Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-17
wEDyESDAY....MARCH Il, 1886.


quotes an act OF Congress as settling
beyond a doubt the question now in
dispute between the President and the
Senate. 1t is quoted in reply to the
Presidents contention, which, stated in
his own words, is as follows:
THE PRESIDENTS CLAIM" Are
these papers to be regarded as official
because they have not only been pre-
scented but preserved in the public
Offices? Their nature and character
remain the same whether they are kept
in the Executive Mansion or deposited
in the departments. There is no mys-
FERROUS power Of transmutation in the
departmental custody, nor is there
magic in the underlined and sacred So
lemnity OF department files. II the
presence Of these papers in the public
Offices is a stumblingblock in the way
Of the performance of senatorial duty
it can be easily removed
The President thus resorts to the
yeductio od QbSurdHm, and tells the
Senate that be will file no more papers
in the departments while the world
stands if their presence in those depart
ments prevents the Senate from discharg-
ing its duties as a legislative body au-
thorized to assistth Executive in making
appointments. In making appointments,
notice not in making removals, nor in
suspending Government officers. But
here is the section of the act Of Con-
gress which our Republican contempo-
rary quotes with so much confidence in
its power to end all controversy:
THE STATUTE.-Eyery person who
wilfully destroys or attempts to de-
stroy, or. with intent to steal or de-
stroy, takes and carries away any
record, paper, or proceeding OF a court
of Justice filed or deposited with any
clerk or officer Of such court, or any
paper, or document, or record filed or
deposited in any public office or with
any judicial or public officer, shall,
without reference to the value Of the
record. paper, or document, or proceed
ing so taken, pay fine of not less than
$4,000. or suffer Imprisonment at hard
labor not more than three years, or
both.
The italics are not ours. The law
does not apply to the papers which the
President wthholds from the Senate.
1t applies only to such papers as are
described in the law. The President
need not deposit nor file in any public
office any document or paper that he re-
fuses to send to the Senate. Why not?
For the conclusive reason that the pa
pers he withholds are not such as the
law describes. But even if they were
such papers, the President could leave
them where they are and refuse to send
any Of them to the Senate in executive
session. Congress is one body. The
Senate in executive session is another
body.
Again In order to prove astatutory
offence against the President, it would
have to be shown to the satisfaction Of
the jury that he removed the papers
with intent to steal and destroy"
them. Oh, Mr.. EDMUNDs .
Mr.. KENNA exposed the gross in
consistency Of the Senate to the mercl-
less criticism Of the world when he
called attention TO the fact that day
after day, Immediately after arraigning
the President for putting the seal Of
secrecy upon certain papers, the Senate
solemnly went into executive session
and thus put the seal Of secrecy not
only upon all the papers which had
been sent to that body by the President
or any head Of department, but upon
ell the proceedings had in the Senate
whilst it was thus barred in from the
world. 4 senator is not allowed to
tell what is done in that star-chamber
court.
Mr.. EDMUNDs must know that he is
engaged in a hopeless undertaking,
Suppose the Senate pass bis resolu'
tion-what then? "What of itS"
"what is be going to do about ity"
The President need not trouble himself
even to read the resolution. 1t would
be /" wind-puddipg" sure enough.
Suppose the House Of Representa-
tiyes pass resolution affirming the
Presidents right to withhold from the
Senate in executive session all such pa.
pers as he has withheld from the latter
BODY?