Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-12
SAM, ESQ.
l.-Presidents and
Congress.
By Oliver Owen Kuhn.
Copyright 1879

The trainers Of the Constitution. in pro-
viding method or system for the opera
ton Of governmental affairs Of the United
States. believed that they had met every
possible contingency. The strength and
scope of the original instrument Is
testimony of the forethought of its franz
ers; the number Of amendments adopted
within very few years showed how ut
terly impossible it is for even the great
est minds. working in harmony and in
closest cooperation, to forecast the trend
of events. and to foresee the developments
of even few years in the future.
AS an example, the government was
divided into three broad classifcations-
legislative, executive and judicial-pos-
sessing equal powers, hemmed in by
equal limitations, and none supposed to
be superior or inferior to the others.
This is elemental; any high school, pupil
knows all about it. But. high school
aware of the gradual widening of the
authority exercised by the three broad
subdivisions of the government. until
the judicial has been permitted to as
sumo some Of the prerogatives Of the
legislative and the executive; while the
purely administrative and consulting po-
sition to place where-at least in re-
cent years-it has assumed the right to
advise, and even in some instances vir-
tually to dictate to the legislative.
Relations in Past Years.
In the years gone by the relations OF
the President and the Congress of the
United States were almost purely those
of the executive and the directing agen-
cies. such as exist in any organization
of large scope. Congress inflated and
passed legislation, and the President
executed the laws thus passed. In his
messages to Congress the President
called attention to conditions, much as
the general manager of big concern
advises his board of directors of mat
tiers recurring attention. The President
suggested measures; then, if Congress
saw fit to adopt the suggestions and
embody them in laws, the President
executed those laws.
- Today, however-and during several
past admnistrations-th chief execu-
tive has indicated to Congress the
measures he wanted. has urged the
necessity for the enactment of the sug-
gestions into law, and in more than
one instance in comparatively recent
years has cracked the whip of party
loyalty over the heads of recalcitrant
members of Congress, or has even gone
to the extent Of withholding patronage
in order to bring such members into
line. That these things have not been
done except in the face of violent OBJ
lection and denunciation of the chief
executive on the part of senators and
representatives thus coerced is a mat
ter Of history
Personal Appearances Rare.
While no provision exists in law
and none is written into the Constitu-
ton or it's amendments to that effect
for years 1t was customary for the
President to appear in person before
Congress only on the rarest and most
extraordinary occasions. Even the an
nuaI message presented at the con-
vening of a new Congress. or other
messages sent to the legislative body
as occasion demanded, were dispatched
from the White House to the Capitol
by special messenger, and were read by
reading clerks to the two houses in joint
session When the President desired to
consult with members of Congress on i'm
portant matters he summoned them to
the White House, where the questions
were discussed in strictest privacy; and
from such consulta tons little Information
ever leaked out unless it was desired that
the public should be advised.
In recent times, however, and par
ticularIy during the administration Cd
President Wilson, it has become a COM
mon matter for the President to go di-
rect to Congress with matters of such
importance as seemed to require legis-
lativs attention. In this manner a new