, 1876-03-30


tic poraon nominated hos beon, in faot, se-
lcctca l'y themselves, tho confirmation Is ut
once made without further caro- or inquiry; IL
they say that tho President mntlo tho nomI-
nation without consulting them, and That
they Ind n,ndo another selection for tho Of
1co, then tho nomination Is promptly reject
cd or tho President In ntlyisol 10 withdraw 1t,
and to sent1 in tho na1no Of tho rorson select
cd by tho Senator whose reelection 1nny 10
promoted by the mid OF tho officer. 1t liz
using mild term to nay that thin ID II bur-
1csque OF tho Constitution. It is m usurpa-
ton by tho Senate which might bo termed
acanda1ous aud disgraccful II 1t woro not
in fact criminal. Ii the place to bo filled
ia local to Congressional District, and
that district In represented by member
Of tho party, then ho diosntos the person to
10 appointed; ho notifies tho President, anil,
If tho President disrcgartls tho dictatlon,
tile Senator takes up tlls case, informs the
Scnnlo that tho President is usurping
power belonging to representative in Con-
gross, and forthwith, tho Senate refuses to
confirm tho Executive nomination. Tint is
the way In which tho Senate treats the pro-
vision Of tho Constitution wllicl confers
upon tho PRECEDENT the exclusive powor To
appoint Federal officers.
This transfer Of tho appointing power from
tho Executive to tho members Of Congress-
has been tho greatest political cn1n1nity tint
has over bofallen tho United States, except
tho Rebellion. It has degraded tho Executive
branch Of tho Government; It las lowered
In c$rrrtnrf1 rE r.nr.rrat ~, ~rote t,.
tollectual ability IN Congress, md is con-
vcrting the civil Service into don Of thioves.
It has corrupted tho politics Of tho country.
It has changed tho Caucus into an auctiou-
room. It has brought from tho slums as
pirants for oflicc Of honor and trust. It hos
made mombors Of Congress- (all too willing)
purchase nominations by promises Of
appointments In tho service Of the Govern
ment, whom no consideration could induce
into their own employment. h1ombors Of
Congress 60 to Washington under mort
gaso Of all tho Federal appointments In thoir
districts to mon whom thoy know to bo in
competent or personally dishonest; to men
whose sole recommendation is that they can
pack nominating conventions, intimidate op-
position, stuff ballot.boxes, forge election
returns, and generally make elections utterly
corrupt
It is striking illustration Of this system
that Of all the Federal revenue officers in tho
State of Illinois appointed by the Senators
aud Representatives in Congress moro than
half OF them aro now either under conviction
Of Official crime, or under indictment, or are
fugitives in foreign countries, Or hayo been
! dlsulisscd for un1tness.
These members Of Congress whom elected
talo their pledges to Washington and submit
them to the President, and demand that he
redeem them, md threaten him that if he
daro to nominate any other persons they will
nppenl to the Senate and 1avo the uomina-
tons rejected The President has 10 a1ter-
native but to submit. Tho Scnate stands
combined in solid phalanx for tho prcscrya-
tion Of tho common usurpation. The Con-
atitution is violated the civil service vitiated;
men take Office from tho Congressman they
hayo mado by fair or foul means, md thoy
tako the Office for what money they can make
ont Of it, honestly and dishonesty. Que
great consideration in fayor of tho elective
System is, that, in caso mAn is elected
Senator or Representative WHO is unfit for
tho Office, d chnngo can 10 malo ut tho no1t
election; but this is defeated by this usurpa-
| tion, which enables these members of both
branches Of Congress TO porpetuato their own
! official existence, thus intlicting double out
rage, -corrupting tho civil service, and lower
ing tho standard of Congressional member
ship to tho level of TINT Of tho civil service.