St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-30
THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE
What is Thought of Logan and His
Chances for the Place.
The Statement Made That He is Fish
ing for Bigger Game.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29-Whether Gen..
Logan wants to be president pro tempore is
the question asked on every side. A gen.
tleman whose relations with the senator
makes it eminently probable that he knows
how the senator feels. says that he does
not think Gen. Logan wants to take the
chair. In the first place the duties
of the Office would be very irksome
to him. He finds sitting up very
fatiguing, and when he is not writing his
usual position is semi-recumbent attitude
On lounge in the cloak room or at home.
He is not very expert in rules of order, and
dislikes controversies over parliamentary
points. On the other hand he is powerful
debater, and the gentleman referred to says
he thinks Gen. Logan would feel that, as
the presiding officer, he was laid away or
the shelf. He is a man Of very active tenn
permanent, fond of political controversy and
eager to support certain measures that will
come up this winter and to oppose others.
If he takes the chair he has got to keep out
of debate for the most part. He would not
be
ACTUALLY MUZZLED.
He would retain all his rights as SEN
ator, but he would not be expected to have
the floor much. He is represented as eager
to retain and add to his prestige as one of
the Republican leaders in the senate, and
feels that he can do much more for his
country, his party and his own political
future by remaining OH the floor than he
could by taking the chair. Gen. Logan's
election to the chair would be recognized as
a senatorial nomination for the presidency.
In the opinion of many of his friends this
would be grave disadvantage to him, be-
cause 1888 is good way off, and candidates
who were brought forward too early have
generally been killed off. 1t is felt by
some senators that presidential politics,
either prospective or retrospective, ought
to be kept out of this election of presiding
| officer, and for this reason Senator Van
| Wyck, who is a warm friend of Blaine and
not especially an admirer of Edmunds. de-
sires to see the latter reelected president
| pro TEN. He thinks there will be less of
PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS
| in Mr.. Edmund's election than in that OF
anyone else, and he is for him for that
reason. Though very warm friend of
both Blaine and Logan, he does not want
the election of 1884 resurrected to
beat Senator Edmunds, or the election
of 1888 anticipated to elect Logan.
| The fact that last March Mr.. Edmunds
| took occasion, unauthorized by the senate,
to disclaim, in announcing the result OF an
| electoral count any functions except a
purely ministerial one, will be used against
him by some extreme partisans among the
regular Republican senators, who want to
| reserve for some future emergency the
claim that the presiding officer of the SEN
! ate has che right to count the electoral vote
| involving, as it would. in the case of double
| returns, the right Of the vice president or
president pro TEN. to determine what votes
| to count. But there are many OF the Re
| publican senators WHO claim such extraordl-
| nary powers for the real or acting vice
| president. Some Democrats are seeking
to give the impression that Gen. Logan
cannot be elected president pro tem be-
| cause he is not yet a member OF the senate.
| This is minor technicality which can be
GOTTEN AROUND EASILY.
| In 1881 the Republicans asserted the
| right of the oldest senator to administer the
oath of Office to senators elect before pres
| ident pro tenn. was chosen. The Demo-
Gratis insisted that president pro tem
| must be chosen first. They were in ma-
| jority and carried their point, but that does
not settle the right of members elect to be
| oWOlu III DolOit tllt tl1CblUu VI
| officer. The action Of 1881 was purely
political and not legal. Now the Repub-
licans have majority and they will not
recognize the strict party vote of four years
ago as a precedent binding on them. 1t is
even claimed by some good lawyers that a
senator elect may take Office before judge,
without waiting for the senate to meet. No
such unusual experiment as this need be
tried. The Republican senators have a
majority and they can direct the senior sem
| ator to swear the members elect; or il they
preferred another course they could agree
in caucus on the election of president pro
tenn, simply for the purpose of organiza-
ton, and then elect Gen. Logan to the chair
as soon as he had qualified.
| Mickey Welch, the New York clubs
pitcher, starts a base ball headquarters
| b0uSa of call at Holvoke Mass with one