Executive Order 9878 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9878—Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and Certain of Its Employees

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Thursday, July 31, 1947

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1 min read (247 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 1947-07-31, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and Certain of Its Employees." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ 160), I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute.

▪ No member of the said board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railway employees or any carrier.

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

▪ As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the Terminal Railroad Association of St.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities

Total Words

247

1,480 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

15.8

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9878, Harry S Truman (Jul 31, 1947). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9878-creating-emergency-board-investigate-dispute-between-the-terminal.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

WHEREAS a dispute exists between the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, a carrier, and certain of its employees represented by the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, a labor organization; and WHEREAS this dispute has not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended; and WHEREAS this dispute, in the judgment of the national Mediation Board, threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce within the State of Missouri, to a degree such as to deprive that portion of the country of essential transportation service: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 160), I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute. No member of the said board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railway employees or any carrier. The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the said dispute within thirty days from the date of this order. As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis or its employees in the conditions out of which the said dispute arose. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, July 31, 1947