Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-05-04
Outside Comment.


appointment of United States Senator
nv tbe Governor. no matter how the
vacancy arises, at least for period o.
more than sixty days. Here are 1t:
varv distinct provisions on this subject
I'm case of a vacancy in the Office c1
TT 8 Senator from this Commonwealth
in q recess between sessions, the Gov
ernor shall convene the two Houses
by proclamation or notice not exceeo
ing sixty days, to fill the same
4pparently the intention of the
trainers of the Pennsylvania Constr
- tuition was that there should be ne
temporary appointment of United
States Senator by the Governor; that II
all cases of vacancy the Legislature
shouId be convened at once to fill the
vacancy. In the present instance that
would be merely to renew the deadlock
The next regular session of the Penn
sylvania Legislature will not occur
until the first Tuesday of January, 1901
Therefore, if Governor Stone failed tC
call an extra session meanwhile, or Il
an extra session called by him this veal
or next year failed TO elect, Pennsyl-
yania would continue to be represented
by only one United Safes Senator
throughout the remainder of the present
year and the whole of the year 1900.
Whether Governor Stone is disobey-
ing a plain mandate of the State Con
stitution or not is question OF nc
particular interest outside OF Pennsyl-
vania. He does not rest his appoint
ment of Mr.. Quay upon any authority
conferred upon him by State law: he
finds it in the following clause OF the
TTuited States Constitution;
eff vacancies happen, by resignation
or otherwise, during the recess OF the
Legislature of any State, the Executive
thereof may make temporary appoint
ments until the next meeting OF the
Legislature, which shall then fill such
vacancy"
Here the Governor runs plump into
the venerable controversy respecting
the meaning of the word happen IN
this provision of the Constitution. AS
to the power of Governor to fill by
temporary appointment vacancy
occurring by resignation, death, expul.
sion, or otherwise, during an unexplred
term, there is absolutely no doubt. lie
can I'LL such a vacancy, and his appoint
ment is accepted as valid by the Senate
always the final judge of the qual1hca-
cations of its own members; and IL
holds good until the next session OF the
State Legislature But the right OF a
Governor to make in the absence OF the
Legislature an original appointment,
commencing a new term, or, IN other
words, to stand in the place of the Leg
islature and fill a vacancy when the
Legislature has tried and failed to
elect, is another and quite a different
question. Eminent Senatorial inter
prefers of the Constitution have differed
Numerically upon this question. Hun
dreds of pages of the Congressional
Record have been occupied with their
arguments for and against the constl-
tutionality of the authority which Gov
ernor Stone has assumed to exercise In
this case. Considerations of partisan
politics and of personal acceptablllty
have influenced the Senates decision
as to the admission of claimants holding
certificates similar to that which Gov
ernor Stone has bestowed upon Mr..
Quay. There are precedents both for
admission and for rejection; but it IS
proper to say that in recent years the
precedents have been against the theory
on which Governor Stone is now acting.
Up to 1895 the Senate was accustomed
to seat without question and even with
out debate those claimants who had
been appointed as Governor Stone has
appointed Mr. Quay. There were ten
such cases within four or five years
preceding that date. In 1925 Senator
Lanman of Connecticut was appointed
by the Governor of that State TO a
second term, during q recess of the
Legislature, and before the vacancy
occurred. This case brought the gen
eral question to the attention of the
Senate, and by small majority that
body decided after three days debate
that the appointment was without
authority of law.
For fifty-four years after the decision
of the Lanman case the precedent thus
established was never directly reversed.
There were, it is true some instances,
as in the case of Senator Sewer of
Arkansas, where the Senate partially
accepted the contrary view of the Gov
ernor's power of appointment; but the
conditions were complicated by other
questions. On the other hand, there
were during the same period at least
eight cases where a State went with
only misrepresentation in the Senate,
because the Legislature had failed to
elect and nobody set up the claim that
the Governor had constitutional author
ity to stand in the Legislatures place.
In 1879 the Lanman precedent was
squarely reversed by the Senate in the
cases of Mr. Blair and Mr. Bell of New
Hampshire, who held appointments by
the Governor only, Mr.. Blairs being for
a full term and Mr. Bells for the unex
pired tSFm of Senator Wadleigh. At
that time Senator Conkling of New
York remarked in the Senate:
IF it should be the established law
that whenever a Legislature decided
not to elect, the power to fill the
vacancy should revert to the Executive
of the State, the Senate and all of us
must see how exposed the whole process
of filling seats in the Senate would be-
come, because the Governor and his
friends, by cabal, intrigue, maneuvre,
might so arrange that the Legislature
would decide not to elect, or would fail
to elect, in order that the Governor
might gather to himself the power to
fill the vacancy.
In 1893, again, in the case of Lee
Mantle, which was the test case in
volvlng three appointments by Gov
ernors namely, in Montana, Wyoming
and Washington, the Senate refused to
admit the claimants And it was only
last year that the question was revived,
thoroughly discussed, and decided by
vote, in the case of Mr.. Henry w Cor
bett who asked to be seated as mem
ber of the Senate by virtue Of an APP
pointment for the beginning of full
term. made by the Governor of Oregon
during recess of the Legislature. Mr.
Corbetts certificate was in due form,
H. Cd l..
on general principles. The Senate
refused to admit him, on Feb. 2S 1898,
by a vote of 80 to 10.
1t will be seen, therefore, that when
Mr. Quay applies for recognition and
admission ON the strength of Governor
Stones appointment, he Will apply to a
body which has decided similar cases in
both ways in the past, and established
precedents both for him and against
him. All this amounts to saying that
the Senate will be the sole Judge of Mr..
Quay's qualifications. 1t will do as it
pleases. 1t has unrestricted power
either to tear up the Governors appoint
ment and shut out Mr. Quay, or to take
him in and recognize him as the lawful
Senator from the Keystone State.
As to the position which individual
members of the Senate are likely to as
sumo when the case comes before them,
we get some valuable indications from
from the vote on Mr. Corbetts rejection.
The nineteen Senators who held a little
more than year ago that Mr.. Corbetts
appointment was constitutional and
that he was entitled to his seat were
these: