emancipation in the West Indies, as guided by British
statesmanship, under conditions of meager industrial opportunity,
and the social consequences of emancipation in the United States,
affords an instructive example of the complicated evils which a
nation may experience through the sheer incapacity of its
government.


The system of congressional government was subjected to some
scrutiny in 1880-81 through the efforts of Senator George H.
Pendleton of Ohio, an old statesman who had returned to public
life after long absence. He had been prominent in the Democratic
party before the war and in 1864 he was the party candidate for
Vice-President. In 1868 he was the leading candidate for the
presidential nomination on a number of ballots, but he was
defeated. In 1869 he was a candidate for Governor of Ohio but was
defeated; he then retired from public life until 1879 when he
was elected to the United States Senate. As a member of that
body, he devoted himself to the betterment of political
conditions. His efforts in this direction were facilitated not
only by his wide political experience but also by the tact and
urbanity of his manners, which had gained for him in Ohio
politics the nickname of "Gentleman George."

In agreement with opinions long previously expressed in Story's
"Commentaries," Senator Pendleton attributed the inefficiency of
national government to the sharp separation of Congress from the
Administration--a separation not required by the Constitution but
made by Congress itself and subject to change at its discretion.
He proposed to admit the heads of executive departments to