The civil service rules are hereby amended as indicated below. Rule VI, paragraph 1, is amended to read as follows by eliminating the words "and widows of such, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines, who themselves are not qualified but whose wives are qualified for appointment," from the second sentence which relates to the addition of five points to earned ratings in examinations for entrance to the classified service, and inserting the words "and widows of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines who themselves are not qualified, but whose wives are qualified for appointment," after the words "Veterans' Bureau" in the third sentence: 1. Examination papers shall be rated on a scale of 100, and the subjects therein shall be given such relative weights as the commission may prescribe. Honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines shall have five points added to their earned ratings in examinations for entrance to the classified service. Applicants for entrance examination who, because of disability, are entitled either to a pension by authorization of the Bureau of Pensions or to compensation or training by the Veterans' Bureau, and widows of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines who themselves are not qualified, but whose wives are qualified for appointment, shall have ten points added to their earned ratings. In examinations where experience is an element of qualifications, time spent in the military or naval service of the United States during the World War or the war with Spain shall be credited in an applicant's ratings where the applicant's actual employment in a similar vocation to that for which he applies was temporarily interrupted by such military or naval service but was resumed after his discharge. Competitors shall be duly notified of their ratings. Rule VI, paragraph 2, is amended to read as follows by adding the words underscored: 2. All competitors rated at 70 or more shall be eligible for appointment, and their names shall be placed on the proper register, according to their ratings; but the names of disabled veterans, their wives, and the widows of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines shall be placed above all others. Rule XII, paragraph 5, is amended, by addition of the words underscored, to read as follows: 1. In harmony with statutory provisions, when reductions are being made in the force, in any part of the classified service, no employee entitled to military preference in appointment shall be discharged or dropped or reduced in rank or salary if his record is good, or if his efficiency rating is equal to that of any employee in competition with him who is retained in the service. CALVIN COOLIDGE The White House, March 2, 1929.
Executive Order 5068 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 5068—Amendment of Civil Service Rule VI
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (462 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The civil service rules are hereby amended as indicated below.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Calvin Coolidge on March 2, 1929, this order concerns Amendment of Civil Service Rule VI. The civil service rules are hereby amended as indicated below. Rule VI, paragraph 1, is amended to read as follows by eliminating the words "and widows of such, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines, who themselves are not qualified but whose wives are qualified for appointment," from the second sentence which relates to the addition of five points to earned ratings in examinations for entrance to the…
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
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The civil service rules are hereby amended as indicated below.
▪
Rule VI, paragraph 1, is amended to read as follows by eliminating the words "and widows of such, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines, who themselves are not qualified but whose wives are qualified for appointment," from the second sentence which relates to the addition of five points to earned ratings in examinations for entrance to the classified service, and inserting the words "and widows of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, and wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines who themselves are not qualified, but whose wives are qualified for appointment," after the words "Veterans' Bureau" in the third sentence: 1.
▪
Examination papers shall be rated on a scale of 100, and the subjects therein shall be given such relative weights as the commission may prescribe.
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Honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines shall have five points added to their earned ratings in examinations for entrance to the classified service.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
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.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
Alexander Hamilton
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.
Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM
George Mason
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.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
43 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
462
2,865 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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I Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America, pursuant to the authority vested in me by law, do hereby amend Executive Order No. 4846-A, dated March 30, 1928, to include the assignment of the frequencies of 6120 kilocycles and 9550 kilocycles for use by Station…
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5068 (Mar. 2, 1929), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5068-amendment-civil-service-rule-vi.
