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Executive Order 9744 ⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief / War Prerogative Tension

Executive Order 9744-B—Regulations Governing the Furnishing of Clothing in Kind Or Payment of Cash Allowances in Liew Thereof to Enlisted Personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Resere, and the Coast Guard Reserve

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Saturday, June 29, 1946
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6 min read (1,204 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,204 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

By virtue and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Pay Readjustment Act of June 16, 1942 (56 Stat.359, 363), I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the furnishing of clothing in kind, or payment of cast allowances in lieu thereof, to enlisted personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb
Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief / War Prerogative Tension
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments

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 June 29, 1946, this order concerns Regulations Governing the Furnishing of Clothing in Kind Or Payment of Cash Allowances in Liew Thereof to Enlisted Personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Resere, and the Coast Guard Reserve. By virtue and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Pay Readjustment Act of June 16, 1942 (56 Stat.359, 363), I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the furnishing of clothing in kind, or payment of cast allowances in lieu thereof, to enlisted personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve.

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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By virtue and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Pay Readjustment Act of June 16, 1942 (56 Stat.359, 363), I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the furnishing of clothing in kind, or payment of cast allowances in lieu thereof, to enlisted personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve.

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Enlisted men on active duty shall be entitled to clothing in kind or payment of cash allowances in lieu thereof as follows: TABLE Section B. Clothing Allowance. 1.

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The amount of the cash clothing allowances prescribe in subsection A1(6)hereof shall be payable on date of first enlistment or first reporting for active duty, and on date of reenlistment or recall to active duty subsequent to expiration of three months from date of last discharge or release from active duty, shall not actually be paid prior to the expiration of ninety days from and including such dates, or date of completion of recruit training, or date of advancement to chief petty officer or assignment to band, whichever is earlier.

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In closing the accounts of a man discharged or released from active duty within the ninety-day period , credit shall be made only of an amount equal to the value of the clothing actually drawn, but in case to exceed the total allowance payable. 2.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

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

⚖️⚠️ Zone 3 (Lowest Ebb)
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"When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — Federalist No. 47 (1788)

Madison would express grave alarm over this order. By asserting independent authority in tension with legislative limits or the Bill of Rights, the Executive risks collapsing the separation of powers into unilateral rule. Under the Madisonian model, no emergency justifies the Executive substituting its decree for a deliberative Act of Congress.

Madisonian Stance: Strict Dissent (Overreach)
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 purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Vehement Objection
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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.

⚠️ Elevated Constitutional Friction
55 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

High Friction

Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.

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

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Low Friction

Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.

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

High Friction

The order asserts independent Article II prerogative against statutory constraints, reallocates funds without explicit appropriation, or stretches executive power into realms constitutionally reserved to the legislature or judiciary.

Benchmark: Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This directive engages significant constitutional friction across statutory authorization, legislative prerogatives, or individual liberties.

