By virtue of the authority vested in me be section 204 of Part II of the act entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, the following-named persons who have reached the retirement age prescribed for automatic separation from the service, are hereby temporarily exempted from the provisions of that section and continued in the service until August 1, 1932. Name Department or establishment Millard J. Moore Department of Commerce Frank C. Skinner " " Joseph A. Hill " " Jasper S. Bilby " " Stephen J. Kubel Department of the Interior John M. Nickles " " Charles J. Groseclose " " James H. H. Hewett " " William Bertrand Acker " " Timothy W. Stanton " " Mrs. Carrie B. Alien " " Horace M. Sanford Department of State William A. Newcome " " Frank H. Larned " " Miles M. Shand " " Sydney Y. Smith " " George 0. Von Nerta Treasury Department Clarence A. Miller " " Ernest K. Wilkins " " Joseph D. Nevius " " George W. Ashworth " " William D. Heins " " Thomas H. Carroll " " Henry B. Shuman " " George W. Koonce War Department Francis A. Sebring District of Columbia Oscar D. Weed Interstate Commerce Commission James Edward Jones " " " Samuel Keemle " " " John T. Marchand " " " Fred W. Ranno " " " Frank H. Cole Smithsonian Institution Coates W. Shoemaker " " Joseph Michaelson Navy Department George W. Littlehale " " Thomas F. Flanagan " " Oliver P. Murry " " William McLean " " Edgar Wommack " " These temporary exemptions are made so as to afford the time necessary to determine whether the public interest requires that permanent exemptions be granted. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, June 30, 1932.
Executive Order 5873—Temporary Exemption of Persons from Compulsory Retirement for Age
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The following-named persons who have reached the retirement age prescribed for automatic separation from the service, are hereby temporarily exempted from the provisions of that section and continued in the service until August 1, 1932.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Herbert Hoover on June 30, 1932, this order concerns Temporary Exemption of Persons from Compulsory Retirement for Age. The following-named persons who have reached the retirement age prescribed for automatic separation from the service, are hereby temporarily exempted from the provisions of that section and continued in the service until August 1, 1932.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The following-named persons who have reached the retirement age prescribed for automatic separation from the service, are hereby temporarily exempted from the provisions of that section and continued in the service until August 1, 1932.
Von Nerta Treasury Department Clarence A. Miller " " Ernest K. Wilkins " " Joseph D. Nevius " " George W. Ashworth " " William D. Heins " " Thomas H. Carroll " " Henry B. Shuman " " George W. Koonce War Department Francis A. Sebring District of Columbia Oscar D. Weed Interstate Commerce Commission James Edward Jones " " " Samuel Keemle " " " John T. Marchand " " " Fred W. Ranno " " " Frank H. Cole Smithsonian Institution Coates W. Shoemaker " " Joseph Michaelson Navy Department George W. Littlehale " " Thomas F. Flanagan " " Oliver P. Murry " " William McLean " " Edgar Wommack " " These temporary exemptions are made so as to afford the time necessary to determine whether the public interest requires that permanent exemptions be granted.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5873 (June 30, 1932), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5873-temporary-exemption-persons-from-compulsory-retirement-for-age.