Morning journal and courier., 1886-04-14
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
WASHINGTON. April 13. 1sS6

WASHINGTON, April 13, 1886.
 SENATE.-After the transaction of some routine business in the Senate MT. Platt called up the resolution providing that ex- ecutive nominations hereafter be considered in open session except when otherwise dered by the Senate. MT. Platt declared that this was a political question, but in no sense question of party politics. It was far above party politics. He regarded open sessions for the consideration of executive business a5 one of the most needed measures of administrative reform in this govern ment. Up to 1920, MT. Platt said, there was nothing in the rules of the Senate en- joining secrecy, and it was not until 1S44 that the rules provided for the expulsion of any officer member of the Senate for disclosing any papers or printed matter held for the consideration of the Senate in executive session. But it was not until 1868 that the present rule, which no Senator could read without sense of personal degradation, was adopted providing the penalty of expulsion for disclosing the secrets of debate. From this, MT. Platt said it would be seen that the departure from the practice of the founders of the govern ment had been toward the establishment of rigid iron-bound rules directly opposite to the interests aud welfare of the people. MT. Platt met the objection most frequently advanced in opposition to open executive sessions, that this practice is of long stand
 
 ever made had been over the ramparts of cus- tom and tradition. He read from the early jour- nalsof Congress to show that the opening of the doors of Congress during legislative business was regarded by Congressmen themselves as tending to make them feel more fully the responsibility of their position. It was interesting to note, he said, that the first resolution offered in the Senate providing for the opening of the doors during legisla- tive sessions was laid on the table on motion of Virginia Senator and at the very next session James Monroe came as a Senator from Virginia with specific instructions to urge the opening of the doors. The objec- tions at that time to opening the doors for the conduct of legislative business were the same as now made to the holding of executive sessions with closed doors. MT. Platt endorsed heartily MT. Shermans statement of last February when he said in the Senate that there ought to be no secrets whatever in this government of ours, gov ernment of the people That statemet briefly comprehended the whole subject. There was but one exception to be tolerated and that was case of absolute necessity. Such cases would be extremely rare. Senators say the President should have no secrets from the Senate. Secrecy was odious to Senators, ex- cepting when they themselves wanted to ob- serve secrecy. The people were demanding that secrecy should not be observed by the Senate just us the Senators were demanding that the President should observe no secrecy. How, MT. Platt asked, can Senators meet the inexcusable logic of the peoples demands? Publicity was the cure for all evils affecting the body polite. The public service would be emproved by it. We would have fewer applications from bad men and fewer nominations of bad men if they and their friends knew their fit ness for place and position were to be dis cussed openly. The standing argument against open sessions was that it would deter Senators from telling what they knew about bad men, but they would do this in secret session. We had tried this in the secret dis cussion of candidates for years and yet bad men were appointed and confirmed. There was no proper ground for secrecy in the mat ter of convenience for Senators. It might be easier to say hard thing about a man be- hind his back behind closed doors than be- fore his face, but was it fair9 Justice, de- cency and fair play demand that we say open ly whatever we have to say of him. Speak ing of the senatorial prerogative involved ''There two words which the people of this country want to see expunged from their political vocabulary. It is time those words were obsolete. They are 'prerogative' and privilege and if it were not for being allit- erative, I would say there are two other words, 'patronage' and 'perquisites,' which the people want to go. The people have done with them and the Senate had better have done with them" This, said Mr. Platt, is no place to assert prerogative. We had better stand pretty close to the people and trust them if we want them to trust us. Public sentiment and the sentiment of the press MT. Platt said was for open sessions Of the fourteen thousand newspapers in the country fully ten thousand had declared for open sessions. Some Senators might say they did not care what the papers said, but l GI. timent of the people. It was the sentiment of the people that Senators should desire to know. Public sentiment was easily distin guishable from public clamor. The public will was to be law. For better or worse the way would come when the people were to be omnipotent in government. With the jour- nalism that conceded to public men neither honest motives nor private virtues, MT. Platt had no sympathy, for it he had no respect. But that was not the press of this country. It the country newspaper that repre- scented the real sentiment of the country the newspaper that had no special core spondent here. Senators were subjected to suspicion of bargains among one another arising from consideration of senatorial courtesies. To these suspicious they would not be subjected if the doors were always open. He asked Senators to endeavor to realize how the people regard ed the secret session. He did not know how
 
 printed about executive sessions was true, but was justified iE saying that the secrets got out to greater or less extent. Mixed they might be with the fertile imaginations of the reporters, nevertheless no Senator could deny that either through the Senators or the officers of the Senate the secrets got out and MT. Platt did not by that mean to cast the slightest suspicion upon the officers of the Senate. He did not want to be in position where he was subjected to suspicion of dishonorable disclosures. Better have everything said by Senators said in open session so that it could be published unmixed with the imagination of reporters Senators had nothing left but silent endurance when misrepIesented. He could name matters on which his constituents supposed to-day he had voted contrary to his actual vote be- canse it had been wrongly stated in the news papers. He would only submit in silence because he could not disclose what his vote had been. He then took up the subject from the civil service point of view and claimed that civil service was mockery and sbam without an open consideration of nom nations made to the Senate.
 At the conclusion of MT. Platt's remarks MT. Butler obtained unanimous consent to address the Senate after morning business to morrow on open executive sessions. MT. Logan desired to follow Mir. Butler on the same subject.
 The fisheries resolution was then placed before the Senate. After debate Mr. Frye's resolution was agreed to; yeas 35, nays 10. Of the affirmative votes twenty-six were Re publican and nine Democratic. The nega- tive votes were all Democratic, being Messrs. Call, Cockrel Coke, Colquitt, Eustis, Gray,