The record-union., 1891-06-23
Special 10 the REcoRn-uN1or.

Cousins filed n voucher for her salary tor
May as Secretary of the Board of Lady
Managers Of the Worlds Fair with As
sistant Secretary Nettleton at the Treas
ury Department to-day, together with a
brief in support of her claim.
The brief is in two parts, the first hav-
ing been prepared by w. p. Black and C.
B. Waite, and the other by Robert Rae.
The case is reviewed in all its bearings
and an elaborate argument presented to
show that Miss Cousins is still legally the
Secretary Of the Board of Lady Manag-
ers. 1t is cOntended that while the com
mission had power to prescribe the duties
of the board it could not control, direct
or supervise the board in the exercise of
It's powers nor in the agencies by which
or the methods by which that board
should perform the duties prescribed bv
the commission.
1t is asserted the Executive Committee
OF the board as constituted lis a mere and
utterly irresponsible creation Of the Pres
lGent OF the board" and the following
comment is made on the so-called sub
committee: 'Surely the subcommittee
CHOSEN from personal appointees of one
lady, however gifted and however daz-
Zi1ng her social position, is not the BODY
which Congress contemplated when it
adopted Section 6, of the Act providing
tor the Worlds Commission to exercise
the functions Of the Board Of Lady Mana
gers provided for in that section. The at
tempt to substitute this little coterie of
personal appOintees for the magnificent
body of representative women which was
originally selected by the commission in
the performance Of the duty in that behalf
imposed upon it, when coupled with the
T1nhlJRlU NxN1, fI,,A
meeting Of the Board of Lady Managers
is ever to be called, and that all duties of
the board are to be perfomed in per-
petuity by the Executive Committee
of that board or the subcommittee
thereof furnishes sufficient occasion for
the struggle which is being made by Miss
Cousins to maintain the dignity and de-
tend the rights Of the Board of Lady
Managers, and gives sufficient concern to
those who have believed the legislation
OF Congress would afford fitting oppor-
tunlty for the representative women of
America to show what is their power
when called upon to participate in the
transactions of a great national enterprise
like this exposition, and who now behold
this opportunity about to be DESTROYED by
an effort to transfer all the power of this
Board of Lady Managers to a single
woman acting in conjunction with the
Executive Committee, so called, or the
subcommittee Of such Executive Com
mittee, Illegally appointed by herself,
thus acting in subjection to the Executive
Committee of the commission and its Di
rector-General, and thus becoming
merely subordinates to certain officers Of
the commission"
In closing their brief Black and Waite
say: I'm her fight in this case Miss
Cousins is not merely struggling to re-
main in the office on account of its
emoluments or the personal advantage
which she might derive from the exercise
of It's prerogatives in the performance of
its duties; she is insisting that she holds
her commission by virtue of the action
OF the Board of Lady Managers, and that
board must pass upon the question of her
retention in office, and as to whether she
faithfully performed all the duties de-
volving upon her by her election as Secre-
tary Of the Board of Lady Managers. She
made an appeal to the courts, believing
the proceedings which have been carried
on against her arbitrary, illegal and revo-
lutionary; and she insists that until the
courts have spoken authoratively upon
the questions presented, she is entitled to
exercise the functions, perform the duties
and draw the salary attached to the po-
sition to which she was elected by the
board of Lady Managers, November
20, 1890"
In his brief Rae makes the following re-
marks in regard to the powers of the
Board of Lady Managers: ''It is evident
the Intention of the Act of Congress was
that the Board of Lady Managers should
continue in the active performance Of it's
duties up to and after the time of award
ing prizes in such exhibits as shall be
produced in whole or part by female la
Dor. Evidently the intention of Congress
was that it should SO exist and should
meet and exercise the powers conferred
upon it by Congress as well as the duties
to be prescribed for it by the commission,
and as these duties require the exercise of
Judgment and discretion, powers that
must be exercised by the body itself, it
was never intended the Executive Com
mittee should receive by delegation these
high and important trusts. 1t is a familiar
principle of law that the directors of
corporation cannot generally delegate
their authority and power to Others"
Assistant Secretary Nettleton says the
department will take no action in the
matter until the status of Miss Cousins
has been determined by the courts.