Two Executive Clerks to the President. One Messenger at the White House. Librarian of Congress. Superintendent of Library Building and Grounds. The pardoning power of the President is comprehensive and without Constitutional restriction, except in cases of impeachment. The scope of this power includes not only criminal offenses under the civil statutes of the United States, but offenses against military law and discipline, including even those of the gravest character. Where disabilities have been imposed by Congress upon conviction of certain offenses, the exercise of the pardoning power by the President removes such disability. The pardoning power of the President includes cases which have not been tried or in which punishment has not been awarded. The President has from time to time received authorization from Congress for the exercise of power under general legislation effected by Congress. Among these powers is that of a supervision of the Consular Service, and the direction of expenditures for necessary means of carrying on the foreign business of the nation. He is given the power to use the armed forces of the country for the purpose of carrying out the penalties imposed for crimes, against the United States, issues patents for public lands, a clerk being provided to sign his name to such patents, and may discharge debtors from debts due the United States, in cases where provision has not been made to empower the Secretary of the Treasury to issue such discharge. The direction of the sale of public lands, when authorized by Congress, is also placed in the hands of the President, and he is given discretionary power to permit the discharge of soldiers and sailors in time of peace, under such regulations as he may fix. The President is given by Congress the direction of the operations of the Coast Survey. He may name the ships of the Navy within the classes fixed by Congress, and may provide rules for the admission of persons into the Civil Service, under the restrictions of the act establishing the Civil Service Commission and providing means for the improvement of the Civil Service. He also by virtue of his position as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, has power to direct any details of officers from the military branches of the government, and may select Commandants of Navy Yards and Stations, and all persons from the appropriate line or staff of the military forces, for such positions as may be established by Congress. He has the absolute power of removal of all persons whether appointed by himself alone or with the consent of the Senate, and of persons in the Civil Service, except members of the judiciary who may only be removed by impeachment. He may also employ the armed forces of the United States for the assistance of the Governor of any of the States, when requested to do so by the Executive of the State in question. The President receives as the representative of the United States, the Ambassadors and Ministers of foreign countries, and conducts directly, or through the Secretary of State, all negotiations with the heads of foreign governments, as represented by their Ambassadors and Ministers, which do not call for a formal conclusion or written treaty stipulations. All communications to foreign governments are sent in his name, and all communications from foreign governments are transmitted to him, and by him, when necessary, forwarded to the Congress. For the purposes of foreign intercourse he is the head of the Government of the United States, subject only to restriction by the Senate when it shall have become necessary to conclude a formal treaty. The general power lies in Congress to indicate its disapproval of the relations of the President with foreign powers, by a resolution stating the objections held, but such resolution has no valid force on the Executive, unless it is made the basis of impeachment proceedings The popular conception of the election of the President of the United States becomes confused so frequently by the impor tance attached to the enumeration of the popular vote, that a careful statement of the machinery by which the President is elected is essential. Although the announcement made quadriennially, within a few days after the Presidential election, of the number of votes cast for each Presidential nominee is usually regarded as conclusive, no actual election takes place until the second Wednesday of the February next following. The Constitution provides that each State shall appoint, in the manner to be determined by the legislature of the State, the Presidential Electors, who shall be equal in number to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State is entitled in Congress. This number is composed of two, representing the number of Senators, and a sufficient number in addition to give one Elector for each Representative in Congress, proportioned on the apportionment of Representatives provided by law, or if the apportionment has not been made on the last decennial census, the number provided under the old apportionment remains in effect. No Senator, Representative, or other Federal officeholder can be appointed as an Elector. It is the universal custom to appoint Electors by popular ballot, though it was formerly the practice in some of the States, for the legislature to select the Electors. The power is given to Congress to choose the time of appointing the Electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day must be uniform throughout the United States. The day of choosing the Electors has been fixed as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The States are empowered to fill any vacancies which may occur in the list of Electors, and if no election occurs the legislature may set a later date for the election. In case of a dispute as to the legality of an election of any Elector or Electors, the determination of the person properly selected may be fixed by a provision of the State statutes, providing such a statute has been passed by the State Legislature six days prior to the second Monday in January, on which day the Electors are required to meet and cast their votes. The Secretary of State of each State must provide three copies of a list certifying the names of the persons who have been properly elected as Presidential Electors. On the second Monday in January, the Electors must meet and cast their ballots for President and Vice-President respectively, making three copies of the number of ballots cast, and annexing to each copy the certified list of Electors, furnished them by the Secretary of State. These three certificates must be sealed up and a certification placed upon each of its contents, that it contains the result of the election. One of the copies so sealed up is entrusted to a person who is appointed by the Electors in writing to be delivered by him to the President of the Senate of the United States, before the Wednesday next ensuing. The second copy is forwarded by the Post Office to the President of the Senate, and the third copy is deposited with the Judge of the United States District Court of the district in which the election has been held. The two Houses of the Congress meet in the House of Representatives Hall, at one o'clock in the afternoon of the second Wednesday in February, following the meeting of the Electors, to witness the count of the number of ballots thus cast. The President of the Senate presides and two members of each House are appointed as tellers, previously to the meeting in assemblage. The President of the Senate opens the ballots returned by the States in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter "A," and the result of each ballot is announced, and later the total result is declared. Should there be any objection to the ballots as returned, challenging their legality, such objection must be presented in writing and signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives. If objections are presented to the vote of any State, the opening of the ballots is suspended, and the Senate withdraws to consider the objections in separate session. The House also goes into separate session to consider the objections presented. If only one set of ballots is returned from a State, no vote may be rejected unless the two Houses concur that the Electors had not voted regularly. If, more than one set of ballots are presented, those are to be counted which are certified as regular by the machinery provided by the State to determine the regularity of such ballots, but if it appears that there are two authorities claiming to pass on the regularity of the votes, the matter is settled by concurrent vote of both Houses in separate session. If no machinery has been provided by the State for the determination of the regularity of the electoral ballot, the choice between contesting ballots is to be by concurrent action, and in case of disagreement between the two Houses, the certificate of the Executive of the State in question, as to the regularity of either of the ballots, is to be accepted. During the pendency of the question as to the regularity of the ballot of any State, no action can be taken on the returns of any other States. No recess of Congress can be taken except from day to day, unless over Sunday, and after five days, no recess at all can be taken. Upon the completion of the opening of the ballots and the tabulation of the results, the vote is declared by the President of the Senate as the official announcement of the election of the President of the United States. If the returns from any State are not received by the President of the Senate before the tourth Monday in January, the Secretary of State of the United States must send a special messenger to the Judge with whom the third copy of the election returns has been deposited, to secure that copy. When there is no President of the Senate in Washington to receive the returns, the Secretary of State is empowered to receive them. The term of the President of the United States begins on the fourth of March and ends on the fourth of March four years later. He can only refuse to serve or resign by a written statement under his own hand, addressed to the Secretary of State. In case of either death, resignation or removal of the President, the Vice-President becomes the President of the United States, and successively in case of failures to serve, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Attorney General, the Postmaster General, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior are to serve, provided they are eligible under the Constitution and are not under im |