News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-04-01
The Edmunds Resolutions.

On Friday the Senate of the United
States brought to a conclusion the
long debate over the Edmunds resolu-
tions by adopting them. The report
of the committee on judiciary arraign-
ing the Administrator was first agreed
to, and then the resolution censuring
the Attorney General for refusing to
furnish to the Senate copies Of official
documents called for by that body
The affirmative vote on each of these
was 50, and the line drawn seems to
have been purely political. On the
resolution declaring it the duty of the
Senate to reject all nominations of
persons to succeed officials concerning
whose suspension papers were with
held after being demanded by the Sen
ate, there was a slight break. The
Democrats were REINFORCED by Mr..
Riddleberger of Virginia, Mr.. Mitchell
of Oregon, and Mr.. VanWyck of Ne
braska. The first two of these gentle
men have long been denounced in
Democratic circles as contemplate
and dishonest, and the last has labor
iously acquired the reputation of
crank. The final resolution, condemn
ing the Administration for its aver
sion to ex-Union soldiers as exhibited
in expelling them from official posi-
tons in order to make room for ex-
Confederates, received a practically
unanimous vote, the only dissentient
being Mr.. Morgan of Alabama. Most
of the Democratic Senators, no doubt.
are well enough pleased with discrim-
nations exercised against ex-Union
soldiers, but the period has not yet
arrived for saying so openly, and so
they were in a manner forced to con-
cur in a sharp censure of the course
pursued by the Administration, which
- SN.~r,a premature at least
The chief interest of the day CEN
tered in speech by Mr.. ingalls, of
Kansas. His criticisms OF the Admin
istration were exceedingly pungent.
He challenged the truth of the Presi-
dents assertion that the Senate had
demanded reasons for suspensions or
required the production of private cor
respondence and memoranda, and de-
MED the charge that the Senate had
been inactive in the matter, of confirm
ing nominations. There was no desire
to keep Republicans in office. Mr..
ingalls, declared himself opposed to Re
publicans holding office under Demo-
cratic Administration, and gave hui
morous account of the voluntary exo-
dus from Federal positions in his own
State as soon as President Cleveland
came into power. Then followed a
laughable characterization of the class
of political philosophers who imagine
that non-partisanship is panacea for
all the evils that exist in government.
These he designated as persons of
neuter gender who are constantly
singing in falsetto the praises of the
so-called civil-service reform. He de-
scribed the brief public career of Gro
yer Cleveland, and exposed his incon-
sistencies in very effective fashion.
The removal Of Republicans from office
was not looked upon by Mr.. ingalls, as
a grievance, but he condemned the
use of false pretenses in that connec-
ton, especially when personal reputa-
tons were wrongfully jeopardized.-l
He read list of names of new ap-
pointees who had been described, even
by Democratic newspapers, as con-
victed felons who had served terms in
the prisons of various States for
crimes.
Messrs. Harrison of Indiana, and
Logan of Illinois made strong speeches
and Mr.. Edmunds closed the debate,
which will appear in the records of
history as one of the most extraordina-
ry that ever occupied the attention of
the Senate. No Administration of the
republic ever met with more scathing
rebuke at the hands of legislative
body than that of President Cleveland
in the adoption of the Judiciary com
mittee's report and in the discussion it
has elected. The President, indeed,
has been placed in an extraordinarily
humiliating position, and has the NOR
LITIGATION of knowing that his own i'll
advised attempt to lecture the Senate
in regard to its powers and functions
contributed largely to his discom-
fiture.-Iroy Times.