Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1886-03-11
MESSAGE.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE SEN
ATE.
The Comment of tho New York Times,
Tribune, World and Sun.

! upon removals from office. The ducumen
Is long and studied reply to the repor
/, of the judiciary committee of the Senate
the substance Of which may be brief,
stated as follows:
lie takes the position that the public
offices were created for the benefit of tn
people, and that they are unincumberet
by any lien in favor of either branch @
Congress growing out of their construc
ton, and unembarrassed by any obliga
tion to the Senate as to the price of thei
creation. He says that while it is no
conceded that the Senate have right il
any case to review the act of the execu
tive in removing or suspending public
officer upon official document or other
wise, it is considered that such document,
should be freely transmitted to the Sen
ate, trusting the use of the same for prop
Ell and Legitimate purposes to the good
faith of that body, but he has interposed
his objection against the transmission Of
letters and papers of private and unofi
cial nature, because he regards such pa
pers as intended for his individual use
and action, and as having reference tc
the performance of a duty exclusively
his. He claims that he could take these
papers, many of which are confidential
into his own custody or could destroy
them and no one could complain. He
says it cannot be denied that the presi.
dent may suspend public officer in the
entire absence of any papers or docu.
ments. In not a few cases such suspen.
sions have been made upon oral represen.
tations of citizens Of good repute. While
denying the right of the Senate to the pa
pers referred to, the president also un-
equivocally disputes the right of the Sen
ate, by the aid of any documents, or in
any way save through judicial trial or
impeachment, to review or reverse the
act OF the executive in the suspension of
federal officials during the recess of the
Senate. t.
The president then makes an argument
to sustain his position, and refers to the
statute of 1867, when Congress was bit
terly opposed politically to the president,
which required the executive to give rea
sons and evidence for sustaining his ac.
tion in removing officials. If that law
were now in force the executive would
be compelled to yield to the demands of
the Senate, b., the law was repealed in
1869 by congress in accord with the
then president, and in its place were sub
stituted provisions which, instead of lin
iting causes of suspensions, permitted
such suspensions at the discretion of the
executive, and completely abandoned the
requirement obliging him to report to the
Senate the evidence and his reasons for
his action. President Grant even advised
the repeal of this modified law, and the
constitutionality of these laws is by no
means admitted.
The president concludes his message
by inviting the fullest scrutiny of the per
sons nominated by him for Office, and
states that upon refusal to confirm he
will not ask the reasons for the action of
the Senate. He says his pledges were
made to the people, to whom he is re-
sponsible, and he is not responsible to the
Senate and is unwilling to submit his ac-
lions and official conduct to the Senate
for judgment. He says neither the dis
content of party friends nor allurements
offered, nor threats. of the Senate can de-
ter him from the following in the way
which leads to better government for the
people.
..... TRIBUNE (REP.)
In this message he recommends no
measure, says nothing about the state Of
the union, but gives much misinforma.
tion on subject on which the Senate has
asked from him no advice whatever. His
obtrusion was doubtless due to distrust
of the Democratic Senators and to q con
fidencc in his own superior ability TO deal
with this question, and to desire to get
before the country his own statement of
the case. His distrust of the ability of
the Democratic Senators to furnish salts.
factory reasons for suppressing public
documents is amply borne out by the re.
port they presented yesterday on the sub
Ject. But stripped of its verbiage and de-
liberate misstatement, the presidents 9
communication is much the weaker of
the two documents. 1t has been we'll said
that a guilty conscience needs no accuser.
The president says that "there were no
grounds for an allegation that the fear of
being found false to any professions in
tluences me. No such allegation has
been made by the Senate, though it is not
surprising that the president should think
so. He attempts to explain away bis civil
service reform pledges, but adds that he
has kept every pledge" This is hardly
in keeping with what follows: "Of course
the pretense is not put forth that no mis-
takes hs5e been committed" In the
light of Garland, Higgins, Pillsbury,
Chase, Thomas and many others such a
pretense would not be more ridiculous
than the entire argument of this unpre-
cedented message, which is perhaps the
biggest mistake Of all. I"
WORLD (DEM)
The presidents message to the Senate
is remarkable document, remarkable in
tone, in its defiant character and in its
evident desire to provoke rather than to
avoid a conflict with that body. The
president complains that he has received
no invitation from the Senate to explain
the position he has felt constrainel / to as.
sumo in relation to the papers desired by
the Senate, or to interpret for himself his
acts and motives in the premises. He
sneers at the allusion by the Senate to the
fact that the departments which have
withheld documents from it were created
by laws made by itself. and says that he
supposed the departments were created
by congressional laws for the public good
and were unembarrassed by any obliga-
tions TO the Senate as the price of their
creation. The most interesting point of
the remarkable document concediur the