CHAPTER XIV.
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT
Military Powers of the President.—An eminent American historian,[[43]] writing of the power exercised by President Lincoln in time of war, said, "It is an interesting fact, that the ruler of a republic which sprang from a resistance to the English king and Parliament should exercise more arbitrary power than any Englishman since Oliver Cromwell, and that many of his acts should be worthy of a Tudor."
President Lincoln, it is true, exercised powers which, if attempted by a weaker man, or at another time, might have proved dangerous to the liberties of the people.[[44]]
This he did through his interpretation of Clause 1, Section 2.
The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
Reprieves and Pardons.—The ordinary powers of the President are also important.[[45]] One of the greatest is the power to grant reprieves and pardons. A reprieve is the temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence. By means of a reprieve the President may gain time to look into the evidence more carefully. Complete release from a sentence is secured by a pardon.[[46]]
Treaty-Making Power.—Section 2, Clause 2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur.
While the power to conclude treaties seems to be without restriction, it is implied that no treaty shall in any way interfere with the authority of the Constitution. The usual steps in the negotiation of treaties are as follows: (1) In time of peace they are conducted at the capital of the nation that begins the negotiation. If this is in Washington, the terms are considered by the Secretary of State and the minister of the other nation; if in a foreign capital, our minister acts under instructions sent him by the Secretary of State. At times, one or more special ministers are sent abroad for the purpose of negotiating a treaty. (2) In time of war, the minister of the nation with which we are at war leaves the United States. The interests of his nation are then intrusted to the minister of some neutral power, and through this minister negotiations for peace are usually begun. (3) The treaty of peace at the close of a war is generally negotiated in some neutral country by special commissioners appointed by the nations at war.
In all cases, the President exercises general control over the negotiation and framing of treaties. After an agreement has been reached, the treaty is sent to the Senate. It is discussed in executive or secret session. This means that the treaty and all matters pertaining to it are kept secret until, by a resolution, the Senate allows the discussion to be made public. The Senate may approve, reject, or modify the terms. If amendments are made, they must be agreed to by the President and by the other nation interested. When a treaty has been finally approved by the officials of both countries, duplicate copies of it are made on parchment. Both of these copies are signed by the chief officers of each country, and the copies are then exchanged. This is called the "exchange of ratification." An official copy of the treaty is thus secured by each nation. The President then publishes the treaty accompanied by a proclamation, in which it is declared to be a part of the law of the land.
If the terms of a treaty call for the payment of money by the United States, the necessary amount can be appropriated only by an Act of Congress. The House of Representatives may refuse to give its sanction to such an appropriation, and may thus prevent the treaty going into effect.
Power of Appointment.—When it is considered that the President has the nominal power of appointing over 150,000 persons to office, we can readily see that this comprises one of his chief powers. His right to select office-holders is granted in Section 2, Clause 2. He shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
Vacancies.—Section 2, Clause 3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.
Presidential Appointments.—It would be quite impossible for the President, personally, to oversee all of these appointments, and so a large percentage of them is made by officials in the different departments. There are, besides the ambassadors, consuls, and judges of the Supreme Court, some 7000 so-called Presidential officers, whose appointments must receive the sanction of the Senate. More than one-half of these are postmasters of the first class[[47]]. Among the most important of these officers are the Cabinet, interstate commerce commissioners, district attorneys, and all military and naval officers whose appointment is not otherwise ordered by law.
Official Patronage.—In making his appointments the President is largely dependent upon the advice of the head of that department under whose direction the officer will come, or upon the recommendation of the representatives and senators of his party from the State in which the office is located. This official patronage, through which political assistants in a State may be rewarded with a Federal office, has become so burdensome that many Congressmen complain of it and desire to be freed from its exactions.
Senatorial Courtesy.—There has grown up an almost invariable custom, known as senatorial courtesy. This demands that if the office to be filled is located in a State, the appointment be not confirmed unless it receives the sanction of one or both of the senators of the State concerned, provided they are members of the same political party as the President.
Action of the Senate on Nominations.—All of the nominations sent by the President to the Senate are submitted to appropriate committees, as, postmasters to the Post Office Committee, ambassadors to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The report of the committee is considered in secret session, and the nomination is then voted on. If the vote is adverse, the President must make another nomination.
The Spoils System.—During the first forty years of our government there were only seventy-four removals from office. The opinion was general that there were a large number of strictly non-political offices in the departments and elsewhere, the holders of which should be regarded as agents or clerks whose duty it was to assist in carrying on the business of government. Therefore the best results could be secured, it was believed, only as these positions should be filled by persons the most competent, who might hope to retain the office so long as they gave efficient service. But with the coming in of President Jackson the "spoils system" was introduced. This system, in practice, provides that political workers belonging to a victorious party may, as far as possible, receive reward for their services in the shape of some office. "To the victors belong the spoils of the enemy" is the familiar motto of those who have advocated this system. During the first year of President Jackson's administration 2000 officials were deprived of their offices, and friends of the administration were put in their positions. From that time there has been great pressure on every new President similarly to reward his followers.
