The San Francisco call., 1897-03-06
Senate Confirms the Selec-
ti0ns of President
Mckinley.
Teller Critic Zes the Nomination
of Bliss for the Interior
Porto 10.
Thinks He Is Hardly the Man to
Handle the Interests of the
Great West.


| proceedings of the first session of the
| Fifty-fifth Congress were witnessed to-day
by very large assemblage of spectators
Senate being to-day without the executive
partisanship of the House of Representa-
| tives, which body will remain in a state of
suspended animation until called into re-
newed existence on the first day of the
extraordinary session soon to be convened
| by President Mckinley.
As soon rs the journal of yesterdays
| formal meeting was read the Senator from
| Ohio (Foraker) rose and presented the
credentials of Mr.. Hanna as successor to
| Sherman, resigned. The credentials hav-
| ing been read Vice President Hobart in
vited Mr.. Hanna to step forward and take
the oath of Office.
| Together the two Republican Senators
from Ohio who take the places of Senators
Brice and Sherman walked to the Vice.
| Presidents desk, where the oath was duly
| administered to Mr.. Hanna after round
of handclapping in the galleries. and then
! Senators Foraker and Hanna took their
seats tegether.
| The next step was the adoption of
resolution offered by Frye (R.) of Maine
directing that until otherwise ordered
Davis (R.l of Minnesota be acting chair
| man OF the Committee on Foreign Rela-
| tions-the Craftsmanship having been
vacated through the retirement of Sher-
! man.
At 12:45 President Mckinley sent to the
| Senate the following nominations: John
Sherman of Ohio to be Secretary of the
State. Lyman J. Gage of Illinois to be Sec
retary of the Treasury, Russell A. Alger of
Michigan to be Secretary of War, Joseph
| McKenna of California 10 be Attorney
| General, James A. Gary of Maryland to be
Postmaster General, John D. Long of
Massachusetts to be Secretary of the Navy,
| Corne. ius n. Bliss of New York to be Sec
| retary of the Interior, James Wilson of
| Iowa 10 be Secretary of Agriculture.
immediately upon the receipt OF the
| Cabinet nominations, the Senate went into
| executive session.
The length of the executive session this
afternoon led to the circulation of several
unfounded rumors that contest was
being made against the confirmation of at
| least two OF the members OF the Cabinet
| selected by President Mckinley. Rumor
| had 1t that the opposition was aimed at
| Mr.. Mckenna, selected for the Attorney
Generalship, and Mr. Alger for Secretary
of War. The delay was not unusual. The
| nomination of Mr.. Sherman was confirmed
! i'm IN ediately without the formality of a
reference to the committee. 1t was sug-
gested privately on the floor that the
whole Cabinet be at once confirmed. but
this was not done, for had such action
been taken, the com pliment intended for
Mr.. Sherman would have been no COM
pliment at all.
All the other nominations were referred
to the various committees, which, after
| informal discussions, made favorable re-
ports in each case.
Teller addressed the Senate briefly. He
said he did not propose to oppose anv Sc
| lection Mr.. Mckinley had made He rec
ognized the fact that the Cabinet was the
official family of the President and the
President ought not TO be hampered by
| the Senate in the choice of men whom he
desired for his advisers. He wished, how
ever, to say that he believed that in some
cases Mr.. Mckinley had made mistakes in
| the men he had chosen. Whoever else
| Teller had in mind is unknown, for he
| mentioned only Mr.. Bliss, nominated to
be Secretary of the Interior.
| Tel er emphasized the fact that he did
| not criticize this nomination on personal
grounds. He knew Mr.. Bliss to be man
of affairs, who had been successful and
was held high in the esteem of his fellow
men. He did not douot but that Mr..
| Bliss would bring to he Office all his busi-
ness and executive ability.
But there was more required, Mr.. Teller
| said, than mere business ability. The In
terror Department was one of the most
important in the Government. affecting
| interests in many States and particularly
| those in the great West. The Secretary
| annually made more important decisions
| involving property than did the Supreme
| Court of the United States. The head OF
this great department ought to be equipped
with legal ability and familiarity with
| land matters to meet the intricate uues-
| tions that would come before it, and for
| this reason, and for this reason only, Mr..
Teller said the nomination was open to
| criticism.
Stewart (Pop) of Nevada spoke briefly
| in the same vein, corroborating what Mr..
Teller had said about the importance OF q
head to this department who would be
| al BILE to deal Justly and judiciously in
| the matters Of dispute constantly coming
/ before the court of which the Secretary
| was the reviewing Judge.
| Hoar (R.) of Massachusetts, replied to
| Teller's criticisms by praising the ability
and qualifications of Mr.. Bliss and ad-
dressing himself TO the one point made
| by Teller, asserting that this could be
| easily overcome by the selection of as
| sistant secre taries, who would have those
| qualifications that would guide the Secre.
| tary in his ruin s.
Chandl called attention to the fact
| hat Zachariah Chandler had no legal
| raining and that he was an Eastern man.
| Still it was admitted that his conduct of
| the administration of the Interior Depart
ment was one of the best in the history of
| the Government.
| Teller emphasized the fact that he had
not criticized Bliss because he was an
Eastern man, but because, being an East
ern man, he knew nothing Of the great
Western matters constantly arising in the
Department of the Interior. There was
no clash between the East and West, and
bearing in mind the recent ella borate re-
ports OF executive sessions in the arbitra-
ton treaty Teller jocularly remarked that
he hoped the reporter" OF an executive
session debate would exonerate him from
the charge of criticizing Mr.. Bliss seIec
tion on the ground that ne was an Eastern
man.
| Without taking formal vote all the
/ nominations were then confirmed.