The Washington herald., 1907-05-17
As to the Cabinet.

Many Of our contemporaries are dis
playing unnecessary concern. amounting
in some instances TO peevishness, over A
simple occurrence in Washington last
week. The President Of the United States
on Friday, May 10. did not surround him
self in his Cabinet room, pursuant to
immemOridl custom established for that
day Of the week. with the heads Of the
several executive departments and confer
in more OF less solemn conclave with
them on the state Of the Union. Instead
the Chief Magistrate bestrode one Of his
favorite mounts and. summoning a mill
tary aid. cantered through the streets Of
the Capital TO a bosky dell hard by.
where for o space OF time not known he
exercised HIS horse by making that fine
animal take the hurdles. why the omis-
sion Of the usual Cabinet meeting should
have caused so much adverse comment
throughout the country, or any comment
at all, we confess our inability TO IN
derstand.
Let Us look a little into the question OF
what the Cabinet is. its functions. pow
ers, privileges, immunities Gf il have
any. &c. In the Constitution Of the
United States We find no provision for
Cabinet. IN our great charter. copied I'm
a large sense from the constitution Of
England there is only the vaguest hint
that such an institution as the Cabinet
was contemplated by the fathers. The
only reference in the Constitution to
what has grown into our Cabinet is found
in section 2 Article II, and Is this:
He ths PRESIDENT may require the opinion in
writing Of the principal officer in each q the
executive departments upon G1y subject relating TO
the duties Of their respective Offices
There is here no investment Of power.
nor is there the imposition Of public re-
sDonsibility or obligation. BY the first
section Of the same article all the power
and public responsibility and obligation
IS vested solely in one man. and he the
President Thus.
Art II. Sec l. The executive shall be vested in
a President q the United States Of America. He
shall hold his oflue during the term cf four years
Plainly, then, the trainers Of the Con
stitution did not have in mind a "Cabi-
net such as We Americans have come 10
believe exists at Washington. The men
holding places in what We call the Cabi-
net are merely the principal officers Of
the executive departments" and as such
are wholly subordirated to the sole pos
SCISSOR Of the tremendous executive power
Of the nation. II it were not for the
statutory enactments creating the several
executive departments and defining the
duties Of "thc principal officers" thereof.
tie President would not be required to go
through The ceremony Of appointing So
called Cabinet officers" In the consti-
tutional sense, these persons are not
officers at all. They are mere clerks
appointed for specific duties by the Presi-
dent. who may. If he choose, require from
them in writing opinions pertaining 10
the duties Of their respective positions.
He violates no law. shirks no response
bi!ity. Usurps no power, nor otherwise
ignores his solemn oath if he either fails
20 summon them to a Cabinet meeting"
or refuses to accept their advice on any
question whatsoever.
That a member OF the Cabinet holds his
position at the pieasuTe-indeed. mayhap.