Whereas , in my judgment, the public interest requires that William S. Garland, civil engineer, Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, who, during the month of January, 1939, will reach the retirement age prescribed for automatic separation from the service, applicable to him, be exempted from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year: Now, Therefore , by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 204 of the act of June 30, 1932, 47 Stat. 382, 404 (U.S.C., title 5, sec. 715a), I hereby exempt the said William S. Garland from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending January 31, 1940. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, October 28, 1938.
Executive Order 7995—Exemption of William S. Garland From Compulsory Retirement for Age
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I hereby exempt the said William S. Garland from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending January 31, 1940.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 28, 1938, this order concerns Exemption of William S. Garland From Compulsory Retirement for Age. I hereby exempt the said William S. Garland from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending January 31, 1940.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I hereby exempt the said William S. Garland from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending January 31, 1940.
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
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
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 (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7995 (Oct. 28, 1938), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7995-exemption-william-s-garland-from-compulsory-retirement-for-age.