246 WRIGHT— POWER TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES. 



" Starting from the premise that in all that pertains to international rela- 

 tions the United States appears as a single sovereign nation, and that upon it 

 rests the constitutional duty of meeting all international responsibilities, the 

 Supreme Court has deduced corresponding federal powers." 



This argument seems equally untenable. It commits the fallacy 

 of deducing powers from responsibilities which Professor Wil- 

 loughby himself denounced later in the same book.^^ The supreme 

 court has not relied on such an argument but on specific delega- 

 tions of power by the Constitution ;^*^ 



" As all official intercourse between a State and foreign nation is pre- 

 vented by the Constitution and exclusive authority for that purpose given to 

 the United States, the National Government is responsible to foreign nations 

 for all violations by the United States of their international obligations, and 

 for this reason Congress is expressly authorized to define and punish . . . 

 oflfenses against the I'aw^ of nations." 



In addition to the clause here referred to, the " necessary and 

 proper " clause accords the national government powers adequate to 

 meet all international responsibilities, derived from valid acts or 

 commitments made by national organs.^' 



Q2. Theory of Inherent Executive Pozver to Meet International Re- 

 sponsibilities 



How is the power to meet international responsibilities distributed 

 among the departments of the national government? 



Hamilton, Roosevelt and others have considered the President 



empowered to take measures for meeting all responsibilities by the 



first clause of Article II which vests him with " the executive power 



of the United States." 



" It v^^ould not consist with the rules of sound construction, to consider 

 this enumeration of particular authorities" (in Article II), wrote Hamilton 

 in the Pacificus Paper, " as derogating from the more comprehensive grant in 

 the general clause, further than as it may be coupled with express restrictions 

 or limitations; as in regard to the cooperation of the Senate in the appoint- 

 ment of officers, and making of treaties ; which are plainly qualifications of 

 the general executive powers of appointing officers and making treaties. The 



15 See infra, sec. 93. 



i^U. S. V. Arjona,' 120 U. S. 479, 483; Moore, Digest, 2: 430. 



1^ Infra, sec. 95. 



