The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1868-03-03


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There is 1 very,sids Misrepresentation, on
thepart.of Democikss a9s lepulessns and
everybody, Al to1ae relative riaas q the
President Ard Cdlgesss, ia ne s1ntment,
control and lemosx3 Of nkt1nbers Ufthe Cab.
mel We we're talking within quite intellis
cent man. The other day, <apd he Se9med to
have generally indefinite, but Vfsal very
no.;t;ve conviction thar The csnstisutiop
made the Cabinet odicers<he creasafss OF the
President, to be appointed spd rsNsved by
him. 10 be Of his opinions, to be m harmoni-
Gus relations with him, and that Congress has
nothing to do with them, save, posslbly, TO
sanction their experimentation the rrest
dent had nominated them. Now, the truth
is, the cosssi.adoa sowhere sdisecsiy pro-
vides for the appointment Of members fthe
Cabinet, and it nowhere, either directly OF
indirectly, provides for their removal. "heh
the first President and the first Congress had
10 nut in motion The machinery Of Govern
men, under the existing Constitution, they
found in tina. Constitution no provision at all
for the appointment Of Cabinet. But a.
one clanse ola seciiosg Of MISUNDERSTANDING
sproyided tiat the Preadens .inAY rsqnie The
opinion, ia writing, of-the& principal officer
in each Of the Executive Departments, upon
any subject relating to the duties of their re-
spective Offices 1t was clear that the franz
ers of the Constitution contemplated that
there should be Cabinet So, there being
no more direct provision, the first Cabinet
officers, land SO far as the Constitution il
concerned, all subsequent Cabinet ofReep,1
were appointed under the general clause Of
Section =, Article II-''He Ii. e. the Presi-
dent shall nominate, and. by and with the
advice and consent Of the Senate, shall APP
point 4 aahaEsadnrs, other public Ministers
and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court,
and all other officers of the United States,
whose appointments are not herein otherwise
provided for, and which shall be established
by law; but the Congress may, by law, yes,
the appointment of such inferior officers al
they think proper, in the President alone, in
the courts of law, or in the heads of Depart
men.ssa Sc you see~these officers are mol
appointed by direct provision of the Consti
tuition: they are appointed under the above
general clause, because, their existence hav
ing evidently been contemplated, if they can
not be appointed under that general clause
they cannot be constitntionslly appointed o
all. Notice, further, that there isn't WORD
there as to the removal Of these officers
Notice, also, that it is Congress, not the
President, that creates these and other Of
fees; after the Congress has made the Offices
the President cannot Gil them only as Con-
gress empowers himg And is there dispute
as to whether the President or Congress shall
control and regulate these offices and officers.
Why, the Constitution settles that-in tn.
last clause OF Section 8 Of Article |. it pro-
yides that Congress shall have power: 'Tt
make all laws which shall be necessary ant
proper for carrying into execution the fore
going powers, and all other powers vested b,
the Constitution in the Government Of III,
United States, or in any department or Office
thereof" In pursuance of that power Con
gress has Alright to declare that no Cabine
officer shall be removed during the Presi
dental term in which he was appointed. Or
the other hand, it has right to declare thu
no Cabinet officer shall hold his Office for q
longer term than one month. These Cabinet
officers are officers Of the Government, and
II is Congress, not the President, that has the
right to make the laws which control and reg.
ulate their tenure of Office. Congress has
no discretionary power, in real fact, as to the
exercise Of its power. The Constitution, az
wehave seen, makes il the imperative duty oil
that body to make the laws necessary to carry
out its powers and the. powers of the Gov.
ernment- And if the President seeks to i'm
properly use Cabinet officer, il is not only
the right but the duty of Congress to proven,
that, and control both President and Cabine,
officer BY legislation. Instead, then. of it.
being The President that, under the Cons,itu.
ton has right to control the Cabinet, thai
right belongs exclusively to Congress. The
only shadow of authority in The premises
that the President has, as given even indi.
rectly in the Constitution, is to nominate
them; their confirmation and final appoint.
ment, their qualifications the length Of time
for which they shall hold their place, how,
when, by whom and for what they shall be
removed, their powers--all these matters res,
with The decision and solely within the pow. I
of Congress.
IHr shadow Of the pas, reaches into the
present and makes men afraid. We resd
history and note that in all Of it the remova,