The Portland daily press., 1899-01-13
NOT nEnBERs OF CONGRESS.
Army Ofncers Cannot be Congressmen
Also.

Also
The Question Has Already Been Settled
--Rcport I'm Case OF Gen. wheeler and
Others Expected Soon.
Washington, January la.-The CON-
mittes on the Judiciary Of the House will
probably report very soon on the status
Of General Joe Wheeler and the other
three members of the House who ara
holding commissions In the army and at
the same time are on the rolls OF the
House as members of Congress. Gsnsral
Wheeler has not attempted to exercise
any functions ~ . member Of the House
since his appointment to the army; but
one or two Of the others have gone SO far
as to attempt to draw their pay.
The question Is neither doubtful nor
new one. 1t has been represented that
the Investigation of the subject was in.
spired by MIR. Bailey Of Texas, In order
to detract from the glory of General
Wheeler. Nothing could be more absurd.
The House has always been properly
jealous of Its Independence of the Execu
tive. and In the heat Of the civil Wal
period, In the case OF as great soldier
and patriot certainly rs General Wheeler
decided that q seat in the House had
been forfeited. although President Lincoln
desired that the soldier and legislator
mi uht retain 10th places This was the
case of General Francis Blair Jr.
As long ago As 1909 Congressman Van
Ness, of New York. accepted the military
office of major OF militia In the Territory
Of Columbia (now the District of Column
bia) under authority Of the United
States. The House. after examining the
case unanimously declared that he had
forfeited his seat in the House thereby.
In ls47. during the period OF the Mexican
war, two members, Archibald Yell, of
Arkansas, and Edward ID. Baker. Of Ore
gon, accepted commissions and their cases
were examined by committee OF the
House, with the same conclusions as In
the case OF Van Ness. Hannibal Hamlin,
tn n membsr OF the House from Maine.
made the report In this case, aud adj
vanced the doctrine that has since held,
that mem Der, by joining the army put
himself under the orders Of the Executive.
and that all the President would have to
do to break up the usefulness OF the
House would be to put enough members
into positions In the army and then give
them marching orders This doctrine
was recognized as sound, and has since
been acted on by the House.
At the beginning OF the civil war there
was considerable confusion on this sub
Ject as well as on many others and sthe
taking of commissions by members OF the
a hGnss ard .n sen wss Not Edward ,sr,pui
Baker, who In 1857 lef; his seat as a Rep
resentative of Illinois, to go 10 the Next
can war, was In 1861 q Senator OF the
United States from Oregon, and as MI
Blaine relates in his Twenty Years In
Congress, wore his uniform as n colonel
in the army in the Senate chamber, ana
thus accoutred partic pated in the debates
with dramatic effect. Later C'lonei ana
Senator Baker was killed In the battle OF
Balls Bluff.
But In 1864, when the government had
recovered from the first shock of the war,
the House took up the subject and inves-
tigated 1t In tn cases OF Generals Robert
C Sohenck and Francis p. Blair. Gen
eral Schenck was a major general Of vol.
unteers when elected to the Thirty eighth
Congress, but resigned from the army
lust before that Congress assembled. The
House decided that he had u right thus
to elect which office he would take. and
as he had resigned the office In the army
was qualified under the Constitution TO
retain his seat in the House General
Blair however, did not resign his office
as - ajor general until some time after
the Bonse had assem- bled, and 1t was de-
cided that he had elected to keep the
ma jor generally and was not therefore
entitled TO seat In the House.
1t appeared that President Lincoln
~ shad IN kaan fhasp off Cprs in the army.
and the Senate considered at length
plan attributed to the President OF allow
Ing the commissions of the officers to lie
in state of SUSPENSION during their SER
vice In the House.
The four members in the House at the
present time are &c eral Wheeler, who
is on the rolls as u representative from
A Alabama, Major Colson. who Is on the
rolls from kentucky. Colonel Campbell.
from Illinois. and Major Robbins from
Pennsy lvania. The case being SO clear
that these members were not entitled to
the pay of both places, the Speaker as
long ago as last summer declined to
countersign their pay vouchers as MEM
eers, holding that they had joined the
army ana had thereby abandoned their
seats as representatives
The Judiciary committee Of the House
has been investigating the question this
session and 10 understood TO have agreed
10 n TtpOrt Ill lIuo WIN Whbh hoo DVoh thS
practice OF the House from the beginning.
Governor Dingley's illness in the later
day of 1t seems to have been exaggerated
in the newspaper dispatches. On the
days when the papers were saying that
he was worse and very critical, the word
from those about his bedside was uni
formly that he WAS more comfortable and
that they were greatly or couraged. He
has undou btedly been desperately sick,
but there has all along been mora grounds
for hope than published reports would in
dictate.
FOREIGN MISSIONS.
New York, January Pat today IS con-
fernce Of oIeign Mission Boards In the
United States and Canada, the report OF
the committee on comfy and unoccupied
fields was read by Rev. Alex Sutherland,
ID. ID. A general discussion by members
of the board followed.
IL IL