Chapter XLIX: Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers (2)

[251] McClure, 394-403; _cf._ The Constitution, article IV, section 3, clause 2. When President John Adams signed a deed conveying property for a legation to the Queen of Portugal, he was informed by his Attorney General that only Congress was competent to grant away public property. _See_ W.B. Bryan, A History of the National Capitol From Its Foundation Through the Period of the Adoption of the Organic Act, I, 328-329; 1 American State Papers, Misc., 334. _See also_ Chief Justice Hughes, for the Court, in Ashwander _v._ Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288, 330 (1936).

[252] 4 State Department Bulletin, April 12, 1941, pp. 443-447.

[253] What purports to be the correct text of these agreements was published in the New York Times of March 11, 1947. The joint statement by the United States, Great Britain, and France on arms aid for the Middle East which was released by the White House on May 25, 1950 (_See_ A.P. dispatches of that date) bears the earmarks of an executive agreement. And the same may be said of the following communique issued by the North Atlantic Council at the close of its Sixth Session at Brussels on December 19, 1950.

"The North Atlantic Council acting on recommendations of the Defense Committee today completed the arrangements initiated in September last for the establishment in Europe of an integrated force under centralized control and command. This force is to be composed of contingents contributed by the participating governments.

"The Council yesterday unanimously decided to ask the President of the United States to make available General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve as Supreme Commander. Following receipt this morning of a message from the President of the United States that he had made General Eisenhower available, the Council appointed him. He will assume his command and establish his headquarters in Europe early in the New Year. He will have the authority to train the national units assigned to his command and to organize them into an effective integrated defense force. He will be supported by an international staff drawn from the nations contributing to the force.

"The Council, desiring to simplify the structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in order to make it more effective, asked the Council Deputies to initiate appropriate action. In this connection the Defense Committee, meeting separately on December 18th, had already taken action to establish a defense production board with greater powers than those of the Military Production and Supply Board which it supersedes. The new board is charged with expanding and accelerating production and with furthering the mutual use of the industrial capacities of the member nations.

"The Council also reached unanimous agreement regarding the part which Germany might assume in the common defense. The German participation would strengthen the defense of Europe without altering in any way the purely defensive character of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Council invited the Governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States to explore the matter with the Government of the German Federal Republic.

"The decisions taken and the measures contemplated have the sole purpose of maintaining and consolidating peace. The North Atlantic nations are determined to pursue this policy until peace is secure." Department of State release to the press of December 19, 1950 (No. 1247).

[254] McClure, International Executive Agreements, 38; 1 Stat. 232-239; reenacted in 1 Stat. 354, 366.

[255] McClure, 78-81; Crandall, 127-131.

[256] Crandall, 121-127.

[257] 48 Stat. 943. Section 802 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 973) "clearly anticipates the making of agreements with foreign countries concerning civil aviation." 40 Op. Atty. Gen. 451, 452 (1946).

[258] 143 U.S. 649 (1892).

[259] Ibid. 694.

[260] 224 U.S. 583, 596 (1912).

[261] Ibid. 601.

[262] 55 Stat. 31. One specific donation was of a destroyer to the Queen of Holland, a refugee at the time in Great Britain.

[263] 42 Stat. 363, 1325, 1326-1327; extended by 43 Stat. 763.

[264] _See_ Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed.) 264 and notes.

[265] 48 Stat. 1182.

[266] McClure, 13-14.

[267] Ibid. 14.

[268] "There have been numerous instances in which the Senate has approved treaties providing for the submission of specific matters to arbitration, leaving it to the President to determine exactly the form and scope of the matter to be arbitrated and to appoint the arbitrators. Professor J.B. Moore, in the article to which reference has already been made, enumerates thirty-nine instances in which provision has thus been made for the settlement of pecuniary claims. Twenty of these were claims against foreign governments, fourteen were claims against both governments, and five against the United States alone." Willoughby, On the Constitution, I, 543.

[269] A Decade of American Foreign Policy, S. Doc. 123, 81st Cong., 1st sess., 126.

[270] A Decade of American Foreign Policy, S. Doc. 123, 81st Cong., 1st sess., 158.

[271] United States _v._ Hartwell, 6 Wall. 385, 393 (1868).

[272] 7 Op. Atty. Gen. 168 (1855).

[273] It was so assumed by Senator William Maclay. _See_ Journal of William Maclay (New York, 1890), 109-110.

[274] 5 Benton, Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, 90-91; 3 Letters and Other Writings of James Madison (Philadelphia, 1867), 350-353, 360-371.

[275] 10 Stat. 619, 623.

[276] 7 Op. Atty. Gen. 220.

[277] 35 Stat. 672; _see also_ The act of March 1, 1893, 27 Stat. 497, which purported to authorize the President to appoint ambassadors in certain cases.

[278] 22 U.S.C. Sec. 1-231.

[279] 11 Benton, Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, 221-222.

[280] S. Misc. Doc. 109, 50th Cong., 1st sess., 104.

[281] S. Rept. 227, 53d Cong., 2d sess., 25. At the outset of our entrance into World War I President Wilson dispatched a mission to "Petrograd," as it was then called, without nominating the Members of it to the Senate. It was headed by Mr. Elihu Root, with "the rank of ambassador," while some of his associates bore "the rank of envoy extraordinary."

[282] _See_ George Frisbie Hoar, Autobiography, II, 48-51.

[283] Justice Brandeis, dissenting in Myers _v._ United States, 272 U.S. 52, 264-274 (1926).

[284] _See_ data in Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed.) 418. Congress has repeatedly designated individuals, sometimes by name, more frequently by reference to a particular office, for the performance of specified acts or for posts of a nongovernmental character; e.g., to paint a picture (Jonathan Trumbull), to lay out a town, to act as Regents of Smithsonian Institution, to be managers of Howard Institute, to select a site for a post office or a prison, to restore the manuscript of the Declaration of Independence, to erect a monument at Yorktown, to erect a statue of Hamilton, and so on and so forth. 42 Harvard Law Review, 426, 430-431. In his message of April 13, 1822, President Monroe stated the thesis that, "as a general principle, * * * Congress have no right under the Constitution to impose any restraint by law on the power granted to the President so as to prevent his making a free selection of proper persons for these [newly created] offices from the whole body of his fellow-citizens." Messages and Papers of the Presidents, II, 698, 701. The statement is ambiguous, but its apparent intention is to claim for the President unrestricted power in determining who are proper persons to fill newly created offices.

