Evening star., 1933-05-01
HURLEY DEFENDS
ROOSEVELT POWER
Hoover Secretary Denies
New Laws Involve Breach
With Constitution.
A. . s,af Correspondent of The Star.

b. a STAFF Correspondent Of The Star.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va, May LIN an
address on The Constitution and Cur
rent Economic Problems" at William
and Mary College yesterday Patrick J.
Hurley. Secretary of War in the late
Republican administration. stoutly de-
MED that extraordinary powers recently
conferred by Congress upon the Presi-
dent Of the United States in any wise
involve a breach of the Constitution.
In the presence OF President Chanoief
of William and Mary College, Gov. Pol
notables and the faculty and student
body of the 24O-year- college where
Thomas Jefferson. James Monroe, John
Tyler and John Marshall were once un-
dergraduates, Mr. Hurley delivered the
annual Cutler Endowment lecture.
To-day" said Mr. Hurley, I'VE have
Journalists, historians, lawyers ana
many others who contend that we must
IGNORE the States and turn completely
from the Constitution to Scme form OF
supreme executive to meet the exl-
gencies of the present situation.
Point to Limitations.
Recently. when Congress delegated
II the Chief Executive certain dlscre-
tionary powers to act within limits nxed
by Congress. We read in the newspapers
that democracy had abdicated: that
Congress had conferred legislative ana
Gictatorial powers upon the President.
These statements are incorrect.
The power conferred by Congress
upon the President in the last tariff
bill to readjust tariff rates within Ger
tain limitations. the power recently
conferred upon the President to read
lust salaries and wages of Government
employees to readjuSt veterans allow
ances and compensation and eHect
other general economies within certain
limits do not confer any legislative or
dictatorial powers upon the President.
They do not even confer continuing
executive authority. On the contrary.
these acts are strictly within the pur-
view Of the Constitution.
They do confer certain discretionary
executive authority, but the discretion
airy power is within limits fixed by Con-
gress. They constitute merely executive
authority to the Chief Executive to carry
into effect the will of Congress and are
within constitutional limits as defined
by the Supreme Court in Field versus
Clark
Secretary Hurley thrust vigorously at
the theory widely voiced in the last
three and half years that the Ma
tion's business and financial woes re-
veal the necessity of establishing some
entirely new system OF American gov
eminent
Our failure as a people" he said
Ito work out second economic plan is
tn of
is due to our incapacity as economists
and to our failure to cooperate in
carrying a plan into effect. The Con-
stitution is SO flexible. so readily re-
eponSive to new economic conditions.
that plan including the essential ele-
mentS of the proposals made to Con-
gress could be made operative under it.
What Is needed is a sound economic
plan for the future, not a political
formula.
Scores Loose Talk.
ANY minor changes In the Consti-
tuition. II any are necessary. need not
change our system Of government
There is sufficient power in the Fed
eral Government and in the State gov
ernments to carry into ef1sct any and
all economic laws that may be neces-
:arv to meet the present situation.
The danger i'll the present emer-
eency is. not that the central Govern
ment has too little power. but that it
will acquire too much power, and that
by the constant acquisition of power
the Government will one day cease to
be the creature Of the people and be-
come their master"
Mr.. Hurley closed his address with
an attack on the unbridled vocabu
larry abundant everywhere" in these
times of condemnation and abuse. He
said that. instead of condemnation
we should inculcate temperance in our
appraisal of the efforts of those who
are charged by the people with the
responsibility of leadership"
The former Secretary of War warned
the Nation against placing any faith
in Communism, HitleriSm or Fascism."
declaring that mo matter how ef-
ficient these substitutes for democracy
may be, their success must be Of short
duration. The challenge which Amer
ica faces today is to make the rule OF
the people safe in the world"