The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-03-10
7ToRGB F. EDMUNDs.
WHAT He Knows of Civil
" D"' service Reform.
~, 4ryyOCUOUS DESUETUDE." "
u,n IN Earnest Between Him
"'' IA His Fellow Reps. and
the President.
SENATE

w.sHryGroy, March 9.-Under the
lad of unfinished business The Senate
.,ok mn the resolutions reported by
rdmoDds from the judiciary committee.
These resolutions, among other things,
.ondemn the Attorney-General for re-
t7s;Dg to transmit to the Senate the
,spers called for by the Senate and
isolare that refusal to be violation by
tho Attorney-General of official duty
and subyersiye of the fundymental
rrinciples of government and good ad-
minis. ration. The resolutions also con
demn the discharge from government
.s-vlce of ex-Uni0n soldiers. As the
resolutions were read by the chieI
clerk the most absolute silence prevailed
on the floor and in the galleries The
galleries we're crowded TO apparent dis
comfort, many persons being compelled
to stand. This vas notably true of the
-sserYed galleries to which admission is
only permitted by cards from Senators;
many gentlemen and not few ladies,
though early in attendance, failing to
find vacant seats.
Fdmunds considered the law under
which the Office of the Attorney
General was created, and made
az exhaustive argument in sup
port OF the majority report.
He proceeded to the case in question,
that of the Attorney for the Southern
District of Alabama. He read the for
ller order of the suspension of Duskin
and of the nomination Of Burnett to
succeed Duskin. He also read the re
solution of the Senate calling for the
papers on file relating to the ministra-
ion of the Office by Duskin, and the
letter of the Acknowledgement refusing
these papers, and stating that the re-
tasal was by the direction of the Pres
dent. He maintained that the act of
the President did not remove Duskin,
but simply withheld from him the
duties and emoIuments of the office,
pending the decision of the mat
Ter by the Senate, and that
when the nomination of Burnett
was sent to the Senate. Duskin was
United States Attorney for Alabama,
and the proposition was that he should
be removed. Mr.. Edmunds contended
that had the Senate been a jury, it
would have been its duty to find out
now Duskin had administered his
office. Mr.. Edmunds then entered
Oh long discussion of the cir
cumstances of the case. In the !
said: Suppose some President, two or
thres years ago, when we appropriated |
100000 or $500, 900 for contingent ex-
penses of the department of justice, |
preceding an election, should have !
turned into the Treasury lump vouch- |
s-s for that whole amount. Suppose |
that at the next meeting of the Senate |
and House of Representatives, that |
hey should be OF Rpinion that as a
guard against any corruption or i'm
proper use Of that money, it was neces-
sary they should know what became of |
1, would it be in the power of the !
Secretary Of State or the PIesi- |
lent of the United States to say
No'P II so, We had better be |
extremely careful hereafter as to how
l1ch money weput into the contingent |
.lnd for foreign intercourse. Improve
aent IN public methods, so far as we
1ad yet gone, would seem to be chiefly
aaG most c9nsplcuoously the suppression
saO c0ncealment OF public papers, with
;4e best intentions, undoubtedly. but
NJ; Edmunds would repeat that for the
rs, lime IN forty years, or more, so far
Is lie had been able to discover, had
sIher house of Congress failed to get the
-1!ormatlon 1t had asked for from the
glohe department of the government.
WY, IN respect of this very instance,
mich Illustrated the importance of
sanding up for this right of good gov
eihment when this resolution was sent
The Attorney-General, there was
pending IN another branch of Congress
oil providing for defcier of about
s-SoeOO In the Department Il Justice
y! ices OF Jurors and witnesses, and
,4ese was there, without doubt, letter
= me Acknowledgement stating that
ses must be added for this current
1s SI' year, ending on the 30th OF June
80, year covering twelve months of
gerely Democratic control. q defiriencv 6
u 4e?,eR. In the case of Dusk:G
IAN. - lalfly Illustrative of the circum-
,n-N JeS OF all district ATTORNEYS and
rTe- -oI4lS OF the United States, eyery- 8
51,,. . sA ~ went to make up the auton- {
n.y. u me administration of Justice, !
hos 'i b We nave drawn in question what
10y, csCVule OF the money that was ap-
ss.vpAated at the regular session TO
-: Th the administration of Justice !
10 ruo9t the department of Justice in I
he III LII States. Duskin was one of
ma {eiSohs who were to draw upon that
re-So, IN mat district, he was the very 7
5nv N.Y. ot, whose cency, more than that of i
onic oineI man, would go to an econ $
o, rni,st al e1traYagant-luSt
.ono,: 1St-e1pendlture of the public '
l5On.' :. couId We not know anything Q
sS sI. It, Take the other sixty OF e
Slly districts in the United States.
M. we're denied to us, as to Duskin. it 5
Ben. .1, Oe denied as to DorsI elmer, as to I
o5IN Marshal of YermonD and every b
4to,rstai Isn Ia and every other District q
what, then, were we to do? t
rbaS had passed this resolution t
t7s We were acting in a Iegisla- $
LII, Say-as if there were any t
FhsfSatce IN the powers of the Senate r
case5 1s !. sitting with open or with /
LIS r euJoTs-if We had sent precisely a
iicts iiS = ~ and applied it to all dis S
sey-Gmathe United States, if the Attor-
now 0eaferal or President were right 10
81 isney would be right then '
No j6fog No; we can give YOU '
yo1 '1'oFmauon, because if we do
may be able to krow