[285] 19 Stat. 143, 169 (1876).

[286] In Ex parte Curtis, 106 U.S. 371 (1882), Chief Justice Waite reviews early Congressional legislation regulative of conduct in office. "The act now in question is one regulating in some particulars the conduct of certain officers and employes of the United States. It rests on the same principle as that originally passed in 1789 at the first session of the first Congress, which makes it unlawful for certain officers of the Treasury Department to engage in the business of trade or commerce, or to own a sea vessel, or to purchase public lands or other public property, or to be concerned in the purchase or disposal of the public securities of a State, or of the United States (Rev. Stat., sect. 243); and that passed in 1791, which makes it an offence for a clerk in the same department to carry on trade or business in the funds or debts of the States or of the United States, or in any kind of public property (id., sect. 244); and that passed in 1812, which makes is unlawful for a judge appointed under the authority of the United States to exercise the profession of counsel or attorney, or to be engaged in the practice of the law (id., sect. 713); and that passed in 1853, which prohibits every officer of the United States or person holding any place of trust or profit, or discharging any official function under or in connection with any executive department of the government of the United States, or under the Senate or House of Representatives, from acting as an agent or attorney for the prosecution of any claim against the United States (id., sect. 5498); and that passed in 1863, prohibiting members of Congress from practicing in the Court of Claims (id., sect. 1058); and that passed in 1867, punishing, by dismissal from service, an officer or employe of the government who requires or requests any workingman in a navy-yard to contribute or pay any money for political purposes (id., sect. 1546); and that passed in 1868, prohibiting members of Congress from being interested in contracts with the United States (id., sect. 3739); and another, passed in 1870, which provides that no officer, clerk, or employe in the government of the United States shall solicit contributions from other officers, clerks, or employes for a gift to those in a superior official position, and that no officials or [clerical superiors shall receive any gift or] present as a contribution to them from persons in government employ getting a less salary than themselves, and that no officer or clerk shall make a donation as a gift or present to any official superior (id., sect. 1784). Many others of a kindred character might be referred to, but these are enough to show what has been the practice in the Legislative Department of the Government from its organization, and, so far as we know, this is the first time the constitutionality of such legislation has ever been presented for judicial determination." Ibid. 372-373.

[287] 5 U.S.C. Sec. 631-642.

[288] 54 Stat. 767, 771 (1940).

[289] 330 U.S. 75 (1947).

[290] 18 U.S.C. 611.

[291] _See_ Bills Listed in Index to Digest of Public General Bills, 79th Cong., 2d sess.

[292] 12 Fed Reg. 1935.

[293] Shoemaker _v._ Unite States, 147 U.S. 282, 301 (1893).

[294] United States _v._ Germaine, 99 U.S. 508 (1879) is the leading case. For further citations _see_ Auffmordt _v._ Hedden, 137 U.S. 310, 327 (1890). The Court will, nevertheless, be astute to ascribe to a head of department an appointment made by an inferior of such head. Nishimura Ekiu _v._ United States, 142 U.S. 651, 663 (1892). For the view that there is an intrinsic difference between a "public office" and a "public employment" _see_ Mechem, Public Officers, pp. 3-5.

[295] Ex parte Hennen, 13 Pet. 230, 257-258 (1839); United States _v._ Germaine, 99 U.S. 508, 509 (1879). The statement on the point is in both instances obiter.

[296] Ex parte Siebold, 100 U.S. 371, 397 (1880).

[297] "They [the clauses of the Constitution] seem to contemplate three distinct operations: 1st. The nomination. This is the sole act of the President, and is completely voluntary. 2d. The appointment. This is also the act of the President, and is also a voluntary act, though it can only be performed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 3d. The commission. To grant a commission to a person appointed, might, perhaps, be deemed a duty enjoined by the constitution. 'He shall,' says that instrument, 'commission all the officers of the United States.'" Marbury _v._ Madison, 1 Cr. 137, 155-156 (1803). Marshall's statement that the appointment "is the act of the President," conflicts with the more generally held, and sensible view that when an appointment is made with its consent, the Senate shares the appointing power. 1 Kent's Comm. 310; 2 Story Comm. Sec. 1539; Ex parte Hennen, 13 Pet. 225, 259 (1839).

[298] 3 Op. Atty. Gen. 188 (1837).

[299] 2 Story Comms., Sec. 1531; 5 Writings of Jefferson (Ford, ed.), 161 (1790); 9 Writings of Madison (Hunt, ed.), 111-113 (1822).

[300] 286 U.S. 6 (1932).

[301] Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed.), 92.

[302] Marbury _v._ Madison, 1 Cr. 137, 157-158, 182 (1803).

[303] 12 Op. Atty. Gen. 306 (1867).

[304] It should be remembered that, for various reasons, Marbury got neither commission nor office. The case assumes, in fact, the necessity of possession of his commission by the appointee.

[305] Opins. Atty. Gen. 631 (1823); 2 ibid. 525 (1832); 3 ibid. 673 (1841); 4 ibid. 523 (1846); 10 ibid. 356 (1862); 11 ibid. 179 (1865); 12 ibid. 32 (1866); 12 ibid. 455 (1868); 14 ibid. 563 (1875); 15 ibid. 207 (1877); 16 ibid. 523 (1880); 18 ibid. 28 (1884); 19 ibid. 261 (1889); 26 ibid. 234 (1907); 30 ibid. 314 (1914); 33 ibid. 20 (1921). In 4 Opins. Atty. Gen. 361, 363 (1845), the general doctrine was held not to apply to a yet unfilled office which was created during the previous session of Congress, but this distinction is rejected in 12 ibid. 455 (1868); 18 ibid. 28; and 19 ibid. 261.

[306] 23 Opins. Atty. Gen. 599 (1901); 22 ibid. 82 (1898). A "recess" may, however, be merely "constructive," as when a regular session succeeds immediately upon a special session. It was this kind of situation that gave rise to the once famous _Crum_ incident. _See_ Willoughby, III, 1508-1509.

[307] 5 U.S.C. Sec. 56.

[308] 6 Opins. Atty. Gen. 358 (1854); 12 ibid. 41 (1866); 25 ibid. 259 (1904); 28 ibid. 95 (1909).

[309] 272 U.S. 52.

[310] 19 Stat. 78, 80.

[311] 272 U.S. 163-164.

[312] The reticence of the Constitution respecting removal left room for four possibilities, _first_, the one suggested by the common law doctrine of "estate in office," from which the conclusion followed that the impeachment power was the only power of removal intended by the Constitution; _second_, that the power of removal was an incident of the power of appointment and hence belonged, at any rate in the absence of legal or other provision to the contrary, to the appointing authority; _third_, that Congress could, by virtue of its power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper," etc., determine the location of the removal of power; _fourth_, that the President by virtue of his "executive power" and his duty "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," possesses the power of removal over all officers of the United States except judges. In the course of the debate on the act to establish a Department of Foreign Affairs (later changed to Department of State) all of these views were put forward, with the final result that a clause was incorporated in the measure which implied, as pointed out above, that the head of the department would be removable by the President at his discretion. Contemporaneously and indeed until after the Civil War, this action by Congress, in other words "the decision of 1789," was interpreted as establishing "a practical construction of the Constitution" with respect to executive officers appointed without stated terms. However, in the dominant opinion of those best authorized to speak on the subject, the "correct interpretation" of the Constitution was that the power of removal was always an incident of the power of appointment, and that therefore in the case of officers appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate the removal power was exercisable by the President only with the advice and consent of the Senate. _See_ Hamilton in the Federalist No. 77; 1 Kent's Comm. 310; 2 Story Comm. Sec. 1539 and 1544; Ex parte Hennen, 13 Pet. 225, 258-259 (1839). The doctrine of estate in office was countenanced by Chief Justice Marshall in his opinion in Marbury _v._ Madison, 1 Cr. 137, 162-165 (1803), but has long been rejected. _See_ Crenshaw _v._ United States, 134 U.S. 99, 108 (1890). The three remaining views are treated by the Chief Justice, at some cost in terms of logic as well as of history, as grist to his mill.

[313] 272 U.S. at 134.

[314] Annals of Congress, cols. 635-636.

[315] 295 U.S. 602 (1935). The case is also styled Rathbun, Executor _v._ United States, Humphrey having, like Myers before him, died in the course of his suit for salary.

[316] 295 U.S. at. 627-629, 631-632. Justice Sutherland's statement, quoted above, that a Federal Trade Commissioner "occupies no place in the executive department" (_See also_ to the same effect p. 630 of the opinion) was not necessary to the decision of the case, was altogether out of line with the same Justice's reasoning in Springer _v._ Philippine Islands, 277 U.S. 189, 201-202 (1928), and seems later to have caused the author of it much perplexity. _See_ Robert E. Cushman, The Independent Regulatory Commissions (Oxford University Press, 1941), 447-448. As Professor Cushman adds: "Every officer and agency created by Congress to carry laws into effect is an arm of Congress. * * * The term may be a synonym; it is not an argument." Ibid. 451.

[317] United States _v._ Perkins, 116 U.S. 483 (1886).

[318] Parsons _v._ United States, 167 U.S. 324 (1897).

[319] Shurtleff _v._ United States, 189 U.S. 311 (1903).

[320] Blake _v._ United States, 103 U.S. 227 (1881); Quackenbush _v._ United States, 177 U.S. 20 (1900); Wallace _v._ United States, 257 U.S. 541 (1922).

[321] Morgan _v._ TVA, 28 F. Supp. 732 (1939), certiorari refused March 17, 1941. 312 U.S. 701, 702.

[322] _See_ United Public Workers _v._ Mitchell, 330 U.S. 75 (1947); _also_ Ex parte Curtis, 106 U.S. 371 (1882); and 39 Op. Atty. Gen. 145 (1938).

[323] 6 Op. Atty. Gen. 220 (1853); In re Neagle, 135 U.S. 1 (1890).

[324] United States _v._ Lovett, 328 U.S. 303 (1946).

[325] Messages and Papers of the Presidents, II, 847 (January 10, 1825).

[326] _See_ 328 U.S. at 313.

[327] In this connection the following colloquy between Attorney General Lincoln and the Court in course of the proceedings in Marbury _v._ Madison is of first importance: "Mr. Lincoln, attorney-general, having been summoned, and now called, objected to answering. * * * On the one hand he respected the jurisdiction of this court, and on the other he felt himself bound to maintain the rights of the executive. He was acting as secretary of state at the time when this transaction happened. He was of opinion, and his opinion was supported by that of others whom he highly respected, that he was not bound, and ought not to answer, as to any facts which came officially to his knowledge while acting as secretary of state. He did not think himself bound to disclose his official transactions while acting as secretary of state; * * * The court said, that if Mr. Lincoln wished time to consider what answers he should make, they would give him time; but they had no doubt he ought to answer. There was nothing confidential required to be disclosed. If there had been he was not obliged to answer it; and if he thought that any thing was communicated to him in confidence he was not bound to disclose it; * * *" 1 Cr. 137, 143-145 (1803).

[328] The following letter, dated April 30, 1941, from Attorney General Jackson to Hon. Carl Vinson, Chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs is of interest in this connection: "My Dear Mr. Vinson: I have your letter of April 23, requesting that your committee be furnished with all Federal Bureau of Investigation reports since June 1939, together with all future reports, memoranda, and correspondence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Department of Justice, in connection with 'investigations made by the Department of Justice arising out of strikes, subversive activities in connection with labor disputes, or labor disturbances of any kind in industrial establishments which have naval contracts, either as prime contractors or subcontractors.' Your request to be furnished reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is one of the many made by congressional committees. I have on my desk at this time two other such requests for access to Federal Bureau of Investigation files. The number of these requests would alone make compliance impracticable, particularly where the requests are of so comprehensive a character as those contained in your letter. In view of the increasing frequency of these requests, I desire to restate our policy at some length, together with the reasons which require it. It is the position of this Department, restated now with the approval of and at the direction of the President, that all investigative reports are confidential documents of the executive department of the Government, to aid in the duty laid upon the President by the Constitution to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' and that congressional or public access to them would not be in the public interest.

"Disclosure of the reports could not do otherwise than seriously prejudice law enforcement. Counsel for a defendant or prospective defendant, could have no greater help than to know how much or how little information the Government has, and what witnesses or sources of information it can rely upon. This is exactly what these reports are intended to contain. * * *

"In concluding that the public interest does not permit general access to Federal Bureau of Investigation reports for information by the many congressional committees who from time to time ask it, I am following the conclusions reached by a long line of distinguished predecessors in this office who have uniformly taken the same view. Example of this are to be found in the following letters, among others:

"Letter of Attorney General Knox to the Speaker of the House, dated April 27, 1904, declining to comply with a resolution of the House requesting the Attorney General to furnish the House with all papers and documents and other information concerning the investigation of the Northern Securities case.

"Letter of Attorney General Bonaparte to the Speaker of the House, dated April 13, 1908, declining to comply with a resolution of the House requesting the Attorney General to furnish to the House information concerning the investigation of certain corporations engaged in the manufacture of wood pulp or print paper.

"Letter of Attorney General Wickersham to the Speaker of the House, dated March 18, 1912, declining to comply with a resolution of the House directing the Attorney General to furnish to the House information concerning an investigation of the smelter trust.

"Letter of Attorney General McReynolds to the Secretary to the President, dated August 28, 1914, stating that it would be incompatible with the public interest to send to the Senate in response to its resolution, reports made to the Attorney General by his associates regarding violations of law by the Standard Oil Co.

"Letter of Attorney General Gregory to the President of the Senate, dated February 23, 1915, declining to comply with a resolution of the Senate requesting the Attorney General to report to the Senate his findings and conclusions in the investigation of the smelting industry.

"Letter of Attorney General Sargent to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, dated June 8, 1926, declining to comply with his request to turn over to the committee all papers in the files of the Department relating to the merger of certain oil companies. * * *

"This discretion in the executive branch has been upheld and respected by the judiciary. The courts have repeatedly held that they will not and cannot require the executive to produce such papers when in the opinion of the executive their production is contrary to the public interests. The courts have also held that the question whether the production of the papers would be against the public interest is one for the executive and not for the courts to determine." Mr. Jackson cites Marbury _v._ Madison, 1 Cr. 137, 169 (1803); and more than a dozen other cases, federal and State, most of which involved "privileged communications" in ordinary court proceedings. The doctrine of the equality of the three departments is also invoked by him.--10 Op. Atty. Gen. 45.

[329] _See_ Norman J. Small, Some Presidential Interpretations of the Presidency (Johns Hopkins Press, 1932); Henry C. Black, The Relation of the Executive Power to Legislation (Princeton, 1919); W.E. Binkley, The President and Congress (New York, 1947); Edward S. Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed., 1948), Chaps. I and VII, _passim_.

[330] The first Harrison, Polk, Taylor, and Fillmore all fathered sentiments to this general effect. _See_ Messages and Papers of the President, IV, 1864; V, 2493; VI, 2513-2519, 2561-2562, 2608, 2615.

[331] Note 1, above. [Transcriber's Note: Reference is to Footnote 329, above.]

[332] Charles Warren, Presidential Declarations of Independence, 10 Boston University Law Review, No. 1 (January, 1930); Willoughby, On the Constitution, III, 1488-1492.

[333] 7 Op. Atty. Gen. 186, 209 (1855).

[334] 5 Moore, International Law Digest, 15-19.

[335] 4 Ibid. 473-548; 5 Ibid. 19-32.

[336] Opinion on the Question Whether the Senate Has the Right to Negative the Grade of Persons Appointed by the Executive to Fill Foreign Missions, April 24, 1790; Padover, The Complete Jefferson (New York, 1943), 138.

[337] 4 Moore, International Law Digest, 680-681.

[338] This measure, amended by the act of March 4, 1909 (35 Stat. 1088), is now 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 953.

[339] _See_ Memorandum on the History and Scope of the Laws Prohibiting Correspondence with a Foreign Government, S. Doc. 696, 64th Cong., 2d sess., (1917). The author was Mr. Charles Warren, then Assistant Attorney General. Further details concerning the observance of the "Logan" Act are given in Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed.) 223-224, 469-470. Early in October, 1950 President Harold Stassen of the University of Pennsylvania announced that he had written Premier Stalin offering to confer with him respecting issues between the two governments.

[340] Benton Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, 466-467.

[341] S. Doc. 56, 54th Cong., 2d sess., (1897).

[342] The Federalist, containing the Letters of Pacificus and Helvidius (New ed., 1852) 444; _see also_ p. 493, n. 1. [Transcriber's Note: Reference is to Footnote 344, below.]

[343] The Federalist No. 69, where he wrote: "The president is also to be authorized to receive ambassadors, and other public ministers. This, though it has been a rich theme of declamation, is more a matter of dignity than of authority. It is a circumstance which will be without consequence in the administration of the government; and it was far more convenient that it should be arranged in this manner, than that there should be a necessity of convening the legislature, or one of its branches, upon every arrival of a foreign minister; though it were merely to take the place of a departed predecessor." Ibid. 518.

[344] "Letters of Pacificus," 7 Works (Hamilton ed.) 76, 82-83.

[345] Moore, International Law Digest, IV, 680-681.

[346] The Federalist containing the Letters of Pacificus and Helvidius (New ed. 1852) 445-446.

[347] Moore, International Law Digest, I, 243-244. The course of the Monroe Administration in inviting the cooperation of Congress in connection with recognition of the Spanish-American Republics, although it was prompted mainly by the consideration that war with Spain might result, was nonetheless opposed by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. "Instead," said he, "of admitting the Senate or House of Representatives to any share in the act of recognition, I would expressly avoid that form of doing it which would require the concurrence of those bodies. It was I had no doubt, by our Constitution an act of the Executive authority. General Washington had exercised it in recognizing the French Republic by the reception of Mr. Genet. Mr. Madison had exercised it by declining several years to receive, and by finally receiving, Mr. Onis; and in this instance I thought the Executive ought carefully to preserve entire the authority given him by the Constitution, and not weaken it by setting the precedent of making either House of Congress a party to an act which it was his exclusive right and duty to perform. Mr. Crawford said he did not think there was anything in the objection to sending a minister on the score of national dignity, and that there was a difference between the recognition of a change of government in a nation already acknowledged as sovereign, and the recognition of a new nation itself. He did not, however, deny, but admitted, that the recognition was strictly within the powers of the Executive alone, and I did not press the discussion further.'" Ibid., 244-245; citing Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, IV, 205-206.

[348] S. Doc. 56, 54th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 20-22.

[349] Said Senator Nelson of Minnesota: "The President has asked us to give him the right to make war to expel the Spaniards from Cuba. He has asked us to put that power in his hands; and when we are asked to grant that power--the highest power given under the Constitution--we have the right, the intrinsic right, vested in us by the Constitution, to say how and under what conditions and with what allies that war-making power shall be exercised." 31 Cong. Record, Pt. 4, p. 3984.

[350] _See_ in this connection a long list of resolutions or bills originating in the House of Representatives appertaining to foreign relations. H. Rept. 1569 ("Confidential"), 68th Cong., 2d sess. (February 24, 1925).

[351] _See_ A Decade of American Foreign Policy, S. Doc. 123, 81st Cong., 1st sess., p. 158.

[352] President Truman's Statement of June 28, 1950, A.P. release: "The Security Council called upon all members of the United Nations to render every assistance to the United Nations in the execution of this resolution.

"In these circumstances I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support.

"The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war.

"It has defied the orders of the Security Council of the United Nations issued to preserve international peace and security. In these circumstances the occupation of Formosa by Communist forces would be a direct threat to the security of the Pacific area and to United States forces performing their lawful and necessary functions in that area.

"Accordingly I have ordered the Seventh Fleet to prevent any attack on Formosa. As a corollary of this action I am calling upon the Chinese Government on Formosa to cease all air and sea operations against the mainland. The Seventh Fleet will see that this is done. The determination of the future status of Formosa must await the restoration of security in the Pacific, a peace settlement with Japan, or consideration by the United Nations.

"I have also directed that United States forces in the Philippines be strengthened and that military assistance to the Philippine Government be accelerated.

"I have similarly directed acceleration in the furnishing of military assistance to the forces of France and the associated states in Indo-China and the dispatch of a military mission to provide close working relations with those forces."

[353] Messages and Papers of the Presidents, XVII, (1914), 7934.

[354] 55 Stat. 31; 22 U.S.C. (1940), Supp. IV, Sec. 411-413.

[355] James F. Green, The President's Control of Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy Reports (April 1, 1939), 17-18; Corwin, The President, Office and Powers (3d ed.), 224-235; 463-465, 473-474.

[356] 2 Pet. 253 (1829).

[357] Ibid. 308.

[358] 13 Pet. 415 (1839).

[359] Ibid. 420.

[360] Foster _v._ Neilson, supra.

[361] Williams _v._ Suffolk Ins. Co., 13 Pet. 415 (1839).

[362] United States _v._ Palmer, 3 Wheat. 610 (1818).

[363] Doe _v._ Braden, 16 How. 636, 657 (1853).

[364] Jones _v._ United States, 137 U.S. 202 (1890); Oetjen _v._ Central Leather Co., 246 U.S. 297 (1918).

[365] In re Baiz, 135 U.S. 403 (1890).

[366] Neely _v._ Henkel, 180 U.S. 109 (1901).

[367] Terlinden _v._ Ames, 184 U.S. 270 (1902); Charlton _v._ Kelly, 229 U.S. 447 (1913).

[368] 333 U.S. 103 (1948).

[369] 49 U.S.C. Sec. 601.

[370] Ibid. Sec. 646.

[371] Chicago & S. Airlines _v._ Waterman S.S. Corp., 333 U.S. 103, 111 (1948). _See also_ Oetjen _v._ Central Leather Co., 246 U.S. 297 (1918); Ricaud _v._ American Metal Co., 246 U.S. 304 (1918); and Compania Espanola de Navegacion Maritima, S.A. _v._ The Navemar, 303 U.S. 68, 74 (1938). In this last case the Court declared: "The vessel of a friendly government in its possession and service is a public vessel, even though engaged in the carriage of merchandise for hire, and as such is immune from suit in the courts of admiralty of the United States. * * * It is open to a friendly government to assert that such is the public status of the vessel and to claim her immunity from suit, either through diplomatic channels or, if it chooses, as a claimant in the courts of the United States. If the claim is recognized and allowed by the executive branch of the government, it is then the duty of the courts to release the vessel upon appropriate suggestion by the Attorney General of the United States, or other officer acting under his direction. * * * The foreign government is also entitled as of right upon a proper showing, to appear in a pending suit, there to assert its claim to the vessel, and to raise the jurisdictional question in its own name or that of its accredited and recognized representative." Similarly, it has been held that courts may not exercise their jurisdiction by the seizure and detention of the property of a friendly sovereign, so as to embarrass the executive arm of the government in conducting foreign relations. Ex parte Republic of Peru, 318 U.S. 578 (1943).

[372] 335 U.S. 160 (1948).

[373] Ibid. 167, 170. Four Justices dissented, by Justice Black, who said: "The Court * * * holds, as I understand its opinion, that the Attorney General can deport him whether he is dangerous or not. The effect of this holding is that any unnaturalized person, good or bad, loyal or disloyal to this country, if he was a citizen of Germany before coming here, can be summarily seized, interned and deported from the United States by the Attorney General, and that no court of the United States has any power whatever to review, modify, vacate, reverse, or in any manner affect the Attorney General's deportation order. * * * I think the idea that we are still at war with Germany in the sense contemplated by the statute controlling here is a pure fiction. Furthermore, I think there is no act of Congress which lends the slightest basis to the claim that after hostilities with a foreign country have ended the President or the Attorney General, one or both, can deport aliens without a fair hearing reviewable in the courts. On the contrary, when this very question came before Congress after World War I in the interval between the Armistice and the conclusion of formal peace with Germany, Congress unequivocally required that enemy aliens be given a fair hearing before they could be deported." Ibid. 174-175. _See also_ Woods _v._ Miller, 333 U.S. 138 (1948), where the continuation of rent control under the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, enacted after the termination of hostilities was unanimously held to be a valid exercise of the war power, but the constitutional question raised was asserted to be a proper one for the Court. Said Justice Jackson, in a concurring opinion: "Particularly when the war power is invoked to do things to the liberties of people, or to their property or economy that only indirectly affect conduct of the war and do not relate to the management of the war itself, the constitutional basis should be scrutinized with care." Ibid. 146-147.

[374] 7 Op. Atty. Gen. 453, 464-465 (1855).

[375] 9 Stat. 102 (1846); 20 U.S.C. Sec. 41 and 48.

[376] _Cf._ 2 Stat. 78. The provision has long since dropped out of the statute book.

[377] Runkle _v._ United States, 122 U.S. 543 (1887).

[378] _Cf._ In re Chapman, 166 U.S. 661, 670-671 (1897), where it is held that presumptions in favor of official action "preclude collateral attack on the sentences of courts-martial." _See also_ United States _v._ Fletcher, 148 U.S. 84, 88-89 (1893); and Bishop _v._ United States, 197 U.S. 334, 341-342 (1905); both of which in effect repudiate Runkle _v._ United States.

[379] "The President, in the exercise of his executive powers under the Constitution, may act through the head of the appropriate executive department. The heads of departments are his authorized assistants in the performance of his executive duties, and their official acts, promulgated in the regular course of business, are presumptively his acts." Wilcox _v._ Jackson ex dem McConnel, 13 Pet. 498, 513 (1839). _See also_, United States _v._ Eliason, 16 Pet. 291 (1842); Williams _v._ United States, 1 How. 290, 297 (1843); United States _v._ Jones, 18 How. 92, 95 (1856); United States _v._ Clarke (Confiscation Cases), 20 Wall. 92 (1874); United States _v._ Farden, 99 U.S. 10 (1879); Wolsey _v._ Chapman, 101 U.S. 755 (1880).

[380] 1 How. 290 (1843).

[381] 3 Stat. 723 (1823).

[382] 1 How. at 297-298.

[383] "It is manifestly impossible for the President to execute every duty, and every detail thereof, imposed upon him by the Congress. The courts have recognized this and have further recognized that he usually and properly acts through the several executive departments. Every reasonable presumption of validity is to be indulged with respect to the performance by the head of a department of a duty imposed upon the President and executed by the department head ostensibly in behalf of the President. Nevertheless, the authorities indicate that the President cannot, without statutory authority, delegate a discretionary duty, relieving himself of all responsibility, so that the duty when performed will not be his act but wholly the act of another. Williams _v._ United States, 1 How. 290, 297 (1843); Runkle _v._ United States, 122 U.S. 543, 557 (1887); United States _v._ Fletcher, 148 U.S. 84, 88 (1893); French _v._ Weeks, 259 U.S. 326, 334 (1922)"; 38 Op. Atty. Gen. 457-459 (1936).

[384] 1 Annals of Congress, cols. 515-516.

[385] Ibid. cols. 635-636.

[386] 1 Cr. 137 (1803).

[387] Ibid. 165-166.

[388] Op. Atty. Gen. 624 (1823).

[389] Messages and Papers of the Presidents, III, 1288.

[390] Ibid. 1304.

[391] 12 Pet. 524 (1838).

[392] Ibid. 610.

[393] 272 U.S. 52 (1926); 295 U.S. 602 (1935).

[394] Bruce Wyman, The Principles of the Administrative Law Governing the Relations of Public Officers (St. Paul, 1903), 231-232.

[395] United States _v._ Eliason, 16 Pet. 291, 301-302 (1842); Kurtz _v._ Moffitt, 115 U.S. 487, 503 (1885); Smith _v._ Whitney, 116 U.S. 167, 180-181 (1886).

[396] 135 U.S. 1 (1890).

[397] Ibid. 64. The phrase "a law of the United States" came from the act of March 2, 1833 (4 Stat. 632). However, in 28 U.S.C. 2241 (c) (2), as it stands following the amendment of May 24, 1949, c. 139, the phrase is replaced by the term an act of Congress, thereby eliminating the basis of the holding in In re Neagle.

[398] 236 U.S. 459 (1915); Mason _v._ United States, 260 U.S. 545 (1923).

[399] Rev. Stat. Sec. 5298; 50 U.S.C. Sec. 202.

[400] 1 Stat. 264 (1792); 1 Stat. 424 (1795); 2 Stat. 443 (1807); 12 Stat. 281 (1861).

[401] 12 Wheat. 19 (1827).

[402] Ibid. 31-32.

[403] "Federal Aid in Domestic Disturbances," S. Doc. 209, 59th Cong., 2 sess., p. 51 (1907).

