Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-07
TAYLOR CLAIMS THE OFFICE
he Insists That Because the Record Said
It, It is So.
He Asks for His Commission as Re-
cOrder of Deeds-His Claim Ridi.
culed at the Senate.

Charles H. ]. Taylor called at the In
terror Department Saturday afternoon and
asked that his commission as recorder of
deeds OF the District be made out, at the
same time Offering to submit his bond of
$4,000. Secretary Smith told Mr. Taylor
that he had nothing to do with the matter
and was not aware that the Secretary of
the Interior had any connection with the
recordership of deeds. Mr.. Taylor went away
without his commission. This all came
about through an error in the Congressional
Record last Thursday, announcing that
Taylor's nomination had been confirmed
Mr.. Taylor claims that this is an official
announcement, and whatever the Record
says must be so. He insists that the SEN
ate now has no Jurisdiction in the matter
and no authority to rectify what he terms
an alleged mistake. He states that as the
executive session of the Senate is a secret
| meeting there can be no official notice of
Its transactions except through the me-
dium Of the Record. According to the case
| as he puts 1t, the only authoritative infor-
| nation which the President gets is through
this source.
After the journal has been approved, he
says, there Is no power to correct errors,
else this would open the gate to many
kinds of fraud, because should, years after
appointment. an official become objectiona-
BILE to the Senate, that body might say, the
record OF his confirmation was clerical
mistake, and he never was confirmed" No
official. appointed with the consent of the
Senate. could be certain as to his tenure Of
office. The only Information. says Mr..
Taylor. tending to show that he has not
been appointed comes through the press,
and this cannot be official. Besides the
press. he says, is biased against him. The
papers have gone out of their legitimate
sphere to compass his defeat. 1t is matter
Nf orH hnt tr1Et tofa h..h 49,.
firmed, and he is ready to qualify.
Ridiculed at the Capitol.
Taylor's claim that he is entitled to the
office of recorder of deeds Of the District,
because of the erroneous announcement in
the Congressional Record. is regarded at
the Capitol as monumental absurdity.
Members of the upper house are free in
expressing their opinion that Mr.. Taylor's
mental caliber has been demonstrated by
this episode to be much smaller than they
had at first supposed.
There Is surprise that Mr.. Taylor should
be so ignorant about matters concerning
Congress and its relations to the executive
brarch of the government, about which he
talks so glibly, and on which he could in
form himself without any difficulty. In the
first place. the Congressional Record is
not and never has been regarded the
official diary of either house of Congress.
1t is referred to in debates much as any
new spaper report of proceedings would be
quoted, but IL is never officially approved
ard has official sanction, except its
originating resolution, which contemplated
a means of accurately reporting the debates
in Congress. Each house is required by
the Constitution to keep a journal of its
proceedings, and this journal Is not, as Mr..
Taylor confidently asserts. IAN exact copy
of the Record" The journal Is a very brief
document, giving an outline of the legis-
lative proceedings of the Senate and House.
including a memorandum of the DISPOSE
tion of each bill or resolution and a copy
of each act adopted, besides the votes on
every question submitted to the House or
Senate. This journal Is approved every
morning by a vote of the House and Senate,
and stands as the official record of Congress
The courts. however, have never been inclined
to receive the Journal of either house as
evidence, much less OF the Record. In
1891 the Supreme Court. in passing upon a
toriff case then before 1t, decided that the
court could not go to the journal of the
House in order to prove thi bill as signed
by the President was not the same as the
bill passed by the House
All of this. however relates to legislative
business and does not concern Mr.. Taylor's
case in the least. 1t is not generally known,
but 1t is a fact, that the Senate keeps two
journals in addition to the Congressional
Record, one for legislative business and the
other for executive matters. The latter con-
tains the official record of all the proceed
ings Of the Senate behind closed DOORS The
President of the United States is furnished
with a copy of this exclusive journal from
kept officially informed Of the progress of
the Senate upon nominations, treaties and
other executive business. All votes upon
nominations. when the roll has been called.
are herein recorded, and thus the President,
by the way. is enabled to ascertain exactly
who has voted for or against his nominee.
How the President is Informed.
Even yet. however. the case has not been
brought down to Mr.. Taylor's claim Neith-
er the Congressional Record nor his copy of
the executive journal of the Senate consti-
tutes an official notification to the President
of the action of the Senate upon any nomi-
nation.
letter from the secretary of the Senate In
which he Is Informed that ''the Senate has
this day advised and consented to the
nomination of John Smith to be this and
that" In the present case it would read
as follows "On this day the Senate has ad-
vised and consented to the nomination of
Charles II. j. Taylor Of Kansas to be re-
corder of deeds Of the District of Column
bia." AS a matter Of fact what the secre-
tary of the Sante will be more likely to
write to the President in the case in point
is this: The Senate has en- this day re-
fused its advice and consent to the nomina-
tion OF Charles II. j. Taylor of Kansas,
&C."
There is one Of these letters written for
each confirmation and each rejection. The
letter, of course, is in the form of a blank
and one of them Is sent for every post
master, as we'll as every foreign minister
and other officials appointed. Until it's re-
ceipt the President has no authority to is
sue a commission or order a commission to
be issued.
Mr.. Taylor. it was currently asserted at
the Capitol today by his action in claiming
his commission on so puerile a theory has
lost ground In the Senate and will receive
fewer votes than he otherwise would. He
has antagonized by his criticism of the
Senate Senators who before sympathized
with him.
A NEW PUBLIC PRINTER.