The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-05-31
.sENAroRiAL COURTESY"


An Illinois appointment That Caused toA
President to Decide Between the ReIa.
tive influence Of Senators and Repre-
sentntives.
WASHINGTON. May 92--The President
has decided the contest between the ILL
nois Senators and Representative Cannon
OF that State, in favor of Mr.. Cannon.
The commission will issue to Mr.. Wilcox
Tor the position of collector of internal
revenue for the Eighth Illinois collection
district, and he will take charge Of the
office July 1.
The President has made no change in
his position. He has simply decided that
the arguments presented by DO; b Senators
have not been sufficient TO induce him
to recede from the position that he
had already taken. He had appointed
Wilcox. The Senator's have protested that
they consider their prerogative invaded
and that they have the right to name the
collectors of int rnal revenue in the cities
IN which they live, or that, at all events,
no appointment of internal revenue col.
lector shall be made in these cities except
upon the Recommendation of the Senators
and that because of this claim the Presi-
dent should revoke the appointment he
has made and should appoint DIR. Calhoun,
whom the Senators recommended after the
appointment of Wilcox had been an
nounced and the President decides that his
original appointment shall stand. In other
words the President has decided that the
Senators have no right" in the matter;
that their constitutional function ito ad.
wise and consent" to an appointment be.
gins when the appointment has
been made, and they have been
asked whether or not they shall
confirm the selection; that as
to the selection of the nominee,
the President has an independent
constitutional function to perform, and
that in the exercise of this function he
feels entirely at liberty to call upon the
Representatives in Congress from the dis
trict affected for their views.
President Harrison has at least given a
negative definition to what he under
stands Senatorial courtesy" to be. 1t is
that the function of the Senator with re-
spect to appointments does not begin with
.he selection of the person to be nomi-
mated; that whatever Senatorial cour-
tesy" may be, it is Quality which at
'aches to the Senators only in their capac-
ity as judges; that in the matter of the
marking of case TO be presented to the
Senate for consideration. the voice of the
Senator is to be no more potential than
that of the Representative in Congress.
This is a decision that will be welcomed
in the House of Representatives and pos.
sibly resented in the Senate
1t is to be stated, however, that the Pres.
ident has had no such experience with the
Senators of any other State, as he has had
in Illinois. In the other States according
to the statements made by a gentleman
who is very near to the Administration,
there has been much greater harmony be-
tween the Senators and Representatives.
This, unhappily. has no; been the situa-
tion in Illinois. There has not been much
between the Senators and
the Representatives, but the Congress.
men, when they care to talk freely, say
that they have had to make an individual
contest for nearly all of the important
things that they have accomplished.