[404] Op. Atty. Gen. 466 (1854). By the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (20 Stat. 152) it was provided that "* * * it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a _posse comitatus_, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress * * *" The effect of this prohibition, however, was largely nullified by a ruling of the Attorney General "that by Revised Statutes Sec. 5298 and 5300, the military forces, under the direction of the President, could be used to assist a marshal. 16 Op. Atty. Gen. 162." Bennett Milton Rich, The Presidents and Civil Disorder (The Brookings Institution, 1941), 196 fn. 21.

[405] 12 Stat (App.) 1258.

[406] 212 U.S. 78 (1909).

[407] In re Debs, 158 U.S. 565 (1895).

[408] 212 U.S. at 84-85. _See also_ Sterling _v._ Constantin, 287 U.S. 378 (1932), which endorses Moyer _v._ Peabody, while emphasizing the fact that it applies only to a condition of disorder.

[409] 158 U.S. at 584, 586. Some years earlier, in the United States _v._ San Jacinto Tin Co., the Courts sustained the right of the Attorney General and of his assistants to institute suits simply by virtue of their general official powers. "If," the Court said, "the United States in any particular case has a just cause for calling upon the judiciary of the country, in any of its courts, for relief * * *" in the question of appealing to them "must primarily be decided by the Attorney General * * *" and if restrictions are to be placed upon the exercise of this authority it is for Congress to enact them. 125 U.S. 273, 279 (1888). _Cf._ Hayburn's case, 2 Dall. 409 (1792), in which the Court rejected Attorney General Randolph's contention that he had the right _ex officio_ to move for a writ of _mandamus_ ordering the United States circuit court for Pennsylvania to put the Invalid Pension Act into effect.

[410] 29 U.S.C. Sec. 101-105; 47 Stat. 70 (1932).

[411] 330 U.S. 258. Here it was held that the Norris-LaGuardia Act did not apply to a case brought by the government as operator, under the War Labor Disputes Act of 1943, of a large proportion of the nation's soft coal mines. In reaching this result Chief Justice Vinson invoked the "rule that statutes which in general terms divest preexisting rights or privileges will not be applied to the sovereign without express words to that effect." Standing by itself these words would seem to save the Debs case. But they do not stand by themselves, for the Chief Justice presently added "that Congress, in passing the [Norris-LaGuardia] Act, did not intend to permit the United States to continue to intervene by injunction in purely private labor disputes. * * * where some public interest was thought to have become involved," words which seem intended to repudiate the Debs case. However, the Chief Justice goes on at once to say, "* * * whether Congress so intended or not is a question different from the one before us now." Ibid. 272, 278.

[412] Public Law 101, 80th Cong., 1st sess., Sec. 206-210.

[413] _See_ Louis Stark in New York Times, February 4, 1949; Labor Relations, Hearings before the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare on S. 249, 81st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 263, 285, 295, 905, 911; Julius and Lillian Cohen, The Divine Rights of Presidents, 29 Nebraska Law Review, p. 416, March 1950.

[414] 30 Op. Atty. Gen. 291, 292, 293.

[415] Durand _v._ Hollins, 4 Blatch. 451, 454 (1860).

[416] Published by World Peace Foundation (Boston, 1945) _See also_, for the period 1811 to 1934, J. Reuben Clark's Memorandum as Solicitor of the Department of State entitled Right to Protect Citizens in Foreign Countries by Landing Forces (Government Printing Office, 1912, 1934). The great majority of the landings were for "the simple protection of American citizens in disturbed areas," and only about a third involved belligerent action.

[417] 5 Moore, International Law Digest, 478-510, _passim_.

[418] A Decade of American Foreign Policy, S. Doc. 123, 81st Cong., 1st Sess., p. 1347.

[419] _See_ Max Farrand, Records, II, 318-319.

[420] Youngstown Co. _v._ Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952).

[421] 17 Fed. Reg. 3139-3143.

"Whereas on December 16, 1950, I proclaimed the existence of a national emergency which requires that the military, naval, air, and civilian defenses of this country be strengthened as speedily as possible to the end that we may be able to repel any and all threats against our national security and to fulfill our responsibilities in the efforts being made throughout the United Nations and otherwise to bring about a lasting peace; and

"Whereas American fighting men and fighting men of other nations of the United Nations are now engaged in deadly combat with the forces of aggression in Korea, and forces of the United States are stationed elsewhere overseas for the purpose of participating in the defense of the Atlantic Community against aggression; and

"Whereas the weapons and other materials needed by our armed forces and by those joined with us in the defense of the free world are produced to a great extent in this country, and steel is an indispensable component of substantially all of such weapons and materials; and

"Whereas steel is likewise indispensable to the carrying out of programs of the Atomic Energy Commission of vital importance to our defense efforts; and

"Whereas a continuing and uninterrupted supply of steel is also indispensable to the maintenance of the economy of the United States, upon which our military strength depends; and

"Whereas a controversy has arisen between certain companies in the United States producing and fabricating steel and the elements thereof and certain of their workers represented by the United Steel Workers of America, CIO, regarding terms and conditions of employment; and

"Whereas the controversy has not been settled through the processes of collective bargaining or through the efforts of the Government, including those of the Wage Stabilization Board, to which the controversy was referred on December 22, 1951, pursuant to Executive Order No. 10233, and a strike has been called for 12:01 A.M., April 9, 1952; and

"Whereas a work stoppage would immediately jeopardize and imperil our national defense and the defense of those joined with us in resisting aggression, and would add to the continuing danger of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen engaged in combat in the field; and

"Whereas in order to assure the continued availability of steel and steel products during the existing emergency, it is necessary that the United States take possession of and operate the plants, facilities, and other property of the said companies as hereinafter provided:

"Now, Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

"1. The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized and directed to take possession of all or such of the plants, facilities, and other property of the companies named in the list attached hereto, or any part thereof, as he may deem necessary in the interests of national defense; and to operate or to arrange for the operation thereof and to do all things necessary for, or incidental to, such operation.

"2. In carrying out this order the Secretary of Commerce may act through or with the aid of such public or private instrumentalities or persons as he may designate; and all Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Secretary of Commerce to the fullest extent possible in carrying out the purposes of this order.

