Public administration in Mississippi

Front matter

Hook • M^rL

PRKSENTKI) LTl'

PUBLICATIONS

Preface

This study was commenced upon the suggestion of Dr. Howard Lee McBain of Columbia University, to whom the author is indebted for many wise and helpful suggestions. To Dr. Dunbar Rowland, Secretary of the Mississippi Historical Society, the author expresses deepest appreciation for many courtesies extended at every stage of the work in preparing this study ; through him, too, the author gratefully extends his thanks to the Mississippi Historical Society for the privilege of publishing this monograph as a volume of the publications of the Society. His thanks are also due his wife, without whose help in the preparation of the manuscript the publication of this study would have been greatly delayed. The many state officials who have furnished material and made helpful suggestions are too numerous to mention ; to all of them the author expresses grateful appreciation. He also acknowledges indebtedness to Professor E. S. Towles of the Department of Modern Languages in the Mississippi A. & M. College, for assistance in reading the proof and in the preparation of the index.

Agricultural College, Miss., A. B. B.

September, 1919.

Gift 'D'33?.v"art;it7'

ns 25 im

(Vr

-tvaa

MhimSTRATIVE ORGANIZATION CHART

VOTERS

A LAWYER

THREE STATE BANK COrmiSSIONEHS doard q Pharmacist: txamincrs

Board tn'

Two OfFM OfBoaidq

Adjutant

NaVonoL Guard

StaU

Normal College

STATE

BOARD

OF

TEACHERS

EXAMINERS

STATE

ILUTERACr

COMMISSION

Five, q state.

Beard Cf

^tatv.

LiM-itoO< Sanitartj

Soard

Of Truitojis

doard q Trustees Of rlisinsilipi Industrial And Traininif .School

SELF rERPETUATINB BOARD

0F9 TRUSTEES dTATE BEPT.

OF ARCHIVES, WB lllSTOTtr

STATE LEfllKI.ATanr.

VETERINARY MEDICAL ! ASSOCIATION

Of Vetzrinarti

Stats- Chemkt

C/icmiitru Misi. '

CcllKjC

Election CoMtmsioNESs i.Qofernor

Of ^ Stiti J fillorrti.tj a-OFFICIO OFFICES BOARDS

ThusteesOf

Sthte Liemm

JuJ^ 3. Allorotij

Qcncral

State Board l^uptrifitandait

[q

2. 5<i£Jtiaru

Of ^

3taU.

3, Aftorrja.li

Qtnaral l.txiCalM

Of Hajltf 2'Diruior

q

Bureau

Vlfbl Staliitici

McmHr^j /i^foinUd

(^l/crrjor doard.

Of

Trustees q

UniMTsUij

'^Mll Collide

Vcom /loyM.

doards Of

Trustees M'd.

ivMs

Ctvritatia ^ Jrjstttotionj'

Board C Otjstej-

State Board

\AMB COTmiSSIONS

State Live-Swck Santtary

Board

1 Oorernor i. ttlorrtiif

(jcncral 5 COmnnssiooer

qAoridilture •flf^miiraiu

Scitnu.

A'VHCoilean

Geoloqical

IS,

z.s„t>t q

education

3 Director q

AfdiNnUrd

historu

4ChaioJlorq

Univ. o(- Misi.

S. Preiud^t

Collide

State Flaut Board l.CorTtmimoner

q Ajficulture I Oinu.hr q

Exbu/mejjt

^Lattor>

•5 £ntor?Khaiii

A'vM

Colley^c

Board Or Con TtJ ACTS

J. .5ecre.taru

Statu

3 Auditor

Capitol Comiisswn

LGorernor

Of'

JtaU

State.

Factory ins/bec^or

State

^r

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Chapter I. General Administration

In the place of the time-honored triumvirate of government made up of the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches, students of political science^ have suggested that all of the activities of government may be included in two branches, namely, the "policy determining" and the "policy executing" branches. By the former, the policies of government are formulated and written into law; by the latter, these policies are administered. In this study attention will be directed toward the policy executing, or administrative branch of the government in Mississippi. It is germane to the purpose of this study to sketch in the beginning the position occupied in the general administration of the state government by each individual officer, board, or commission charged with any part of ' ' the detailed execution of the will of the state as it is manifested in the laws."

