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Executive Order 9702 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 9702—Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Alton Railroad Company and Other Carriers, and Certain of Their Employees

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Friday, March 8, 1946
•
10 min read (1,920 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 10 min read (1,920 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Harry S Truman on March 8, 1946, this order concerns Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Alton Railroad Company and Other Carriers, and Certain of Their Employees. I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute. No member of the said board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railway employees or any carrier. The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the said dispute within thirty days from the date of this order.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute.

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As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by The Alton Railroad Company and the other carriers, or their employees in the condition out of which the said dispute arose.

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Marie RR Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Ry Mineral Range RR Minnesota Transfer - RR Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR Co. of Texas Missouri Pacific RR Missouri-Illinois RR Northern Pacific Ry (includes former Minnesota & International and Big Fork & International Falls Rys) Northern Pacific Terminal Co. of Oregon Northwestern Pacific RR Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. Oregon, California & Eastern Ry Peoria & Pekin Union Ry Port Terminal R.R. Association Pueblo Union Depot & R.R. Co. St. Joseph Terminal RR St. Louis - San Francisco Ry St. Louis, San Francisco & Texas Ry St. Louis Southwestern Ry St. Louis Southwestern Ry Co. of Texas San Diego & Arizona Eastern Ry Southern Pacific Co. (Pacific Lines) - excluding former El…

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Labor & Employment 🏷️ Infrastructure & Transportation 🏷️ Energy & Environment
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

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.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