"3. The Secretary of Commerce shall determine and prescribe terms and conditions of employment under which the plants, facilities, and other properties possession of which is taken pursuant to this order shall be operated. The Secretary of Commerce shall recognize the rights of workers to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining, adjustment of grievances or other mutual aid or protection, provided that such activities do not interfere with the operation of such plants, facilities, and other properties.

"4. Except so far as the Secretary of Commerce shall otherwise provide from time to time, the managements of the plants, facilities, and other properties possession of which is taken pursuant to this order shall continue their functions, including the collection and disbursement of funds in the usual and ordinary course of business in the names of their respective companies and by means of any instrumentalities used by such companies.

"5. Except so far as the Secretary of Commerce may otherwise direct, existing rights and obligations of such companies shall remain in full force and effect, and there may be made, in due course, payments of dividends on stock, and of principal, interest, sinking funds, and all other distributions upon bonds, debentures, and other obligations, and expenditures may be made for other ordinary corporate or business purposes.

"6. Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary of Commerce further possession and operation by him of any plant, facility, or other property is no longer necessary or expedient in the interest of national defense, and the Secretary has reason to believe that effective future operation is assured, he shall return the possession and operation of such plant, facility, or other property to the company in possession and control thereof at the time possession was taken under this order.

"7. The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to prescribe and issue such regulations and orders not inconsistent herewith as he may deem necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of this order; and he may delegate and authorize subdelegation of such of his functions under this order as he may deem desirable. Harry S. Truman. The White House, April 8, 1952."

[422] 343 U.S. 579, 583.

[423] Ibid. 584.

[424] 343 U.S. 579, 585-589.

[425] 2 Cr. 170 (1804).

[426] 343 U.S. 579, 660, 661.

[427] 343 U.S. 579, 684, citing 10 Annals of Congress, 619 (1800). _See also_ p. 418.

[428] 9 Stat. 302; R.S. Sec. 5270-5279.

[429] For the controversy thereby precipitated between Hamilton ("Pacificus") and Madison (Helvidius), _see_ Edward S. Corwin, The President's Control of Foreign Relations (Princeton University Press, 1916), Chap. I.

[430] The Act of June 5, 1794; 1 Stat. 381. The Act was the direct outcome of suggestions made by Washington in his message of December 5, 1793. 1 Richardson 139.

[431] 22 Opins. A.G. 13 (1898); Tucker _v._ Alexandroff, 183 U.S. 424, 435 (1902). An act was passed May 27, 1921 (42 Stat. 8) which requires presidential license for the landing and operation of cables connecting the United States with foreign countries. Quincy Wright, The Control of American Foreign Relations (New York, 1922) 302 fn. 75.

[432] Santiago _v._ Nogueras, 214 U.S. 260 (1909).

[433] Madsen _v._ Kinsella, 343 U.S. 341 (1952).

[434] Charlton _v._ Kelly, 229 U.S. 447 (1913). _See also_ Botiller _v._ Dominguez, 130 U.S. 238 (1889).

[435] Sinclair _v._ United States, 279 U.S. 263, 289, 297 (1929).

[436] 12 Stat. 755.

[437] Berdahl, War Powers of the Executive in the United States (University of Illinois, 1921), 69.

[438] 343 U.S. 579, 695.

[439] 89 Cong. Rec. 3992 (1943).

[440] 57 Stat. 163.

[441] 343 U.S. 579, 697.

[442] 341 U.S. 114 (1951).

[443] _See_ Hooe _v._ United States, 218 U.S. 322, 335-336 (1910); United States _v._ North American Co., 253 U.S. 330, 333 (1920). _Cf._ Larson _v._ Domestic and Foreign Corp., 337 U.S. 682, 701-702 (1949).

[444] 341 U.S. 114, 119.

[445] _See_ p. 486.

[446] Brief for the United States, No. 278, October Term, 1914, pp. 11, 75-77, quoted by the Chief Justice in 343 U.S. 579, 689-691. Assistant Attorney General Knaebel's name was also on the Brief.

[447] 343 U.S. 579, 597.

[448] Ibid. 602.

[449] 343 U.S. 579, 631-632.

[450] 13 How. 115 (1852).

[451] 13 Wall. 623 (1872).

[452] 260 U.S. 327 (1922).

[453] 341 U.S. 114 (1949).

[454] 315 U.S. 203, 230 (1942).

[455] Federalist No. 64.

[456] _See also_ 40 Op. Atty. Gen. 250, 253 (1942).

[457] 343 U.S. 579, 639, 640.

[458] Ibid. 653, 654.

[459] 343 U.S. 579, 657.

[460] Ibid. 659.

[461] 2 Cr. 170 (1804).

[462] 343 U.S. 579, 662, 663.

[463] Ibid. 662.

[464] 343 U.S. 579, 678, 679.

[465] Ibid. 705.

[466] Ibid. 708-709.

[467] 4 Wall. 475 (1867).

[468] Ibid. 484.

[469] Ibid. 500-501.

[470] Kendall _v._ United States, 12 Pet. 524 (1838); United States _v._ Lee, 106 U.S. 196 (1882). It should be noted, however, that if the President fails to act, or if he adopts a narrow construction of a statute which he dislikes, and on this ground professes inability to act, the only remedy available against him is impeachment.

[471] Noble _v._ Union River Logging R. Co., 147 U.S. 165 (1893); Philadelphia Co. _v._ Stimson, 223 U.S. 605 (1912).

[472] Kendall _v._ United States, above; [Transcriber's Note: Reference is to Footnote 470, above.] United States _v._ Schurz, 102 U.S. 378 (1880); United States ex rel. Dunlap _v._ Black, 128 U.S. 40 (1888). _Cf._ Decatur _v._ Paulding, 14 Pet. 497 (1840); and Riverside Oil Co. _v._ Hitchcock, 190 U.S. 316 (1903), where the rule is reiterated that neither injunction nor mandamus will lie against an officer to control him in the exercise of an official duty which requires the exercise of his judgment and discretion.