Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-03-25
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be made with 3 knovledge Of the fact
that more that -four weeks before the
resolution was offered TO the Senate the
term Of Duskin had expired. Then
what possible use could be made OF the
information sought In thai case. lt was
a pure fiction. Why, the report of the
majority declared that the Information
was wanted to enable the Senate TO dis
charge the great duty OF ofmaking an in
quiry as to the pr0priety of an official
act by the President, the power to do
which was conferred upon him by law,
to be exercised within his discretion.
II thew had decided the removal was
improper or unwise, what would have
been the effect of the decision. Could
Il have restored Duskin? Was sus-
pended officer, awaiting the adjourn
ment of the Senate, TO be restored to
the duties of his Office?
The Senate was to-day engaged In an
inquiry about q matter from which
there could be no possible practical re-
suit. 1t was INT Oted question merely,
and the Senate was turned into moot
court to discuss a purely abstract propo-
sition.
What was the relation between the
President and his Cabinet officer? Mr..
Pugh would let Mr.. Edmunds' own
words answer that question. He then
quoted from one OF Mr.. Edmunds'
speeches on the Tenure Of Office act to
show that Mr.. Edmunds held that o
Cabinet officer should DO gentleman
personally agreeable to the President,
being one of his confidential advisers. i
There is. said Mr.. Pugh, a square is
sue made in thereport of the majority
of the judiciary committee with the
President upon matter of fact that is
within his personal knowledge. Are
these papers called for from the AttOr-
ney-G General, such as this Senate has a
right to have i'm the discharge of its du-
ties? The President had stated that the
papers were private and related to moth:
ing over which the Senate had jurisdic-
ton. .f-st ra4 .-} 4.
The majority of the judiciary COM
mittee and its distinguished chairman,
the Senator from Vermont, said that
although private and unfficial, these
would enable the Senate to discharge a
duty it had to perform, a power it
claimed, ofrevising the official act of the
President in suspending Duskin. That
was the undisputed basis of the claim
to these private unofficial papers.
Senator Pugh indorsed all that the
Senator from Vermont had said about
Mr.. Thurman, and added: ayes, Mr..
President, Allen G. Thurman is the
greatest, the wisest and the purest
American statesman now living" This
allusion to Mr.. Thurman was followed
by loud burst of applause in the gall
leries such as had greeted the mention
of his name yesterday. t
Mr.. Pugh had the clerk read what he
considered "a luminous condensation
of the whole argument on this ques-
tion," prepared by Chief Justice Chase
and embodied in a speech which Sena-
tor Sprague delivered in the debate on
the Tenure of Office act and i'm which
the conclusion is reached that the only
function of the Senate in the cases i'll
vOlved in discussion is one of assent or
dissent. He defied the Senator
from Vermont to answer the argument.
He read from the reports of the MINORS
ty as bearing upon the points portion of
an extract from the message of Presi-
dent Grant in 1869 calling attention to
the embarrassments likely to occur
from leaving on the statute books the
Tenure of Office act, and asking what
faith the President could put in suhor-
dinates forced uponshim, and how such
officials would be likely to serve all ad-
ministration knowing that it had no
faith in them. 1t was sought to exer-
else the power by the Senate in select
ing the agents of the President to exer-
else his duty. What was it but compel
ling him to take into his trust man
whom he had suspended?