aken that the
money granted by Congress shall be faithfully and economically applied.

Under the Federal Constitution "every bill which shall have passed the
House of Representatives and the Senate shall, before it become a law."
be approved and signed by the President; and if not approved, "he shall
return it with his objections to that House in which it shall have
originated." In order to perform this high and responsible duty,
sufficient time must be allowed the President to read and examine
every bill presented to him for approval. Unless this be afforded,
the Constitution becomes a dead letter in this particular, and, even
worse, it becomes a means of deception. Our constituents, seeing the
President's approval and signature attached to each act of Congress,
are induced to believe that he has actually performed his duty, when
in truth nothing is in many cases more unfounded.

From the practice of Congress such an examination of each bill as the
Constitution requires has been rendered impossible. The most important
business of each session is generally crowded into its last hours, and
the alternative presented to the President is either to violate the
constitutional duty which he owes to the people and approve bills which
for want of time it is impossible he should have examined, or by his
refusal to do this subject the country and individuals to great loss
and inconvenience. Besides, a practice has grown up of late years to
legislate in appropriation bills at the last hours of the session on new
and important subjects. This practice constrains the President either
to suffer measures to become laws which he does not approve or to
incur the risk of stopping the wheels of the Government by vetoing
an appropriation bill. Formerly such bills were confined to specific
appropriations for carrying into effect existing laws and the
well-established policy of the country, and little time was then
required by the President for their examination.

For my own part, I have deliberately determined that I shall approve no
bills which I have not examined, and it will be a case of extreme and
most urgent necessity which shall ever induce me to depart from this
rule. I therefore respectfully but earnestly recommend that the two
Houses would allow the President at least two days previous to the
adjournment of each session within which no new bill shall be presented
to him for approval. Under the existing joint rule one day is allowe