The American Miners' Association. by Edward A. WieckReview by: John B. KnoxSocial Forces, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Mar., 1942), pp. 417-418Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3005656 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 14:38

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Social Forces.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.198 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:38:43 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

LIBRARY AND WORKSHOP 417

The inclusion of a bibliography of source and secondary materials dealing with youth work programs would have strengthened the long- term usefulness of the book.

GORDON W. LOVEJOY

Furman University

JOHN LOCKE AND THE DOCTRINE OF MAJORITY-RULE. By Willmoore Kendall. Urbana: The University of Illinois Press, 1941. 141 pp. $2.00 clothbound, $1.50 paperbound.

The present monograph is the first of a series intended to contribute to political literature a history of the speculation that has surrounded the question of the role of the majority in the life of the state. This volume must be considered, then, not only as a work in itself, but also as the beginning of a number of studies intended to carry the doctrine of majority rule from the time of Locke through the thought of contemporary political philosophy.

In such a project the definition of the term "ma- jority rule" is of major significance, and happily the author has decided upon a broad and meaning- ful interpretation for his central theme. "Ma- jority rule" is universal, equal suffrage operating through an adequate machinery for popular con- sultation. Decisions are actually made on the basis of majority vote in a society which recognizes the validity of the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty. The series begins with John Locke since Kendall sees in him the first political writer who recognized the full implica- tions of the term.

Such a conclusion involves a revolution of the writings of Locke for the author recognizes that the prevailing interpretation of Locke makes of him a defender of individual rights rather than a champion of majority rule. The study resolves itself into a minute examination of Locke's pronouncements, the application of an involved though impressive logic to the findings, and an occasional inference as to what Locke would have said concerning some particular phase of the prob- lem had he said anything at all, and results in the conclusion that the pol,itical thinking of Locke was based on the principle of majority rule but that this principle remained latent though funda- mental in his political philosophy. Any serious threat to the position of the individual in a minor- ity of the political community is removed by Locke's belief that the majority has a natural

affinity for discovering and applying the moral law. The work is done with considerable skill, but one regrets from time to time that much of the argument comes from the author's necessary at- tempts to fill in the gaps in Locke's political writings.

As the first of a series the literary construction of the monograph is open to two suggestions. While formal studies in political philosophy will always have a limited appeal, the subject of ma- jority rule is so important to the political society of the United States that Kendall should reach as large an audience as possible. This would in- volve a simplification of language and sentence structure in the succeeding volumes. Also in keeping with this goal would be the substitution in the text of translated for original quotations from non-English sources. The author has made a good start on a bold venture; there should be as little as possible in the way of excess baggage.

JAMES L. GODFREY University of North Carolina

THE AMERICAN MINERS' ASSOCIATION. By Edward A. Wieck. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1940. 330 pp. $2.00.

A casual appraiser of organized labor in the United States might discount the importance of a miners' union which arose in 1861 and survived for less than a decade. But this was the first miners' association in the United States and, as the author points out, "it was in advance of the typical trade union of the sixties, and actually set the pattern for the typical trade union of today" (p. 213). This, together with the fact that miners' unions have held a position of lead- ership in organized labor in the United States, must be taken into account for a true appraisal.

Edward A. Wieck comes to this study of the American Miners' Association with a background of twenty-five years as a miner and experience as a union official and delegate to labor conventions. His principal sources for the study are records of the association, correspondence of the period, and articles in public newspapers. Unfortunately no copies of the Weekly Miner, which was the prin- cipal basis of unity in the association, could be found.

Mr. Wieck traces the organization of miners from beginnings in the British Isles to the forma- tion of local unions in the United States then goes into the history of this first association of locals.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.198 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:38:43 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

418 SOCIAL FORCES

As would be expected, the history of miners' organizations was influenced by an increase in use of coal as a fuel during the nineteenth century, by economic changes associated with the Civil War, and by changes in mining methods. Wages were paid according to amount of coal mined, and interestingly enough, one of the most fre- quent grievances of the miners was the use of unjust weights by the operators. In one case the miners demanded a decrease in the rate per bushel and the use of standard weights. An independent newspaper explained the demand by stating that the operators had been getting "from 50 to 100 per cent more coal than was actually counted."

This demand for a rate decrease, an early case of lockout by employers who demanded that the workers give up their union, and other such items add color to the history. The volume is valuable in that it gives a readable account of the history and preserves, in the appendix, the contemporary records of this first association of miners in the United States.

JoHN B. KNOX

Alabama College

THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL

ASSOCIATION. By 0. Garceau. Cambridge: Har- vard University Press, 1941. 186 pp. 14 Charts.

A decade ago Sir Arthur Newsholme, one of the world's greatest public health authorities, in his testament on health security wrote: "The medical practitioner should not continue to be responsible for the medical care of any person unless he has made accurate inquest into all his physiological systems, and has knowledge of his social and in- dustrial circumstances." That was a forward- looking ideal in medical and public health prac- tice ten years ago and today it is still an advanced but not unattainable ideal.

Now along comes Mr. Garceau, a student and teacher of government, who turns to the arma- mentaria of the social sciences in an effort to understand the physician in terms of his organ-

izational milieu. The result of this examination is a carefully-thought out, highly-provocative, if somewhat heavy-reading essay on the American Medical Association.

From an organic point of view, the medical profession represents the highest development of "the group within a group." This essay would have great value even if it merely examined the group within its organic structure and functional framework. But it does more than that. An interesting case history is developed from the discussion of the national organization, its con- stituent local bodies, their membership, and activities. These facts are basic to any case history. From this point forward, the essay tells the more important story of the group, the AMA, interacting with society. In a limited sense this is the story of pressure politics and raises the fundamental problem of group and professional autonomy. The story is not altogether impar- tial; hence it is provocative. But that hardly detracts from its value. In fact, it enhances it.

There are a number of points-of fact and inter- pretation-with which one might quarrel. Such generalizations as the AMA is a select group ex- cluding back-sliders, etc. and there is no group with a clearer understanding of the scientific roots of our civilization, are open to argument. There are a few important omissions in the section on "Polit- ical Pathology" such as reference to the split between the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons in 1934 over the group hospitalization issue. In his documenta- tion, one could have hoped that Mr. Garceau would have referred to a number of recent and authoritative studies and papers. Viewed in terms of the whole essay, however, these points are not too important. Mr. Garceau's book is an important accession to the growing American medical-economic literature.

JOSEPH HIRSH Federal Public Work Reserve

NEW BOOKS RECEIVED

FROM RELIEF TO SOCIAL SECURITY. THE DEVELOP-

MENT OF THE NEW PUBLIC WELFARE SERVICES AND

THEIR ADMINISTRATION. By Grace Abbott.

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1941. 388 pp. $2.50.

FEEDING OUR OLD FASHIONED CHILDREN. A BACK-

GROUND FOR MODERN MEALTIMES. By C. Anderson

Aldrich and Mary M. Aldrich. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941. 112 pp. $1.75.

BETTER NURSING FOR AMERICA. By Beulah Amidon. New York: Public Affairs Committee, Inc., 1941. 32 pp. $0.10.

BASIC CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL CASE WORK. By Herbert H. Aptekar. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1941. 201 pp. $2.50.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.198 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:38:43 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions