Evening star., 1954-05-17


has not the power, as one Of
the great branches Of the Gov
ernment, to subject the execu-
tive branch to its will any
more than the executive
branch may impose its unre-
strained will upon the Com
gresS.
President Woshinston's
Administration
In March 1892. the House
Of Representatives passed the
following resolution:
Resolved. That a commit
tee be appointed to inquire
into the causes of the failure
of the late expedition under
Mai. Gen. st. Clair; and that
the said committee be en-
powered to call for such per-
sons, papers, and records, as
may be necessary to assist
their inquiries" 3 Annals of
Congress, p. 493).
This was the first time that
a committee of Congress was
appointed to- look into a mat
ter which involved the execu-
tive branch Of the Government.
The expedition of Gen. st.
Clair was under the direction
of the Secretary of War. The
expenditures connected there
with came under the Secre-
tary Of the Treasury. The
House based its right to inves-
tigate on its control Of the
expenditures of public moneys.
It appears that the Secretaries
Of War and the Treasury ap-
peared before the committee.
However, when the committee
was bold enough to ask the
President for the papers per-
tanning to the Gen. st. Clair
campaign, President Washing
ton called a meeting of his
Cabinet. (Binkley, president
and Congress" PIP. 40-41.)
-
President Washington stated
that he had called his Cabinet
members together, because it
was the first example of a de-
mand on the executive for
papers, and he wished that SO
far as it should become a
precedent, it should be rightly
conducted. The President read
lily admitted that he did not
doubt the propriety of what
the House was doing, but he
could conceive that there
might be papers of so secret a
nature, that they ought not to
be given up. Washington and
his cabinet came to the unani-
nous conclusion:
First. that the House was
an inquest, and therefore
might institute inquiries. Sec
ond, that it might call for
papers generally. Third, that
the executive ought to COM
municate such papers as the
public good would permit, and
ought to refuse those, the dis
closure Of which would injure
the public: consequently were
to exercise a discretion. Fourth.
that neither the committee nor
House had a right to call on
the head Of department, who
and whose papers were under
the President alone; but that
the committee should instruct
their chairman to move the
House to address the Presi-
dent"
The precedent thus set by
our first President and his
Cabinet was followed in 1896,
when President Washington
was presented with a resolu-
ton Of the House Of Repre-
SentativeS which requested
him to lay before the House q
copy Of the instructions to the
Minister of the United States
who negotiated the treaty with
the King of Great Britain, to-
gether with the correSpon-
dence and documents relative
to that treaty. Appartnely it
was necessary to implement
the treaty with an appropria-
ton which the House was
called upon to vote. The House
insisted on its right to the pa
pers requested. as a condition
to appropriating the required
funds. president and Con-
greSs," Wilfred e. Binkley
(1947). p. 44.)
President WaShington's
classic reply was. in part. as
follows:
"I trust that no part of my
conduct has ever indicated a
disposition to withhold any in
formation which the Constitu-
ton has enjoined upon the
President as a duty to give, or
: which could be required of him
by either House of Congress as
a right; and with truth I af-
firm that it has been. as it will
continue to be while I have the
honor to preside in the Gov
ernment. my constant en-
deavor to harmonic with the
other branches thereof so far
as the trust delegated to me by
the people of the United States
and my sense of the obligation
it imposes to preserve, pro-
tect and defend the Constitu-
ton will permit" (Richard-
sons Messages and Papers Of
the Presidents" ol. !, p. 194.)
President Jefferson's
Administration