Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1920-05-14
Salaries in All Branches
Knocked Out by Dis
approval Unless Appro-
priations Repass.
Charges Lawmakers Are
Trying to Put Execu-
tive Departments I'm
der Thumb; Calls Halt.

Washington, May l3-President
Wilson pointediy Informed congress
Thursday that, in his opinion, the
legislative branch of the government
was showing an increased tendency
to interfere unduIy with the ex-
ercise of executive functions.
Taking as a vehicle for his ad-
monition a sharply phrased veto of
the annual legislative. executive and
dent declared that one of the riders
of the big supply measure would
muzze executive officials with
censorship" regulated by the con-
gressional Joint committee on print
Ing.
SAYS HE'S NOT GOT FACTS.
Immediately, the presidents position
both on the general principle involved
and the specific case cited. was Chal-
lenged by Republican leaders of the SEN
ate and house. Senator Smoot, Repub-
lican. Utah, chairman of the joint COM
mittee. declared in formal statement
that the president apparently had been
deliberately misinformed" about the
appropriation bill and Representative
Good, Republican, Iowa. chairman of the
house appropriations committee, told the
house that there must be some mistake
somewhere"
Whether e-passage of the bill I'M
changed will be attempted or whether
the feature objected to by the president
will be eliminated has not been decided
The measure carries S1O.000,OOO fOT
salaries and miscellaneous expense OF
many government departments. and il
must be approved in some form before
the end of June or these funds viii
lapse.
Bill Insists on Regulations.
The president said he returned the bill
because of the section putting under
control all government pub
lications.
This section. the. president said. would
give congress a censorship" encroaching
on executive functions.
The section of the bill at which the
veto was aimed provides that no jour
nal. magazine periodical or other sim
liar government publications" shall be
issued except under regulations presCrib-
ed by the congressional journal commit
tee on printing and a proviso is added
including in the category "mimeograph-
ing, multographing and other processes
used for the duplication of typewriter
and printed matter, other than official
correspondence and office records.
The obvious effect of this provision.
said the president. would be to give
TO that committee power TO prevent the
executive department from min eOgraph
ing. multigraphing or otherwise dupllcat-
ing any material which they desire. and
in that way power to determine what
shall be given to the people
of the country bv the executive depart
mpDt
Without raising any constitutional
question, I think that this section :
hn fFrn nf
the executive and incompatible with
good government.
Cites Other Facts as Invasion.
The president also cited several other
measures enacted or proposed in the
present congress to support his charge
that there had been IAN invasion of the
province of the executive. calculated tC
result in unwarranted interference il
the processes of good government" He
said that some of the measures he had
permitted to become law as temporary
expedents. but that he felt the time had
come to call halt before obstructive
precedents had been established
Sianed other Bill on Control.
Both Senator Smoot. and Repre-
sentative Good, however. asserted that
the committee already had been given
control over government publications
by an act which the president signed on
March /. 1919. and that the purpose OF
the present provision was 70 extend that
power so meritorious periodicals could
be continued.
There are now 100 government pub
lications printed without any authority
of law" said Mr. Good. They exist only
by suffrance of the joint committee. The
bill which the president approved in
March 1919 was more sweeping than
the one now vetoed.