The Civil Service Commission may, in its discretion, authorize the appointment of civilian employees attached to military organizations sent to Europe, without reference to the requirements of the Civil Service Law and Rules.
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Woodrow Wilson on May 11, 1917, this order concerns Civil Service Commission Authorized to Permit Appointment of Civilians. The Civil Service Commission may, in its discretion, authorize the appointment of civilian employees attached to military organizations sent to Europe, without reference to the requirements of the Civil Service Law and Rules. The Civil Service Commission recommends the issuance of this order.
The Civil Service Commission may, in its discretion, authorize the appointment of civilian employees attached to military organizations sent to Europe, without reference to the requirements of the Civil Service Law and Rules.
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
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
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.
The Civil Service Commission may, in its discretion, authorize the appointment of civilian employees attached to military organizations sent to Europe, without reference to the requirements of the Civil Service Law and Rules. The Civil Service Commission recommends the issuance of this order. WOODROW WILSON
May 11, 1917
Other executive actions signed by Woodrow Wilson around this period.
Through the Secretary of the Navy, there be taken over to the United States the immediate possession and title of and to the German vessel Odenwald and the German vessel Praesident, now lying in the harbor of San Juan, in the Island of Porto Rico, and until further directions…
Woodrow Wilson The following-described lands in the State of Arizona be, and they are hereby, reserved from all forms of disposal and set aside temporarily until allotments in severalty can be made to the Navajo Indians living thereon, or until some other provision can be made for their…
Woodrow Wilson In accordance with a request of the Secretary of the Navy, concurred in by the United States Shipping Board, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to transfer the German vessel Atlas, now at San Francisco, to the commandant of the twelfth naval district, for use in…
Woodrow Wilson Civil Service Rule IX is hereby amended by numbering the present rule as a paragraph and adding the following paragraph: 2. A person resigning a scientific, professional, or technical position in the competitive service in which he has acquired training and experience not to be…
Woodrow Wilson In accordance with a request of the Secretary of the Navy, concurred in by the United States Shipping Board, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to transfer the following German vessels to the Navy for use as colliers and cargo carriers: Hohenfelde. Kiel. Breslau.
Woodrow Wilson It is hereby authorized that, through the Secretary of the Navy, there shall be taken over to the United States the immediate possession and title to the German vessels Kronprinz Wilhelm and Prinz Eitel Friedrieh, now at the navy yard, Philadelphia, the Liebenfels, now at the…
Woodrow Wilson Exec. Order No. 2617 (May 11, 1917), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2617-civil-service-commission-authorized-permit-appointment-civilians.