Like the constitutions of most of the commonwealths of the United States, the Constitution of Mississippi declares that the powers of government of the state shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them confided to a separate magistry, to wit : those which are legislative to one, those which are judicial to another, and those which are executive to another.^ Only six state executive or administrative officers are provided for in the constitution, namely, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, auditor of public accounts, and state librarian. All other officers charged with administrative duties are provided for by statute law.

The Governor has vested in him by the constitution the chief executive power of the state. ^ He holds his office for four years and is ineligible as his immediate successor. The manner

'Prominent among them, Dr. F. J. Goodnow. See Rawles, Adm. of Indiana, Col. Univ. Studies, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 15, administration oefined.

of electing a governor in Mississippi is unusual, for two separate majorities are required. The successful candidate must have (1) a popular majority — that is, a majority of the individual votes cast all over the state, and (2) a majority of the electoral votes. Section 140 of Article 5 of the Constitution reads as follows:

The governor of the state shall be chosen in the following manner: On the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November of A. D., 1895, and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in every fourth year thereafter, until the day shall be changed by law, an election shall be held in the several counties and districts created for the election of members of the house of representatives in this state, for governor, and the person receiving in any county or such legislative district the highest number of votes cast therein, for said office, shall be holden to have received as many votes as such county or district is entitled to members in the house of representatives, which last named votes are hereby designated "electoral votes." In all cases where a representative is apportioned to two or more counties or districts, the electoral vote, based on such representative, shall be equally divided among such counties or districts. The returns of said election shall be certified by the election commissioners, or a majority of them, of the several counties and transmitted, sealed, to the seat of government, directed to the secretary of state, and shall be by him safely kept and delivered to the speaker of the house of representatives at the next ensuing session of the legislature within one day after he shall have been elected. The speaker shall, on the next Tuesday after he shall have received said returns, open and publish them in the presence of the house of reprsntatives^ and said house shall ascertain and count the vote of each county and legislative district and decide any contest that may be made concerning the same, and said decision shall be made by a majority of the whole number of members of the house of representatives concurring therein, by a viva voce vote, which shall be recorded in its jourunal; Provided, In case the two highest candidates have an equal number of votes in any county or legislative district, the electoral vote of such county or legislative district shall be considered as equally divided between them. The person found to have received a majority of all the electoral votes, and also a majority of the popular vote, shall be declared elected.

The Lieutenant Governor is elected at the same time, in the same manner, and for the same term as the Governor.*

The Secretary of State is elected for a term of four years. The constitution requires that he shall be keeper of the capitol, shall keep a correct register of all official acts and proceedings of the governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the legislature. It is also required by the constitution that he perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.^

The State Treasurer and the Auditor of Public Accounts are elected for a term of four years and are ineligible immediately to succeed themselves or each other in office.^

The State Librarian by provision of the constitution is chosen by the legislature on joint vote of the two houses. The term of office for the state librarian is four years. Any woman, a resident of the state for four years, and who has attained the age of twenty years, is eligible to the office.''

Besides the elective offices provided for in the constitution the state legislature has from time to time provided state offices which are filled by popular election. It will suffice to call attention briefly to these offices.

The Railroad Commission is constituted of three commissions, one elected from each supreme court district to serve four years.^

Three Penitentiary Trustees are elected, one from each supreme court district, to serve four years. Important powers are vested by law in the hands of the board of trustees of the state penitentiary.^

The State Board of Bank Examiners is composed of three members one elected from each supreme court district No person may become a candidate for State Bank Examiner until he has passed satisfactorily an examination given by the State Bank Commissioners.^*' Bank Examiners may succeed themselves in office any number of terms for which they may be elected.

The State Land Commissioner is elected as other state officers are at the general election held every four years. His duties are prescribed in detail by the law.^^

"Laws of 1914, Ch. 124, S. B. 48, Sees. 2-5, inclusive; see also, Ch. Ill,

infra. Guaranteeing Bank Deposits.

The State Revenue Agent is elected for a term of four years. The office was provided for by the laAvs of 1894^^ and has been retained since that time.^^ This officer is charged with the duty of collecting unpaid taxes or past due obligations of any other character due the state. Through his activities during recent years large sums of money have been turned into the state treasury.

