The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-02-26
EDMUNDS OPENS FIRE.


munds brought into the senate from the |
judiciary committee lengthy report
followed 10y Il set of resolutions on APP |
pointments. The report recites the fact |
and circumstances of the removal Of
Dustin and the appointment of his sue
cessor rs United States attorney for the
Southern district of Alabama. 1t de-
clares that il has been the uniform prac-
tice of the Judiciary committee, since
the passage OF the tenurc-oi-oilicc act,
10 cali upon the heads oi departments
for all papers and information" in the
possession of the department touching
the conduct and administration of the
officer proposed To he removed. and the
character and conduct of the person
proposed 10 bc appointed. This has
been done with the unanimous approx
al Of all the members. The report
quotes the resolution of the senate call
ing upon the attorney general for the
papers in the aforementioned case,
and his reply thereto, and continues:
This letter, AT the response To and the
direction of the senate, that copies OF
any papers bearing on the subject with
in a gwen period of time lac transmitted,
assumes that the attorney general OF the
United States is the servant of the pres
dent, and is 10 give or withhold copies
of documents III his office, according In
the will of the executive ana not other
wise. Your committee Il unable 10 us
cover either in the original act OF l'S9
Il, I'll .,F asf ,Tnn
or in the act of 1870, creating the depart
ment of Justice. any provisions which
makes the attorney general OF the Unit
ed States in any sense the servant oi or
controlled bV the executive III the per
Torrance of the duties imputed 10 him
by law or nature OF his office. The eN-
ecutive is bound by the constitution ana
by his oath 10 take care that the laws he
faithfully executed, and he himself Is as
much bound 10y the regulations OF law
as the humblest officer in the service OF
the United States, and he cannot have
authority 10 undertake 10 faithfully exc
cute the laws, whether applied 10 ms
own special functions or those OF the de-
partments created 10y laT, otherwise
than bv causing, 50 far rs he lawfully
NAV, and by lawful methods the heads
of departments and other officers OF the
United States 10 do the duties 10 which
the law and not his will has imputed To
them. The important question, then,
il whether il i within the constitutional
competence of either house of congress
to have access To the official papers and
documents in the various pubic oihces
of the United States created by laws en-
acted by themselves. II may be iullN
admitted that, except III respect OF the
department of the treasury, there Is no
,ig., .Tt1,f NJ T. h,4 a
department 10 transmit 10 either house
of congress on its demands any lniorma-
ton whatever concerning the admins
tration of his department, but Ihe COM
mittee believes IL To be clear that from
the very nature of the powers entrusted
By the constitution OF the two houses OF
congress il l. necessary incident that
either house must have al All times the
right 10 know all that officially exists or
takes place in any of the departments
of the government. The committee feels
authorized To- state. after somewhat
careful research, that within the torego-
Ing limits there J. scarcely untll now any
instance OF a refusal 10y u head OF the
department OF even oi the president
himself 10 communicate official facts
and information a. distinguished from
private and unofficial papers, motives,
views. reasons and opinions To either
house of congress when unCondiuonai-
" demanded. Indeed the early Journ-
ais of the senate show great numbers OF
directions To- tine hrad- uI departments
to furnish papers and reports upon ala
sorts Of affairs. both legislative and exc
cutive. The instances ui requests TO the
president and commands IL the heads
of departments 10y each house al con-
gresS from early days until nov Tor pa
perS and Information on every cpncelN-
able subject OF public affairs are almost
innumcrable, for itappear- 10 nave beeh
thought bv all the presidents VINO nave
carried on the government nov Tor al
most a century that even III respect OF
requests To them by an independent
and coordinate branch of the govern
ment they were under a constitutional
duty and obligation 10 furnish 10 each
house the papers called for, unless, as
has happened in very rare instances,
when the request was coupled with an
appeal To the discretion OF the president
nm respect of the danger of publicity 10
send the papers, if, III his Judgement, II
should not be Incompatible WITH the
public welfare. The pTcCcdents to es-
tablish this proposition, many OF whlcn
have been made public, are cited anu
discussed at great length, ana the report
continues a. follows:
The committee feels safe IN stating
from the research il had made that the
course Of the government has been con-
stant and continuous and unchanged
rom the beginning until now, and that,
IN It's belief, no instance within the prln-
.iples and limitations before stated has
occurred in which cases for Official pa
pers and files addressed either 10 the
president in the form of requests, have
not been complied with, but II has some
times happened, where the request to
the president was merely conditional
one leaving il TO hls discretion whether
the papers shouid he communicated OF
not, that they have not been communl-
Gated. The practical construction of the
constitution i'm these respects 10y all
branches of the government for so long
u period would seem upon acknOwledg'
ed princiDlcs 10 settle what are the
rights and powers of the two houses oil
congress in the exercise OF their respec-
tive duties, covering every branch oil
the operations OF the government, and
il is submitted with confidence that
such right and powers are Indispensable
10 the discharge ofthclr duties, ana DO
not infringe any right of the executive,
and that il does not belong 10 either
heads of departments or To the presl-
dent himself to take into consideration
any supposed motives of purposes that
either house may have III calling Tor
such papers, or whether their possession
or knowledge of their contents could be
applied 10y either house To useful pur.
poses The constitution OF the United
States was adopted IN the light OF the
well-knonn history that even ministers
of the English crown were bound To lay
before parliment all papers when de-
manded. on PAIN of the instant dismiss
al of such ministers through the rapid
and etfectudl Iustrumentailty 81 "A vote
of want of confidence. And the contIn-
entail congress had for more than ten
wears itself governed the country and
had control of all papers and records,
not by reason of anything expressed III
the articles of the confederation, but by
reason of the intrinsic nature OF the free
government. The jurisdiction Of the
two houses OF congress 10 icgISlatc and
the mower To advise or withhold advice
concerning treaties and appointments
necessarily inyui ives the jurisdiction 10
officially know every step and action OF
the officers of the law and all the facts
touching their conduct IN the possession
of any department or even IN the pos
session of the president himself. There
was no need 10 express such power,
for il was necessarily an inherent incl
dent to the exercise of the power grant
ed. 1t will be observed that IN this in
stance the call for papers covered per
Iod of more than SIX months, during
which the regular incumbent OF the OF
600 had bpen s,.larpinn its duties and