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gentlemen, to give the cooperatives perpetual life, you will have to

give them the equalization fee, I think, or the “salvation fee,” 1

would call it.

Mir. AsweLL. The President vetoed it before. Do you think he
would sign it this time?

Mr. Kenok. That is not a matter, it seems to me, that should
present itself to a Congressman.

Mr. AsweLL. It is a very practical consideration in my opinion
if we really want farm legislation.

Mr. Kenoe. When I was here as a Member of Congress I never
looked to the President; I looked back to my people whom I repre-
sented. I do not understand the attitude on that question—*‘ Let us
strike it out because the President will veto it.” The people back
home hear it said, “What is the use; the President will veto it.”

Mr. Joxes. Do you not think that is true?

Mr. Kenoe. Had the forefathers of this Government quit when
they were driven from New York or when they were driven from
Philadelphia because somebody said, “What is the use; the English
are stronger and they are going to lick us’’—or when Washington
prayed at Valley Forge, there would have been no government and
if somebody had said, when the Civil War was on, after the battle
of Bull Run, “What is the use?”” There would have been no Union.
When the drive was being made on Paris, had the French sald, “What
is the use?” there would have heen no democracy anywhere to-day.

Mr. JoNEs. You are not comparing President Coolidge to King
George?

Mr. Kenoe. T am taking
correct.

Mr. Jones. I agree with you about that.

Mr. Kenoe. The Congress of the United States is governed by the
Constitution. The Constitution nowhere makes necessary the action
of the President to put a law on the statute books.

Mr. WrLLiams. You are wrong about that.

Mr. KEHOE. Let us review the history and see about that and how
the right of veto came about. In the draft of Benjamin Franklin
filed with the Continental Congress July 21, 1775, was the first draft
of a constitution submitted to the Continental Congress. In that he
provided for various and sundry things, but not a veto.

The next was when the Constitutional Convention met. It was
proposed that there be three heads to the Government, functioning,
with the Congress and the Senate, and veto power then vested in one.
Alexander Hamilton, that brilliant financier and great partiot, but
mistaken in his confidence in the people, proposed that the President
should have the right of absolute veto, the same as the King of
England, stating at the time, that there was no fear to arise out of 1t,
because the King had not used it in a hundred years: and it was
seconded by Williams. But it was defeated.

_ Then it passed on two or three weeks, and was again brought up
in the Constitutional Convention. Then they tried to vest it in the
President and the Supreme Court but thai was defeated. That
theory was defeated.
Mr. RuTLEDGE, in that debate said that the power of the veto was
given to the President for protecting himself. Whatever that was
86160—28—SER E. PT 3— 9

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