The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-08-18
ELIGIBILITY OF
LODGE QUESTIONED
Can He Serve as Delegate
to Disarmament Confer
ence While Senator
CONSTITUTIONAL
<e.- BAR is FOUND
This Is Said to Have Influenced wilson
Against Choosing Senator On Peace
Delegation-SOme Earlier Precedents
Against the Appointment.


By DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Dispatch to The Reformer.)
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, August ISIS
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 gov
ernments for disarmament and the set
Element of Far Eastern questions:
Constitutional lawyers point cut that
there is a clause in the federal constitu-
ton which makes any member of the
senate or house ineligible to ho-d Office
under the orders of the president without
resignation of their seats in the legisla-
| tive body
Here is what the federal constitution
! saws under article one: mo senator or
representative shall during the time for
which he was elected. be appointed to
any civil Office under the authority of the
| United States which shall have been Gre
ated 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 continuation in
office"
The purpose of the foregoing article
as explained by the constitutional law
vers was to effect a complete separation
between the executive and legislative
branches of the government. When PreSl-
dent Mckinley appointed Senators Frye
of Maine and Cushman Davis OF Mime
sofa both Republicans. to be members Of
the American peace commission which ne
! or Paris whereby the
| Standardization war was concluded the
p0int was not raised until after the treaty
had been signed. Then a debate arose
i'm the senate as to whether members OF
the senate who had temporarily served
with the executive branch OF the govern
ment had a right to vote as members OF
the senate to ratify that same treaty.
Influenced Wilson.
So much weight was attached to the
controversy that when President Wilson
was urged to appoint some members OF
| the United States senate to serve on the
american peace commission Mt the conclu-
sion of the European war he called for
an opinion from the lawyers of the state
department and they brought out the fact
that the constitution would seem to make
such a choice inadvisable. President
Wilson, therefore. did not appoint any.
body from the senate.
The question will probably arise in al
unprecedented way when the dlSarma
ment conference is in progress for Sena
tor Lodge or any other senator appointed
to serve on the presidents commission
will be temporarily appointed minister
plenipotentiary on behalf of the United
States government subject to the instruc
lions of the president and secretary o
state while at the same time there vii
be debates in the senate in which Mr.
Lodge as chairman of the foreign rela
ltions committee, might be obliged to par
ticipate.
Can't Resign from Senate.
There are those who claim that n,
member of the present senate would b
eligible to serve even if he resigned from
office temporarily as the constitution say
no member of the house or senate can b.
appointed to a civil Office during tn
time for which he was elected" Som
have construed this to mean that resigna
tion would be ineffective and that mem
Der of the senate or house would have t
wait till his term actually expired befor
accepting office under the executive branc
of the government. When Senator Kno
resigned his seat to become secretary 0
state in the Taft cabinet his salary wa
automatically increased, but it was foun