The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-09-04
WASHINGTON LETTER
(SpeciaI to Sank Centre Herald)

Especial to Sank Centre Herald)
Washington, Sept. 3-Few people
are congnizant of the mighty forces
that are now at work shaping leg
islative program which will have a
direct effect upon the present system
of Government. 1t is said that be-
hind the movement for control of
Congress is the broad problem of a
readjustment of constitutional bal
ances settling all doubts as to the
governing body Of the. Nation. Those
watching the developments say that
the Congress which convenes in 1925
will deal with the, growth of execu-
tive power, the judiciary and the pre-
negatives of the Federal legislative
assembly. Accordingly it is argued
that the personnel of the new Con-
gress, which will be selected in No
vember, becomes vital matter in its
relation to legislative tendencies. The
extent to which the Government ma
chinery would be remodeled can not
yet be definitely settled. 1t is obvi-
Gus, however, that regardless of the
outcome of the election, there will be
many debates in Congress dealing
with this centuryold controversy of
constitutional limitation-"How pow
erful is the President and the SUI
preme Court?"
Some of the political parties now
seeking popular favor have directly
and indirectly referred to this ques-
ton. Whatever may be the solution
of the problem, it is clear that the
various agitators must first win the
support of the public to their plans.
Stepping outside the controversial
area, it will be found that many con-
gressmen and Senators are resentful
of the growth of the Presidents pow
er during and since the war period.
At present, it is almost impossible to
actually define just where the presi-
dents powers begin and end. It is
not as much partisan matter as a
struggle for supremacy between the
executive and legislative branches of
the Government. 1t seems that the
principal complaint is founded on the
belief that under present conditions
the executive and the judicial bran
ches have a neutralizing effect upon
the legislative. And, many legisla-
tors are working with the idea in
mind that the sovereign authority of
Congress should be made clear.
1t was the late Woodrow Wilson,
in a special study of American poll
tics undertaken several years prior
to active participation in national af-
fairs, who said that the balance of
judiciary against legislature and ex-
those ideal balances which are to be
o4
rough realities of actual practice.
1t was his contention at that time that
the national courts are for the most
part in the power Of Congress. He
stated that even the Supreme Court
is not beyond it's legislative control
"for it is the legislative privilege to
increase, whenever the legislative will
so pleases, the number of the judges
upon the supreme bench"
Keeping in mind the fact that Mr..
Wilson expressed these views as far
back as the year 1898, when he was
recognized as one of the Nations
foremost authorities on political
science, it is significant to note that
he believed that "All niceties of con-
stitutional restriction and even many
broad principles of constitutional linn
itation have been overridden, and a
thoroughly organized system of con-
gressional control set up which gives
a very rude negative to some theories
of balance and some schemes for dis
tributed powers, but which suits well
with convenience, and does violence
to none of the principles of self-gov-
eminent contained in the Constitu-
ton" Perhaps, his experiences as
the Chief Magistrate may have