The daily times., 1921-08-18
BE INELIGIBLE
MAY
President Wilson Did Not Ap-
point Anybody From the
Senate to a Place on the
American Peace Commis-
sion; Much Controversy en-
the Technically.
(By David Lawrence.)
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
TimeS)

Times.
Washington, Aug. 1S.-1s. Henry
Cabot Lodge or any other member of
the Senate eligible to represent the
executive branch of the government
in the forthcoming negotiations with
other governments for disarmament
and the settlement of Far Eastern
questions?
Constitutional lawyers point out
that there is a clause in the Federal
IConstitution which makes any mem
Der of the Senate or House in eligible
to hold office under the orders of>the
President without resignation of
their seats in the legislative body.
Here is what the Federal Consti-
tuition says under Article One:
No Senator or Representative shall,
during the time for which he was
elected, be appointed to ANY civil Of
fee under the authority of the United
States which shall have been created
or the emoluments whereof shall
have been increased during such
time; and no person holding any
office under the United States shall
be a member of either House during
his eQntinu at1on in office
/ The purpose of the foregoing ar
lticle as explained by the constitu-
tionsl lawyers was to effect com
lplete separation between the execu-
tive and legislative branches of the
government When President McKin-
LEY appointed Senators FRYE of Maine
iand Cusham Davis Iii Minnesota, both
Republicans, to be members of the
American Peace Commission which
negotiated "a treaty eat Paris whereby
1.-THE Spanish-American War was con-
Icluded the point was not raised until
latter the treaty had been signed.
Then a debate arose in the Senate as
to whether members of the Senate
who had temporarily served with the
executive branch of the government
had a right to vote as members Of
1.-THE Senate to ratify that same
treaty
So much weight was attached to
1.-THE controversy that when President
Wilson was urged ito appoint some
members of the United States senate
Ito serve on the American Peace Com
mission at the conclusion of the Euro
Ipean War, he called for an opinion
from the lawyers of the state de-
partment and they brought out the
fac THAT the Constitution would seem
to make such a choice inadvisable.
president Wilson therefore did not
appoint anybody from the Senate.
The question will probably arise in
an entirely unprecedented way when
the disarmament conference is IN
progress for Senator Lodge or any
other senator appointed to serve on
the Presidents commission will be
Temporarily appointed minister plen-
Iipotentiary on behalf of the United
Estates government subject to the
instructions of the President and
Secretary of State while at the same
time there will be debates in the
Senate in which Mr.. Lodge as chair
Iman of the Foreign Relations Com
mittee might be obliged to partici-
pate,
There are those who claim that NO
member of the present Senate would
: be eligible to serve even if he re-
signed from office temporarily as the
Constitution says no member of the
House or Senate can be appointed to
a civil office during the time for
which he was elected Some have
construed this to mean that resigna-
tion would be ineffective and that a
member of the Senate or House
would have to wait till his term act
nally expired before accepting Office