Morning journal and courier., 1886-03-11
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE. Senator Pugh Replies
 To Edmunds. MEN COMPELLED TO STRIKE. Forced Out On The Gould
 System. A FEARFUL CRASH OF TRAINS. People Freezing To Death
 Hm Europe.
A FEARFUL CRASH OF TRAINS
SENATOR PUGH HAS HIS SAY.

SENATOR PUGH HAS HIS SAY.
 The Democratic Defense of The Attor-
 ney Generals Position Another In-
 stalIment To Be Launched On The
 Senate This Afternoon.
 WASHINGTON, March 1O.-The Senate gal leries were crowded again to-day by persons eager to hear what Senator Pugh would have to say in answer to Senator Edmunds on the resolution censuring the Attorney General for refusing to furnish the Senate the papers relating to the suspension of District Attor ney Duskin of Alabama After the usual routine business had been disposed of Mir. Riddleberger asked Senator Logan how he had got the letter of Captain Eads in the Record. MT. Logan answered that he had nothing to do with the matter. The Virginia Senator ended some remarks on the matter by saying: ''Let the representative of Eads who had presented the letter take care of him" Eads). This statement brought MT. Logan to his feet with the retort that If MT. Riddleberger called him the representative of Eads or anybody else except the people he stated what was absolutely untrue. A scene of confusion ensued, amid which, as no agreement of reference could be reached, the resolution went over.
 At o'clock MT. Pugh took the floor to op- pose the Judiciary committee reso- lution censuring the Attorney General. Mr. Pugh opened his speech by saying he had expressed his views fully on the subject of the debate in report made by the minority of the Judiciary committee, and the main ob- ject he had now in reply to the Senator from Vermont was to prevent-what he admitted was 8 difficult undertaking-tha Senator from changing the character of the question between the Senate and the President, The real character of that controversy could not be misunderstood or misrepresented, as 1t had arisen upon facts reported by the ma jor ity of the Judiciary committee. When the Senator from Vermont was at the wheel said MT. Pugh, he steered by his own chart; he never ran on straight lines. He never con- suited other sailors and he lost his temper when there was any the officer of the ship undertook to select crew to man without his advice he instantly headed a mritiny. At a risk of mourning the displeasure of his honorable and distinguished friend he should call a reckoning so that we might understand where we are and whither we are drifting. The facts by which the Senate should be guided were few and simple. MT. Duskin, the district attorney, was suspended on the 17th of July last and on the same day MT. Bennett was designated by the President to perform the duties of that office. The 14th of December, the Senate being in ate to get it's advice and consent to his ap pointment. That nomination referred to the Judiciary committee and it lay there over a month. Meantime, on the 20th of December, the term of the office of Duskin expired On the Both of January, 1886, one
 1 -s,. l.. and when he was no longer an incum- bent of that office, a resolution was sent by the Senate to the Attorney Gen eral calling for the papers in the case. For what purpose, he asked, was that informa- ton soughta The majority of the committee stated distinctly the purpose for which the papers were sought. Here MT. Pugh read from the majority report the passage ending with the declaration that "the public inter est and the public duty would require that the facts be made known in order that the Senate may understandingly and promptly advise their removal" The use the Senate intended to make of the doc uments and papers sought from the Attor- nev General was to enable the Senate to ex- ercise the power of revising the act of re- moval of Duskin by the President. What was the character of the information sought by the Senate from the office of the Attor ney General? The resolution, the Senator said, spoke for itself on that subject;
 Resolved That the Attorney General of the United States be and is hereby directed to trans init to the Senate copies of all documents and pa pers
 Not public documents, not official docu- ments, not public or official papers, bu5 pri- vate documents and private papers relating exclusively to an official act of the President in the suspension of Duskin district at torney The inquiry proposed by the Sen ate was to be made with a knowledge | of the fact that more than four weeks be | fore the resolution was offered to the Senate l the term of Duskin had expired. Then what possible use could be made of the in- | formation sought in that easel It was a | the majority declared that the l information was wanted to enable l the Senate to discharge the great | duty of making an inquiry as to the | propriety of an official act; the power to do which was conferred upon him by law to be | exercised within his discretion. If they had decided that the removal was improper or unwise what would have been the effect of | the decision2 Could it have restored l Duskin? Was suspended officer awaiting | the adjournment of the Senate to be restored | to the duties of his office? The Senate was l to-day engaged in inquiry about matter | from which there could be no possible prac- l tical resulta It was a mooted question | merely and the Senate was turned into a | moot court to discuss purely abstract prop osition The refusal of the Attorney Gener- ! al five weeks after the expiration of his term
 of office, in obedience to the express order of the President, to send in the private docu- of Duskin Was criticised in the
 resolution of the majority as vio- lation of duty, and that violation 1 was denounced as being subversiye of the l principles of government and of good admin | istration, an act so characterized as to make
 it sufficient ground for impeachment | What was the relation between the Pfesl- | dent and his Cabinet oficersa Mir. Pugh | would let Mr. Edmunds' own words answer
 that question. He then quoted from one ot
 Mir Edmunds' speeches on the tenure of office
 act to show that MT. Edmunds held that 8
 Cabinet officer should be gen.
 tleman personally agreeable to
 confidential advisers Yet the Senate wal | asked to pass a resolution condemning the
 Attorney General for obeying the President
 whose adviser he was, who stood in that re
 lation of trust and confidence to him 1ndl
 cated by the quotation made from the speecf
 of the Senator from Vermont The Attorney General was asked by this resolution to dis
 regard the positive order of the President
 and thereby make himself liable to dismlssa
 from his Cabinet.
 There is, satd MT. Pugh, q square issu'
 made in the report of the majority of the Ju
 dietary committee with the President upon
 matter of fact that is within his persona
 knowledge: "Are the papers called for iron
 the Attorney General such as the Senate ha right to have Tn the discharge of it's duties?
 The President had stated that the paper
 were private and related to nothing
 over which the Senate had jurisdic
 tion. The majority of the Judic
 iary committee and it's distinguished chair
 man, the Senator from Vermont, said tha
 although private and unofficial these would
 enable the Senate to discharge duty it ha,
 to perform-a power it claimed-of fevisinI the official act of the President in suspend
 ing Duskin That was the undisputed basi
 of the claim to these private unofficial pa
 pers. It was the power of the Senate to ex . ercise the control and the revision over tn .. act of suspension or removal that was claim ed as exercised and given to the Senat by the constitution of consenting t . appointment Is there anything t said MT. Pugh, in the history of the gov 3 ernment to suppart the claima The distir , guished Senator from Vermont has presente l a long array of what he calls facts" I UT , dertake to say, and challenge denial upo the fullest test, that there is no case in tn a history of the government for eighty year E where any such documents as those calle
 for in this resolution were ever transmitte