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
1,204
7,139 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
-0.19
Constitutional Friction / Overreach
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Pay Readjustment Act of June 16, 1942 (56 Stat.359, 363), I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the furnishing of clothing in kind, or payment of cast allowances in lieu thereof, to enlisted personnel of the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Naval Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve. Section A. Clothing in Kind or Cash Allowances in Lieu Thereof. Enlisted men on active duty shall be entitled to clothing in kind or payment of cash allowances in lieu thereof as follows: TABLE Section B. Clothing Allowance. 1. The amount of the cash clothing allowances prescribe in subsection A1(6)hereof shall be payable on date of first enlistment or first reporting for active duty, and on date of reenlistment or recall to active duty subsequent to expiration of three months from date of last discharge or release from active duty, shall not actually be paid prior to the expiration of ninety days from and including such dates, or date of completion of recruit training, or date of advancement to chief petty officer or assignment to band, whichever is earlier. In closing the accounts of a man discharged or released from active duty within the ninety-day period , credit shall be made only of an amount equal to the value of the clothing actually drawn, but in case to exceed the total allowance payable. 2. For the purposes of this order, an enlistment in any of the services mention in section A subsequent to discharge from any other of such services shall be considered an reenlistment. An allowance under subsection A1 shall not be payable upon reenlistment within three months from date of last discharge or upon recall to active duty within three months of last release therefrom, except as specified in subsections 5, 6 and 7 of this section. A man reenlisted or recalled to active duty within three month of last discharge or release from active duty, who on date of such discharge or released was checked undrawn clothing allowance in accordance with subsection 1 of this section, shall be entitled to credit for such undrawn clothing allowance. 3. The allowance under subsection A2 shall not be payable to- (a) Enlisted men advanced in rating to chief petty officer while holding a temporary appointment to warrant or commissioned rank. (b) Cooks or stewards on advancement to chief cook or steward. (c) Members of Navy, Naval Academy, or Coast Guard Academy Bands (band members) upon advancement in rating to chief petty officer. 4. An enlisted man reduced in rating from chief petty officer, cook or steward, shall not be required to refund payment previously made in accordance with subsection A2; and shall not be entitled to a second payment on subsequent advancement, or to a payment of quarterly maintenance allowance prior to the date specified in subsection C1 (a) hereof. 5. An enlisted man first reporting for active duty in a status entitling him only to an issue of clothing in kind in accordance with subsection A6 and A9 (b) hereof, upon subsequent transfer to, or reenlistment within three months of last discharge in, another status which, in case of first enlistment or reporting for active duty, would entitle him to a cash clothing allowance as prescribed in subsection A1 hereof, shall be entitled to a credit of such cash clothing allowance without regard to issues in kind in the prior status, except that an enlisted man entitled to a clothing allowance under subsection A9 (b) on first reporting for active duty in time of war or national emergency shall not be so entitled. 6. An enlisted man first reporting for active duty in a status entitling him only to an issue of clothing in kind in accordance with subsection A7 hereof, upon subsequent transfer to, or reenlistment within three months of last discharge in, another status which, in the case of a first enlistment or reporting for active duty, would entitle him to a case clothing allowance as prescribed in subsection A1 hereof, shall be entitled to a credit of such cash clothing allowance without regard to issues in kind in the prior status. 7. Enlisted personnel described in subsection A9 (a), upon discharge from the Naval Reserve (inactive) for the purpose of enlisting in the Regular Navy or Coast Guard within three months from date of such discharge, shall, if reenlisted in any of the applicable ratings, be entitled to a further cash allowance equal to the difference between the cash allowance payable under subsection A1 (a) hereof, and the amount payable under subsection A9 (a), and such enlisted personnel shall, if enlisted in other ratings in the Regular Navy or Coast Guard, within three months from date of such discharge, be entitled to the cash allowances prescribed in subsection A1 (b) hereof. Section C. Quarterly Maintenance Allowance. 1. The quarterly maintenance allowance prescribed in section A hereof shall be payable on the first day of each quarter to: (a) Enlisted men entitled to a clothing allowance under subsections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 of section A, or subsections B5 and B7 hereof, or who are entitled to a clothing allowance under Executive Order 9356 of June 24, 1943, as amended, commencing with the first day of the quarter following the first anniversary of the date on which they were last entitled to such clothing allowance. (b) Enlisted men of the Navy and Coast Guard reenlisting within three months from date of last discharge, enlisted men of the Reserve components transferred to the regular Service, and enlisted men of the Regular and Reserve components on active duty transferred to the Reserve or to the Retired List and retained on active duty or recalled to active duty within three months of release therefrom, at the rate applicable prior to such discharge, transfer, retirement or release, until entitle to a further clothing allowance. 2. Enlisted men of the Naval Reserve undergoing training leading to a commission, enlisted men of the Naval Reserve (inactive) and enlisted men holding temporary appointments to warrant or commissioned rank shall not be entitled to quarterly maintenance allowances. Enlisted men entitled to a clothing allowance on the first day of the quarter shall not be entitled to any quarterly maintenance allowance otherwise due them on that date. 3. The foregoing provisions of this order shall not be applicable to enlisted members of the Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard Reserve. Such members hall, however, be entitled to a special quarterly maintenance allowance for clothing in the amount of $12.50, payable on the first day of each quarter commencing with the first day of the quarter following the first anniversary of the date on which they first report for active duty. This order shall supersede Executive Orders Nos. 9356 of June 24, 1943, 9447 of June 8, 1944, 9465 of August 12, 1944, 9525 of February 28, 1945, 9583 of July 2, 1945, and 9642 of October 18, 1945, and shall be in effect for the fiscal year 1947, except that subsection A10 hereof shall be effective also from August 15, 1945 to June 30, 1946. HARRY S . TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

June 29, 1946

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9744 (June 29, 1946), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9744-b-regulations-governing-the-furnishing-clothing-kind-or-payment-cash.