Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1886-03-10
CoNGREssIoSAI-
senate.

LSdI sA OG4IlsocQ O1elDe.s kIc ScuNte
took up the resolutions reported BY Ed
munds from the Judiciary Committee.
Inese resolutions. AuonS other things,
condemn the Attorney General 70, re
fosinQ 20 transmit To the Senate papers
called for by the Senate, and declare
that refusal to De violstioa ev the At
torusy General Of bis Official daily and
-1bysrsIvs Of the Fundamental prinei-
pies Of government and good admin s.
tration- The resolutions also condeun
the discharge from government service
Of ex 1nieu soldiers. As the resolutions
were read BY tie chief clerk the mot
absolute silence prevailed on tue TO r
and IN the galleries. he galleries We Q
crowded to apparent discomfort, q my
persons bsing compelled 20 stand. This
vas potsbly true Of the reserved CALLER
les, 10 which sdsisslou Is oaiy psrm +
ted by cards from Senators. many z, n
tlemen and not q few ladies, thou. b
early IN attendance, failing TO dEd Va
can't seats.
Mr. Edmunds proce. ded to the case
10 qaession, that of the Attorney fer the
Sontoern District of Alsoams. He read
the former order Of the suspension Of
Dnskin, and of the nomination of Bur-
nett to succeed Daskin. he also read
the resolutions of the Senate. calling
for the papers on file relating to the
ministrstion Of the office By Du kin,
and the letter of the Attorney General
refusing these papers, and stating that
tie refusal WAS by the direction of the
President. He maintained tt q, she act
Of the President did not remove Dus-
kin. bot simply vitbheid from Dim the
duties and emslaments of the office
pending ,he decision of the matter by
the Senate, and that when the nsmIna-
ion of Barnett was sent to the Senate
Daskin was UoIted States Attorney for
Alabama, and the proposition was that
se should be removed. Mr.. Z imund-
oOntended tbat had the Senate been q
ilrv IL would have been its duty to iua
out how Daskin bad administered his
1tfics. Etmupds then entered on a long
discussion of the circumstances already
made public. In the course of bis re-
marks be said: Suppose soDs Presi-
dent two or three years ago, when We
appropriated one or two hundred thou
sand dollars for contingent expenses of
the Department iast preceding an cleo
ton, should have turned into the
treasury lump vouchers for that whole
amount. Suppose that at the ueKs
meeting Of the Senate and House OF
Representatives they should be of
opinion that the security of the good
government, and as a guard against any
corruption, or the improper use of that
money, 1t vas necessary they should
know what became of 1t. Would il BE-
within the power Of the Secretary of
b. - ka
States to say no IL so, We had better
be extremely careful hereafter as TO how
much money We put into the contingent
fsud for foreign intercourse. The i'm
provement in public methods, 90 far AZ
We bad yet gone, would seem to be
chiefly and most conspieoously the sup
preston and oonoealment Of pablo pa
psrs, With the best intentions uHdoubt
eddy; but Mr.. Edmnnds would repeat
that for the first titus ia forty years or
more, 80 far as be had been able to dis
cover, had either House of Congress
failed to get the information 1t had
asked for from a public department OF
the Government. Why, in respect Of
this very instance. which illustrated the
importance of standing up for this
right of good government. when this
resolution was sent to the Attorney
General there was pending in another
branch of Congress u bill providing for
deficiency OF about $l85,000 in the
Department Of Justice for fees of Jurors
and witnesses, and there was there,
without doubt, a letter of the Attorney
General stating that there must be
added, for the current fiscal year end
ing on the Both of June next, covering
months of parelv Democratic control.
a deficiency of $ls5,0OO. II the case Of
Duskin was fairly illustrative of the
of all the District Attor-
neys and Marshals of the United States,
everything that went TO make up the
autonomy of the administration of JUS
tice, then we have drawn 10 the QuestIC q
what has become of the money that Was
appropriated at the regular session to
carry Oh the administration of justice
throughout the United States. Duskin
vas one of the persons who were to
iraw upon that fluid. In that distric,
he was the very person whose agency
more tnsn that of any other man would
90 to an economical or extravagant,
Just or unjust, expenditure Of public
money. Could We not know anything
about il Take the other sixty or sew
enty districts IN the United States. IL
IT we're deH ed as to Duskla il must be
isnied as to Dorsheimer, to Henry
Marshal of Vermont), and every ether
Il III shall and every other District Attor
ney. What then were We to do III We
TAD passed this resolu ion while We we're
ac ing in legislative war as If there was
any difference In the p-wsrs Of the Sen
tte, whether sitting with opened or
closed doors; if We bad sent pr, oiseiy
this resolution and applied 1t to ali dis
riots in the UaIted States; II the Attor-
ney General and she President we're right
now, they would be right then IN saying
No" We can give you DO informa-
ton, because II We do you may be able
to know the reasons why so many OF
these Marshals and District Attorneys
nave been suspended, aud that is purely
within the province of ths President Of
the United States" This Was the logic
Of our goods friends, the minority OF
the committee, and their good friends,
the ATTORNEY General and the President
of the United Statrs, VINO, with cour-
age certainly unique, had INTERCEPTED
ais supplementary report into the re
port of the minority committee before
the Senate had even considered It.
Was it possible to carry on the Govern
ment IN that way? He (Edmunds)
thought not.
In conclusion. Mr.. Edmunds said that
it DID net seem to him that the Senst,
could fail to get papers On the ground
thss the statute on tae subject had be
come obsolete or gone into a state of
innscuous desuetude." Laughter ]
rhe President himself had sent 10 the
Senate 643 instances of obedience to
that lsv-64s nominations made under
it. and Mr.. Edmunds therefore took 1t
Chat the Law vas still in force.
Mr.. Pueh obtained the -four and the
Senate vent into executive session and
saon al ianrnad