committee is to pass upon it; whether it is subjected to preliminary consideration in the so-called committee of the whole, etc., all this is regulated by the general provisions of the rules or decided by resolution. When a over to the other house with a Whether the other house will is entirely at its pleasure. If it

bill has passed, it is sent message to that effect. consider and pass upon it

"suspension of the rules" may be moved in order to take up and pass any bill. To pass the motion to suspend the rules a two-thirds majority is necessary. If passed, there can be no debate on the bill, and no amendment offered. Consequently, so far as the house of representatives is concerned, a bill may become a law by one vote, without any discussion and without the possibility of any changes whatever. At every session a vast number of bills are actually passed in this

manner.

1 The committee of the whole is actually the whole house (or senate). In the senate it is called the quasi-committee of the whole. In passing upon a measure it is subject to the same rules as prevail in the house. In truth the committee of the whole is not a committee at all, but the house itself transacting business in a peculiar, and in fact a simpler and freer, way. Its function corresponds with that of the committees in being simply a preparatory one. Its conclusions are only recommendations to the house, without any obligation whatever. The most significant advantage of the arrangement is the greater freedom and exhaustiveness of the discussions, as each member may speak as often as he chooses. The committee of the whole can consider only definite resolutions. In sessions of the "committee of the whole house on the state of the Union," every member may speak on any question he desires. The speaker does not preside over the committee of the whole. Any member whom the house may appoint takes the chair. In the house of representatives, since 1841, no speech is permitted to occupy more than one hour. At the expiration of the last minute the speaker's gavel stops the orator short, even in the middle of a sentence. By calling for the previous question, debate can not only be closed at any moment, but entirely prevented. Debate on the motion for the previous question is not allowed.

2 That a simple majority of the members voting suffices to pass a bill is not expressly declared in the constitution, but it is regarded as self-evident, and it follows, too, from the exceptional provisions mentioned further on.

passes it without amendment, the bill goes to the president for his approval. If, on the contrary, it passes it with amendments, the bill is returned to the other house, which, when it again considers the matter, either concurs in the amendments or refuses to do so, or offers new amendments of its own. Thus, a bill may be bandied from one house to the other as long as there is any hope of its passage. If that cannot be directly attained and yet seems attainable, then one or the other house proposes the appointment of a conference committee. If the other house agrees to this and the conference committee arrives. at any agreement, its report is, as a rule, concurred in by both houses, although, of course, neither is obliged to do so. If the conference committee does not come to an agreement, the usual process of bandying the bill back and forth can be taken up where it was interrupted, or a second or third conference committee may be appointed, until one of the houses in some way or other declares that it will no longer protract the discussion.

§ 33. THE CO-OPERATION OF THE PRESIDENT IN LEGISLATION. A bill passed by both houses of congress becomes law as a rule by the approval of the president. Yet this right of approval must not be considered as a part of the legislative power, for the constitution expressly declares that "all" the legislative authority granted shall vest in congress. The co-operation of the president in the matter of legislation is intended only as a control. Congress alone is the author of the laws. If the president has objections to raise against the legislative conclusions of congress, he is in duty bound to submit the latter for reconsideration. Then, in order to become laws, they must receive a two-thirds majority in each house.1 It is,

1 The phrase used in the constitution admits of various interpretations, as it is not very precise. Congress has adopted the view that a two-thirds majority of those voting, not of all the members elected.

therefore, unquestionably an abuse of language that the refusal to approve a bill should be called a veto, not only in ordinary speech, but also in official terminology. The word is not to be found in the constitution. It is borrowed from a state of affairs essentially different and does not harmonize with the constitutional nature of the president's co-operation in legislation. The president has no right to forbid congress to do anything. He can only state that he does not agree with it and declare his reasons therefor. Thereupon the constitution subjects the exercise of the legislative powers of congress in the particular case to more stringent conditions.1

is required. Since a simple majority is sufficient to transact business, under certain circumstances a bill may be made a law over the objections of the president by the majority of each house.

