1890, Without recommendation. 1893, Favorable majority, adverse minority. 1913, Favorable majority. 1914, Favorable majority. 1916, Favorable majority. Voted Upon in the Senate: January 25, 1887, yeas 16, nays 34. In the House Reported from Committee: 1884, Adverse majority, favorable minority. 1894, Adverse majority. 1914, Without recommendation. Voted Upon in the House, January 12, 1915, yeas 174, nays 204. In the Senate, Introduced in the 64th Congress.. December 7, 1915, by Senator Sutherland, of Utah, Senator Thomas, of Colorado, and Senator Thompson, of Kansas. Referred in the Senate to Committee on Woman Suffrage. Reported in the Senate on January 8, with a favorable recommenda tion. In the House, December 6, 1915, by Representatives Raker, Mondell, Keating, Taylor and Hayden. Referred in the House to the Judiciary Committee, and by it to its subcommittee No. 1. Reported to the Judiciary Committee by the sub-committee on February 15, 1916, with recommendation that the Judiciary Committee report it to the House without recommendation. By a vote of 9 to 7 on February 15, the Judiciary Committee returned the amendment to sub-committee No. 1 with instructions to hold until December 14. On March 14, the Judiciary Committee by unanimous consent agreed to take final Committee action on the amendment on March 28. On March 28, the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 10 to 9 postponed indefinitely all Constitutional amendments. Status: In the Senate, On the calendar awaiting action. In the House, In the Judiciary Committee. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. Frame of Government. The Constitution of the United States provides for a Federal government, the administration of which is divided into three branches-the legislative, executive and judicial branch. The legislative branch is vested in a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate consists of two members from each state chosen for six years by popular vote (since May 1913). Previous to that date they were elected by the state legislatures. A Senator must be at least 30 years of age, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years and must reside in the state for which he is chosen. The House of Representatives consists of members elected every two years. The number of members in each state is determined by population, according to the census taken every ten years. Representatives must be at least 25 years of age, must have been citizens of the United States for at least seven years and must reside in the state for which they are chosen. The executive power is vested in a President, elected indirectly by the people, for four years. The voters in each state elect as many electors as the state has Senators and Representatives in Congress, who in turn meet the second Monday in January following their election and elect the President. The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States, must be at least 35 years of age, and must have resided at least 14 years in the United States. The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may establish. The Supreme Court at present consists of nine members, appointed for life by the President with the consent of the Senate. There are also 32 circuit judges, apportioned in nine circuits, and 101 district court judges apportioned in the various states and all appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Thus in this entire framework only members of the House of Representatives, and since 1913, Senators are directly responsible to the people. Governmental Practice. According to the Constitution a bill in order to become law must be passed by each branch of Congress and signed by the President. If the President vetoes a bill it does not become a law, unless again passed by each branch of Congress by a two-third vote. If a President does not approve or veto a bill within ten days after it has been presented to him, it becomes a law. But in actual practice the U. S. Government has been termed a government by committee and by judicial interpretation. That is to say, due to the large number of bills presented before Congress, making the consideration of all on the floors of Congress impossible, a bill is first referred to a committee, of which there are in the House alone 59 (64th Cong.). The most important of these committees are,-Ways and Means, Rules, Appropriations, Banking and Currency, Rivers and Harbors, Judiciary, Railways and Canals, Foreign Affairs, Naval Affairs, Military Affairs, Public Lands, Agriculture, Labor, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, etc. After a bill has been referred to its appropriate committee it must be read three times after which it is debated and voted upon. But as Lord Bryce has said, "The committee can amend the bill as they please, and although they cannot formally extinguish it, they can practically do so by reporting adversely, or by delaying to report it till late in the session, or by not reporting it at all." Thus with the exception of bills of special interest and importance the fate of nearly all bills is practically decided in committee. Judicial Interpretation. Assuming a bill to have become a law, it may have another obstacle to overcome. The constitutionality of the bill may be disputed. That is to say it may be claimed that the law is in conflict with some provision of the Constitution. In such case it is left to the judicial branch to decide whether it is constitutional or not. Usually the law is first tested in the lower Federal courts, and if the result is unsatisfactory to the contestant, he may appeal to the Supreme Court, whose decision is final. An adverse decision by the Supreme Court automatically nullifies a law. Since the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a law is very frequently not evident or clear, it rests with the Supreme Court to interpret the law. Thus has arisen what is known as government by judicial interpretation. At various periods in the history of the U. S. government it has been found that the Supreme Court has given diametrically opposed interpretations on laws similar in character. In recent times the preponderance of judicial opinion in favor of capitalistic interests has led to a movement in favor of the recall of judges by the people. Federal Commissions. In actual practice there is another agency that shares in the functions of government, namely, the various boards and commissions which Congress may designate and the members of which are appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. The most important of these are, the Inter-state Commerce Commission which has the power to regulate the operation of the railroads which engage in interstate commerce; the Civil Service Commission, which has charge of filling offices, for which competitive examinations are required; the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates corporations, the nature of whose activity is in restraint of trade, and the Federal Reserve Board, which regulates banking operations in the U. S. Powers of Congress. Among the powers which the Constitution confers upon Congress are,-to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises; to pay the debts of the United States; to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states; to coin and regulate the value of money and fix standards of weight and measure; to declare war and raise and support armies, although no appropriation of money may be for a longer term than two years; and "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States or in any department or office thereof." The last clause is known as the "elastic clause." Its elasticity has given various political and economic interests opportunity in the past to enact legislation which otherwise would have been declared unconstitutional. Powers of President. Among the powers conferred upon the President are,to act as commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, to appoint with the consent of the Senate, judges of the Supreme Court, Ambassadors, Consuls, and all other officers whose appointment is not specifically provided for. At present the President appoints hundreds of such officers, and this power is the cause of constant political dickering and favoritism. Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitution of the United States may be amended in the following manner: Two-thirds of both houses of Congress may propose an amendment, or the legislatures of twothirds of the states may call upon Congress to hold a convention for proposing amendments, after which such proposed amendment must be ratified by the legislatures of or conventions in three-fourths of the states. It is obvious that this proceedure makes amending the Constitution difficult. Of over 1,700 amendments that have been offered, 17 have succeeded in becoming a part of the Constitution. The Electorate. Citizens entitled to vote in the federal elections are generally male citizens over 21 years of age. The qualifications are determined by the various states. The franchise is not absolutely universal; residence at least one year in most states is necessary, in some states the payment of taxes, in others registration. On the other hand many of the Western States admit to the franchise unnaturalized persons who have formally declared their intention to become citizens. Several of the Southern States have adopted methods, with the express and avowed purpose of excluding the negroes from the franchise, and yet avoiding the constitutional consequences of discriminating "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Untaxed Indians are excluded from the franchise, in most states convicts, in some states duellists and fraudulent voters; in Massachusetts voters are required to be able to read English. In some Southern States they are required to give a reasonable explanation of what they read. Wyoming (1869), Colorado (1893), Utah, Idaho (1896), Washington (1910), California (1911), Oregon, Arizona, Kansas (1912), Illinois,1 Alaska (1913), Montana, Nevada (1914), admit women to the franchise on equal terms with The Cabinet-arranged in the order of succession for the Presidency: Secretary of State.... Post-master General. Secretary of the Navy.. Robert Lansing .Newton D. Baker Secretary of Labor.... ....William Bauchop Wilson Cabinet officers are chosen by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. The Secretaries are responsible to the President for their respective departments. 1 Vote for Presidential electors only. |