Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-03-26
THE REAL POINT.

Having no better resource, the Demo-
Gratis are endeavoring to belittle the is
sue between the President and the Sem
ate by asserting that it is of no practical
importance and that the time spent
in its discussion is virtually wasted.
But as Mr.. Edmunds demonstrated in his
great speech at the opening of the pres
ent debate in the Senate, there is much
more at stake than the incumbency of
the offices: and the proper settlement of
the principles which Mr.. Edmunds and
the other Republican Senators are striv-
ing to maintain may prevent very seri-
Gus trouble in the future.
Our government was intended to be
pre-eminently "A government of law. The
fathers of the constitution spent many
anxious days in defining the powers and
limitations of the three departments
Executive. Legislative and .Judicial-intO
which they divided the government, and
in establishing checks which should pre-
vent the aggrandizement of power by any
one department at the expense of the
others. 1t is for the purpose of resisting
an attempt of the President to override
the legislature that Mr.. Edmunds and his
colleagues are carrying on the present
contest. This is the real point, and no
amount of sophistry and special pleading
should cause it to be lost sight of. The
question is not the comparatively unim-
nf gIn hA1 tln ,f
fices; but the very serious one of wheth-
er the President, in his acts in regard to
the offices. shall obey the laws of the
land or be permitted to disregard them
at his pleasure.
For nearly seventeen years a law. com
monty called the tenure-of-oflice act, has
been upon the statute book. whose para
mount provision is that no civil officer of
the United States of the class appoint
able by the President by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate (Which
comprises nearly all the important feder-
al civil officers shall be removable with
out the advice and consent of the Senate.
No attempt has been made by the Demo
Gratis to repeal this law. and while it is in
existence the President is bound To obey
it equally with the humbleSt citizen.
Since the beginning of the present ses-
sion of Congress the President has sent
several hundred nominations to the Sell
ate of persons to take the place of incuml-
bents appointed by some one of his Re
publican predecessors in the White
House. These incumbents cannot be re-
moved unless the Senate advise and con-
sent to their removal, and it is impossible
for the Senators TO act Understandings
upon cases unless they are informed of
the facts which caused the President to
desire change. Moreover, the President
has more than once publicly announced
that he would seek to disturb the official
tenure of no one unless he had given
cause by some dereliction or malfeasance
1t is natural inference, therefore, that
in every case where he nominates "A per
son TO take the place of an officer whose
term is uneXpired, the President believes
the incumbent to be guilty of miscon.
duct which units him to hold the place
The Republican Senators, under such
circumstances, if they voted without in
luiry to confirm the Presidents nomina-
ions, would join in besmirching the char.
icter of their own friends and fellow Re.
publicans, many of whom shed Their