Conservatives Back Bricker Proposal; HYDC Attacks It

In preparation for the Political Forum which will open debates in December, two political clubs took formal stands on Senator Bricker's proposed Constitutional Amendment last night. The Amendment will be the first topic for discussion by the forum.

The New Conservative Club voted nine to two in favor of the proposal, which would limit the treaty-making powers of the President, while the executive committee of the Young Democrats was unanimous against it.

Limits Executive Power

The main objective of the Bricker proposal is to prevent the exercise of the Executive Agreement without the express consent of Congress. Gordon A. Martin, Jr. '57, vice-president of the HYDC, called it "a dangerous restriction on the President's powers, incompatible with the world situation today" and emphasized the importance of fast action by the President in emergencies.

Opposing Martin's position is A. LeRoy Ellison '58, spokesman for the New Conservatives, who declared that "putting reins on a horse does not hamstring him; it controls him." William C. Brady, Jr. '57, HNCC president, pointed to the dangers of an excessively powerful Executive to America's "conservative tradition." "If our liberal friends shirk in their duty," he stated, "then we conservatives must lead the way."