The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-01-27
The Senate Will Require Reasons fol
Suspensions from Office.

The following Washington telegram
D the New York Sun, dated January 20,
iscloses the attitude of the majority of
be Senate towards the Presidents APP
ointments more fully than any state
nent we have yet seen:
The Senate to-day received official
of the attitude of the Admin
stration in regard to furnishing infor-
nation as TO suspensions from Office.
Until Monday there was no intimation
rom any of the departments that such
would be refused. Papers
had been received by the several com
mittees, excepting the Committee on
Finance, in relation to both suspensions
and appointments in numerous cases.
In some instances there were those
TO appointments only, while in
others there was evidence to show that
documents bearing upon both the sus
pension and appointments had been re-
moved from the package and withheld
from the committee. There appeared TO
have been no rule or system in trans
hitting replies, but on Monday change
took effee t.
On that day the Post Office Committee,
the Indian Committee, and the Commit
tee on Iublic Lands received papers in
response to their inquiries, which were
accompanied by letter from the head
of the department from which they
came. On tuesday the Committee on
Commerce and the Committee on the
Judiciary received papers, and to-
day these committees and the Post
office Committee received more. The
letters of transmission were uniform
in every case from all of the depart
ments. There was no longer any show
of carelessness or Indifference in the
preparation of the papers. Each pack
age bore evidence of having been care.
fully examined and put together, and
there was not a line of writing or a doc
| ument of any sort referring to any sus-
pension from Office, except the concfud-
! ing sentence of the letter of transmittal
in which the Cabinet officer informed
| the Chairman of the committee that he
! had not been directed by the President
| TO furnish any information in regard to
suspensions from Office under section
1853 of the Revised Statutes.
This fact was not generally known
about the Senate until to-day. Some Of
the older heads had been together, and
many observations and opinions were
advanced to the new programme, but il
the executive session of the Senate this
afternoon the subject was freely anC
fully discussed and the pdrpose of the
| Republican Senators disclosed.
Nominations that had been made t.
fill vacancies and were not objected tt
were reported from several of the com
mittees and placed upon the calendar
Then the Executive Clerk began to reaC
the list of nominations of a simila
character that had been reported at pre-
vlous sections. AS fast as one would b.
read the President pro TEN. would an
nounce that, in the absence of objeC
lions, it was confirmed. A long list o
Consuls, several of the accounting off
GERS of the Treasury, and some TerritO
rial officials were disposed of in this wa,
until the Clerk read the nomination O
J. A. Dawson, of Colorado, to be Sur
veyor General of Colorado, vice Norman
III. Medium. of New York, suspende,
under section l,76S of the Revised Stat
utes This was the first of the suspend
ed cases reached, and Senator Edn und:
, rising, asked Senator Plumb, the Chair
man of the Committee on Public Lands
from which the nomination had bee
favorably reported, whether the cause
of the suspension had been investigate
by the committee, and if in its opinio
: it was sufficient.
Mr.. Plumb replied that Mr.. Teller, tn
Senator from Colorado, who was also
member of the committee, and bad mad
the report, was more familiar with th
: case than he.
, Mr.. Edmunds said that he would lik
: to hear from the Senator from Colorado
and desired to direct the attention of tn
Senate particularly to the case. II
believed it was the first one of the kline
; Mr.. Teller explained at length tina
while Mr.. Meldrum had been suspended
: there were no charges against him, an
; he did not make an objection to tn
confirmation oe his successor, who was
fit man, aad whose appointment wa
generally commended.
r Mr. Edmunds asked whether tn
| Interior Department had been Gale
, upon for the papers in the case, an
whether any information touching til
suspension had been furnished.
Mr.. Teller replied that the usual il
quiry had been made, and a number @
, papers had been sent to the committee
but there was nothing in them to sho'
the cause of suspension. He was awar
that there was no information of thi
sort on the files of the department., Q
the committee would not have reporte
the case.
Mr.. Edmunds then made an extende,
speech, in which he took the groun
that the Executive branch of the Gov
eminent could, and should, be made +
furnish all of the information in 1t
possession touching the suspension o
officials. The President night not b
called upon to explain his acts, but tn
Senate was justified in asking of him al
of the information in his possession upol
/. which his action was based. Mr.. Ed
munds said that the Administration ha,
decided not to furnish any papers Il
show the reasonl of suspension, and ha,
taken the position, he understood, tina
the President alone had the power t.
suspend, and that the Senate was no
entitled to advise him in regard to any
thing but appointments He did no
agree to this doctrine, and, furthermore
the officials who were suspended ant
their friends were entitled to know wha
charges had been made, and what othe
Influences had been exerted to brin,
about removals under an Administrator
which had repeatedly declared tina
faithful officials should be retained il
Office, and that removals would not b,
made except for cause. Mr.. Edmund
declared very positively that he would
not agree to the confirmation of ths
successor of any suspended official unles.
the Administration would furnish infor
nation upon which the Senate NIGH
act inteligently. He was in favor Of
authorizing each committee to send fol
persons and papers, and to bring before
| it the members of the Cabinet if neces
sary to ascertain the information upon
| which suspensions had been made.
Several other Sc lators engaged in the
discussion on the Republican side, TAX
ing the same views as Mr.. Edmunds, and
all very strongly expressing their ap
| proval of the suggestion to search the
| files of the department in each case.
| The only Democratic Senator who
spoke was Mr.. Salisbury, who defended
| the Administration and held that the
Senate had no right to inquire into the
reasons of suspension.
After = long debate, which lasted