The State Insurance Commissioner, the chief officer of the State Department of Insurance, is elected for a term of four years. As chief officer of the Department of Insurance the Insurance Commissioner is charged with the execution of all laws in force relative to all insurance, including indemnity or guarantee and other companies, corporations, associations or orders doing business within the state.^*

The Attorney General of the state, elected for a term of four years, is the chief law officer of the state.^^ It is his duty to represent the state in all suits by or against the state, to give legal advice to state officers, to the legislature, and to the boards of supervisors of the various counties upon request. Upon request of the governor or other state officers, it is the duty of the attorney-general to prepare drafts of contracts, forms or other legal documents.^^

The State Superintendent of Education is elected for a term of four years. There is no limit prescribed by law as to the number of successive terms the state superintendent may serve. The state superintendent has general supervision of the public free schools, and prescribes such rules and regulations for their efficient organization and conduct as he may deem necessary.^^ The law requires that he preside over all meetings of the State Board of Education, and that he solicit reports from all the public and private educational institutions of the state.^* It is his

'^Chapter 34.

"Ibid.

duty to apportion the state common school fund to the several counties and separate school districts.^^ He appoints the members of the State Board of Teachers' Examiners-" and the members of the State Illiteracy Commission.^^ The State Superintendent of Education is an ex-officio member of the State Board of Education, the State Text-Book Commission, the State Geological Survey Commission, the Board of Trustees for the State University and Colleges,^^ and the Board of Trustees of the State Normal College.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce is also elected by the people for a term of four years. The Department of Agriculture and Immigration was created by act of the legislature in 1906.^^ If is the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce to encourage the proper development of agriculture, horticulture and kindred industries, to collect and publish statistics and such other information as may be of benefit in developing the agricultural resources of the state, and to investigate and report on the question of broadening the market and demand for cotton and cotton goods in the United States and in foreign countries.^* In addition to these duties, the legislature in 1912, and again in 1918, assigned other duties to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce ; for in 1912 the duty of issuing tax tags to manufacturers of fertilizers was transferred from the State Chemist to the State Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the State Chemist co-operating in this work;^^ and in 1918 the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce was charged with the duty of enforcing the terms of an act "to regulate dairies, creameries, milk and cream buying and skimming stations, and the sale and purchase of milk and

""The single board for the University, Industrial Institute and College,

A. & M, College, and Alcorn A. & M. College (colored.) =°Laws 1906, Ch. 102, Sees. 1-12.

cream and the by-products of the same, in the State of Mississippi. ' '^^

The Clerk of the Supreme Court is elected by popular vote every four years.^^

The Governor's appointive power, as may be seen from the accompanying chart,^* is larger than is usually supposed. He appoints the Adjutant General of the National Guard^^ and either all or a part of the personnel of more than a score of boards and commissions.

The State Board of Health is composed of thirteen members. The Governor selects one physician from each of the eight congressional districts of the state and five physicians from the state at large. The physicians appointed to membership on the board from the congressional districts are selected upon such evidence of skill and fitness as may be satisfactory to the Governor; the five members selected from the state at large are appointed upon the recommendation of the State Medical Association.^° The State Board of Health appoints the State Factory Inspector, and the Board may remove the Factoiy Inspector for cause. ^^ The State Board of Health has under its control the management of the State Tuberculosis Sanitarium; the superintendent of the sanitarium is appointed by the Board of Health. =^2

The State Board of Law Examiners consists of three members of the state bar one from each supreme court district, appointed by the governor to serve a term of two years.^^

The State Board of Pharmaceutical Examiners consists of five practicing pharmacists who are appointed by the governor and whose term of office expires with that of the governor appointing them.^*

''^Laws 1918, Ch. 191, pp. 224-231 See Ch. VI, Agrl. Adm., infra. ="Laws 1916, Ch. 99, Sec. 1. ^'*At the beginning of this chapter. • ^"Code 1906, Ch. 96, Sec. 3254. '"Code 1892, Ch. 60, pp. 569-572, Sec. 2267; Laws 1904, Ch. 150, p. 208. ^•Laws 1914, Ch. 163, p. 209 See Ch. V Public Health, infra. "Laws 1916, Ch. 79, pp. 146-148. See Ch. V, Public Health, infra. ='Laws 1916, Ch. 107 Sec 1.

