." The auditor of public accounts issues charters to state banks, has supervision of the state banks and banking institutions, trust companies, title guarantee companies, building and loan associations and pawners' societies. A banking law which is to be submitted to the people in November, 1920, enlarges his supervision over banks. Thus, the administration of the laws concerning corporations is divided between two elective state officials and the department of trade and commerce.

The tax commission, which is nominally a part of the department. of finance, is charged with the assessment of the capital stock of all corporations except those for manufacturing, mercantile, mining, printing and publishing newspapers, breeding of stock and banking purposes. The latter corporations are assessed locally. Some classes of corporations are under the supervision of more than one state authority. Public utility corporations, trust companies, title guarantee companies, and assessment life and accident insurance companies are all chartered by the secretary of state, but are under the supervision of the public utilities commission, the auditor, or the department of trade and commerce. With the present system of independent offices there is no uniformity of method. with respect to the supervision and incorporation of business corporations. Supervision over important classes of business corporations has been vested in some of the elective state officers, whose primary functions have no relation to this work, and the enforcement of these laws is thus distinctively removed from the control of the Governor.

The Efficiency and Economy Committee recommended the organization of all the agencies charged with supervision of corporations into

U. S. Bureau of Education. A manual of educational legislation for the guidance of committees on education in the state legislatures, 1919, p. 8.

a single department known as the department of trade and commerce."

Such a department was organized under the code and it has supervision of insurance companies and nominal supervision of public utility corporations.

In many of the states the supervision of business corporations is divided between a number of separate officials, without correlation or organization, as in Illinois. In some states the control of banking and insurance companies is vested in the same official. Under the reorganization enacted into law in Massachusetts in 1919, this combination was made. Virginia and North Caroline consolidate all offices and boards having jurisdiction over the organization and activities of business corporations into a single state corporation commission. These commissions also act as a state board of assessors for the assessment and taxation of certain classes of corporations.

Elections. The secretary of state, the voting machine commissioners, the state canvassing board, and the primary canvassing board, each have functions dealing with elections. The last two are ex-officio boards, but the membership of these boards is not identical. The secretary of state is ex-officio a voting machine commissioner. These several state election authorities introduce confusion and uncertainty into the election machinery of the state, which might well be simplified through consolidation. The Efficiency and Economy Committee recommended the creation of a state board of elections to consist of the Governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, to exercise the functions of these various agencies.8

Under a plan of reorganization of the government of New York state drafted by the reconstruction commission, a bureau of elections, is created in the department of state, of which department the secretary of state is the chief. The duties of the state board of canvassers, state board of examiners of voting machines, and the state superintendents of elections would be transferred to the proposed bureau of elections.9

Such a plan might be adopted in Illinois, thereby simplifying the election machinery and strengthening the office of the secretary of state. Robinson, Maurice H. A report on supervision of corporations and related business. In the Report of the Efficiency and Economy Committee of Illinois, p. 697-752.

8 Illinois. Efficiency and Economy Committee. Report 1915, p. 71. New York state reconstruction commission. Draft of summary of report

on retrenchment and reorganization in the state government, 1919, p. 19.

VIII. CONCLUSIONS.

Problem of executive reorganization. There is an overlapping of functions and a lack of correlation in the duties of the constitutional and statutory state officers. This is mainly an overlapping of the statutory duties of constitutional officers with the duties of statutory officers, and the problem before the convention will be primarily to determine whether changes should be made as to present constitutional officers so as to permit a more ready coordination of functions. The constitutional duties of constitutional officers are relatively unimportant. This bulletin has dealt largely with the statutory organization, for its consideration is necessary in order to present the real problems at issue in the framing of an executive article in the constitution, and not with any notion that the convention will think it desirable to embody in the constitution the details of present statutes.

Reorganization in other states. This overlapping of functions has been a source of weakness in American state government generally and has lead to reorganization and consolidation in many states. The Civil Administrative Code enacted in this state in 1917 is the most comprehensive plan of administrative consolidation that has been adopted in any state. There are, however, many departments of state government not included in the organization. Many of these departments may be correlated through statutory enactment, but the adoption of a centralized plan of state government would also involve constitutional changes. Statutory plans similar to the Civil Administrative Code have been adopted in Idaho and Nebraska.

