Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-14
BRYAN OUTLINES
PRESIDENT'SDUTY
SHOWS CHIEF EXECUTIVES
POWER FOR GOOD
MAY REccoMEND BUT CANNOT
DICTATE"
MauazIne Article Gives commoner's
"conceptlon Of the Presidency"
Much Depends on Senate
and House
By Associated PRESS

BY Associated Fress-
NEW YORK, July 18.-William j.
Bryan has written the following mag
azine article entitled MY Conceptions
of the Presidency"
''The presidents power for good or
for harm is often overestimated. rms
government is a government or cneckS
and balances; power Is distributed
among different departments, and each
of them works in cooperation with
others. In the making of laws, for In
stance, the president joins with the
senate and house; he may recommend,
but he is powerless to legislate, except
as a majority of the senate and the
house concur with him.
'The senate and the house are also
independent of each other, each having
a veto over the other and the presi-
dent has a veto over both, except that
the senate and house can by two
thirds vote override the presidents s
veto. The influence of the president
over legislation is therefore limited; he
shares responsibility with a large num-
ber of the peoples representatives.
Even in the enforcement of law he
is hedged about by restrictions. He
acts through an attorney general
(whose appointment must be approved
by the senate) and offenders against
the law must be prosecuted in the
courts, so that here again the re-
sponsibility is divided. In the making
Of important appointments, too, he must
consult the senate and is of necessity
compelled to exercise care and dis
cretion.
Must Represent Masses
THE most important requisite in a
president, as in other officials, is that
sympathy shall be with the whole peo-
pie, rather than with any fraction Of
the population. He is constantly called
upon to act in the capacity of a judge
deciding between the opportunities of
those who seek fayors and the rights
and interests of the public.
Unless his sympathies are right the
few are sure to have an advantage
over the many for the masses have no
one to present their claims. They act
only at elections and must trust to
their representatives to protect them
from all their foes.
Second, the president must have a
knowledge of public questions and the
ability to discern between the true anS
the false; he must be able to analyze
the conditions and to detect the So
phristy and art that are always en-
ployed by those who seek unfair advan-
tages.
"Ie must possess the moral courage
to stand against the influence that is
terest In fact the quality of moral
courage is as essential in a public Of
fetal as either right sympathies or a
trained mind.
''The president must have counsellors,
and to make wise use of counsellors
he must be open to conviction. The
president is committed by his platform
to certain policies, and the platform is
binding; he is also committed to GER
tain principles of government, and these
he is in duty bound to apply in all
matters that come before him.
But there is a wide zone in which
he must act upon his own judgment,
and here he ought to have the aid of
intelligent, conscientious and faithful
advisers. The law provides these to a
certain extent in giving him a cabinet,
and the vice president ought to be a
member of the cabinet ex-officio. in
order first that the president may have
the benefit of his wisdom and knowl-
edge of affairs, and second. that the
to take up the work in case of va
cancy in the presidential Office.
Cooperation Is Necessary
There ought to be cordial relations
also between the president and those
who occupy positions of trust I'm the
coordinate branches of the govern
ment, for our government is not a one
man government, but government in
which the chosen representatives of the
people labor together to give expression
to the will of the voters.
But the presidency is the highest
position in the world and its occupant
is an important factor in all national
matters. IL he is a devout believer
in our theory OF government, recog-
nizes the constitutional distribution of
powers, trusts thoroughly the people
and sympathizes with them in their
aspirations ana hopes, he has an op-
portunity to do a splendid work. He
occupies a vantage ground from which
he can exert a wholesome influence in
favor of each forward movement.
1.-THE responsibilities of the office are
so great that the occupant ought to
be relieved of every personal ambition
save the ambition to prove worthy of
the confidence of his countrymen; for
this reason he ought to- enter the posi-
tion without though. or prospect of a
second term.
while the burdens of such an office
are heavy and while the labors Of the
office are exacting and exhausting, the
field OF service is large, and, measuring
his greatness by service, the president
by consecrating himself to the public
veal can make himself secure in the
affections of his fellow citizens while
he lives and create for himself per-
1nanent place in the nations history"