Milford chronicle., 1920-03-19
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
Current Events for the Children
and Grown-Ups, Too
WHEN is THE PRESIDENT
DISABLED7

NOANCs
What's wrong with you kiddie
in on the scene.
Ruth is trying to tell me who run,
the government when the President il
SICK" answered Jack, "and 1 tell he
that know the Vice President is tn,
one because our teacher said So"
There is a whole lot to be sal,
about that" replied Uncle Ted, "and
will tell you as much as / can tonight
You see, the Constitution of the Unit
ed State says that when the Presiden
is disabled, that is, when he is nm
able to perform his duties as chic
executive, that the Vice President
shall take up the duties of that of.
fee"
i knew 1 was right" said Jack.
Very true, Jack, but the trouble is
that the Constitution does not say by
what method, or when or where the
question is to be determined as to the
Presidents inability to perform his
work. The question is as old as the
Constitution itself and has been dis
cussed at various times by the big
men of the day for the past 14O years
or more. But today Congress has
made up its mind to settle this ques-
tioq for all time to come. Already the
Judiciary COMMITTEE of the House of
Representative has been holding
hearings to discuss the four bills
which have been introduced upon this
subject. From these four bills the
committee will write what they be-
lieVe to be the first measure to reme-
dy this situation and that bill will
then be presented to Congress for a
vote"
who introduced the four bills?"
asked Jack.
''They were introduced by Repre-
sentative Martin B. Madden of Illinois,
Representative Simeon d. Fess, of
Ohio, Representative John ]. Rogers,
of Massachusetts, and Representative
Clifton N. Macarthur, of Oregon. All
four of these men are Republicans and
they all have said that their bills
were not written and aimed at Pres
ident Wilson but the long sickness of
the President and his inability to do
his work, of course, makes the matter
of great Importance at this time"
What do the different bills say?"
asked Ruth.
Representative Madden's bill says
that whenever the President is unable
to perform his work for six weeks
the cabinet shall meet and determine
whether the President is able to go
on with his duties. The Supreme
Court of the United States would de-
eide about the Presidents ability, af-
ter it has been authorized to do so by
a resolution of Congress, under the
bill introduced by Representative
Fess. An amendment to the Consti-
tuition to bring this about is called
for in the Fess bill. A resolution
from either the House or Senate or
both would make it the duty of the
Supreme Court to give a decision as
to whether, as stated in the Consti-
tuition, the President is disabled, un-
der the bill introduced by Represen-
tative Rogers. Representative Nc
Arthur's bill would fix things so that
if the President was away from the
United States for thirty days or i'll, |
either one would mean disability to |
act and the decision would be up to |
the cabinet.
Representative Fess has made a |
very careful study of this matter and |
he says that in order to make it pos
sible for the Supreme Court to decide |
this question an amendment will have /
to be made to the Constitution giving
the power to the Court. Representa-
tive Rogers does not agree with this
theory. He says that the matter can
be decided by the Supreme Court by
an act of Congress. He has also made
a very deep study of this matter, and
when he appeared before the commit
tee he mentioned many opinions which
had been handed down in the past by
high authorities. He mentioned the
fact that when Garfield was disabled
for three months the question of
whether or not an acting President
should be put in authority was dis
cussed to a great extent but no action
was taken. 1t is Mr.. Rogers view
that the Supreme Court shall be given
the power to decide when the real
of the President exists af-
-er it has been requested to do so by
/ resolution from either house of
Congress, and that it should also have
he power to decide in the same way
when the disability is at an end"
Does the committee agree with
dr. Rogers ?" asked Jack.
''No, Jack, some of the members of
he committee objected because they ,
laid the Supreme Court, as a court,
,ould not be asked to decide this
question on the request of Congress. {
t is agreed by almost everyone inter- I
,sted in this question that the Vice {
President has full power to decide {
Vhen the President is disabled, and
o take up the duties of the Presi- l
lent whenever he believes he should !
10 so. But, as Mr.. Rogers pointed :
ut to the committee, no Vice Presi- /
ent has ever done this, and it is not
likely that any Vice President would \
e apt to do so in the future, UNLESS I
aid Mr.. Rogers, the President was in l
mad house, and even then doubt if =
e would
Representative Madden's bill gives
be power to the Secretary of State to !
all cabinet meetings for the purpose
deciding the ability of the Presi- =
ent to continue his work. If, under
is bill, the cabinet should decide that :,
ne President was disabled the Vice -
resident would automatically take =
p the duties of the President as pro- =
ided for under the Constitution. Mr.. !.
Iadden suggests that the bill should :
OF become effective before the 4th D
March, 1921, so that it would not \,
feet the present President. The
ctum of the President of the United -.
tates,' said Mr.. Madden before the h.
now is that it is usurpa-
on of presidential authority if cabi- u
st meetings are called during his dis -
)ility. My bill would place the ~
amp of legal authority for the Sec
,tary Of State to call such meetings h,
Id not let the country go into a h,
ate of decay because the President q
,nnot function.
Representative Macarthur says that 10
)ngress has the full power to name an
q authnritn 1uhinh nhnuld hn the de-