Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-10
Presidents Great Responsibility

weWhc'S VINO Uft NOT expected 'HII I"
Washi"ctou until the regular session in
December.
Presidents Great Responsibility
Ou saturday last. q ter the busiest and
most momantOus six months ever put i'm
by any Congress. th, extraordinary seS-
sion ~ the Siyty-1ftn Congress. recruited.
d"illed aud seq sOued for war. was FUR
loughed for two months the RELIEF being
timed tu six months exactly after the pas
sage of the wa resolution. The retirement
OF this GOrgr,sS leaves the President iu
supreue comu aud. not only Of th" army
Gud navy. Of N hi"h. under the constitution.
he is cOmmanurr- in-chief. but ais" or every
other branch # government, Including
ruutrpl ov. aud direction Of the nation
resources never heretofore rCpo-cd In any
President As a matter uf fact the tenn
porary retirement Of Congress makes the
President Of the United states as near
alb dilute as it is possible for the President
OF republic to be.
The President now has control over eN-
penditures which. including CONTRACT an
thorfzatiouS for the fiscal year 1918, eX-
c-ed S2l. l.3UU.UuO. .UOU. lie has the power To
Stimu ate or retard production through
pr' pr'ce-fNiug aud emba"gOeS or through the
regulation Of railroads and shipping. lie
can curb the press and has the whiphand
over those who speak freely or too much.
The King of England has NO such power
as the peoples representative have con-
ferred upon President Wilson. and il Is
questionable whether even the Kaiser has
SO free a foot Members Of Congress de-
parted frorI Washington knowing that legs-
latiuu had been enacted that left no room
to doubt the weight Of responsibility placed
ON the President. They CouS"eu themselves
with the thought that the President had
4 requested the authority that had been given
him and that in times of war any resistance
Il. e lna ma. nj Lei. lI1-tn .
/ would be construed as giving aid and COM
fort tn the euemy." I'm view of these war
/ conditions Congress yielded much to the
President against its sober Judgment even
J To the extent Of refusing a war expenditure
! committee" to keep track of the disposition
/ If the neople's money The President in
I sisted that such a committee would em-
! harrass him. and it was not appointed.
Next Session Will Scrutinize
II would be mistake to say that in
| granting the President everything he asked
! for Congress had been dOcile. Whether
members had been enthusiastic about the
I war or not. every one of them realized
I that condition confronted the natiOI
which Congress had to meet Everywhere
| the feeling was that whether We had gOn'
into the war for good or i'll, We had gone
into it and there could he No hackhi
out This spirit prevailed during the dis
isugSiOn OF all the WAT bllIS' anu Ddl Nl'uldI l.
with respect Ia the loan bills and the grea
TAX measure with which Congress practical
| Is closed its work.
/ There were times when discussion wa
/ free and frank. and there were evidence
! Of the intent Of members 10 resume thei
. Inquiries into the method of eNpendn
! u,llic funds for war purposes in subseuuen
sessions. In one particular the Presden
ala moi get what he was credited with in
dorsing to wit. the budget committee al
vacated by Chairman Fitzgerald, uf tn
Apprt pria tiOns Committee. MI SherleN
Kentucky. aud others. This proposition wa
( introduced by leading Democrats after III
D Republicans had failed 10 secure a wa
, .expenditures or oversight committee to >ee
I iu touch with financial operations durin
{ the interim. ON Friday before the Satul
day of adjournment the Rules Committe
was called together with the eNpectato
. that il would put the budget committ'
!, through. The President was reported 10 ha,
j. approved the scheme. but the advocates
X il were routed by members Of their Ow
' party II Is said that several commit,
chairmen having to do with appropriation
and Jealous Of their rights listened to Il
arguments In favor Of the budget syste
with a great deal Of concern.
n The storm broke after one Of the Pres
p dents most earnest supporters dilated
q | some length upon the value of "a centra
za,fon of power That was the straw tn
broke the camels back, and some commit
chairmen in effect served notice that tn
20 were Democrats, even Jeffersonian Dem
rs Gratis and that they proposed to insist up
ot The continuance of an American democra
IN no matter what the consequences might |
As the matter now stands, the Repu
licans have asked for a war expenditu
committee to cooperate with the Preside
A. and have been denied, IL the Democrs
ar undertook to- forestall the Republicans
te I this regard by their proposed budget co
!, | mittee they failed. Meanwhile both part
VI realize that expenditures must be discuss
Od in the next session of Congress with IN,
: f..nhnl,, than any one darah dlscnas .