There’s a power grab going on. Governors and mayors are taking it upon themselves to suspend constitutional rights in the name of public health. But do they have the authority?
President Trump recently declared that he has “ultimate authority” to decide when the economy opens back up. He’s wrong, but so are the media. They’ve been screaming for weeks that the president should declare a national lockdown. He’s so far deferred to the states and the governors. Reason would dictate that if he has the power to close down the entire country, he has the power to open it back up. The media have assumed he had the former. Now, they decry his proclamation that he has the authority for the latter.
It appears everybody is wrong.
During the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, governors didn’t involve themselves in matters of closing down economies. In fact, most cities didn’t bring commerce to a screeching halt. Most closed “places of public amusement,” which included movie houses, arcades, lodges, and dance halls, were not closed by the governors. They weren’t even closed by the mayors. According to the Influenza Encyclopedia, it was the public health directors who had that authority, which was given to them by local laws.
In San Francisco, for example, Mayor James Rolph conferred with his public health director, Dr. William Hassler, about closing businesses where people would congregate. It was Hassler, not the mayor, who ordered a quarantine of Spanish flu patients. But not even Hassler had the full authority to close any businesses. After a meeting between the mayor, the health director, and members of the Board of Health, it was the board that voted to close places of public amusement. All other businesses, including restaurants and hotels, would remain open.
This scenario was replicated all across the country. Some cities coordinated staggered business hours to cut down on foot traffic on the sidewalks. Some closed schools, others did not.
It was Hassler, the San Francisco health director, who ordered that all barbers, clerks, druggists, and hotel employees must wear masks. As the health director, he had the sole authority to dictate such edicts to businesses. The Board of Health then issued a strong urging that all citizens do the same, but it did not have the force of law. That only came after the mayor and the health director persuaded the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass a mandatory mask ordinance. California Gov. William Stephens, a Republican, merely watched on from Sacramento, saying it was the “patriotic duty for every American citizen” to wear a mask.
Oh, how times have changed. Now, we have governors issuing stay-at-home orders. It’s not clear they even have that authority. Out of a sense of esprit de corps, we have willingly gone along with these orders to help rid ourselves of the scourge of the coronavirus. Our patience, however, is wearing thin.
Parishioners of a church in Greenville, Mississippi, were initially fined $500 each for participating in a drive-in church service in which they never left their cars. The governor of Kentucky has tried to restrict interstate travel. The governor of Michigan has banned gardening and stopped businesses from even selling seeds for plants. More than 222,000 people have signed a petition supporting her recall.
It should be noted that when someone declares, “I have the authority,” they probably don’t.
Phil Valentine (@ValentineShow) is an award-winning radio talk show host (and now podcaster). He’s the author of three novels and the nonfiction book The Conservative’s Handbook. He broadcasts each weekday afternoon from SuperTalk 99.7FM in Nashville.
