ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a consideration of the broadest group which might conceivably be involved in the making of foreign-trade policy—the general voting public. It explores the American business community—the broadest group which might be assumed to be especially involved in the issue. The chapter looks at a number of communities—primary units in which interests may be organized and expressed. It turns to the organized interest groups whose purpose was in whole or in part to influence Congress in its decision on the Reciprocal Trade Act. A congressman must decide what to make of his job. The decisions most constantly on his mind are not how to vote, but what to do with his time, how to allocate his resources, and where to put his energy. Busyness blocked effective communication of constituents' views to their congressmen. A congressman can seldom readily inform himself as to how his constituents feel about any issue.