Civil Service Reform.—While the evils had been pointed out at various times, little was done to remedy the spoils system until Congress, in 1883, passed the Civil Service Law, known as the Pendleton Bill. It provides for a Civil Service Commission of three members, not more than two of whom may belong to the same political party. This commission gives competitive examinations, which are required for testing the fitness of applicants for certain positions in the public service. The number of offices originally included under the act was about 14,000. The President is given the power to direct the further extension of the "classified service," that is, those positions that are to be filled by persons who have passed the best examinations. In 1913 there were some 284,000 classified offices. While much has been accomplished, during the past twenty years, toward reforming civil service appointments, it is to be hoped that a large number of the unclassified offices will, at an early date, be placed on the list to be filled only after examination.[[48]] The National government may thus further assist in the movement for like reforms already so well begun in some of our States and cities.
Duties of the President.—Section 3. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.
Presidential Messages.—By means of the annual message sent to Congress at the opening of the session, and special messages on particular occasions, the President is enabled to call attention to the legislative needs of the country. The plan of having a message read in each house by the clerk or secretary was introduced by President Jefferson. Presidents Washington and Adams addressed, in person, Congress assembled in joint session. Various reasons have been alleged for this change. President Jefferson was a poor speaker, and it is said that he regarded the formal address as monarchical. President Wilson read his message before Congress in the special session of April, 1913.
Enforcement of the Laws.—The most important duty of the President is to see that all laws passed by Congress are faithfully executed. Laws are useless unless they are enforced, and it is chiefly for the performance of this task that the Executive was originally created. It is not contemplated that this duty shall be performed by him in person, but through officials who are directly responsible to him. The United States marshals and their deputies exercise a wide influence in seeing that the laws are enforced. They usually act under an order from a United States court, but may, at times, act without such a writ. If necessary, the President may send the army and navy of the United States or call out the militia of the States to overcome any resistance to Federal law.
Each State possesses the power of enforcing its own laws and is of right protected in the exercise of this prerogative. In case of an insurrection, however, the State militia is sent by order of the governor to suppress it. Should they fail to restore order, the legislature, or the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), applies to the President for military aid.[[49]] If the uprising has interfered in any way with the carrying out of the laws of the nation, the President may, at his discretion, send troops to suppress it without having been asked to do so by the legislature or the governor. There was a notable illustration of this point during the time of the Chicago riots, in July, 1894.
President Cleveland vs. The Governor of Illinois.—In addition to destroying property belonging to the railways centering in Chicago, the striking employees prevented the free movement of the trains. Mr. Altgeld, then governor of Illinois, did not provide against these abuses, and President Cleveland ordered the United States troops under General Miles to suppress the rioting. The President, who was severely criticized by Mr. Altgeld, justified his sending the troops on the following grounds: (1) that the processes of the Federal courts could not be executed; (2) that the transportation of the United States mails was obstructed; and (3) that the laws on interstate commerce were not enforced.
The United States Supreme Court took the same position as President Cleveland in a case which grew out of these riots. Mr. Justice Brewer, in delivering the opinion of the court, said: "We hold that the government of the United States is one having jurisdiction over every foot of soil within its territory and acting directly upon each citizen; that, while it is a government of enumerated powers, it has within the limits of those powers all the attributes of sovereignty; that to it is committed power over interstate commerce and the transmission of the mails, and that these powers have been assumed and put into practical exercise by the legislation of Congress."
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES.
1. What have been some of the most important treaties entered into on the part of the United States?
2. For the treaty made at the close of the Spanish-American War, see Rev. of R's, 18: 258, 371, 515, 631; 19: 11, 261, 262, 266, 267.
3. In what ways may a treaty be abrogated? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 140, 141.
4. May a President have many of the privileges of private life? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 177-180.
5. What are some of the official cares of the President? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 162-177.
6. The overworked President. McClure's Mag., 28: 483-492; Rev. of R's, 25: 464-466.
7. Secure a copy of the last report of the Civil Service Commission, and also Manual of Examinations for the Classified Service of the United States, and look up the following:—
a. How many persons are included in the civil service of the United States?
b. What proportion of them is included in the classified service?
c. Does the law of 1883 seem to have brought about satisfactory results?
d. What offices have been included in the extension of the Civil Service Law?
e. What is the nature of the questions asked in the examinations? i
8. The Fifteenth Annual Report of the commission (pp. 443-485) contains an account of the appointments and removals by the various Presidents from 1789 to 1883. Also an account of the growth of civil service reform in the States and cities of the United States, pp. 489-502.
9. May a man be fitted for political preferment and not be competent to pass an adequate examination?
10. For other articles on civil service reform, see (a) The Civil Service and the Merit System, Forum, 27: 705-712. (b) Some Popular Objections to Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 65: 433-444; 671-678. (c) Roosevelt, An Object Lesson in Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 67: 252-257. (d) George William Curtis and Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 75: 15-24. (e) Rice, Improvement of the Civil Service, N. Am. Rev., 161: 601-611. (f) Roosevelt, Present Status of Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 75: 239-246. (g) Roosevelt, Six Years of Civil Service Reform, Scribner's Mag., 18: 238-247. (h) The Purpose of Civil Service Reform, Forum, 30: 608-619.
11. What was the Tenure of Office Act of 1867? Why did it become of great importance? Is it still in force? Wilson, Division and Reunion, 267, 270-271, 297; Harrison, This Country of Ours, 101-103.
12. What were the chief points discussed in the President's last annual message?