The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-03-11
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
The President Gives His Views on
the Right of Removals.

WASHINGTON, March 2-The following
IS the message sent to tie Senate yesterday
/ by the President relating to his right to
withhold information relating to suspen-
sions from Office:
To the Senate of the United States:
Ever since the beginning of the present
session of the Senate the different heads of
departments have been piled with various
questions and requests for papers from CON-
mittees of the Senate. from the members of
such committees. and at last from the Sem
ate itself, requiring the transmission of the
reason for the suspension of certain officials
during the recess of that body, or for papers
touching the conduct of such officials, or for
all papers and documents filed in such de
partments IN relation to the management
and conduct of the offices held by such sus-
pended officials, Different terms were from
time to time adopted in making these re-
quests and demands. The order in which
they succeeded each other, and the fact that,
when made by the Senate, a resolution for
that purpose was passed in executive session
gives the right TO presumption which will,
i suppose, be candidly admitted that from
first to last the information thus sought and
the papers thus demanded is for the use of
the Senate and its committees in considering
the proprlety or the suspensions referred to-
DEFENDING MIR. GARLAND.
Though these suspensions are the execu-
tive acts based upon considerations ad-
wholly responsible, | have had no invitation
from the Senate to state the position which
have felt constrained TO assume in relation
: to the same, or TO interpret for myself my
acts and motives i'll the premises. In this
cOnd tion of affairs l have forborne ad-
dressing the Senate on the subject lest
might he accused of thrusting myself unbid-
den on the attention of that body. But the
Committee on Judiciary lately presented
published report which cenSureS the AttOr-
ney General OF the Tn ted States for his re-
transmit relating
suspensions from office, and which also if i
correctly Interpret it evinces Misrepresentation
of the position of the executive upon the
question of such suspensions. and viii,
hope, justify this communication"
The President refers to the resolution of
the Senate calling for the Dustin papers
and the reply of the Attorney General
thereto, and says:
Upon this resolution and the answer there
TO, the issue is thus stated by the Committee
on Jud ciary at the outset of the report. The
important question then is whether it is
within the constitutional competence of
either house of Congress to have access to
the official papers and documents in the
various public Offices of the United States
created by laws enacted BY themselves.
JURISDICTION OF CONGRESS.
i do not suppose that 1.-The public officers
of the United States" are regulated or con-
trolled in their relations TO either house of
Congress by the fact that they were created
by laws enacted by themselves" 1t must be
that these instrumentalitieS were created for
the benefit of the peop.e and TO answer the
general purposes of government under the
constitution and the laws and that they are
unncumhered by any lien in favor of either
branch of Congress, growing out of their
construction, and unenbarrased by any obi
cation to the Senate as TO the price of their
creation.
The complaint of the committee that ac-
cess to official papers in the public offices is
denied the Senate is met by the statement
that at no time has it been the disposition
or the intention of the President or any de-
partmcnt of the executive branch of the
Government to withhold from the Senate
official documents or papers filed in any of
the public offices. While it is no means
conceded that the Senate has the right in
any case to review the act of the executive
in removing or sGSpending public officer
upon official documents or otherwise, it is
considered that documents and papers
of that nature should, because they
are official, be freely transmitted to the
Senate upon its demand, trusting the use of
the same for proper and legitimate pur-
poses to the good faith of that body, and
though no such paper or document has been
specifically demanded in any OF the hume
rOuS requests and demands made upon the
departments, yet as often as they were
found in the public offices they have been
furnished in answer 10 such applications.
The President continues:
The letter of the Attorney General in re-
Spouse to the resolution OF the Senate in e.
gard TO the particular case mentioned in the
committees report was written at nv Sug-
gestion and by my direction. There had been
10 official papers or documents filed in his
department relating to the case within the
period specified in the resolution. The letter
was intended, by its descr ption of the docu-
mentS and papers remaining in the custody
OF the department. to convey the idea that
they were not official. and it was assumed
the resolution called for Information. papers
and documents of the same character as
were required by the requests and demands
which preceded it, and every thing that had
been wr tten or done in behalf of the Senate
from the beginning pointed to all letters Of
private and unofficial nature as the
object of the search, if they were
provided they had been presented to the ex-
ecutive with view to their consideration
upon the question of suspension from office.
Against the transmission of such papers and
documents / have interpoSed my advice and
direction.
THE PAPERS UNOFFICIAL.
Iris has not been done, as is suggested in
the committees report, upon the assumption
on my part that the Attorney General or any
other head of a department lis the servant
of the President and is to give or withhold
cop es of documents in his Office according
to the will of the executive and not other
WISE" hut because | regard the papers and
documents withheld and addressed to me or
intended for my use and action as purely I'M
official and private, not infrequently conf
dental and having reference to the per-
fOrmance of duty exclusively mine. / con
slider them in no proper sense as upon the files
of the department, but as deposited there
for my conven ence, remaining still COM
pletelY under NV control. | suppose if de-
sired to take them into my custody / might
do so with entire propriety and if ] saw fit to
destroy them no one could complain.
The papers ana documents that are now
the object of the Senate request consist of
letters and representations addressed to the
executive or intended for his inspection.
They are voluntarily written and presented
by private citizens who are not in the least
instigated thereto by an, official Invita- on,
or at all subject to official control. While
konc of them are entitled to executive con
sIderation. many of them are irrelevant
or the light of other facts so worthless
that they have bot been given the least
weight in determining the question to which
they are supposed TO relate.
Are all these simply because they are pre-
served to he considered official documents
and subject 10 the Inspection of the Senate: ,
III not, who is to determine VIII CHI belong to /
this class! Are the motives and purposes OF /
the Senate, as they are day by day developed |
such as would be satisfied with INV selec- !
ton? Am to submit TO theirs ut the risk !
of being charged with making q suspens on ]
from Office upon evidence which was not |
even considered: Are these papers to he re- /
garded u Offic nj because they have not only !
been presented but preserved in the public |
Otce>E 1nclr nature ana character remain /
the same whether they are kept in the exec |
utive mans on or deposited in the depart !
mentS. There is no mysterious power of 4
in departmental custody. nor is !
there magic in the underlined sacred solem- !
II ty of different files. If the presence of /
these papers n the public offices IS a stumb- !
ling block in the way of the performance of |
senatorial duty, il can be easily removed. !
The papers and documents which have been /
described derive no official character from
and statutary. or other re- /
Quirement. making them necessary TO the !
performance of the Official duty of the ex- |
ecut.Ve.
PREROGATIvES OF THE PRESIDENT.
IT will not be denied / suppose, that the I
President may suspend a public officer IN the |
entire absence of any nanerS OR documents |