The State Board of Dental Examiners consists of five practicing dentists who must be graduates of a reputable dental college. They are appointed by the governor to serve four years.^^

The State Board of Nurses' Examiners consists of five members appointed by the governor for a five-year term, one member being appointed each year. The law requires that four of the members of this board shall be graduate nurses and one a physician.^**

The State Board of Veterinary Examiners consists of five members, two appointed by the governor and three by the State Veterinary Medical Association. Members of this board serve four years. ^'^

The State Board of Bank Commissioners consisting of three members, and whose sole duty is that of examining candidates for State Bank Examiners, is selected in the following manner: one, a successful banker and business man, appointed by the governor ; one, an experienced accountant, appointed by the auditor of public accounts; one, an experienced lawyer, appointed by the attorney general. The bank commissioners serve four years.^*

The Governor appoints the members of thirteen separate boards of trustees of educational and eleemosynary institutions, as follows: the Board of Trustees of the State University and Colleges (which includes the Industrial Institute and College, the A. & M. College, and the Alcorn A. & M, College for negroes), the Board of Trustees of the State Normal College, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Industrial and Training School for delinquent children, and the boards of trustees, and in most instances the superintendent, of the Institute for Blind, of the institute for Deaf and Dumb, of the State Insane Asylum, of the East Mississippi Insane Hospital, of the Mattie Hersee Hospital, the Natchez Hospital, the State Charity Hospital at Jackson, the State Charity Hospital at Vicksburg and the State

Charity Hospital of South Mississippi, and of the Beauvior Confederate Home.

The governor appoints the members of the boards of trustees of the two levee districts of the state, namely, the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District, and the Mississippi Levee District. In making these appointments the governor is confined to the counties contained within the districts.^®

The governor appoints the members of the State Board of Oyster Commissioners,^" the Board of Pardons,*^ the State Board of Tax Commissioners,*- the State Highway Commission,*^ the State Text-book Commission, ** two of the five members of the State Livestock Sanitary Board,*^ and five of the seven members of the State Board of Embalming.***

The State Highway Engineer is named by the State Highway Commission.*^

The State Geologist is appointed by the Mississippi Geological Survey Commission.*^

The State Superintendent of Education, as has been noted,*^ appoints the members of the State Board of Teachers' Examiners and the members of the State Illiteracy Commission.

The Director of the State Department of Archives and History is appointed by the Board of Trustees of that department, which board consists of nine members and is self perpetuating.

There are ten important ex-officio offices, boards and commissions in the administrative organization of the state. The Board of Trustees of the State Library consists of the Governor,

=* For the one exception to this rule, see Const. 1890, Sec. 230; See

« Laws 1916, p. 232.

Supreme Court Judges, and Attorney General ;^° the Board of Election Commissioners of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General f'^ the State Board of Education, of the Superintendent of Education, Secretary of State, and Attorney General ;^^ the Capitol Commission of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Insurance Commissioner;^^ the State Board of Contracts of the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Auditor of Public Accounts;^* the State Plant Board of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Director of State Experiment Stations, and Entomologist of the A. & M. College ;^^ the Mississippi Geological Survey Commission of the Governor, Superintendent of Education, Director of the Department of Archives and History, the Chancellor of the State University, and the President of the A. & M. College f^ the State Livestock Sanitary Board of the Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Professor of Animal Husbandry of the A. & M. College, the Professor of Veterinary Science of the A. & M. College, and two members appointed by the Governor ;^^ the State Board of Embalming of the Executive Officer of the State Board of Health, the Director of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State Board of Health, and five members appointed by the Governor.^* The Professor of Chemistry at the A. & M. College, is ex-officio State Chemist.^^

Centralization in government in the United States has not as a rule been as pronounced in state administration as in federal administration and in town and city administration. Yet within recent years much centralization of administration has occurred in state government. In the state of Mississippi where there are no large cities the chief problem of public adminisadded.

tration is that of state administration. It can not be said that there has been any noticeable tendency toward centralization of the state administration. The governor has eight important powers, namely, (1) to veto bills, (2) to adjourn the legislature, (3) to convene the legislature, (4) to suspend certain officers,^"

(5) to require information from officers of any executive department of the state on any subject relating to that office,

(6) to grant pardons, (7) to command the armed forces of the state, (8) to appoint certain officers of the state government. In the exercise of his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed, the governor is able to wield considerable power.

