The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-10-20
"UNwoRTHY cONTRoL.'
report that if the administration

s.UNWORTHY CONTROL
A report that if the administration
will consent, a compromise is possible
on the silver question, causes our
Cleveland hating contemporary to
chuckle and interpret the rumor as evil
dence that the President has sought
to exercise unworthy control over the
legislative branch of the government"
Little things please little minds.
1.-THE consent of the administration
is nothing to be sneered at. withhold
ing it would not be unworthy control
of legislation. There is nothing wrong
in an endeavor to learn the mind of the
administration on any public question.
The President of the United States is
not expected to be a mere dummy or to
be an echo of the voice of the major
lily OF Congress. He holds the constitn
tional power of veto and is expected to
use his own judgment, assisted if needs
be by the advice of his cabinet, in sign
ing or rejecting any measure that
comes to him for his approval
The duties of the President in refer
ence to legislation do not seem to be
taken into account by some folks who
think it displays the hight of wisdom to
find fault His message to Congress is
treated by them as a. piece of imperti-
hence, and the probability of his dis
approval of a bill which they think
ought to pass, is denounced as despot-
ism and tyranny.
The Executive is sworn to do what
the Constitution prescribes as his duty
One requisition is that HE shall, from
time to time, give to the Congress in
| formation of the state of the Union,
and recommend to their consideration
such measures as he shall judge neces-
sary and expedient'' This is what the
President did when he called the extra
session in conformity with the same in
| strument That his recommendations
do not please a number of the legisla-
tors and their constituents may be I'M
fortunate, but it does not show that
he is seeking to exercise any unworthy
control
In the present controversy the Ex-
ecutive has had ample opportunity of
seeing that the recommendation in his
message has met with the approval of
a majority of the people, whose views
are voiced by the press and their rep
resentatives in Congress. This is unde-
niable. If it is learned that he still
stands by his convictions of what
ought to be done. is there anything i'm
proper or unworthy in that?
The truth is that there has not yet
been cited a single instance in which
the President has exercised, or sought
to exercise, any authority but that
which is vested in him by the Consti-
tuition and the votes of the people of
the United States. 1t has not been
shown that he has bribed anybody.
threatened anybody or done anything
except to hold to views which a mi
nority disapprove.
That those views are contrary to
ours, that they are looked upon as fall
lacious and injurious to certain sec
tons of the country and not beneficial
to the nation at large. does not justify
the suspicion that his motives are i'm
proper or that he seeks to exercise un-
worthy control of the legislative
branch of the government.
The trouble with some of our con-
temporaries is that Cleveland is a
Democrat, that he has mind of his
own, that he will exercise the func-
tons of his Office as he thinks right.
and therefore they endeavor to abuse
and misrepresent him However. if it
pleases them it doesn't hurt him. so
they may pelt away with their little
paper spitballs and he will not mind it
particle.