Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-24
DEAN AcHEsON- Substituting for Stokes
Eisenhower-Nixon Pact Luuded

the Vice President and re-
sumo their discharge. This
leaves the President in con.
troll whenever he is capable
Of exercising control.
The proposal seems to me
politically and legally sound.
On the legal side it would be
highly desirable for the Con-
greSs by law to sanction this
procedure: for there should
be formal and public legal
acts, such as publication in
the Federal Register. for fix-
ing the beginning and ending
Of this temporary transfer Of
power.
But any attempt to have
any group-iudicial. legisla-
tive. executive. or mixed
empowered to determine the
Presidents ability to perform
his duties diminishes and en-
dangers the office to an intol.
cradle degree. We do not
want any more delegations
pulling back the bedclothes
Of an Ill President to see
whether he can move his legs.
We must trust to the good
sense Of the man we have
made chief Of state. II we
are ever unfortunate enough
to have q demented one. the
ordinary processes Of COM
mitment should be adequate.
But. 1t has been said, once
the Vice President performs
the presidential duties, he
cannot or should not step
down. The legal argument
seems to be that the Vice
President must take the
presidential oath, and once
being sworn in, he cannot be
sworn out. To this President
Eisenhower replies:
why should her He
has taken an oath a. Vice
President :"
a.. The Constitution says
the Vice President shall do
certain things. It doesn't say
he takes Q new oath. It says
under certain situations the
Vice President does certain
things. and when that situa-
ton IL ended he doesn't do
them any more. and that IL
the way I read the Consti-
tuition"
That IL the. way I see IL,
too. If eminent men had not
differed. I would find It hard
to believe that there was an
alternative to this simple
and sensible view.
And why, a. q matter Of
policy. should we want to
interpret ourselves into 0
straitjacket?
1t is common practice with
us. and In other countries, for
the duties Of even the highest
Offices to be performed tenn
porarily by others. The Presi-
dent Of the Senate yields his
chair and gavel to the Presi-
dent pro tempore or any
other Senator (Mr. Nixon
has done this for about half
Of his term Of ofiice) and gets
them back again without
legal difficulties about oaths
or practical problems Of adj
ministration.
So do the Speaker Of the
House. the Secretary Of State,
and others. Richard A. But
Ter performed Prime Minister
Eden's duties during Eden's
Illness. George Nv acted as
Regent during the long mem
tai disability Of his father.
Frankly. I cannot see the
problem. But ! can see the
very serious problem which
exists If we convince ourselves
that the Vice President can
not act temporarily. 1t is not
a theoretical harm but a
real one, from which we have
suffered in the past in at least
three administrations. It is
that no one performs the
duties Of the President or
that they are performed
anonymously by persons never
selected by law to do so.
I have often wondered why
we make this rather simple
matter so difficult and. in
doing so, distract our atten-
ton from the really hard
problems.
ironx.t.ht 1oEs - x,-t.s r,.....