Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-01-17
senator Carpenter on the Civil Ser
vice Reform.

Prom the proceedings Of the United States
: nate les. Wednesday, We cut the follow
ing
Mr.. Carpenter offered the following Joint
resolution.
WHEREAS. the Constitution Of the nited
states requires the President 90 nominate,
and by and with the consent OF the Senate,
70 appoint all officers Of the United States,
whose appointments are not in said Con
.titutiou otherwise provided for. and which
shall be established by law. subject TO the
power Of Congress By law 70 vest the APP
pointment of such inferior officers es they
may think proper in the President alone, IN
the courts Of law or in the heads Of depIrt-
meats therefore,
Resolved, That any law Or regulation
which Is designed 70 re ieve the President,
and. in the cases pertaining 70 them, the
courts Of law or heads Of Departments Of
the full responsibility of such nominations
Jr appointments is in violation Of the Con-
stitutlon.
Mr. Carpenter then said ! give notice
thu. / Intend to call this up at en- early day
I tor the purpose Of submitting some remarks
On the Ia est political delusion. called " Civil
Service Reform, =" which proposes 70 transfer
the patronage Of the government from the
officers upon whom the Constitution cOnfers
II. and give it to board OF schoolmasters
sitting in Washington. laughter
From the remarks OF Mr.. CArpenter-a
senator from Wisconsin-we infer that he
not only holds that the civil service reyu-
lations adopted by the President are IN
constitutional, bot that they are g de-
fusion. and would be worse than valueless.
even if they were not in conflict with the
provisions Of the Constitution contained in
bis resolution.
Whether, If the regulations we're enacted
into law, such an enactment would be IN
constitutional, is a question undoubtedly not
free from doubt The opinion of the Attor-
ney General accompanying the report Of the
commission, whilo not given upon the par
t.culsr rules reported, went so far as to ex-
press the conviction, that Congress would
have the constitutional right to specify a
class Of persons from which selection was
10 be made and the commission concerned
to that Interpretation of the constitution by
leaving to the President or beads of depart
ments the power Of selection from the three
highest on the list to be ascertained by a
competitive examination The Jenckes'
bill, 80 called, which Senator Edmunds
helped frame, and which he has offered at
the present session, even goes farther, and
provides that the person highest on the list
shall be appointed; and Senator Ednunds
aud Mr.. Jenckes, both good lawyers, hold
that such law would be constitutional
Tue question is not free from doubt, but good
lawyers certainly hold an opinion entirely
different from Senator Carpenters 90 that
point.
But Senator Carpenter evidently goes fur
ther. and holds that it is unconstitutional for
the President to take the advice of q board
OF examIners-Or. as he facetiouslv terms
/ Mr.. Curtis and his commission, s.board OF
seaoolmasters' as to the qualifications of
persons to be appointed to Office. We have
some curiosity to see his reasoning on this
point. The President has always been in
the habit of consulting board of congress-
men sitting at Washington, as to bis ap-
pointments, and, at present, we are unable
to Sc, why be may not, so far as any infrac-
ton of the constitution is concerned, consult
q board of schOolmasters," or any other
board of educated, or even OF uneducated
gentlemen. The Republican delegation in
Congress from Wisconsin control every