The recent constitutional conventions in New York and Massachusetts spent considerable time on the problem of reorganization. In New York a plan was adopted providing for the creation of seventeen departments to perform the administrative functions of more than 160. existing offices, boards and agencies. The heads of most of these departments were to be appointed by the governor and were removable by him. The number of elective constitutional state officers was reduced from seven to four, leaving only the governor, lieutenant-governor, comptroller and attorney general elective. After the adoption of this plan all new administrative functions were to be assigned to one of the existing departments, and no new department were to be created by the legislature. (In this connection it may be noted that the constitutions of Nebraska and Arkansas contain limitations on the power of the legislature to create new boards and offices.) The proposed constitution of New York containing this plan of administrative reorganization was submitted to the people in November, 1915, and was defeated.

The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention adopted an amendment concerning reorganization which was ratified by the people on November 5, 1918. This amendment reads: "On or before January 1, 1921, the executive administrative work of the Commonwealth shall be organized in not more than twenty departments, in one of which every executive and administrative office, board and commission, except those officers serving directly under the Governor or Council, shall be placed. Such departments shall be under such supervision and regulation as the General Court may from time to time prescribe by law." Accordingly, the General Court in 1919 enacted an administrative consolidation act, establishing twenty departments, excluding the Governor's office-the maximum number permitted under the constitutional amendment. The heads of four departments are the constitutional elective state officers and the other heads of departments are appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the Council, an independent body of nine members. The general scheme of organization is quite complicated and involved. Practically all the officials connected with the existing administrative agencies have been retained, their offices being continued in existence and placed under the several department without alteration either in personnel or duties. Seven boards which apparently did not fit into the scheme elsewhere are placed under the Governor and council.

The New York plan and the Massachusetts plan present alternative plans which might be adopted by the constitutional convention. The New York plan is an example of an incorporation of statutes into the constitution. In the light of the development of the executive department of Illinois in the last fifty years, the adaptability of this scheme for this state may well be doubted. Less than one-fourth of the boards, commissions and offices we now have were in existence when the Constitutional Convention met in 1870. It is possible that the next fifty years will present a similar development. Incorporation of a detailed plan of government in the constitution would make it difficult to correlate the functions of the various departments. Moreover, any scheme adopted might in a few years prove ill-adapted to the constantly changing and increasing functions of state government. The Massachusetts constitutional amendment adopted the plan of insructing the legislature to reorganize the executive departments, but the detailed plan worked out by legislation in Massachusetts is probably not as satisfactory as the present organization in Illinois.

Short ballot. The short ballot is closely related to all problems of executive reorganization. If any elective state officials are made. appointive, it would be necessary to provide that the present state officials would serve the rest of their terms regardless of the change.

It has been suggested that the Governor's power of appointment should be extended to include some of the officers now elected by the people. The United States government and several of the states have made many offices appointive which are elective in this state. The advocates of the short ballot argue that the increase of the Governor's

appointive power would strengthen state government by providing a unified executive department. The political party is the principal bond of union among the elective officers of the executive department. The officers have a common cause, during the campaign, but afterward their community of interest is liable to center around the problem of re-election rather than the coordination of the branches of the executive department. Almost necessarily some of the elective state officers will, after they are in office, have political ambitions which run counter to the interests of other elective state officers.

Persons opposed to the short ballot fear the centralization of so much power in the hands of the chief executive. In this connection it may be noted that the president appoints the United States marshals and district attorneys, all the judges, officers of the army and navy, local customs and internal revenue collectors, a large number of postmasters and many others. In Pennsylvania the secretary of the commonwealth, the attorney general and the superintendent of public instruction are appointed by the Governor. The only state executive officer elected by the people in New Jersey and in several other states is the Governor. A separate bulletin entitled "The Short Ballot" has been issued concerning this subject.

Civil Service. Civil service is another important problem in state government. The object of civil service regulations is to get the state employes out of politics and away from the so-called "spoils system." Civil service attempts to fill administrative offices with the most fit persons available without regard to political affiliations. Most of the criticisms of the system have arisen from the fact that it has not always been administered in good faith.

Concerning the attitude of legislatures and constitutional conventions towards this subject, a report prepared for the New York state constitutional convention makes this statement:

"The so-called merit system of civil service reform originated in a laudable effort to abolish 'the spoils system' and the problem of the proper conditions of public employment from the point of view of efficient service to the state and justice to the employes has never received the serious consideration of any constitution or law making body."

The constitutions of New York, Ohio, California and Colorado contain provisions concerning civil service, and it is probable that some effort will be made to have the principle of civil service recognized in the constitution.2

Power of appointment and removal. A brief review of the powers of appointment and removal under the present constitution may not be inappropriate. These powers concern the legislative and judi

1 New York state constitutional convention commission. The constitution and government of the state of New York, p. 3.

2 See Index digest of state constitutions, p. 145; The civil service clause in the constitution. In Academy of Political Science, the revision of the state constitution, 1914, pp. 251-262.