Evening star., 1934-09-23

ly defined. 1t is also essential to the
successful working Of this system
that the persons entrusted with the
power in any one of these branches
shall not be permitted to enroach
upon the powers confided to the
others, but that each shall, by the
law of its creation. be limited to the
exercise of the powers appropriated
to its own department and no other"
From the various authorities quoted
it is held by Mr.. Koehne that within
the District, as well as throughout
the United States, there shall be no
invasion Of life, liberty or property
by or pursuant to any legislative, ex-
ecutive or judicial action which COM
mingles any two or more Of said three
main branches of government. In
other words, each Of the three
branches comprises lawful Offices
solely when limited each to its own
sphere and when not encroaching
upon the functions pertaining to any
other of the three branches. Offlces
are non-existent within the United
States which appear to be clothed
with authority to commingle powers Of
two or more Of these main branches
of government. Non-existent Offices.
with the acts of their incumbents, are
void Morton VS.. Shelby County. 118
U. S. 425, 442, 449D
Therefore, he holds it is apparent
that a local legislative Office other
than Congress does not exist in the
District, and that the Commissioners,
who pretend to hold and exercise said
Office and enact local legislation, are
usurpers Of said Office to whose leg
islative acts no validity can be at
tached, and which legislative office
can be constitutionally held and ex-
ercised only by Congress.
In seeming disregard of the pro-
visions of the Constitution, he says.
Congress has repeatedly attempted to
authorize the Commissioners to en-
act local legislation in addition to the
exercise Of their executive power.
Congress- Power Absolute.
The legislative power over the Dis
trict being vested in Congress, Ito
exercise exclusive legislation in all
cases whatsoever" seems so clearly
to be all inclusive and restrictive, and
to preclude any delegation of such
power, even if the same were other
wise delegatable, he says. In his
opinion, however, 1t seems unneces-
sary to consider the question of such
delegation, because, if existent, delega-
ton must essentially run in favor Of
some person or body not otherwise
prohibited from exercising the dele
gated power. The Commissioners Of
the District, being vested with exc
cutive power in the District, would
thereby be incompetent to receive and
exercise any delegated legislative
power of the District.
After citing certain typical speci-
mems of legislation by the Commis-
sioners in the form of police, build
ing and health regulations, which he
terms void laws and regulations, 4"
the memorandum continues: at
seems fundamental that these and
all other legislative enactments of the
Commissioners are void and unen-
forceable in view Of the constitutional
limitation upon the power Of Con-
gress to exercise over the District
exclusive legislation, in all cases
whatsoever as we'll as upon the power
of the Commissioners in the exercise
Of the executive branch of the local
government that they shall not en-
croach upon either of the other two
main branches of government"
Unless and until the Federal Con-
stitution be amended no local legis-
lative body other than Congress may
lawfully enact legislation validly ap-
plicable within the District, Mr.
Koehne thinks. No change in the
form of government of the District is
necessary, he believes, except the
fundamental one Of striking down at
once all pretended legislative acts of
the Commissioners, as well as all acts
Of the Commissioners not exclusively
pertaining to and vested In the exc
cutive branch Of the government, with
Congress enacting III legislattoa.