Keys to America
The AmeriCan Political System. By D. W. Brogar. (Iernisik:
Hamilton. 18e.) - - -
a A nuNna.m.) times in writing this 'book,'' said Lord Bryce in /888, in the first chapter of The American: Commonwealth; " have I been disheartened by the facts I was stating : hundred times has the recollection of the abounding strength and vitality of -the nation chased away these tremors." And 50 years later the authors: of these two books, writing from different points of view, can say the same. Dr. Jacks draws his conclusions froin long experience and describes the American people as social phenoinena : Mr. Brogan gives us the anatomy, the physiology • and some of the pathology of their political life: and both are-- valuable guides to the English reader—the American will perhaps earn much; too—at a monierit when real- knowledge of America. is vital to us in handling' the problems 'of Anglo- American co:operatic' in. There has never been a moment when greater issues of fate depended upon the capacity of 'England and America. to work together ; and therefore never before has, it 'been so important for the two nations and their Governments, each 'f,ci know: the character and
the feelings of the other. If certain British Ministers and certain 'American Senafors had schooled themselves for
their common task by learning some of the lessons taught in these two books without any didactic intent, they would not so readily have beeome at once the victims and the mouthpieces of their own national .prejudices. And they *Mild haVe learned that the article prodriced for home* con- suinption is rarely a 'satisfactory eipOrt. -- Dr. Jacks has such- knowledge of the essential AmeriCa that he can draw aside the veil ofappearance which so often conceals it-from the' casual obaervet. This book will proVe to the reader that the source of his insight is an unusual *capacity to divest his mind of its ciciak of Englishness- and to See' Americans, not 'as trans:atlantic ducklings escaping 'from an English hen,, but as a society of Men that. have 'created themselves anew in a continent of opportunity. He has many shrewd comments to make, and his opening
adVice Ought to be issued with the visa on the passport of every British visitor to the United StateO. He lays down three ruleO Avoid generalizations : judge nothing in Anierica by the point at which it has arrived; but all things
by the direction in which they are moving : and when struck by Sonfethipg peculiarly evil, always look Out for its contrary. - Dr: Jacks reeks his own rede ; and" in the chapter on standardization as well as in his suggestive remarks on the'"practice of self-criticisth among Americans which he Mid/ jUst 'as characteristic 'as 'their .boasting; the reader will find good exaMples'of it.- And, throughout the book,
'there :are constant leSsonS in the value of his method for
thoSe who Would-know Ameri'cii. 'He is well aware that there are stumbling blocks that make essential comprehension difficult, and his warning to -Englishmen that the," Oxford accent " and the Oxford manner are chief .among them is one which those who take " upon themselves- to talk to American 'audiences will do well to heed. The very fact
that we use the same language is a snare, for it leads us to believe that we *have 'something in common which the rest_ of the world cannot:share—which is a delusion. Even if the two so-called Anglo-Saxon peoples enjoy a certain fundamental community of origin and. thought, the task of co-operation in Contemporary tasks is not made any the 'easier thereby ;- and while I agree with Dr. Jacks that they 'are probably " nearer to mutual understanding " than ever before, I also agree with him that 'they are " still a long way off" His book. is one of the piers on the bridge
of a better understanding.. . • : • - Mr. Brogan, on the other hand, has made a purely political study; covering nearly the same. ground as Bryce's American Commonwealth - ; and,- in thus challenging comparison with that classic work, the praiOe he earns in his task is that his
volume is not unworthy of its predecessor. If there are few Englishmen who possess the psyehological insight of
'Dr." Jacks, there - are proba.bly'•fewer still 'who have -Mr. 'Brogan's knowledge. It is' true" that too often he yields .to 'the temptation or parading it by over-cramming -his piges with detail and resorting to allusions which even well. informed Americans--would not always appreciate, hut these faults themselves are only the excess of his good quality. He never permits himself to generalize without calling a host of witnesses in support of his opinion, and there is hardly. a page which does not contain an apt anecdote or a happy- illustration. -Thus he presents a study of American politici 'which Is no mere cold dissection of institutions,' but a -revealing picture Of -liVing men Making a national 'con- stitution in what he calls a mood of " alarmed revolutionary conservatism" (has anyone put Hamilton and Jefferson in the . same cradle of. epigrammatic phrase before ?), using it and abusing -it in--the name of liberty but really for the defence of property, and deliberately subordinating it and all its manifestations-in politics -to the great -American task of exploiting" the riches of nature. The relation of politics to business in America. has never been so shrewdly analysed, nor have many writers so well explained the weakness of all reform movements.. The chapters on the -President and the Cabinet will reveal one of the great differences between English and American political practice ; and the part played by " spoils," " pensions " and ". patronage " in establishing the power of the " machine " explains how almost invariably the balance of national forces in Washington,- and their action even in American foreign policy, is created and influenced- and disturbed by the parochial obligations of Senators and Congressmen.
Mr. Brogan is well aware that America is now face to face with new problems for .which her existing political system may prove inadequate. And he predicts the " strengthening of the Presidency " as the only .means whereby the-treatment of new economic and social -problems can be undertaken. It is not so much the Congressional form of Government that has failed, as that the ingrained habits of the' -American parliamentary representative have robbed him of the capacity to act with coherence and fore- sight. In Mr. Roosevelt we see the " strengthened" President, and thus America seems to accept Mr. Brogan's prescription : but.Mr. Brogan makes no confident prophecy. pe knows that only what Burke called " a mighty current, in human affairs " can change the old system, and until such a .revolution carries the American mind from. its traditional moorings, the American political system will stand in its ancient ways. .Mr. Franklin Roosevelt appears to us as the portent of change : but not till he has finished his task, not perhaps for years thereafter, shall we know whether America is truly set on a new course. , A. F. WHYTE. •
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