Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-07-21
for good cause shown on fair legal in

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cause of the oversight, it exists in the
Constitution, and its existence early at
tracted the attention of our ablest iur-
lists. The necessity of guarding against
abuses of power in this respect by the
President, as the civil ruler of the ma
ton, arose from the fact that the Con-
stitution makes him also it's military
head.
All human history and experience
show conclusively that military chief
cannot command an army and conduct
war efficiently whilst he is the Ieuten-
ant of debating society.
Military rule is the essence of despot-
ism. The worst result, then, arising
from the oversight of the Constitution
to define the power of removal, con-
sists in that it does not carefully bar
the President in all cases from admin
istering the civil affairs of the nation
on military principles, and thereby
confusing two indispensable but clear
ly dis ,inct classes of powers.
This oversight first became a practi-
cal question in 1889. Congress passed
Il bill creating a Secretary of Foreign
Affairs,-knOwn now as Secretary of
State. The bill contained a clause in
vesting the President with the power
of removal. A motion was introduced
to stlike it out. After long and keen
debate, the House decided, by vote of
81 to 20, not to strike out, thus affirm
ing the power of the President to re-
move. RI, Elliott's Debates, PIP. $50 t.
275. In this debate it was expressly
declared that the decision was intend
ed to be permanent and act as an eX-
position of the Constitution. In favor
of the power, prominently, were
: Messrs. Madison, Ames, Boudinot and
Baldwin; against were Messrs. Sher-
!, man, Gerry, Smith, and Jackson, of
j, Georgia.
But that question which Congress
$ declared settled. Chief-Justice Story
: resurrected, [Sec. Story's Comm, PIP.
s95, 306, expressing surprise that this
power of removal should have remain
ed 50 long unquestioned in the hands
of the President, and grave doubts of
S its propriety.
/, E. d. Manifold. see Political Man
: uel, page 149, regards Judge Story's
doubts as absurd; but, like any other
man that undertakes to run Judge
Story into obscurity on Jurisprudence,
he seems to have taken very large
= contract for all his arguments in favor
e of the power go very directly to invest
o the President with that prerogative,
s sovereignty, and height of power which
n the whole scope and genius of our po-
litical institutions go to deprive him.
The question of the Presidents pow
o er of removal is not merely a question
Il of speculative politics. 1t is the ques-
y ton of the Presidents right in any
V case whatever to administer the civil
II affairs of the country on military
o principles. The disposition to do so
: grew largely Oh the Executive during
the late war.
s Thus emancipation was not by civil
statute, but by military decree as a
i war measure; and when Congress i'll
: 1868 framed law reconstructing the
). Confederate States, President Lincoln
5. put that law in his pocket and embod
l. led all it's provisions and more i'll a
: proclamation, and by so doing drew
is out most emphatic protest from B. F.
IS Wade, of Ohio, and Henry Winter Da-
i Wis, of Mary yland-both gigantic Stall
o warts.
d During Andrew Johnson's Admins
J. tration, Congress, as the representative
d of the people, had to perform two tasks
e 1t had to cover into the civil statute
's book of the nation the attainments Sc
cured by military DEGREES, and it had to
IS bleed, purge and sweat the military
= tendencies of an eX-talor, as the civil
e ruler of the nation. The struggle led
e very unnecessarily to an Impeachment
)f which failed.
x During the progress ot the conflict
2 in 1867 the Tenure-of- Office Bill wa:
passed, which restricts the power
e Of the President in regard to appoint
lie ments and removals, except when q
vacancy occurs during the recess o
s Congress. This repeals the law of l7S'
le and fixes the present status of the mat
l. ter.
ii But the Presidents power of remov
l. al has been passed upon, at least con
rs structivelv, by the Supreme Court
L. the United States long ago. The eide
pr dams appoiutel n man to an office
er The commission was made out and de
e. posted ir the office of the Secretary O
N State. Before his accession to office
it Mr.. Jefferson arrested that commission
c. in transitu, he being unwilling to ap
,e point that party to an office. The cas-
OF came before the Supreme Court on a
Mt application for writ of mandamus