St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-07-28
Right TO the Point.
JUDGE WALLACE ON POLITICAL AS
SESSMENTS.

From His Decision in the Gen. Curtis Case.l
Undoubtedly it is lawful for Congress
to prescribe all needful regulations for
the discipline of government officials,
and to declare what infractiOns of dis
cipline shall be treated as criminal.
The power to prohibit acts of officers
or employees which are incompatible
with the proper discharge of their du
ties, or which impair the efficiency or
tend to demOraliZe the public service,
is essential to promote the end and OBJ
ject of government, and this power re-
sides in the legislative department of
the government.
In executing this power Congress
must of necessity exercise its Judgment
and discretion in determining what
acts are or are not of such a perniciOus
character and tendency. This legisla-
tive discretion embraces a large field,
and its boundaries cannot always be
readily located. 1t is only when Con
gress has palpably trangressed the linn
its of its discretion that the judicial
department will intervene. Such a
case might arise if Congress should at
tempt to prohibit an act of nature
pertaining so exclusively to the sphere
of private conduct that it could not by
any implication impinge upon official
department or official discipline. We
are not able to say that the acts pro-
| hibited by the present statute are of
such Il character. We cannot affirm
that Congress transcribed its discre-
tion in prohibiting transactions be-
tween officials which create the rela-
ton of donor and dOnee, and introduce
party interests into the public service ;
nor that Congress erred in assuming
that the influences sprlnging from this
relation and these interests should be
discouraged as liable to defect the in
dependence and impartiality which
must rule official intercourse. Many
instances may be found i'll the laws ol
| Congress where this Legislative discre-
ton has been exercised. 1t suf1ices tC
refer to one contained in the act OF
February |, 1870, which prohibits any
officer or clerk in the employ of the
government from making any gift ol
present to an official superior. 1t il
not necessary to maintain that the co.
operation of officials in raising funds
for political objects is essentially de
moralizing to the public service or sub
) versive of discipline. 1t is sufficient t.
, Justify the exercise of the Legislative
discretion if the prohibited acts tend t,
introduce interests which disturb tn,
f Just equipeise of official relations. |
is suggested that it is the right an,
duty of every good citizen to aid il
promoting such political objects as h
2 deems to be wise and beneficial, an,
2 that Congress has no constitutions
= power to abridge that right. The an
swer is that no citizen is required t.
5 hold a public office, and, if he is un
= willing to do so upon such condition
as are prescribed by that department
= of the government which creates TIL
!, office, fixes its tenure and regulates it
= incidents, it is his duty to resign.
- Judge Benedict then recited the sec
f ton of the statute under which the ac
= cused had been indicted, tried and con
Il victed. He said: "The questio
D whether payment of money for pOlit
: ical purposes, made by an officer O
= emplOye of the government to any on
= of committee organized for the pun
: pose of collecting money for politics
e purposes, does not render liable
l. conviction every member of such con
V mittee, who is an executive officer {
e an emplOye of the United States, is
d question not determined in this cas-
Co.. The sentence of the court is that yO
II pay fine of $500 on the first count ,
V the Indictment, under which you wei
It convicted, and $500 on the eight
II count, making in all $1,000; and yO
Y will stand committed until said fin,
&c are paid"