Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-12-13
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LANCASTER. DECEMBER Is, 1885.
Wanting Beaver.

Governor elect Beaver has been in Phila-
delphia to see the party bosses, who are
concerning themselves now about his Sc
lections for secretary of state and attorney
general. Senator Cooper desires the first
place but unfortunately is barred from it
by the constitutional provision which de-
claree that no senator or representative
snAll, during the term for which he shall
have been elected, be appointed to any
civil Office under this commonwealth"
Being senator,i it is plain that Mr.. Cooper
cannot be secretary of state during the
senatorial term for which he has been
elected. He thinks he can make himself
eligible by resigning his senatorial Office {;
but evidently his resignation would not
shorten !" the time" for which he was
elected and that he thinks it would, seems
to convincingly show that Mr.. Cooper is
not fit to be either secretary or senator. A
man who could misunderstood, for his own
profit, 80 plain a constitutional provision
as this, is evidently not to be trusted either
Is the maker or construer and executor of
the laws. According to Cooper the con.
stitutional provision in question only
amounts to a declaration that a senator
shall not hold civil office while he is sena-
tor. If this had been its intent it would
have been very easy of expression. But
the evil to be corrected was of another
kind. 1t was intended to keep
those whom the people had en-
trusted with legislative functions free
from temptation to use the power
thus confided to them to obtain more pro-
fitable civil offices and to relieve the ap-
pointing power from the embarrassment of
solicitation by legislators, during their
terms. If they could make themselves
eligible by resignation it is evident thai
this intent of the constitution would be
defeated.
The public is watching General Beaver
with much interest, in his selections for the
important Offices he has to fill, because it
will find in them the character of his ad-
ministration and the degree of individuality
which he will impress upon 1t.
The question is whether it is TO
be Beavers administration or the
bosses, and whether it is to be run
in the public or in private interests. The
general suspicion is that General Beaver
win be but creature, and that the public
interests will be sacrificed whenever private
interests, close to administration support
ers, demand it. 1t is hardly possible, with
what is known Of General Beavers charac-
ter, that there is any agreeable disappoint-
ment in reserve for the public. He is re-
garded as weak man, of such material as
tools are made. His persistent selection
by the bosses as their candidate for COVER
nor, after he had been once beaten by the
people, and when there were notably weak
points in his record, shows that they at
least expect to use him, and that he will
disapp0int their expectations wholly, if he
shows any persistent independence. He is
Sunday school superintendent, but that
is no guarantee to the public that he will
prove high toned and honest and indie.
pendent governor.
If he is what he is thought to be, the men
who should fill the offices at his disposal will
not get them; and if they do they will not
keep them. Honorable men who enter
public Office do SO with intent to discharge
their duty honestly and as intelligently and
vigorously as they know how. If Beaver
is a. he is painted no such men could work
with him.