The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-03-06
OgFlolA1 or PRIVATE rApENs,

TIE Law and the PFscSdOnta--An Interesting
Review,
Rlshiagi0H COresDORdeNcc N. Y, Pot (udgl
The Republicans are preparing for a
demonstration against the President.
Some Of them had not regarded the move.
ment which culminsted in the Edmunds
resolution with much favor, but the mes.
sage Of the President has united them at
least on one point. They do not nov TT
cept, any more than they did at the be.
ginning OF the session, the doctriee ol Mr.
Edmunds that the function the Senate
Ia dual, and that, under their 0athS, the
Senators are as much required to consent
and advise 10 The removal Of Bn officer as
they are 10 consent and sdvise in the case
Of an appointment. But aside FROM differ.
snca OF opinion as to the nature
of the constitutional power Of re-
moval and the Tsnure-of,0Hi2e Act,
the Republican Senators are united
upon the proposition that any
paper that ia on the file Of any Of the ex.
tcntive departments ia q public paper for
which either house Of CODgress has the
right b call, and which may not DO with.
held from tho Senate. The distinction
which the President makes In his message
betweena public and private paper the
Republicans claim 10 wholly untenable.
1t is, moreover, as q matter of fact, a dis,
tinCtlou which Is NOT recognized by the
departments themselves. II Is the
immemorial rule in the departments
that when any paper Is received, II Is
hrst decided whether It Ia a public
or a private paper. II 1t Ia public
paper, It is placed upon the official Ales,
aud the answer to y, Il one 10 made, Is
copied In the olllCial.letter book, II 1t lie
not public paper, the paper is put In the
private-letter book, and the document
itself Is not placed upon the official iles.
This, according 10 one OF the oldest and
most experienced bureau officers OF the
Government, Is the unvarying custom.
And when paper has once been placed
upon the official files, 1t Is regarded as the
properly OF the Government, which no
officer has the right TO mutilate, to elIAcl,
10 remove, or to destroy.
The distraction between official and pri.
vate papers In the custody OF the Depart.
ment was once considered by the officers
Of the Treasury under peculiar Cinum.
stances. A part Of the report OF the y, c.
rotary OF the Treasury found lts way into
the newspapers. II was suspected that
part Of the rough draft a the Secrt tiry's
private notes had been stolen. The point
was raised whether the persons who took
that draft could not be punished, under
section 8, 45G Revised Statutes, for having
stolen the personal property ofthe United
States. The maximum penalty for such
an oLIense Is fine Of $1,000 and imprlson.
ment for ten years. The law officers
OF the Department were understood
not 10 be able to sgree as to the
legal character Of the paper, whether 1t
was a private memorandum or the per-
sonal property Of the United States, and
the guilty newspaper w8B not compelled
to disclose the origin oil Its information.
There is no record OF this m1tter, for 1t
was private, but the facts "a stated are
one Of the traditions Of the Treasury De.
partment, There can DO little doubt that
the law officers would decide that docu.
ment which had been placed upon the
official files was the properly Of the United
States, and that the official who allowed
them to be permanently removed from
the files would be liable to prosecution
under some Of the criminal statutes Of the
United States.
For these rcasonp, and many others
which are the staple Of talk just now, the
Republican Senators are Of tho opinion
that the distinction which the President
makes between public and private papers
on the file Ia not tenable. The place for
private papers which are hot for the Of
ilcial files, It is suggested, 10 at the White
House, where they are under the i'm
mediate control Of the Executive. DIFF
ferent Presidents have treated these
White House files upon different theories.
Most Of them have been regarded as OF.
fetal. President Hayes took with him in
bis retirement at Fremont, o., several
boxes Of documents Of various sorts, In.
Guiding the famous scrap book, some Of
which were afterwards wanted by the per.
SONS who sent them to Washington but IL
q "a. A a