New-York tribune., 1918-03-13
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Give the President Full Power

was presented to the Senate The Tribune
of such a measure. 1t conferred powers
upon the President possessed by no mon
arch of any free country in Europe.
In common with our neighbor "The
Times" and many other journals, with
out regard to political bias, we regarded
it as uncalled for and Objectionable.
The bill in somewhat emasculated
form is now up for passage. We now
believe that it would be wiser for Con-
gress to return to the original text of the
bill, as desired by the President, and that
its passage should be prompt.
For this reason:
Personal and autocratic government is
now on trial in the United States. We
do not believe in this form of govern
ment. We do not believe that it is wise
or necessary now.
But we face condition which we cam
not now evade. A political majority in
both houses is back of the President.
The President has asked for and OBJ
tanned such vast extension of his pow
ers as has been given to no other ruler.
The King of England, the President of
France, has no such authority as the
President now possesses.
Neither the German nor Austrian
Kaiser exercises any such powers.
So long as the President has ma
jority of Congress all this cannot be
changed. And we are at war. The
emergency is very great.
We are inclined to believe that under
the present conditions it is wiser to give
the President practically everything
that he has asked for. In effect he has
asked for the concentration of complete
power in his own hands. In him alone.
To every complaint made by Congress
OF the country-at the lack of effective
organization, the absence of coordina-
tion between departments, the terrible
delay in the shipbuildins programme,
everything reply has invariably
been that; the President lacked ADEQUATE
power.
Let him now be given that power
without stint. Responsibility will then
be unequivocally placed.
AS our readers are we'll aware, it is our
own view that this concentration of
power has been mistake. We do not
believe there is any man living who can
at once attend to all the diplomatic oues-
tions arising in the war, who can be our
spokesman, our champion and at the
same time the personal director of all
the multifarious activities on the busi-
ness side of the war.
We do not believe that an effective
organization of Americas vast resources
for the war can be accomplished in this
way.
We believe that the system which has
been 80 painfully successful in Germany,
80 strikingly successful in ENGLAND. 50
wonderfully successful in France. was a
wise one to copy. That system was to
concentrate power in a war board Of
few members of very high ability.
The President has taken position
OF uncompromising hostility to a war
board IN any form. so long as he has
majority in Congress it is futile to
talk about it.
Give the President free hand, and
then in six or eight months from now the
nation will be able to Judge the results.
1t should be clearly understood (it seema
strangely unknown) that practically all
the vast powers OF the President not
merely those which have been added in
the last year, but long antecedent to
LDdts are purely congressional enact
nnent.
The constitutional powers of the Presj-
dent are small.
For example, the entire Cabinet and
the whole Of the huge administrative
machinery OF the government are wholly
a creation of acts of Congress. These
cbuld all be swept away, or changed,