The application of the principle that governmental power must be kept out of the hands of the few is responsible for that fundamental characteristic of American constitutions known as the separation of powers among the three departments of government. The entire power of the government is exercised by the executive, the legislative, and the judicial departments. None is allowed to perform any of the functions which belong to either of the others. If it does so, its action is unconstitutional and void. Each department is, therefore, supreme and independent in its own field. This is the beginning of decentralization. In the distribution of powers, each department is designed to be a check upon the others. The legislature, being the most powerful by reason of its control over the making of the laws and appropriations, is naturally a substantial check upon the executive and judicial departments. Our constitution-makers have, therefore, been particular to devise checks upon the legislature by the other two departments. The executive is given a wide veto power upon all legislation, although the veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the legislature. The courts in their power to declare laws unconstitutional are given, potentially at least, an effective veto power upon legislation. The scope of it is narrower than the executive veto, but on the other hand the veto of the courts cannot be overridden by any action of the legislature. The actual operation of these checks and balances, coupled with the complete separation of powers, has resulted in irritation and bickering between the departments. The trouble between the executive and the legislative departments especially is frequent and acute. The executive is the most conspicuous single official. He is elected upon a platform of pledges for legislation. He seeks to redeem those pledges by promoting the introduction of bills and pushing them through the legislature. The legislature feels hostile toward the executive for attempting to coerce its action. The executive loses patience with the legislature for not redeeming the pledges of the executive to the electorate. The legislature is frequently hostile toward the Supreme Court for declaring laws unconstitutional. The executive also comes in conflict with the judiciary by reason of the fact that the latter upsets legislation which the executive has sometimes been able to secure only by trading for votes important appointments which cannot be recalled. The executive and legislative departments are likely to feel that the Supreme Court has gone beyond its judicial power in declaring laws unconstitutional. The result is that each of the departments of government fails to work in harmony with the others. Each tends to retire to its own constitutional sphere and there spend considerable time in doing what it pleases, regardless of the other departments, and from time to time blocking and hampering them. In this way the