The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-03-13
A Singular Message.


Monday by President Cleveland is an
extraordinary document. Mr.. Ed
munds appropriately likened it to the
messages sent to Parliament by that
misguided monarch Charles l. The
Presidents reason for undertaking to
lecture a coordinate branch of the
Government on its powers and duties
is not clear. The Constitution, about
which he talks with so much volubil-
ity, specifically declares that he shall
give to Congress Information of the
state of the Union and recommend to
their consideration such measures as
he shall judge necessary and expe-
dent"
In this message he recommends no
measure, says nothing about the state
of the Union ; but gives much misin-
formation on a subject on which the
Senate has asked from him no advice
whatever. His obtrusion was doubt
less due to distruSt of the Demo-
cratic Senators, and to confidence in
his own superior ability to deal with
the question and to desire to get
before the country his own statement
of the case. His distrust of the abil-
ity of the Democratic Senators to
furnish satisfactory reason for sup
pressing public documents is amply
borne out by the report they presen-
ted yesterday on the subject. But,
stripped of its verbiage and deliber-
ate misstatements, the Presidents
communication is much the weaker
of the two documents.
The message is all based on mis-
statement made in its first paragraph.
Ever since the beginning of the
present session of the Senate" the
President says, COMMITTEES of the
Senate and the Senate itself haye
been requiring the transmission of
rea sons for the suspension of certain
officials" He then goes on to attack
the report of the judiciary Commit.
tee on the ground that it censures the
Attorney General for refusing to
transmit certain papers relating to a
suspension from Office. 1t is impOs-
sible to believe that the President
does not know that the Senate has
not in any case "required the trans
mission of reasons for the suspension"
of an official, and that the judiciary
Committee resolutions do not propose
to censure the Pan Electric Attorney
General for refusing to transmit pa
pers relating to suspensions. The
Senate resolution calling for the pa
pers was as follows:
Resolved, That the Attorney Gen.
eral of the United States be. and he
hereby is, directed to transmit to the
Senate copies of all documents and
papers that have been filed in the
Department of Justice since the first
day of January, A. d. 1885. in rela-
ton to the management and conduct
of the Office of District Attorney of
the United States for the Southern
District of Alabama.
There is not word about reasons
for suspensions in this resolution. 1t
calls for papers "that may have been
filed" in relation to the management
and conduct of an Office covering a
period of over six months of the time
of the present incumbent and over
six months of the time of his prede-
cessor. What excuse is there for the
President deliberately obtruding this
extraordinary misstatement From
such false premises he proceeds to
argue that the Senate has no right to
review the act of the Executive in re-.
moving or suspending a public Off.
GER. 1t is the business of the Presi.
dent to see that the laws are executed.
Neither he nor any Department head
has any right to take into considera-
ton any supposed motives or pur-
poses that either house may have in
calling for official papers. Such an
assumption on his part is gratuitous
and betrays evidence that he appre-
ciates the weakness Of his case.
Equally absurd, and even more
ridiculous, is his statement that
papers relating to suspensions are Al
ed in the Departments for his own
convenience, and that he can carry
them away with him. Doubtless
many of them, if not all, "are irrele.
want and worthless" as he says but
if so they have no business in the
archives of the Government. If they
are placed there on file the right of
Congress to examine them is unques-
tionable. In all cases heretofore de-
mands for official papers and files
have been complied with, 1t is only
in this time of Reform that it has
been thought important that the his
toric and administrative facts relat-
ing to the personal conduct of officers
of the Government should be with.