Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-03-12
SENATOR EDMuNDs' SPEECH.

tration to furnish papers called for by
the Senate was opened on Tuesday by
Senator Edmunds. His speech, says one
dispatch, twas listened to by the biggest
crowd seen in the capitol since the inau-
guration. He spoke for two hours in a
very clear and able way, reviewing clear
ly the precedents and showing that by
an almost unbroken line of precedents
the present position of the Senate is sus-
tained."
In opening Mr.. Edmunds said the calm
and orderly administration of a constitu-
tional government is subject in which
the Senate and the House of Representa-
tives and the President and the people
are equally interested, and for which
they are all in their respective stations
and places equally responsible it was in
support of that calm and orderly consti
tutional exercise of the functions of gov
ernment that he now addressed himself
to these resolutions. 1t has been, he said,
at least 40 years since any occasion of
this kind has arisen between the eXecu-
tive department of the government and
the Senate and when little more than
40 years ago a similar, but not the same,
question arose it had then been a long
time since any such question had engag-
ed public attention. The instances in
which there has been evinced the slight
est reluctance on the part either of the
executive or the heads of departments to
respond to the calls of either house of
Congress or of the committees for papers
in possession either of the executive or
of the departments have been very few
indeed Sometimes in the case of politi-
cal fever, as it might be called, there has
been evinced wide years apart reluc
executive or the heads of departments to
do this thing. and then, that storm be-
ing over, the orderly administration
of constitutional government went
on as before and either house of
Congress, on its request or demand,
as the case might be, and the
committees of either house could. with
out direct and positive authority to send
for persons and papers, always obtain
from the department on their mere request
everything they found necessary for the
proper discharge of their duties. Now,
again after almost half a century the
Senate found itself confronted by the re-
fusal of the head of the department of
justice to transmit copies of official papers
and documents relating not to persons
but to things, relating not to officers, but
to offices, on file in the department.
The senator then caused to be read the
statutes relating to the tenure of office
and recess suspensions; read the statutes
creating the department of justice and re-
viewed the Duskin case, and argued that
when the nomination of his successor
(BurnetD ''came to the Senate, Duskin
was the attorney of the United States fo'
Alabama, and the proposition was that
he should be removed by the appoint
ment of the gentleman selected as his
successor if it should meet the approval
of the Senate. Therefore, the Senate, if
it were even jury, and had to submit to
the judgment of the President as a Judge
as to what evidence shall be laid before
it connected with the case. and its rele-
vancy, it would have been relevant Con
the very issue submitted by the Judge to
the iury) to know what was the conduct
and management of that office in the
hands of the person whom the President
asked the Senate to assist him in displac-
ing by the appointment. That ques-
ton had arisen before, not between the
President and the Senate, but in the cab
met councils of the President"
Mr.. Edmunds inquired "what is an
official paper:' and asked the presiding
officer whether he (NIr. Sherman) would
consider 'ofiical' letter addressed to
him as 'president pro tempore Of the Sen
ate, )" relating to a measure pending be-
fore the Senate. IL take it," said Mr..
Edmunds, "that there would be but one
answer to that question. You would
hardly think within the fitness of things,
| take it, to carry it to your house, or put
it in your pocket or put it in your fire
place and destroy it. 1t is addressed to
you in your official character, and that is
what gives character to a paper of what
ever kind it is, whether official or pri-
vate.' As to the suspension of an officer,
the President and the minority of the
Judiciary committee said it was an act
solely within the discretion of the Presi-
dent. So also said the majority of the
committee. But was it not an official act?
The statutes said it was. The President
said it was, and of course it was an Off
cial act. Every paper, therefore, adj
dressed to the officer exercising that Off
cial function, upon that topic, must be
an official paper, no matter how vile or
false it may be. 1t did not belong to the
man whether President or attorney gem