Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-22
Presidents War P01Uers Gr01U
There's Plenty of Precedent for a Strong Hand
p.


w II asked for a separate peace
with Nazi Germany. Senator Pepper,
the ardent New Dealer from Florida,
presented to the Senate a seyen-point
armament program under which Con-
gress, as the first provision, would have
conferred on the President full war
time power to prepare and defend
America"
The speech caused virtually no COM
ment, but on August IA, when Senator
Pepper elaborated his ideas, he was en-
gagged in long extemporaneous debate
which brought out the sharply conflicting
views Of legislators regarding the ex-
tent of executive powers in peace and
war and the checks and lack Of checks
on them by the Constitution, Congress
and the courts.
The trend Of the debate was against
any general delegation Of extraordinary
power to the President at that time,
yet within less than three weeks Presi-
dent Roosevelt, fortified with an opinion
by Attorney General Jackson, concluded
with Great Britain the exchange OF
American destroyers for Atlantic naval
and air bases without first informing
Congress of the negotiations or SUISSE
quently asking its approval.
Precedent in Louisiana Purchase.
The President pridefully found prece-
dent for his action in the purchase OF
Louisiana by Thomas Jefferson in 1903,
when the United States was at peace.
The Presidents action has caused legis-
lators and students of governmental
theory and practice to search for other
precedents which the President might
use in the next few months and perhaps
the next few years.
The domain of executive power in war
has been called "a dark continent in our
jurisprudence, the boundaries Of which
are undetermined" The same might be
said of the peacetime powers when the
President acts as Commander in Chief
of the Army and Navy Lincoln, Cleve-
land, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow
Wilson exercised these vast powers as
part of their military duties and as
officials responsible for the conduct of
international affairs.
The extent of these powers is even
more shadowy today because of the in
definite status of the United States.
While this country is nominally neutral
in the European and Asiatlc wars, the
overwhelming sentiments of the ad-
ministratlon and the citizens are
against Germany and Japan Unoffi-
cially this status has been described as
acknowledgement and there are some
who contend that we have already COM
mitted acts of war" against Germany.
Furthermore, there are others, lnclud-
ing members of Congress and executive
Officials, who believe that war is I'M
minent' ard that We are in or are ap-
preaching an emergency" both technl-
cal words involving the Presidents war
power
ReaSSured Canada in 1887.
AS part of the neutrality program, the
President on September s, 1899, pro-
claimed limited emergency" which
he said called for the exercise OF only
a limited number of the powers granted
in national emergency" Since that
time Congress has voted the greatest
national defense appropriations in our
history, authorized the President to
mobilize the National Guard and en-
powered the President for the first
time in peace to conscript men and
industry-the latter under specified
conditions-for the national defense.
Without asking consent of Congress. Mr..
Roosevelt has negotiated the destroyer
naval base transfer and has agreed with
Prime Minister King of Canada on a
permanent joint board of defense tor
the neighboring countries. As early as
1887 he assured the Canadians that
this country would not stand idly by
II the dominion were invaded
The Constitution is the principal
source of the direct or implied powers
which the President may exercise with
out reference to Congress. The direct
war power is contained in a provision
which makes the President the Com
mander in Chief of the Army and
Navy. The implied powers are derived
from the general grant Of authority ito
take care that the laws be carefully
executed" and to preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United
States There is further implied power
in the stipulation that the United
States shall guarantee to every State IN
this Union republican form Of gov
eminent and shall protect each Of
them from INVASION
Could Close Radio Stations.
The other source of executive power
is the statutory delegation by Congress
Such delegations are already contained
in many laws enacted during the past
seven and half years and only require
that the President shall proclaim ma
tional emergency to bring them into
force. Other emergency powers date
back to the last war and some are older
than that. Under the Federal Com
munications Act of 1884, the President
upon the proclaiming the existence of
war, threat of war or other great ma
tional emergency, or in order to pre-
serve the neutrality of the United States,
may close any radio station or take over
such station for use by the Government.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1886 au-
thorized the Maritime Commission to
requisition merchant vessels in any ma
tional emergency declared by the Presi-
dent.
(. The limited emergency was pro-
claimed because 1906 statute required
that appropriations be apportioned