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

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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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
1,920
11,655 characters
Estimated Read Time
10 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS a dispute exists between The Alton Railroad Company and other carriers, as set forth in the list attached hereto and made a part hereof, and certain of their employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, labor organizations; and WHEREAS the dispute has not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended; and WHEREAS the dispute, in the judgment of the National Mediation Board, threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive the country of essential transportation service: NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 160), I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute. No member of the said board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railway employees or any carrier. The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the said dispute within thirty days from the date of this order. As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by The Alton Railroad Company and the other carriers, or their employees in the condition out of which the said dispute arose. LIST WESTERN REGION Alton RR Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Ry Pan Handle & Santa Fe Ry Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal RR Belt Railway Company of Chicago Burlington-Rock Island RR Camas Prairie RR Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR Chicago & Illinois Midland Ry Chicago & North Western Ry Chicago & Western Indiana RR Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR Chicago Great Western Ry Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific RR Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern Ry Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Ry Colorado & Southern Ry Denver & Rio Grande Western RR Denver & Salt Lake Ry Des Moines Union Ry Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Ry (Iron Range Div) Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Ry (Missabe Div.)_ Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Ry East St. Louis Junction RR Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Ry Fort Worth & Denver City Ry Wichita Valley Ry Galveston, Houston & Henderson RR Great Northern Ry Green Bay & Western RR Kewaunee, Green Bay & Western RR Ahnapee and Western Ry Gulf Coast Lines-Comprising New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Ry Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Ry Orange & Northwestern Ry St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Ry Iberia, St. Mary & Eastern Ry New Iberia & Northern RR Houston & Brazos Valley Ry San Antonio Southern Ry San Benito & Rio Grande Valley RR Asphalt Belt Ry Houston North Shore Ry International - Great Northern RR Harbor Belt Line RR Houston Belt & Terminal Ry Illinois Central RR Yazoo and Mississippi Valley RR Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Ry Alabama and Vicksburg Ry Gulf and Ship Island RR Chicago and Illinois Western RR Kansas City Southern Ry Kansas City Terminal Ry Los Angeles Junction Ry Louisiana & Arkansas Ry Manufacturers Ry Midland Valley RR Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf Ry Oklahoma City-Ada-Toka Ry Minneapolis & St. Louis Ry Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste. Marie RR Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Ry Mineral Range RR Minnesota Transfer - RR Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR Co. of Texas Missouri Pacific RR Missouri-Illinois RR Northern Pacific Ry (includes former Minnesota & International and Big Fork & International Falls Rys) Northern Pacific Terminal Co. of Oregon Northwestern Pacific RR Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. Oregon, California & Eastern Ry Peoria & Pekin Union Ry Port Terminal R.R. Association Pueblo Union Depot & R.R. Co. St. Joseph Terminal RR St. Louis - San Francisco Ry St. Louis, San Francisco & Texas Ry St. Louis Southwestern Ry St. Louis Southwestern Ry Co. of Texas San Diego & Arizona Eastern Ry Southern Pacific Co. (Pacific Lines) - excluding former El Paso & Southwestern System Southern Pacific Company - former El Paso & Southwestern Southern Pacific Company - former Arizona Eastern South Omaha Terminal Ry Spokane, Portland & Seattle Ry Oregon Trunk Ry Oregon Electric Ry Terminal R.R. Association of St. Louis Texas and New Orleans RR Texas & Pacific Ry Abilene & Southern Ry Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Ry Texas-New Mexico Ry Pecos Valley Southern Ry Texas Short line Ry Texas Mexican Ry Texas Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal R.R. of New Orleans Union Pacific RR Union Railway Co. (Memphis) Union terminal Company (Dallas) Wabash RR Western Pacific RR EASTERN REGION Akron Akron, Canton & Youngstown RR Ann Arbor RR Baltimore & Ohio RR Curtis Bay RR Bessemer & Lake Erie RR Boston and Maine RR Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Bush Terminal RR Canadian National - Lines in New England - (Atlantic & St. Lawrence RR and Lewiston & Auburn RR) United States & Canada Champlain & St. Lawrence RR St. Clair Tunnel Co. Central Vermont Ry Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Ry Chicago Union Station Co. Cincinnati Union Terminal Co. Delaware & Hudson RR. Corp. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR Detroit & Toledo Shore Line RR Detroit, Toledo & Ironton RR Detroit Terminal RR Erie RR Grand Trunk Western RR Huntington & Broad Top Mountain R.R. & Coal Co. Indianapolis Union Ry Jay Street Connecting RR Lake Terminal RR Lehigh & New England RR Lehigh Valley RR McKeesport Connecting RR Maine Central RR Portland Terminal Company Monongahela Ry Montour RR New York Central RR (Full Line Agreement) Buffalo and East West of Buffalo Ohio Central Division (including K&M District) Federal Valley Michigan Central RR Canada Division Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Ry Peoria & Eastern Ry Louisville & Jefferson Bridge & RR Boston & Albany RR Indiana Harbor Belt RR Chicago River & Indiana RR Chicago Junction Ry Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR Lake Erie & Eastern RR Cleveland Union Terminals New York, Chicago & St. Louis RR New York Dock Ry New York, New Haven & Hartford RR Pennsylvania RR Long Island RR Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Pere Marquette Ry Fort Street Union Depot Company Pittsburgh & West Virginia Ry Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghlogheny Ry Reading Company River Terminal Ry Staten Island Rapid Transit Ry Union Depot Company (Columbus) Union Freight RR (Boston) Washington Terminal Company Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry Lorain & West Virginia Ry SOUTHEASTERN REGION Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast RR Atlantic Coast Line RR Atlanta & West Point RR Western Railway of Alabama Atlanta Joint Terminals Central of Georgia Ry Charleston & Western Carolina Ry Chesapeake & Ohio Ry (including Hocking Division) Clinchfield RR Florida East Coast Ry Georgia RR Gulf, Mobile & Ohio RR Jacksonville Terminal Company Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR Louisville & Nashville RR Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line RR Norfolk & Western Ry Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac RR (includes Potomac Yards) Seaboard Air Line Ry Southern Ry System (includes State University RR) Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Ry Alabama Great Southern (includes Woodstock & Blocton Ry, and Belt Ry of Chattanooga) New Orleans & Northeastern RR Georgia Southern & Florida Ry Harriman & Northeastern RR Cincinnati, Burnside & Cumberland River Ry New Orleans Terminal St. John's River Terminal Virginian Ry Winston-Salem Southbound Ry OTHER CARRIERS Alton & Southern RR Atlanta & St. Andres Bay Ry Alabama State Docks Alabama, Tennessee & Northern RR Algers, Winslow & Western Ry Apalachicola Northern RR Ashley, Drew & Northern Ry Atlantic & East Carolina Ry Atlantic & Yadkin Ry Baltimore & Annapolis RR Barre & Chelsea RR Beaver, Meade & Englewood RR Benwood & Wheeling Connecting Ry Berlin Mills Ry Birmingham Southern RR Boston Terminal Co. Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Ry Blue Ridge Ry Columbia, Newberry & Laurens RR Colorado & Wyoming Ry California State Belt RR California Western RR & Navigation Co. Campbell's Creek RR Canton RR Carolina & Northwestern Ry Chattanooga Traction Co. Chicago, Attica & Southern RR Chicago Short Line Ry Chicago, South Shore & South Bend RR Chicago, West Pullman & Southern RR Columbia Union Station Columbus & Greenville Ry Copper Range RR Cornwall RR Cumberland & Pennsylvania RR Cowlitz Chehalis & Cascade Ry Cuyahoga Valley Ry Central Railroad Company of New Jersey Chicago, Aurora & Elgin RR Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee RR Danville & Western Ry Des Moines & Central Iowa RR Delray Connecting RR Detroit & Mackinac Ry Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Ry East St. Louis Junction RR East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Co. Escanaba & Lake Superior RR East Erie Commercial RR East Tennessee & Western North Carolina RR Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Ry Fore River RR Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville RR Frankfort & Cincinnati RR Gainesville Midland RR Georgia & Florida RR High Point, Randalman, Ashboro & Southern RR Hudson & Manhattan RR Illinois Northern Ry Illinois Terminal RR Jacksonville, Gainesville & Gulf Ry Interstate RR Kelley's Creek & Northwestern RR Kansas City Connecting RR Kansas City, Kaw Valley RR Litchfield & Madison Ry Lake Superior & Ishpeming RR Lakeside and Marblehead RR LaSalle & Bureau County RR Lehigh & Hudson River Ry Lake Champlain & Moriah RR Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley RR Live Oak, Perry & Gulf RR Longview, Portland & Northern Ry Louisiana & North West RR Manufacturers' Junction (Chicago) Ry Memphis Union Station Monongahela Connecting RR Minneapolis Eastern Ry Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Ry Monessen & Southwestern Ry Macon, Dublin & Savannah RR Manistee & Northeastern Ry Maryland & Pennsylvania RR McCloud River RR Meridian & Bigbee River Ry Midland Terminal Ry Mississippi Central RR Missouri & Arkansas Ry Montpelier & Wells River RR Mount Hood RR Nashville Terminals New York, Susquehanna & Western RR New York Dock Ry Niagara Junction Ry Northampton & Bath RR Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line RR New Orleans & Lower Coast RR New Orleans Public Belt RR NewYork, Ontario & Western Ry Newburg & South Shore Ry Norfolk Southern Ry Northeast Oklahoma RR Orange, Pacific & Eastern Orange Southern Oregon & Northwestern RR Patapsco & Back Rivers RR Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England RR Pittsburg, Lisbon & Western RR Port Utilities Commission of South Carolina Pullman RR Petaluma & Santa Rose RR Piedmont Northern Ry Port Angeles & Western RR Pacific Electric Ry Portland Electric Power Co. Pacific Coast RR Pittsburgh & Shawmut RR Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern RR Paris & Mt. Pleasant RR Quanah, Acme & Pacific Ry Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Ry Raritan River RR Rutland RR Rapid City, Black Hills & Western RR San Francisco & Napa Valley RR Savannah Union Station Southern Pacific Co. of Mexico Sand Springs Ry Spokane Union Station Sacramento Northern Ry Savannah & Atlanta Ry Sierra RR South Buffalo Ry Spokane International RR St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain RR Steelton & Highspire RR Sumpter Valley Ry Susquehanna & New York RR St. Joseph Union Depot Co. Texas City Terminal Ry Tavares & Gulf RR Tennessee Central Ry Tennessee RR Tidewater Southern Ry Toledo Terminal RR Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Ry Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks Union Freight Railroad Boston Union Belt of Detroit Union Terminal Railroad of St. Joseph Utah RR Union Railroad Company (Pittsburgh) Wichita Falls & Southern RR Williamiana & Grande Ronde Ry Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern RR Western Maryland Ry Wichita Terminal Association Yadkin RR Yosemite Valley Ry Yakima Valley Transportation Co. Youngstown & Northern RR Youngstown & Southern Ry HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

March 8, 1946

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9702 (Mar. 8, 1946), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9702-creating-emergency-board-investigate-dispute-between-the-alton.