The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-02-25
ANOTHER THING.


1859 on the Question of Executive
Power"
Judging from Washington dis
patches, one of the most vociferous and
thorough-going of Mr.. Edmunds' lieu
tenants in the contest of the Senate
with the President is General John
Alexander Logan, the son of thunder
from Illinois, who never willingly lets
slip chance to lift up his voice and
cry aloud. To-day, General Logan is
one of the most strenuous upholders of
the right of the Senate to investigate
the Presidents reasons for suspending
Republican Office holders, and in inter
views with numerous correspondents
he manifests disposition to insist on
all the rights which an extreme in
depreciation of the provisions of the
Tenure-of-Office act confer upon the
Senate.
1t was not always thus. In 1869,
when the Tenure-of-Office act was
pending, General Logan was a member
of the House, and his views upon the
propriety of the Senatorial prerogatives
were exactly opposite to those which
he holds now.
At that time General Logan fought
in his fiercest manner the passage of
the present Tenure-of-Office act, and i'll
his most stentorian tones demanded its
abolition. His ideas upon the necessity
of total change in the incumbency of
the offices were embodied in the follow
ing resolution, which he sent to the
Speakers desk and asked to have
passed:
That all civil offices. except those of Judges
of the United States Courts that we're filled by
appO ntment bg the President of the United
States. b. and with the consent of the Senate,
before the 4th of March, 1852 shall be vacant
on the 30th day of June, 1863.
He denounced in round terms the
power which the present Tenure-of-
Office law could give the Senate.
Among other things he said:
The Senate now provides for itself becoming
the executive branch of this Government, so
far As reappo:nting suspended CshcerS Is con-
cerned. 1t the Tenure Of-Oifce bill,
then pendingl doubly gives them the power
which they have wrenched from the co-ordi-
nate branches Of the Government in reference
to patronage do not claim that this is Il
contest for patronage, but IL is a struggle for
power on the part of the Senate, and nothing
else Although have maintained this law
the Teuure-Of-Office act of lSj9, fCt which the
Tenure-of-Ofhce act now IN force and then
pending is Il Substitutel to be constitutional;
although | have argued in favor of its consti-
tutiOhality. yet have believed and believe
now that it was passed for purpose; not be-
cause IT was demanded by the constitution,
but because there was necessity for it (the
Republican necessity of bull-ragging Andrew
JohnSonl. Having once been passed the SEN
ate are determined, seeing how well they can
hold that power in their hands. never to give
it up again for fear that if they give it up
now you will never give it back into their
hands again.
General Logan, ia the last part of
the foregoing quotation, gave" the
secret of the passage of the present
Tenure-of-Oflice act ''away." The
Republican representatives were al
most unanimous in favor of repeal.
and, of course, the Democratic repre-
SentativeS were to mal. SO were
Sherman, Morton, Yates and others of
the Senators. But Trumbull. Edmunds
and Conkling were strenuous for main
tanning 1.-The dignity of the Senate,
and holding on to all the power they
had got into their hands; and they
were able to control majority of the
Senators by promising that the law
would not be enforced while Republic
an Presidents should continue to Occu-
py the White House. That promise
was kept No attempt was made to
enforce the4aw until Mr.. Cleveland be-
came President.
MessrS, HOar, Dawes, Cullom, Hale.
COnger and Allison were members of
the House with Logan and are now Re-
publican Senators with him. They
acquiesced in his remarks and voted
with him in favor of repeal. Holding
such opinions in 1869, which, by the
way, are the simple truth, how do Gen
eral Logan and the Others above named
justify their present course? An ex-
PLANTATION is in order if they have one
to give.
The doctrine which Senator Sherman
asserted to be true in 1S69-that all the
important offices ought to be in the
hands of members of the party in power
is true now. The President has GER
tainly been moderate in making
changes, and there is no tenable ground
for maintaining that any greater ne
cessity exists for the enforcement of the
Tenure-of-Office act than existed then,
when all these gentlemen were in favor
of aholishing it, because it might be
made to hamper the President in the
exercise of the executive power which
rightfully belonged to him. The fol-
lowing was the language of one of the
leaders of the Republicans of the House
in 1869, which General Logan, Senators
Hoar and Dawes and the rest indorsed:
We have now before US II proposition to
clothe the Senate with power TO control the
appointme made by the Executive Now.
I hold taat it is against the principles of this
Government that its executive officer shall be
called upon to do work when he can not con-
troll independent of the officers to do that
work = WHY do I prefer the EXecu-
tive TO the Senate? The Executive is respon-
sible. ANY officer can be called before him
and the Executive can say to him: why do
YOU do this!' ANY representative of the peo-
pie can call an unworthy officer to account
before the President But the Senate sits
there, one Senator being q shield for another.
You go 10 Senator aud say: why was not
this man turneN out?' The answer is: "Oh,
the Senate refused to turn him out" Each
Senator is able to make the same answer to
such an inquiry. You can hold no man re-
sponsiblS.
By the constitution, the Senate has
the right to advise and consent, or to
refuse to advise and consent to the
Presidents nominations. When they
undertake to go further, and seek to
interfere with his right of removal, as.
under the lead of Mr.. Edmunds, the
Republican Senators are seeking to do
now, they are overstepping the consti-
tutional boundaries of their power, and
the President will be sustained by the
country in his refusal to comply with
their demands.
1t must not be forgotten that Sem
ators Sherman, Allison, Hoar, Dawes,
Cullom, Logan, Hale and Conger are
on recordSaS professed believers in the
right of the President alone to control
the removals, and that Senator Eyarts
hos soIamnlv daclared that the inter-