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and, if we could, I am not convinced it would be wise to do so, although many modern nations
have forthrightly recognized that war and economic crises may upset the normal balance between
liberty and authority. Their experience with emergency powers may not be irrelevant to the
argument here that we should say that the Executive, of his own volition, can invest himself with
undefined emergency powers.
Germany, after the First World War, framed the Weimar Constitution, designed to secure
her liberties in the Western tradition. However, the President of the Republic, without
concurrence of the Reichstag, was empowered temporarily to suspend any or all individual rights
if public safety and order were seriously disturbed or endangered. This proved a temptation to
every government, whatever its shade of opinion, and in 13 years suspension of rights was
invoked on more than 250 occasions. Finally, Hitler persuaded President Von Hindenberg
Hindenburg? Please check original .to suspend all such rights, and they were never restored.
[Ibid. at 64951.]
In the practical working of our Government we already have evolved a technique within
the framework of the Constitution by which normal executive powers may be considerably
expanded to meet an emergency. Congress may and has granted extraordinary authorities which
lie dormant in normal times but may be called into play by the Executive in war or upon
proclamation of a national emergency. In 1939, upon congressional request, the Attorney General
listed ninety-nine such separate statutory grants by Congress of emergency or wartime executive
powers. They were invoked from time to time as need appeared. Under this procedure we retain
Government by law--special, temporary law, perhaps, but law nonetheless. The public may