The age requirements for entrance to examinations under the Civil Service Rules be, and they are hereby, waived to permit Otto K. Olesen to participate in the competitive civil-service examination for the position of postmaster at Los Angeles, California.
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 20, 1955, this order concerns Waiving the Age Requirements To Permit Otto K. Olesen To Compete in the Competitive Civil-Service Examination for the Position of Postmaster at Los Angeles, California. The age requirements for entrance to examinations under the Civil Service Rules be, and they are hereby, waived to permit Otto K. Olesen to participate in the competitive civil-service examination for the position of postmaster at Los Angeles, California.
The age requirements for entrance to examinations under the Civil Service Rules be, and they are hereby, waived to permit Otto K. Olesen to participate in the competitive civil-service examination for the position of postmaster at Los Angeles, California.
Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of section 2 of the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403, 404), it is hereby ordered that the age requirements for entrance to examinations under the Civil Service Rules be, and they are hereby, waived to permit Otto K. Olesen to participate in the competitive civil-service examination for the position of postmaster at Los Angeles, California. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
January 20, 1955.
Other executive actions signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower around this period.
Of Executive Order No. 10524 of March 31, 1954, delegating certain functions of the President respecting school-construction assistance, is hereby amended to read as follows: SECTION 1.
Dwight D. Eisenhower There is hereby established the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall be composed of five members, as follows: (a) One representative of the Civil Service Commission, to be designated by the…
Dwight D. Eisenhower The following-named persons are hereby appointed, or continued in their appointment, as members of the Quetico-Superior Committee, which was created by Executive Order No. 6783 of June 30, 1934, and the existence of which has been extended from time to time, the last extension…
Dwight D. Eisenhower Establishment and composition of Commission. There is hereby established a Commission which shall be known as the President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, and which shall be composed of a Chairman and six other members, all of whom shall be designated by the President.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Section 2 of Executive Order No. 10296 of October 2, 1951 (16 F. R. 10103), as amended, entitled "Providing for the Performance of Certain Defense Housing and Community Facilities and Services Functions", be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: 2.
Dwight D. Eisenhower The Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, a charitable membership organization incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, is hereby designated as successor in interest to deceased persons in accordance with and for the purposes of subsection (h) of section 32 of…
Dwight D. Eisenhower Exec. Order No. 10,591 (Jan. 20, 1955), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10591-waiving-the-age-requirements-permit-otto-k-olesen-compete-the.
