Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-03-11
THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS.
Message to the Senate Upon q
Much Mooted Subject.
The President Defines His Understanding
of the Nature of Correspondents Re-
ceived by Him in Relation to APP
pointments and Removals.

WASHINGTON, March president
Cleveland, in his message to the Senate
respecting the question of access to pa
pers bearing on nominations, states the
ground that the papers regarding suspen-
sion are not official, and says for that
reason he has refused to furnish the in
formation against the transmission of
such papers and documents" The Pres
ident says: sI have interposed my advice
and direction. This has not been done
upon the assumption on my part that the
Attorney-General, or any other head of a
departments the servant of the President,
and is to give or withhold copies of docu-
ments in his Office according to the
will of the Executive, but because I re-
gard the papers and documents withheld
and addressed to me or intended for my
use and action, purely unofficial and pri-
vate, not infrequently confidential, and
having reference to the performance of
a duty exclusively mine. 1 consider
them in no proper sense as upon the files
of the department, but as deposited
there for my convenience and remaining
still completely under my control. l sup
pose if desired to take them into my
custody might do so with entire propri-
ETY.. Even the committee, in its
report the President says,
"appears to concede that there may be
with the President or in the departments
papers and documents which, on account
of their unofficial character, are not SUBJ
ject to the inspection of Congress. A re-
ference in the report to instances where
the House of Representatives ought not
to succeed in call for the production of
papers, is Immediately followed by this
statements The committee feels autho-
rized to state, after a careful research,
that within the foregoing limits
there is scarcely in the history
of this Government until now any in
stance of a refusal by head of de-
partment Or even of the President him
self to communicate official facts, and
information as distinguished from pri-
sate and unofficial papers, motions,
views, reasons and opinions to either
House OF Congress when uncondition-
ally demanded To which of the classes
thus recognized do the papers and docu-
ments belong that are now the objects of
the Senate's quest? They consist of let
ters and representations addressed to
the Executive, or intended for his inspec-
ton. They are voluntarily written and pre-
sented by private citizens who are not in
the least instigated thereto by any official
invitation, or at all subject to official con-
troll. While some of them are entitled to
executive consideration, many of them
are so irrelevant, or in the light of other
facts, SO worthless that they have not
been given the least weight in determin-
ing the question to which they are sup
posed to relate. Are all these, simply be-
cause they are preserved, to be consid-
cred official documents and subject to the
inspection of the Senate? II not, who is
to determine which belong to this class?
Are the motives and purposes of the Sem
ate, as they are day by day de-
veloped, such as would be satisfied ..
with my selection? Am I to submit
to theirs, at the risk of being charged with
making a suspension from Office upon evil
dence which was not even considered?
Are these papers to be regarded official
because they have not only been present
ed, but preserved in the public offices?
Their nature and character remain the
same, whether they are kept in the Exec
utive mansion or deposited in the depart
ments. There is no mysterious power of
transmutation in departmental custody,
nor is there magic in the underlined and
sacred solemnity of department files. If
the presence of these papers in
the public offices is stumbling
block in the way of the performance
VI SeudCoIldi uuty, IL Call We easily re-
moved. The papers and documents
which have been described derive no off,
cial character from any constitutional,
statutory, or other requirements, making
them necessary to the performance of the
official duty of the Executive.
''1t will not be denied, l suppose, that
the President may suspend a public Off
Ger in the entire absence of any papers or
documents to aid his official judgment
and discretion, and am prepared to avow
that the cases are not few in which sus-
pensions from office have depended more
upon oral representations made to me by
citizens of known good repute,
and by members of Che House of Repre-
sentatives and Senators of the United
States, than upon any letters and docu-
ments presented for my examination. 1
have not felt justified in suspecting the
integrity and patriotism of Sem
ators or ignoring their representations, |
because they were not in party utilization
with the majority of their associates, and |
recall few suspensions which bear the |
approval of individual members identified |
politically with the majority in the Sem
ate.
ssWhile. therefore, am constrained to I
deny the right of the Senate, to the papers |
and documents described, so far as the |
that they are in any view of the subject |
official, am also led unequivocally to |
dispute the right of the Senate by the aid |
Of any documents whatever, or in any |
way, save through the judicial process of |
trial on impeachment, to review or reverse
the act of the executive in the suspension
during the recess of the Senate of federal
I believe the power to remove
or suspend such officials is vested
N the President alone by
he Constitution which in express
,erms provides that the Executive power
shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America and that
he shall take care that the laws be
executed"
81 think it will be found" the Presi-
lent continues, ''that in the subsequent
discussions of this question, there was
if not at all times, a propo-
,ition pending to, in some way, cur
all this power of the President by
egislation, which furnishes evidence
hat to limit sach power it was sup
posed to be necessary to supplement
he Constitution by such legislation.
The first enactment of this description
vas passed under stress
If partisanship and political
bitterness which eliminated in
ne Presidents impeachment. This
aw provided that the Federal officials to
which it applied could only be suspended
Turing the recess of the Senate when
hown by evidence satisfactory to the
President to be guilty of misconduct in
,ffice, or when incapable or disqualified
o perform their duties, and within ten
lays after the next meeting of the Senate
should be the duty of the President to
eport to the Senate such suspension