Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-05

ni. is part Of chapter on o the President mt
10 the reader. Of The Star on most advantageous
terms. See notice later.
HE President of the United
States is the foremost ruler of
the world. He Is not a ruler
by accident of birth. but by
virtue of the will of 9O.OOO.OOO
people who fight the worlds greatest
political battle every four years for his
selection, and then willingly and fully
acquiesce in the verdict of the ballot box
Election to the presidency carries with
il q vast responsibility. The successful
candidate faces four years of administer
ing the laws of the greatest nation on
earth, acting as the master mind of a
huge machine manned by nearly half a
million men and women machine which
can patch mail bag, study a plant
louise maneuver an army dig Pana-
ma canal.
Congress n.,kes the nations laws. the
courts interpret them and the President
executes them. Congress may appropri-
ate a billion dollars year, but the Presl-
dent must execute the laws by which
this vast sum is raised, as well as those
under which II is spent. When he as
sumes the presidency he undertakes to
carry out laws which. during his term,
call for the expenditure of nearly S4.OOO,-
100000. Not only Is it incumbent upon
the President to execute the laws. but
he must take an important part in franz
ing them. He must. from time to time,
send messages to Congress, advising that
body Of the condition of the country and
rs to what legislation is needed for the
Improvement of those conditions
Through the Secretary of the Treasury
he must also inform Congress just how
much money will be needed to keep the
dr,vf nry az
and when Congress appropriates these
funds that action is not completed until
the President has Scrutinized and signed
the appropriation measures.
While the President has cabinet to-
assist him in his supervision of the exc
cution Of the laws of the nation, under
the Constitution he is solely responsible
for any official action any member OF
the body may take. AS a collective or
ganization, the cabinet has no constitu-
tional standing, its decisions being in no
wise binding upon the President. rms
is Illustrated by q story OF Mr. Lincoln.
He brought before his cabinet a PROPOSE
ton which he favored and the cabinet
voted against it, He declared the votes
to be seven noes and one aye There
fore" said he the ayes have it. The
President with his attention demanded
upon every kind of matter from the ap-
pointment of a postmaster at Podunk TO
the determination of the proper course
to pursue in a great International Situa-
zion is a very busy man. But he has so
systematiZed his work that he has almost
a much time for recreation as the aver
age man of affairs.
For instance although his mail is the
largest received by the head of any gov
eminent on earth. it is handled that
the task of going through it is not very
burdensome one. The daily NUMBER OF
letters ranges from 800 TO 2.OOO, but less
than a hundred of these require the per-
sonal attention of the President. There is
one clerk in the executive offices whose
sole duty it is to classify this CORE
spondence as il comes in A card-index
system of all correspondence is Min
tanned with a complete filing system in
connection. Probably a hundred letters