The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-26

The Power of the
President
continued from Page 81

Continued from Page 81
upon this subject. Some scholars have
proved that the power of the presi-
dent is gagged by the strength of his
personality; and others have demon
strated that the extent of the power
of the president depended on whether
he took sound and right positions on
the questions he had to deal with.
For example. no more dominant.
willed man than Grover Cleveland
ever occupied the presidential chair
and yet his power was broken as IL
II We're rotten reed. Also he was
absolutely right in his stand in favor
of honest money and Mr.. Bryan was
comically wrong; yet. this was the
most dangerous rock of the reef on
which Mr.. Clevoland's political for.
tunes We're wrecked. and AT the same
time the stcpping.stonc on which Mr..
Bryan mounted to popularity. John
son was strong personality. yet. he
was cut off at the beginning of it and
his political life ended in disgrace
The most towering personality in our
history is that of Washington. and
his foreign policy was without
flaw: yet. it was this very thing that
brought him to the end of his second
term the best hated by great body
of the people and the most reviled
man of all our presidents excepting
only Lincoln.
OK THE contrary, the personality OF
~ Madison was as colorless as his in
tellect was splendid. and some of the
positions he took as for example, his
veto of the first internal improve
mcnt bill. We're ridiculously er.
roneous; yet h. went through two
terms with undiminished reputation
and died a beloved and historic fig.
ure. Monroe. with very small natural
ability. with an obstinate and an un.
impressive personality was more
often wrong than he was right and
sometimes even base. as for example
in his French Mission and attack
on Washington Vet. he too. rode out
two terms with comparative ease and
managed to get his name attached
10 great national doctrine of the
far reaching meaning and develop
ment of which he had no more con.
Ception than an Eskimo.
The character of congress - the
ability vigor. and information of
members of the House and Senate -
has as much to do with the power of
the president as the masterfulncss
OF the chief executive. \ congress in
which there is a large proportion of
new members is uncertain of itself,
especially when ii comes in as IA
change of party control with IA presi
dent OF III" same party, such new
congress yields readily To his sugges-
tiOnS But the sam" congress two
years later, when il has found itself.
Is apt To assert itself Where there
IL conjunction of a strong and clever
president who knows exactly what h,
wants, and a new and untriod con.
gress which does not know what it
wants. the power OF the presidency
assumes, for the moment, mountain
Gus proportions To the casual public
eye
Obviously the powers of tn prtsi
dent ar" neither growing nor dcclin
ing - they are considerable AT one
tim" and negligible AT another time
No cause can be given nor "A general
cation made explaining this, except
ing the conflict between the natural
growth of the idea of "A party govern.
ment on the one hand and the oh.
stacles which our constitution throws
in the way of this on the other hand.
Under the parliamentary systems of
other free countries one of two things