New-York tribune., 1886-03-10
vP EDnUhDS'S SPEECH.

IL n.
Snch an expansion of executive power as
that conten plated by President Cleveland i'll
assuming the authority 70 suppress or destroy
official records cannot be viewed wllh0ut
alarm. Hence the debate begun in the Senate
Yesterday on this question is one OF unuSual I'M
portance. If the question were presented Tree
from partisan considerations there is prooapy
not statesman or jurist in the country who
would disagree with Mr.. Edmunds 5 calm ana
dispassionate statement of the case. Inc Con
stitution, the statutes and the pIecedcntS are
against the Presidents extraordinary assuinp-
tion of power. But the cXIgencles OF the
Democratic party as represented IN the W hlte
House appear to make necessary the ellOrt TO
controvert these unansverable facts and argn-
ments and Senator Pugh, of Alabama, Will
to-day begin the haI d task.
The mIsstatcments put forth III what MI. Ed
minds. called the Presidents supplementary
minority report were even more astonishing
than those made in the minority report itself.
The President made his suspensions under the
provisions of Section l,7GS OF the Revised
Statutes, and yet this is one OF the laws Wh'ch
ne says has had "an existence OF nearly twenty
wears of almost InuOcuOuS dcSuetude rs was
well said Yesterday, the President has himself,
in the nominations made under this act,
furnished the Senate and the county OI"
reasons why this law has not fallen into dlsnSe.
But even were his statement true, 1t Is MS DnSl-
ness uudrr his oath of office to see that the law
is executed 1t is decidedly not "an improve
mont in public methods to disregard the laws,
a. well as the pledges he made before taking
office and then attempt to cover mp the facts hy
al a.
cisely what has been attempted The Senate
called only for the papers on file in the At
torney- Generals Office relating to the manage
ment and conduct of the Office . IN question. 1t
NAV have wanted them to pass III Judgment
uuon the removal of Duskln as required DY lhe
statute, or il may have wanted them to Judge
of the necessity for the TlNO,ouO deficiency
orpropfiation asked for by the AttorGry-Gcn-
eral. a part of which money was for use IN TINS
particular office. VIII any intelligent person.
mindful of the interests Of g0Dd government
say that the Senate was not entitled to tins IN
formation or that its relevancy must be lett to
the Judgment of the Attorney General or any
body else !
Mr.. Edmunds demonstrated beyond doubt
that all papers addressed to N officer III his
official capacity are public papers, and are re-
ouired by law to be placed on file; aud the
statute declares that The Attorney General ana
not the President is the custodian of the papers
in the Department Of Justicc. Tne Presidents
assumption of control over these papers so aS
to withhold them from Congress can only rightly
bestermed "A usurpation. The utter absurdlty OF
his claim that papers relating to the person ne
selects to fill an office are public, while those
relating to the management and conduct Oi the
office by the suspended official are private, was
clearly shown by Mr.. Edmunds Perhaps, how
ever. the most interesting point IN the speech
WAS the production Of Official letters signed by
Messrs. Thurman, Lamar, Mcdonald, Garland,
Bayard and David Davis, members OF the Ju-
dietary Committee when the Democrats con-
trolled the Senate in 1879, calling on Attorney
General Dcvens for any papers III his once re-
lating to the cases of various suspended Oli-
cials. That officer promptly furnished all the
papers called for, as has been done In every
case by Republican Administration. The
precedcnts cited by Mr. Edmunds cover every
species of papers, relating even TO the exDendl-
tures under the secret service fund. III re-
NAMED for this Administration with ITS " I'M
provement in public methods" to defy the law
and preccdents, and call it reform.