The organization of county government in Mississippi is similar to that in the other states of the union, and especially to other southern states. From the time of the organization of the state it has been divided into counties; in 1919 there are eighty-two counties. The county is merely a sub-division of the state for the convenience of administration, subordinate always to the state and under the control of the state legislature.

Each county is divided into five supervisors' districts, or beats, numbered from first to fifth. The supervisors' districts, or beats, are sub-divided into smaller parts, called voting precincts. For educational purposes each county is surveyed and laid off into townships — square blocks six miles on the side. The townships are subdivided into sections, numbered from one to thirty-six, beginning at the northeast corner of each township.^^

The officers of the counties are as follows : Board of Supervisors, one elected from each of the five supervisors districts, tax assessor, sheriff, treasurer, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, superintendent of education, coroner and ranger, surveyor.^^ For each beat, or district, there are two officers, namely, the justice of the peace and the constable Each is elected by the voters of his own beat, and holds office for four years.

The municipalities in Mississippi are classed according to

*" Judges; state or county treasurer or tax collector charged with

defalcation.

"' See A. H. Ellett, The Federal Union and Mississippi, p. 178. °^ Office of County Attorney optional with counties.

the number of inhabitants in each, as follows: Those having two thousand or more inhabitants are called cities ; those having from three hundred to two thousand, towns ; those having from one hundred to three hundred, villages.®^ In general the officers of a municipality in Mississippi are the mayor, aldermen, marshal or policemen, tax collector, treasurer, city clerk, street commissioner, and judge or judges of the police court.^*

The state executive organization of Mississippi as it stands is the result of a gradual development. New offices and boards have been created from time to time as the exigencies of the situation seemed to demand or justify. The results are patent. Oft'ices and boards have been multiplied ; in some instances overlapping of functions of departments has resulted; in other instances the desired cooperation in the work of related departments has not been attained. The idea of popular election of state officers has been carried to a ridiculous extreme.®^ Every four years the electorate is called upon to select officers for fifteen separate state offices. Add to this the list of local offices to be filled by popular election and the perplexity of the situation is readily apparent. The multiplicity of elective officers usually results in the attention of the voters being directed to the one or two important offices with little attention to the others. Instead of the fitness of the candidates for office being of paramount importance, these offices are filled in a haphazard manner with little or no attention to personal qualifications for the duties of particular offices. Either appointment by the proper authorities with restrictions if need be as to choice based upon qualifications, or restriction on candidates, by qualifying examination for example, if the elective method is to be retained seems in the interest of good government imperative. By and large, a better plan than the loose-jointed one in vogue at present may be summed up : short-ballot methods for the elective of-

" City Health Officer in a few municipalities.

" Another elective office, that of State Game and Fish Commissioner, was provided in 1916. TTie first Commissioner was to have been elected in 1919; but the office was abolished by referendum. See Laws 1916, Ch, 99, pp. 100-105.

fieers; appointment upon proved merit of officers whose duties are of a technical administrative sort rather than of a policy determining nature.

Fewer elected state officers and where practicable a consolidation of departments in the state executive organization would make for more unity and a greater degree of efficiency and economy in the administration of the state government.

Of the present fifteeen elective state offices six might be selected by appointment, namely, the State Land Commissioner, State Revenue Agent, Insurance Commissioner, the Railroad Commissioners, the Penitentiary Trustees, and the Clerk of the Supreme Court. This would leave to be filled by direct vote of the people the following state offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Superintendent of Education, and Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. No change in the constitution would be necessary in order to bring about such change in plans in the selection of officers.

The enactment of legislation looking toward a plan of reorganization in the executive branches of the state government by which there would be some consolidation of departments, according to logically related functions, would be in the interest of better state administration. A study of the functions of the existing departments shows that consolidation could be effected on the basis of related functions.*^" The precise form which the administrative organiztion would assume under any plan of consolidation of departments would of necessity be determined by the history and the current functions of the various departments.

It is not the purpose of this study of public administration in Mississippi to take up the work of every department of state government, but rather to examine certain of the more

°° E. g., practically all the functions of the state government might logically fall within the following classification: finance; banking and insurance; health; agriculture; public works; charities and corrections; education; military affairs; elections; with a minimum of separate departments, such as a Legislative Reference Bureau, for instance.

important branches of the state administration and to point out the places where centralization of administration has taken place with an estimate of the results of such development. The subjects that will be treated are public education, banking, taxation, public health, and agriculture.