Governmental Action for Social Welfare

tes or immigration or the spread of tuberculosis or pauperism must, to be successful, be made on so large a scale and involve the expenditure of so much money, that these studies can usually best be carried on by the government. Moreover, in some of these investigations it is desirable to ascertain what some people might wish to conceal. It may therefore be desirable to examine witnesses under oath, to have the power to compel the production of books and papers and accounts. For investigations of that type the government is clearly best fitted. On the other hand, we know that governmental investigations are sometimes influenced by political pressure, by the desire to secure partisan advantage, although that is rarely thecase in scientific investigations of the type indicated. Even aside from the desire to secure partisan advantage, men in political positions often wish to secure appointments for friends or constituents, and men appointed for such reasons are often not the best fitted for scientific investigation. Fortunately, pressure of this kind is much less frequent now than earlier, and there is little to fear from such a source beyond possibly slightly added expense. The advantage of examining witnesses under oath is in part offset by the fact that many, perhaps most people will give information more freely and more accurately if they talk alone with trustworthy individuals, unless the information desired be such that they feel they must withhold it except un...