quite apparent that such a power ought not to exist, and that the people having expressed themselves at the ballot box should through the Representatives then selected, be able to select the President for the ensuing term. If the amendment we have proposed is adopted and becomes a part of the Constitution, such a condition could not happen, and in such a case the new House of Representatives fresh from the people would be the one upon which would devolve the power to select the new President.

Section 3 of the proposed amendment gives Congress the power to provide by law who shall act as President in a case where the election of a President has been thrown into the House of Representatives and the House has failed to elect a President and the Senate has likewise failed to elect a Vice President. The importance of this can be understood when we realize that under the present Constitution if the election of President and Vice President should be thrown into Congress on account of a failure of the Electoral College to elect, and that the House should fail within the time specified in the Constitution to elect a President, and the Senate should likewise fail during such time to elect a Vice President, the country would be left entirely without a Chief Magistrate and without any means of selecting one. This condition has, it is true, never happened in the history of the country, and while it may never happen, it does seem very important that some constitutional provision be enacted by which this most dangerous emergency may be avoided. The present Constitution gives power to Congress to provide who shall act as President when there is a vacancy both in the President's office and the Vice President's office caused by death, removal, or resignation, but there is no provision in the present Constitution that gives to Congress or any other authority the power to select an acting President in cases where the election has been thrown into the House of Representatives and where the House of Representatives has failed to elect a President, and the Senate has likewise failed to elect a Vice President. If such a contingency should occur, and it is liable to occur after any presidential election, the country would find itself in a condition where it would be impossible for a Chief Magistrate to be selected. The committee has corrected this defect by giving to Congress in section 3 of the proposed amendment the authority to select the acting President in such an emergency.

The question is sometimes asked, Why is an amendment to the Constitution necessary to bring about this desirable change? The Constitution does not provide the date when the terms of Senators and Representatives shall begin. It does fix the term of Senators at six years and of Members of the House of Representatives at two years. The commencement of the terms of the first President and Vice President and of Senators and Representatives composing the First Congress was fixed by an act of Congress adopted September 13, 1788, and that act provided "that the first Wednesday in March next be the time for commencing proceedings under the Constitution." It happened that the first Wednesday in March was the 4th day of March, and hence the terms of the President and Vice President and Members of Congress begin on the 4th day of March. Since the Constitution provides that the term of Senators shall be six years and the term of Members of the House of Representatives two years,

it follows that this change can not be made without changing the terms of office of Senators and Representatives, which would in effect be a change of the Constitution. By another act (the act of March 1, 1792) Congress provided that the terms of President and Vice President should commence on the 4th day of March after their election. It seems clear, therefore, that an amendment to the Constitution is necessary to give relief from existing conditions.

SENATE

72D CONGRESS 1st Session

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REPORT
No. 27

TO REIMBURSE THE CITY OF BALTIMORE FOR CIVIL WAR EXPENSES

JANUARY 4. 1932.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. ASHURST, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. J. Res. 8]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the resolution (S. J. Res. 8) authorizing and directing the Comptroller General of the United States to reopen, adjust, and settle the accounts of the city of Baltimore for advances made by the city in 1863 for the construction of works of defense, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the joint resolution do pass without amendment.

A resolution almost identical with the resolution as now reported passed the Senate on May 28, 1928 (S. Res. 246), and resulted in an audit by the Comptroller General of the United States on May 3, 1930, wherein the Comptroller General found, pursuant to said resolution, that there was due the city of Baltimore the sum of $174,034.31. (See copy of said audit of May 3, 1930.)

Upon receipt of said audit, Senator Tydings on May 6, 1930, requested the Comptroller General to draft a bill or joint resolution which, if enacted, would result in the claim being certified to Congress in such a way as to insure its incorporation in a deficiency bill as a certified claim; and the sole object in the passage of the present joint resolution, which was drafted by the Comptroller General of the United States, is to accomplish this purpose.

In other words, the resolution which passed the Senate on May 28, 1928, was a plain Senate resolution, while the present resolution is a joint resolution which, when passed by both Houses, will constitute an act of Congress, and the claim of the city of Baltimore a certified claim germane to an appropriation bill, in the same manner as other claims certified to Congress by the audit of the Comptroller General.

This will be in line with the payment of the first installment of the claim of the city, which was paid as a certified claim in the sundry

Mr. WALCOTT, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1]

The Committee on Banking and Currency, to which was referred the bill (S. 1) to provide emergency financing facilities for banks and other financial institutions and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass as amended.

The Secretary of the Treasury has expressed his views in the following letter to the chairman of the committee:

Hon. PETER NORBECK,

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY,
Washington, December 22, 1981.

Chairman Committee on Banking and Currency of the Senate.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I have your letter of December 12 inclosing a copy of S. 1, a bill to provide emergency financing facilities for banks and other financial institutions, and other purposes, and requesting the opinion of this department as to the proposed bill.

I am satisfied that the need exists for the creation of the corporation contemplated in the bill. The mere existence of such an instrumentality, furnished with adequate resources and enabled to deal with any weakness that may develop in our credit structure, should have a reassuring effect on public confidence and a stimulating influence on the resumption of the normal flow of credit into the channels of business and commerce.

"

I understand that the governor of the Federal Reserve Board has suggested an amendment to section 5 with a view to defining somewhat more accurately the term "other financial institution. I approve of this amendment. I understand further that Mr. Meyer has suggested that the loans to steam railroads provided for in section 5 should be made only subject to the approval and recommendation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. This seems to me a most desirable amendment.

The Treasury Department approves of the bill and trusts that it may receive early and favorable consideration by the Banking and Currency Committee of the Senate.

Very sincerely yours,

A. W. MELLON, Secretary of the Treasury.