The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-01-06
The Draper Case.

Some public attention has been drawn
to the fact that the Secretary of the
Navy has ordered the Reinstatement of
DIR. Draper rs Assistant Surgeon in the
navy, it being now thirteen years since
he was dismissed from the service.
Secretary Thompson has been censured
for it. In itself considered, it is not a
case of very much Importance, but in
its bearings upon justice and the limit
ations of Executive authority, tits wor-
thy of notice.
The Washington correspondent Of
the New York Times gives the facts
quite infinitely. lie does not approve
the Secretary's course, but the facts as
given by him abundantly justify the
reinstatement. DIR. Draper was a reg
ularly commissioned officer. The Press
ident had appointed him aud til, Sem
ate had confirmed him. In December,
lSdi, he went beyond the iurisd r.iun
Of his immediate commanding officer,
on Il leav" Of absence ror forty eight
hours, taking with him, hy PERMISSION.
a rebel prisoner. That w.,s contrary to
the rules If the service. No attention.
however, would have been paid to the
f'ict "i 'is going beyond the lim Is, If
ir bad hot gour with the prisunc, to II
reboi Publication purity iii Baltimore.
lie gave oifense by indicating sympathy
with the enemy. 1t is highly probable
that he betrayed IL state of mind a.nply
j~ustifying his dismissal. But, concrlmg
that much, it does not follow. hy any
means, that Secretary Welles had a
light to notify him that his appoint
ment was revoked. y Cabinet officer
cannot set himself above the President
and the Senate in that way. II Is MS if
Secretary Sherman, upon his own res
possibility, had notified Collector Ar
thur and Naval Officer Cornell, of New
York, thst they were no longer officers
of the Government. The Senate re-
fused to allow the President and his
Cabinet To carry snch "a notification in
10 effect. The relative insigniiicauce
OF Drapcr'S office makes no difference
in the principle involved. In these
days, when the question of Executive
Jurisdictions pre-eminently conspicu-
Gus, it is no wonder the Secretary of
the Navy felt compelled To recognize
the fact that DIR. Draper lad never
teen dismissed from the service. but
WAS still he jure AN Assistant Surgeon
III tile navy. Such recognition was not
Il fiction of law. but "A fact whirh no
honest man could gainsay or ignore.
The !ong delay of the department in
the matter was urged against tn, ,Ieci-
sion OF MIR. Thompson, hut surely ,er-
sistence in illegality is no excuse for
further continuance therein. 1t does
not appear that DIR. Draper w ltcgli-
gent in making his demand. The only
ground on which his Reinstatement
could he opposed was the fact that
when hc WIS notified Of his dismissal
ie wrote to the Secretary requesting
tile withdrawal of the Dismissal and
PERMISSION to resign. To this request
secretary Welles replied, asking him TO
return his tarmer letter, that it might
be Cancelled in accordanee-withl,is re-
quest; and at the same time, treating
Diapers letter AS a formal resignation.
the Secretary notified him that ,,is r.S- |
Equation WAS accepted. But it Ne, NOT |
Il resignation, and he never did r,.;,,
Never having resigned, and nevr, ,s,v-
ing been dismissed, lie is still in Office |
entitled to the full pay of his positbo |
amounting to tie snug sum of $4,000.
Thatis the penalty which the Govern
ment is in duty bound to pay fer the
blunder for it was simply that Of Sec
Rotary Welles. 1t is, in other words
the price which must be paid for an
impressive lesson in tie line of the
Conkling-E varts imbrogho in the SEN
ate. The money shosld be paid and
the Assistant Surgeon lawfully dis
missed. II ~