St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-03
Senator Beck Asserts That the Position
the President Assumes on Removals
Is UnasSailable.
The President Sends Message to Con-
gress Calling Attention to the
Chinese Riots.
MontgOmery's Strange views OF our
school system Ventilated III
the senate.
A Pyrotechnic Display In the House
over Pensions whitney on the
Broadway franchise.
The stand Taken Approved.

Special to the Globe
WASHINGTON, March 2.-Senator Beck
NAV not agree with the president on silver,
but he is with him in his controversy with
the senate The presidents refusal to give
up the papers for which the senate is ask
ing is, he thinks, a matter of policy and not
OF right.
These papers, he said, ''are not on file
No paper is on file for which the law does not
provide place. Can the president destroy
these papers if he wishes? That is the best
test as to his rights. The president cannot
destroy any paper which is o. file in any of
the departments without rendering himself
liable 10 punishment under the law. Sup
pose he should take all these papers relating
10 removals and make bonfire OF them!
Could any one stop him or punish him for it?
They could not Then these papers are not
on file, and the senate has no right to them.
No one has any right TO them but the persons
who wrote them. If the president wishes, he
can put n card in the papers tomorrow, an
nouncing that he will return all those papers
to their writer's. No one could prevent his
doing so. The senate could not make the
people, TO whom he returned the papers, tell
what was i'm them. The law says the presi-
dent may remove
IN HIS DISCRETION.
These papers concern only that act Of re-
moval. Whether the president abandoned
that right of removal in his letter TO Curtis,
is 4 question of policy. As matter of right,
the senate is not entitled to these papers.
Senator Beck said further that if he had
been president, all these OtficehOlders, or at
least those who had themselves the distri-
button of patronage, should have gone long
ago.
.'They call it 'to the victor belongs the
spoils,'" said he. 'lt is not a question of
spoils. 1t is a question whether the president
shall have associated with him people who
are in sympathy with him, and who will work
TO make his administration a success. l
would not try to run a bank if my clerks were
trying TO down me. l would not run farm
If my manager was trying to down me. Ii is
the presidents duty TO appoint to those offices
on whose administration the success of the
government largely depends persons who are
in political sympathy with him..
Speaking of tile probable result of the
present controversy, Senator Beck said he
did not believe Mr.. Edmunds could bring
his men tOgether-that is, unless he got
them into a hot discussion. There We're
some independent men upon that side of
the chamber, Bowen and Cameron and
Plumb among them, who spoke right out
and said what they thought, and they were
not going to allow themselves to be led into
any technicalities by Mr.. Edmunds. Sena-
tor Beck will probably take an active part
in the debate which is promised this week.
He is one of the most earnest and effective
of the Democratic orators in the senate.