Haldane Essay Competition, 1952
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1953.tb01758.x |
| Published date | 01 March 1953 |
| Date | 01 March 1953 |
| Author | A. H. Hanson,S. F. Steward |
ddane
Essay
Competition,
1832
REPORT
OF
ADJUDICATORS
The Adjudicators were
A.
II.
Hamon,
hi.A.,
Lecturer in Public Ad-
ministration, University of Leeds, and
S.
F.
Steward,
C.B.E.,
Chairman of
the South Western Electricity Ecard.
The remarks of last year’s adjcdicators
(Public Adminisiration,
Vol.
XXX,
Spring
1952)
apply with equal force to the greater part of
this pear’s batch of essays.
There were 45 competitors, and the essays covered a very wide
variety of topics. Most
of
thcn were interesting, but very few were
well written and fewer still showed any capacity for original thought or
systematic research. Many competitors chose subjccts which were
;GO
wide to be adequately treated
in
5,005-word essays
;
and prospective
entrants for futme Maldane Competitiords should be warned of the
uselessness
of
submitting essays with titles such as
Local Government
from First Principles, The Machinery for Controlling Public Expenditure,
Some Aspects
of
Public Administration, The Growth
of
English Local
Government,
and
Industrial Democracy
in
Great Britain.
Textbook
generalisations and a few personal impressions do not add up to a prize-
winning Haldane Essay.
The essays which we had to consider seriously were those that
dealt with comparatively limited subjects coming within the range
of
the competitors’ personal experiences as public servants. Those :hat
had
12oihing
but grievances to expose or enthusiasms to expound could
be fairly quickly eliminated. What we were looking for was ihe essay
in which the competitcr showed
an
ability
to
relate the subject
of
which
he
had
specialised knowledge to the broader issues of public admini$-
tration in such a way as to ihrow fresh light on
it
and
to
contribute
something towards the solution
of
the problcms that
it
preqents.
The
essay
on
Dual
Control in the Youth E?nployircnf Service
by
K.
€1.
B.
Frere, Minister
of
Labour and National Servict,, Regional
Office,
Bristol, seemed to us
:o
satisfy this derrand to an ouLstacding degree,
and hence we
recorni.;?ccd
it
for the Prize Medal.
There are lhrce
other
essays which, with some improvement in
style and presentation, might be considered for publication in the
JOURNAL,
viz.
:
Cizd
Defence and Municipal Public Relotiom-John
C. SutcliR‘e,
Public Relations Officer, City of Westminster.
The Ceiztral Government in Local Again-A.
J.
Dechant, Minimy
of Labour and National Service, Peterhead, Abcrdeenshire.
Uzeniployment
zn
n
time
of
Full
Emploj)rnent-Percy C. Graham,
Manager of Leyton and Walthamstow Employment Exchange, Ministry
of Labour and National Service.
We have placed these in what we consider to be their order of merit.
Their Report is as €ocoliows
:
A.
H.
HANSON.
S.
F.
STEWARD.
48
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