1 On the other hand it is entirely within the discretion of the president as to what reasons he shall regard as sufficient in order to make use of this power. The exercise of it has led to many violent collisions between the executive and the legislative departments. In these conflicts the attempt has been made with much acumen to limit the president's freedom of action by invoking all sorts of doctrines. It is true that some of them have great political weight, but they lack a firm constitutional basis. During the "forties" the whigs agitated the entire repeal of the veto power, but only to their own hurt. Very recently an agitation has begun in the opposite direction. The president can refuse to approve only the whole bill, even if he takes exception to but one or two points in it. It is now proposed to give him, so far as the appropriation bills are concerned, the right to return individual appropriations for reconsideration and to give the others the force of law by approving them. It can scarcely be doubted that this decisive reform will surely be enacted sooner or later, but the battle for it will certainly be severe and probably be long. The president must state his objections in writing and return the bill to the house where it originated. The new vote upon it must be by roll-call. The vote of each member must be entered on the journal. The same rules apply in the other house, to which the bill and the president's objections are sent, if the first house has passed the bill again by a two-thirds majority. If the president does not

$34. THE PRESIDENT. The president's direct constitutional influence upon legislation is not limited to his cooperation and control, as sketched in the last paragraph. The constitution directs him from time to time to give congress "information of the state of the Union," and it is expressly made his duty to "recommend . such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient " (art. II., sec. 3). In the legislative initiative, as well as in legislation, congress is subject in a certain way to the control of the president, but this control, so far as the initiative is concerned, is naturally positive, not negative. Even if he cannot himself submit any bills, he can nevertheless exert a pressure upon congress to prevent its being guilty of sins of omission, for in his messages he calls the attention of the whole people to those matters which require the enactment of laws, or at least make new laws seem desirable. His reports "of the state of the Union" appear in the form of the so-called messages. The annual messages are sent to congress at the beginning of the annual session. They discuss all important domestic and foreign relations pretty thoroughly, and are therefore always much more comprehensive than the ordinary crown speeches in the monarchies of Europe. Accompanying the messages are the exhaustive reports by the secretaries about their respective departments. The messages and reports are called the executive documents, and are cited

sign a bill or return it with his objections within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it has been sent to him, it becomes a law without his approval, unless congress has adjourned within the ten days (art. I., sec. 7, § 2). Thus a bill may become a law, even though the president has refrained from expressing any opinion about it, and it may also not become a law, because he has expressed no opinion. Every other order, resolution, or vote for which the concurrence of the two houses is necessary must likewise be presented to the president and is subject to the same provisions as the bills. The only exceptions are the resolutions to adjourn (art. I., sec. 7, § 3).

under this title in scientific and political literature. This designation embraces also the special messages, which, as their name implies, are issued on special occasions and relate to special business. The obligation to report to congress upon the state of the Union naturally does not exclude the president's right to express himself publicly in other ways and thus to address the whole people. But this happens very seldom, and in accordance with unbroken custom - only in two distinct ways: by the inaugural address and by proclamations. The oath already mentioned which the president must take upon assuming his office is taken publicly upon the vast open portico of the capitol at Washington, and thereupon the president delivers his so-called inaugural address, in which he unfolds to the people the programme of his administration.' The occurrence of certain events, such as the admission of new states, is announced to the people, in accordance with legal precedents, by proclamation. The president also issues proclamations upon his own initiative. In these his character as the bearer of the executive power is more clearly and distinctly shown than in the messages or in the inaugural address. Many presidents have never had the opportunity of addressing the people in this most solemn and weighty manner, because the occasion must be highly significant and of a very special character to justify the use of this means or to make it appear necessary.2

1 Washington, upon his retirement to private life, delivered a farewell address to the people, which to the present day is regarded by the American nation as among the greatest and most valuable records of its history. Jackson is the only president who followed this example. His opponents took bitter exception to his venturing in this way to range himself with the father of his country.

2 By far the most important proclamations which the history of the United States has to show are Lincoln's emancipation proclamations of September 22, 1862, and January 1, 1863.