The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1891-07-10
GOVERNMENT BY VETO.
Extraordinary Power Assumed by
Governor PattisOn.

Philu. Evening star
The New York Recorder has some
pregnant remarks upon the course Of
Governor Pattisou i'm ve'oiug such "A
large number Of the measures passed
by the Legislature and submitted TO
him at the close OF he session for his
approval. These auimadverions come
swift upon lhe commendotious Of the
Governor by the Lcdger, the Times,
the 7eleg1aph and other newspapers
scellgneous in their political sym
pathies. These journals would lead
u TO suppose that the Governor had |
saved the state from an avalanche of !
bad legislation, and that but for the |
serene wisdom Of the Governor, mac
oessible and secure on its Alpine
heights Of virtue, there is no knowing |
what disaster might have bef4llen. |
The Rocorder however, takes another
view, and says;
Conditions mny unhappily arise
when % Governor is justified in apply
ing TO legislation the lesson learned n
the shamhles. But no such condition
exists i'm Peunsy !vauia, nor at this
time I'M any other American atate.
The veto power has been civen to the
Executive as g sacred right, or special
privilege, to be spwiugly used, to cor.
rect errors into which even the most
prudent assemble might fall, and not
that the Executive should be the
master Of the Legislature"
There is force iu the argument that.
when executive interference is neces.
sary to suppress the viii of the people
as expressed 10y their representatives.
something is wrong. Governor Patti
son is one man, entirely fallible wi h.
out extraordinary capacity, Of fair but
limited experience, aud who in the
considerati on Of legislation submitted
for his approval has had neither the
advantages of debate nor Of the reports
of committees, nor of such infOrmg-
ton as always goes before legislative
assemblies, nor Of an interchange Of
views with the members many Of
them specialists, nor of the machinery
and processes of development out Of
which legislation natures. To take it
for granted that any executive, his
hllllu uuIhtuGtl WIN ilidIN hulltH, can
IN a few hours sweep through mass
of legislation, killing here and there,
and make no mistakes, is absurd.
Such pOwer-like that Of Staying the
innocents at the Passover-was never
intended In any representative form Of
government. If we adopt it in Penn
sylvania we may as well abolish the
system and inlrust all power to the
Governor.
The veto was intended as legisla-
tive corrective, to be spaTingly used;
really a sacred power only to be in
voked in times of emergency. Laws
passed under nlsapprehension of
facts, or under some impulse of pas
sion, or marred by fragrant, unper.
ceived error, of course invite aud
should receive the veto. For such con-
tingencies the veto was provided.
Moreover, an occasion may arise, as
during the mania for initiation, when
really great and intrepid President
like Grant, may save the national
credit. Such instances are rare indeed,
but they Were wisely contemplated by
the veto, and in every instance when
thus invoked its exercise was com
mendable. Sometimes, as was seen
under Jackson, Tyler, and more
especially Johnson, it becomes a
weapon of otiense as against dissi-
dent legislature, and then invariably
leads to public scandal and injury TO
the state. But the veto was never iu-
tended to be an instrument of vanity
or a political agency in the hands Of
an executive. So abused, it paraiyzes
legislation, by submitting it to the
caprice of the executive, or by de-
strOying in the minds of self.respect-
ing representatives any desire for
legislation or debate. What reason
able man with work to do at home, no
matter how ambitious to serve the
state, will care TO spend his tiue i'm
Harrisburg enacting measures, only to
see them sponged out i'm a few saucy
sentences of Executive reasons" i'm
the form of "a vetOV by an ambitious
Governor ever brooding over the
Presidency?
Now is there anything in the record
OF Governor Pattison to justify the
people i'm clothing him with this
autocrstic, Olympian powel2 We
should have grudged il to Washington
or Lincoln, and why concede it TO
him? Governor Pattison's political
history is that Of sn earnest Demo,
cratic partisan, who having won every
step of prefCrment by Republican sup
i"Ai I" INV az NhtoIh illOlulblnB DEM
Ocrat. His chief counsellor is the
leading Democratic party manager in
the state, a man who marked his ad
ministratiOn OF the Post Office by the
Robespieuean policy of sending his
opponents To the guillOtine. Mr..
Wright, the newly selected Treasurer
applies the same methods TO his office
We do not especially complain Of this.
These men are JaCksOnians, and be-
lieve in the Jaeksonian maxim, detest-
able as tits, that TO the victors belong
the spoilH. Nor have we any grievance
with Pattison. We rather like the
young Governor, with his many en-
gaging qualities. We simply want
him 10 rank where he belongs, as an
ambitious, audacious Democratic