The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-02-10

ation shall be made any clerk other officer By reason
of the discharge Of duties which belong Any other clerk
officer in the any other department. allow
compensation shall be made for any services
whatever which clerk Or other officer be required to
perform. STATUTES at Large, vol. 5, p. 525
Now the language of this statute to be observed
that allowance compensation shall be paid TO any
clerk other officer by reason OF the discharge Of duties
which belong 10 any other clerk" Ay, cir that is where
the argument hsls That is the very error upon which
the argument upon the other side Is constructed The
duties of Asbury Dickins Secretary Of State did not
belong to any other clerk They belonged 70 him not as
pointed according law The statute of F92 provides
in that the President may authorize him per-
form the duties of the Office of Secretary of State and
when has selected and authoritarian by his commits
sion and the regular Secretary Of State absent the d
ties of the oce his duties peculiarly under the law
whatever II any other clerk comes into that office and
undertake, interfere with him. control him. he has
the right ol,feT ndnus imPosa to put him out of the
place and keep him out Of his presence the na ;. ,nen
is his power as% naI the s pog Ns
.oments and pay No man can pEoperly interfere with
him while the eonstita'onay appointed Secretary Of
State abss Or incapable Of performing the duties Of
the ONCE; When re returns, again able TO perform
the aeie they under the law be the duties of the
officer ad INTERIM and henceor,h the duties of the
stitutons sppoinee and he them and performs
them.
That is all there is of this twelfth section of the
ls42 The gentleman seems 10 forget that when man is
appointed according TO law and when the law has cast
devoved the duties Of certain cice place npou him,
in performing those duties he Ia not charging the duties
of another, but u dischargDg his duties under his
own responsibility to the law by which hes appointed
and by which he is entitled to pay andcompensation. GEN
emen shall not drive into false position upon the
Dckns case can avoid it. They undertake to cry
down. because, they say, we give double pay The way
that is TO be prevented sir is by egsatng against plu
rality of Offices and if my friends will not let have
double pay, they should not let him hold plurality Of
offices or places.
One word more in reference to that twelfth section:
allowance comnensation shall ba moda for dis
charging the duties which belong any other clerk Off
in the other department, and allowance
compensation shall be made for ertra chat
FORM"
These are not ara Services They are legitn ate Ger
vices belonging to the office cast by law upon the Office
and which the holding the office is by law bound
perform extra services but the regular
pertaining to the oice the failure TO perform which is
ton for such services these There regular
in the regular and legitimate line of the office which the
authorized and commissioned by the President in pur-
of The ninth section of the act of 1892 fills for the
time being.
Extra services are services which man is not by law,
bound to prformservices not legally cast upon him,
but performed for the general public convenience We
have frequently Iaid for such services remember
eral where clerks have worked beyond and
office hours making maps in regard TO the public lands
answering calls OF the houses Of Congress- and similar
but this is not any such case and gentleman
here think, fails to see the distinction.
will join gentlemen here who make complaint of pay
ing for the performance OF the duties Of Offices in
disabling them By law from holding the two Offices
The issue between us Is what do we this APP Ii
cant according to existing aws3-not whether the laws
existing when these services performed the best
that could be? Do owe and will pay, legal claim
upon uj7-and not whether we will change the law SO
that such claims he made upon in future2 The
opponents of this claim their time in Withholding
debt legally due by statute which they ought be
ployng in enactiog statute prevent such claim in
the flture and Icanhot allow them to change the issue
make with them
Now il happens, there two statutes passed after
the services in this case were performed which exactly
in point and which break up the system Of plurality in
particular which referred to therein. The first
is United States Statutes at Large page $40 section
d. 1t approved March le49 and it provides that
clerk other officer shall receive the salary of any
Secretary bead of bureau for acting having acted in
his place Office while said Secretary head of bureau
receives such salary Now, sir that is in point and
such cases as this happening ter s mt The other
statute is in the same volume page 542 and is as follows
"For the payment Richard Rush of the balance
tanned to be due by the accounting officers of the treasury
for his salary Attorney General Of the United States
the satisfaction of which there is appropriation, $3.50 So
rim in Mr. Wits absence inability; and be paid
just as the court propose we shall pay Mr. Dickins Then
the prov which read covering such claims
this for services after its passages
"rorided homerr, That hereafter the proper account
ing officers of the treasury other pay officer of the
United States shall in allow pay to Individual
the salaries Of different offices account of having
formed the duties thereof at the same time"
This law was approved the aoth of September, 1850.
Here the hammer fell
Mr. HAVEN. propose to offer TO amend the motion c
the gentleman from Ohio that This committee shall
ommend the House with the Court Of Claims
stead of with the Committee OF Claims believe that
ton entities me TO FIVE minutes more.
The CHAIRMAN. the amendment is not in order at
this time The gentleman from Louisiana Mr.. TAYLOR is
entitled to the floor
Mr. HAVEN 1t is entirely legitimate to debate amend
mens under the hveminue rule and whenever the gen.
tem.n from Louisiana gets the floor he make his hour
speech.
Mr. TAYLOR. When the ten minutcl fixed for the ter
minaon of debate expires, am not then entitled to the
floor? 1875
The CHAIRMAN The Chair is of opinion that the
amendment OF the gentleman from New York is not in
order at this time and that the gentleman from Louisiana
is entitled to the floor to make his hour speech and
debate After that amendments and fvemnute speeches
will he in order. ~s Ga
Mr. HAVEN the gentleman from Louisiana will per-
init me- ard no objection is made would like five minutes
more TO finish my remarks.
Mr.. TAYLOR yielded, and there objection
MIR. HAVEN only desire to conclude sentence or
two on which engaged Congress, in granting pay
ment to Mr. Rush, under precisely the
in reference TO the Attorney Generals Office in which Mr.
Dickns stands in reference TO the off OF the Secretary
State and Secretary of the Treasury povso and
makes the law have just read.
Now that provision, agree, meets the precise 1t
Is the plaster for which my friend from Virginia mir.
LErcHER has been SO long hunting and which exactly s
the in this case that he is faithfully endeavorng
doctor and heal. From that time, which September
30, 1850, agree, any man who has held two Offices and
discharged the duties of BOTH in the department
otherwise under the government is entitled to pay for
more than one OF these Offices The statute says so in
terms These two statutes in lsia and the other in
1850, the first statutes which find statute
books against pluraities Of Offices and although l2h
section OF the statute of 1912 only provides as said be-