The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-02-19
THE SENATES PRIVILEGE
EDMUNDS REPORTS ON THE Diff.
GUILTY WITH THE PRESIDENT,

AND Lays Down the Broad proposition
That the Senate Has the Right to Sec
All Official Papers-The Presidents Ac- |
tion Declared Entirely Unique.
WASHINGTON CITY, Feb. I9-The reso-
lutions embraced in the report of the judi |
ciary committee which was submitted to the
senate Thursday by Mr.. Edmunls, ara in
their full text as follows
"Resolved, That the foregoing report Of
the committee on Judiciary be agreed to aud
adopted;
Resolved, That the senate hereby ex-
presses its condemnation of the refusal of
the attorney general, under whatever in
fiuence, to send to the senate copies of papers
called for by its resolution of the 18th OF
January, and set forth in the report of the
committee on judiciary as in VOCATION of his
official duty and subversive OF the funda
mental principles of the government and OF
q good administration thereof;
Resolved That it is under these circum-
stances the duty of the senate to sefuse its
advice and consent to proposed removals of
officers, the documents and papers in refer
ence to the supposed official or personal mis-
conduct of whom are withheld hy executive
or any head OF department when de med
nece. sary By the senate and called for in
considering the.. matter;
RESOLVED, That the provision of section
l,754 OF the revised statutes declaring that
persons honorably discharged from the mill
tary or naval service by reason of dislbil-
ity resulting from wounds or sickness III
CURED in the line of duty, shall be preferred
for appointments to civil offices provided
they are found to possess the buine,s capac-
ity necessary for the proper discharge Of
the duties of such Office ought
to he faithfully AMI fully pr:
in execution and that to remove or
to propose to remove any such soldier whose
faithfulness, competency and character are
above reproach and to give Place 10
another who has not rendered such service,
is a violation OF the spiret Of the law and OF
practical gratitude the people and govern
ment of the United States owe the defenders
of constitutional liberty and integrity of
the government
All of which is respectfully stAmittad
The resolutions were signed by George
F. Edmunds, John j. Ingalls,, S. L r. Nc
MILAN, George F. Hoar, James +. Wilson,
William NJ Evarts
The accompanying report recites the facts
of the case of George NJ Duskin, OF Ala
bama, and the refusal of the attorney gen
eral to send to the senate the papers bearing
on the matter, and then proceeds, referring
TO the attorney general: This letter, al
thoush in response to the direction of The
senate assumes that the alto ney
general is the servant Of the president and
is to give or withhold copies of documents in
his office according to the will of the eyecu-
tive and not otherwise. The committee is
unable to discover any law which makes the
attorney general in any sense the servant
or under control of the president in the per
formance of his lawful duties. The execu-
tive is bound by the constitution, and by lis
oath, to take care that the laws he faithfully
executed, and he is, himself, As much bound
by regulations of law as the humbest officer
in the service of the United States. : 3 =
The important question then is whether
it is within the constitutional competence
of either house of congress to have access to
the official papers and documents in the
various public offices Of the United States
created by laws enacted by themsal,eS
There is no statute which com
mnnds the head of any depart
ment. excepting that of the treasury, to
| transmit to either bouSs of congress on its
! demand any information whatever concern
| ing the administration OF his department,
but the committee believes it to he clear
| that from the very nature of che powers en-
trusted by the constitution to the two houSeI
| of congress. il Is a necessary incident that
| either house must have at all times the right
| to know all that officially exists or takes
| place in any of the DEPARTMENTS of the gov
| crnment
| 1T was not thought necessary fat tbs
| foundation of the gOvernment to enact thai
| congress itself should be entitled to the pro-
| duct:on and inspection of such papers, for
that T, hit was supposed to exist in the very
natu of things"
The report expresses
the opinion that thre is no instance of
| civilized governments which have bo lies re-
preventative of the people of the states, in
| which the right or power of these repre- 3enta-
| tive bodies to obtain in one form or another
| information as to every paper AMI transac-
| ton In any of the executive departments
thereof does not exist, even though
such pareis might relate to what
| is ordinarily an executive function
| ii that function infringed upon any duty or
function of the Representative se bodies that in
the very nature of things congress is enti-
ed to these papers. A qualification of this
general right 1t is stated, may TN Ter cur
constitution exist in tn case OF calls by the
house representatives Tor papers relating
to treaties, etc, under consideration and not
yet disposed of by the president ami senate.
The committee, after q careful research,
states that within the foregoing limits there
is arely in the history of thi3 government
| ,f 1
head of a department, or even tine president
himself, to communicate official facts and
information, as distinguished from private
and unofficial papers, motives, news, reasons,
and opinions, to either house of congress
when Internationally demanded.
When reports of committees were an
nounced to be in order in the senate, Thurs
day, Edmunds arose and said: "MR PREsI
DENT: am instructed by the committee on
judiciary, to whom was referred the letter
of the attorney general, with authority to
report with open doors, to make report
with sundry resolutions, which ash may be
placed on the calendar.
Pugh, representing the minority of the
committee on Judiciary, said that they
knew nothing of the contents of the report
until it was rsld to the committee Thursday
morning. that the minority desired to pre-
pare report in which they will present
their views. and to enable them to do so they
required until Monday to present the same,
Edmunds then asked and the senate
ordered the printing Of the report and reso-
lutions and their publication in The Con-
rressional Record also
Bowen introduced a bill to provide new
bass for national bank circulation, which,
at his request, was laid on the table
Among petitions presented was one by
Hoar from citizens OF the United States,
whose names, Hoar thought, indicated that
they were of foreign birth, praying for the
submission by congress to the several states
of proposed constitutional amendment
abolishing the presiden9y.
The rep1 is very long and recites p
cedants going to show that thu presiuent
Is VIC at d the l. all in his refu ial to comply
with the senate oemand, referring to cases
in 1876 and lsi4, il both OF which the deci-