Page:The Wisconsin idea (IA cu31924032449252).pdf/203

 have accomplished as much or perhaps more than any republic but the good king died, a tyrant succeeded him and the nation retrograded. The individual may have been right but the system as a system, covering a long period of time, was wrong. The same thing is true of this growth of commissions. They should be circumscribed by all the checks and balances of representative government. If great power is given to them they should be restricted and made so accountable to the people and their representatives that if they are weak or inefficient the machinery, like that of a republic itself, will be so well constructed that it will tide over such a condition until better men can be secured. A newly appointed commission is usually stronger than one more firmly established—when its fight has been won. It is well then to remember that in its creation, its powers should be closely defined and safe guarded, so that it has a continuing strength not wholly dependent on the personality of the commissioners and yet is so checked that the white light of public opinion may penetrate into its innermost recesses at any time. If all the eggs are placed in one basket, it is well to watch that basket.

The commission plan is not perfect in the opinion of the author and he has stood almost alone in advocating certain additions and restrictions. In spite of vigilance, the stiffness and red tape of the bureau may eventually appear. Commissioners may in time have a tendency