Evening star., 1951-01-21

lether President Truman can send
ard against Russian attack.
hing President Roosevelt furnished
len he dispatched American forces
; there were no protests against his
Japan in 1863 and on Formosa in
1867. Those landings were the
result of attacks on American
sailors or American ships. Per-
haps the chief difference between
them and the move against Mex
leo was that they were against
countries from which we could
expect little in retaliation.
In some of the incidents listed
it is only by a circuitous inter-
probation that they can be re-
garded as intended to protect
American lives and property. We
landed forces in 1912 on Amelia
Island, a part of Florida then,
owned by Spain, to expel free
hooters who had taken possession.
We broke up an establishment Of
pirates in Cuba in 1923. We land
ed in Japan in 1884 to procure
a commercial treaty and We sent
naval force there in 1864 to
open the Straits Of Shimonoseki
to world commerce.
President Taft's Views
President Taft, Senator Taft's
father, is one of the chief au-
thorities for the doctrine that the
President has wide powers as
Commander in Chief. The Sena-
tor has criticized at least one in
depreciation of his fathers state
ment.
Discussing the powers of the
presidency in a book first pub
lished in 1916, the elder Mr.. Taft
said the President "can order the
Army and Navy anywhere he will
providing there are approprla-
tions available.
Under the Constitution" he
continued. "only Congress has the
power to declare war, but with
the Army and Navy the President
can take action such as to involve
the country in war and leave Con-
gress no option but to declare it
or to recognize its existence"
Landing Marines in Central
America to protect American citi-
zens and property have been
treated as police measures. he said,
whereas If troops of the Regular
Army are used for such purpose
it seems to take on the color OF
an act of war" He said also that
sit is only in the case of a war of
our aggression against a foreign
country that the power Of Con-
gress must be aff1rmatively assert
ed to establish its legal existence. "
Under this doctrine If Senator
Taft had been upheld in his po-
sition that sending forces to Ice
land was equivalent to aggression.
an act of Congress would have
been called for. In the current in
stance he has declared he does not
see. any conclusive evidence the
Russians are prepared to start war
with us, which would seem to i'm
ply that sending troops to Europe
would be an aggressive act.
Lincoln's Attitude
Some of our forays in Latin
America to protect American
property appear rather to have
been debt collecting expeditions.
The procedure was, to seize the
customs house-the sure source
of income-and apply the collec-
tions to the country's foreign
debts.
We stood ready to challenge a
European nation if it sought to
intrude. We formerly regarded
it as one of our Monroe Doctrine
responsibilities to take over Gus
toms house to insure the country's
payments Of debts to European
countries lest those countries
make the seizure.
President Lincoln during the
Civil War frequently disregarded
legal limitations on his actions.
In a letter written in 1864 he
gave this explanation. going far
beyond President Taft's ideas:
MY oath to preserve the Con-
stitution imposed on me the duty
of preserving by every indispensi-
BILE means that Government. that
Nation of which the Constitution
was the organic law. Was it pos
sible to lose the Nation and yet
preserve the Constitution? i.
felt that measures otherwise
unconstitutional might become
lawful by becoming indispensable
to the preservation OF the Constl-
tuition through the preservation
of the Nation"
After World War I the Ameri-
can troops sent to Siberia were
not withdrawn when the war with
Germany ended. There were de-
mands that they be called home
and the late Senator Borah, Re-
publican, of Idaho, was one OF
those making the demands. He
charged President Wilson with
usurpation of power in keeping
them there.
Borah's Words Recalled
This was despite a contrary
statement he made in President
! m =