Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-03-17

| SO'erHuonC OF law, Orln g. government
or reason, am quite unable to COM
prehend what would be.
All the operations of the govern
ment, Mr.. Edmunds continued, were
executive, ana had it come to this,
that because the President was the chief
executive officer of the government,
Congress could know nothing as to
the facts and circumstances elatingto-
the execution of the laws, because, if
they did, they might be able to COM
| prehend the motives or reasons of the
President in carrying out the laws?
| Why such q statement was shocking,
| yet that was the logic of this
whole thing. The attorney gen
eral had said that the "pub-
lie interest" would not be subserved
by sending the papers to the Senate.
According to this the public interest
would not be subserved by telling the
Senate-which was asked to help re-
move an officer-what the truth was
lest the truth should disclose to the
Senate, and possibly the public, what
the Presidents reasons were in exer-
cising an official act. Reasons must
be tremendously sacred" said Mr..
Edmunds, if facts were never to be re-
vealed lest the reasons also might be
revealed. And he added: "Official re-
ports on file at the department might
show that the suspended man had
been guilty Of gross violation of inn
portant trusts, packing iuries, etc.;
yet it might interfere with the sacred
ness of the Presidents reasons If
these papers were shown to the SEN
ate."
Taking g. wider view of this question,
Mr.. Edmunds maintained that the
jurisdiction of Congress was broader
than that of the President. Congress
made the laws, and the President had
only executive power, and either
House of Congress had right to know
everything that was in the executive
departments of thegovernment. There
was pending in Congress bill provid-
ing for deficiency of $185, 900 in the
Department of Justice. Duskin was
one of the persons to draw from that
fund, the very man whose agency
would made an economical Or ex-
travagant expenditure of public
money. If this desired information as
to Duskin was denied the Senate, it
must be denied as to Dorsheimer, of
New York, and every other district at
torney. II the Senate had sent pre-
cisely this resolution and applied it to
all districts in the United States-if
the attorney general and the Presi-
dent were right now, they would be
right in saying, then, 'tNo; we can give
you may be able to know the reasons
why so many of these marshals and
district attorneys have been suspend
ed, and that is purely within the
province of the President of the United
States"
The minority. Mr.. Edmunds contin-
ue,l, said there had been no calling for
papers in such a case as this that had
been obeyed until 1867. That was
true, because until 1867 there was no
statute authorizing the President to
suspend any official at all. Mr.. Ed
munds, toward the close OF his speech,
read g. copy of q letter from Mr.. Thur
man, as chairman of committee, to
the attorney general, dated March "a,
1879, calling for "such information as
may be in the possession of your de-
partment concerning the following
nominations, together with any sug-
gestion you may be pleased to note. :"
ION the 7th of April" continued Mr..
Edmunds, "there came in a horse OF g.
different color-the same kind of an
animal that we have here now. Ac-
cordingly on that day this letter was
written to the attorney general:
"The Attorney General of the United
States-SIR: Under the direction of
the judiciary committee OF the Sen
ate, l have the honor to request
that you will communicate to the
committee any papers or information
in pour possession touching the question of
the propriety OF the removal [emphasis by
Mr.. Edmundsl of Michael Shaffer, chief JUS
tice of the supreme court OF the territory OF
Utah, and the appointment OF David T..
Corbin to the Office. Very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
ALLAN A. THURMAN, Chairman.
calais for the Democracy OF those
days." said Mr.. Edmunds. s'Think, Mr..
President, of the infinite idiocy, the
unpatriotism, the usurpation OF that
number of five senators OF the United
States of the Democratic party as
sailing Republican attorney general
and Republican President with the
insulting and impertinent inquiry as
to papers and information touching
a suspended officer whose successor
was nominated to accomplish his re-
moval, andyet those men were IN their
day-in those times-among the head
lights of the Democratic locomotive.
There was Thurman, the greatest
Democrat in the United States ap-
! plause in the galleries and the best
one and the noblest one and the brav-
est one. And there was "Joe' Nc
Donald-a name familiar in the West
as in the East, as the embodiment OF
upright Democratic pluck and
constitutional law; and there
was Garland, whom we all
knew here, the leader on the
Democratic side of the Senate, full
and running over with constitutional
and statute and reported law-know-
ing his rights as O. senator and as a
member of the committee and know
ing his duties and Lamar-and then
all the rest of us on this side joining
in what the present President OF the
United States calls an inpertinent In
novation of his rights in asking for