Executive Order 10303 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10303—Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between Certain Transportation Systems Operated by the Secretary of the Army and Certain of Their Employees

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Tuesday, November 6, 1951

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2 min read (358 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1951-11-06, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between Certain Transportation Systems Operated by the Secretary of the Army and Certain of Their Employees." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ 10155: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C.

▪ 160), and subject to the provisions of that section, I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate the said dispute.

▪ Nothing in this order shall be construed to derogate from the authority of the Secretary of the Army under the said Executive Order No.

▪ The Board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the said dispute within thirty days from the date of this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments

Total Words

358

2,286 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

19.4

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10303, Harry S Truman (Nov 6, 1951). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10303-creating-emergency-board-investigate-dispute-between-certain.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

WHEREAS a dispute exists between the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, including Buffalo Division (formerly Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway) and Buffalo & Susquehanna District, Chicago & North Western Railway Company, including Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway, Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, and all other carriers represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees, carriers under Federal management, and certain of their employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, a labor organization; and WHEREAS by Executive Order No. 10155 of August 25, 1950, possession, control, and operation of the transportation systems owned or operated by the said carriers, together with the transportation systems owned or operated by certain other carriers, were assumed by the President, through the Secretary of the Army; and WHEREAS the said dispute has not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended; and WHEREAS the said dispute threatens, in the judgment of the national Mediation Board, substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive certain sections of the country of essential transportation service, and also threatens to interfere with the operation by the Secretary of the Army of transportation systems taken pursuant to the said Executive Order No. 10155: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 160), and subject to the provisions of that section, I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate the said dispute. Nothing in this order shall be construed to derogate from the authority of the Secretary of the Army under the said Executive Order No. 10155. The Board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the said dispute within thirty days from the date of this order. In performing its functions under this order the Board shall comply with the requirements of section 502 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, November 6, 1951