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Show THE BATTLE OF WASHINGTON Fear Presidents Vast Emergency Power BY BRUCE CATTON i 1 Tale Is the third story ef ' series geing behind the was b the fight ever raiaages ha the nsiiliallty law aew before eea-grass. eea-grass. WASHINGTON It Is an open 'secret that much of the senatorial senato-rial opposition te repeal of the arms embargo rest on a deep fear of the steps which President Presi-dent Roosevelt may take. This doesn't mean that anyone suspects the president of dishonorable dis-honorable motives or thinks that he Isn't perfectly sincere when he says he intends to keep the country at peace. It simply means that the Isolationists Iso-lationists fear and know that any American president who wanta to take drastic action haa tremendous emergency powers pow-ers at his disposal. These powers arise from a hodge-podge of holdover legislation, legisla-tion, some of it pssssd during the World war and some at other times. They are power which the president any presidentmay presi-dentmay exercise whenever he chooses to proclaim that a state of national emergency exists. Things that he cannot legally do ordinarily, be can do under these emergency statutes. Under the national defense act for Instance, "la time of war or when war is Imminent" the president pres-ident may place orders with any Industrial plant: the plant Is compelled t comply and to give ' the presidential orders priority, and if it faila or refuses the president may commandeer the plant Under a 1920 amendment to the interstate commerce act the president may certify to the Interstate commerce commission. In time of emergency, thatlt la essential te the national defense to give priority to certain typea of traffic, and the commission must Issue the necessary regulations. regula-tions. In effect this would give the president full control over railroad traffic and the power to say what could and could not be shipped. Under the espionage act of 1917, the president may exercise complete control over all vessels, domestic or foreign, within the territorial water of the United States, even to the extent of seising seis-ing such vessels and removing their officers and crews. Another part of the same act provides stiff penalties for anyone any-one who enters, file over or goes upon U. S. dockyards, forts, naval bases, etc. to get Information Informa-tion about the national defense with Intent or raason to believe that such information would be used to the injury of the United State. An act of March 9. 1933. gives the president complete power ever the banking and financial system "during such emergency period aa the president by proclamation proc-lamation may prescribe." Presidential control ever radio, i ' In time of emergency, la absolute and can extend to the closing of radio stations and the removal of their equipment Control of electric power faculties fa-culties Is authorized by an act of 1935, which gives the president presi-dent permission to order con- ( nection made, rearrange distribution distri-bution and do practically any-thing.else any-thing.else to provide for the supply sup-ply of current to war-essential Industries. These are some of the tremendous tre-mendous powers which the president presi-dent might make available to himself simply by Issuing a proclamation proc-lamation of a state of emergency. They are by no means all of the emergency powers that exist; ex-ist; Indeed, hardly anyone In . Washington knows just what all ef those powers may amount to. That la why Senator Vanden-berg Vanden-berg Introduced In the senate the other day a resolution asking the attorney general to aubmit a complete list of the emergency emer-gency powers that are available. It la understood that the Justice Jus-tice department not long ago drew up such a study for the White House; the isolationist want the study made public-and public-and If they aucceed In getting It they plan to go over it with a fine-toothed comb and offer bills to repeal such of the powers pow-ers as seem to them to be undesirable. un-desirable. Nextt War aad the earners ef war. |