200 WRIGHT— LIMITATIONS UPON NATIONAL POWERS. 



" the supreme law of the land " and this, nothwithstanding the 

 apparent contradiction in the statement of Article I, section i, that 

 " All Legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 

 of the United States." "^ 



Thus " legislative power " includes the power to make general 

 laws and political decisions in whatever organ vested by the Con- 

 stitution and does not include the executive power of carrying out 

 policies and enforcing decisions, nor the judicial power of deciding 

 questions of fact and applying law to particular cases. 



6i. Congressional Delegation of Poiuer to Make International 

 Agreements, 

 Although Congress has no power to make treaties, it has power 

 to make laws on many subjects which may be appropriate for inter- 

 national agreement. Within this field it has delegated power to 

 the President** to make international agreements in pursuance of 

 a policy outlined by Legislation and such delegation has been sus- 

 tained by the courts. Thus by an act of 1872^" Congress provided 

 that " for the purpose of making better postal arrangements with 

 foreign countries," the postmaster-general, acting under the advice 

 of the President, might '' negotiate and conclude postal treaties." 

 The United States has become a party to the Universal Postal 

 Union Convention under this authority. ^^ Similar provision for 

 the conclusion of patent, copyright and trademark agreements have 

 been made.^^ 



48 The principle that legislative power cannot be delegated has always 

 been assumed to be applicable to the treaty power. See Senate For. Rel. 

 Committee. Rept. 62A Cong., ist sess., S. ^Doc. 98, p. 6, and remarks of 

 Senator Walsh, Mont., Cong. Rec, 58: 8609, Nov. 8, 1919, quoted in Am. 

 Jl. Int. Law. 12: 91, and Col. Laiv Rev., 20: 133. 



4^ A possible encroachment upon the Senate's prerogative in treaty-making 

 is considered infra, sees. 159, 162. 



s" U. S. Rev. Stat., sec. 398, Compiled Stat., sec. 587, founded on Act of 

 1792, see Crandall, op. cit., p. 131. 



51 Moore, Digest, 5 : 870. 



52 Patents Act, March 3, 1903, 22 Stat. 1225, Rev. Stat., sec. 4887. Copy- 

 rights Acts, March 3, 1891, 26 Stat, mo, Moore, Digest, 2: 45, and March 4, 

 1909. sec. 8, 35 Stat. 1077, Comp. Stat., sec. 9220, Crandall, op. cit., p. 127. 

 Trademarks Act, March 3, 1881, 21 Stat. 502; Feb. 20, 1905, 33 Stat. 724, 

 as amended in 1906 and 1909, Comp. Stat., sec. 9485. In the Trademark 



