The Washington times., 1903-06-04
A Case of Poetic Justice 2
Is Machen to Be Made to Pay for His
Own Investigation?


After waiting for more than four
months the Postmaster General at
last takes the public into his conf
dence enough to reveal the authority
upon which his award of the coal con-
tract to the firm of Machen Bros, in
January last, was based This is an
opinion prepared in the Department
of Justice-at any rate, it is signed
by the Attorney General of the
United States-which interprets sec
tons Alp and 1888 Of the Revised
Statutes as permitting executive Off
GERS of the Government to enter into
contracts with firms of which en-
ployes of the Government are part
ners, but not agents. We think we
state the proposition fairly.
In the absence of any decision by
any court upon this point we simply
remark that the Attorney Generals
views are not in any sense to be re-
garded as final. They form the basis
of an opinion rendered by the AID
ministration's legal adviser, and as
such must in measure guide the ac-
ton of the head of every department.
Still, the Attorney General himself
recognizes that it is not always wise
for an executive officer TO go to the
very limit of the authority conferred
upon him by statute Indeed, in clos
ing his opinion, the Attorney General
says:
While am, for the reasons stated, Of the
opinion that you are not forbidden by any
statute from awarding the contract under con-
sideration to the lowest bidder, I must not be
understood advising you that you are under
any legal obligation to do So
know OF no law which requires you TO award
q contract of this character TO the lowest
bidder The acceptance OF any bid is a matter
OF administrative Judgment and discretion, and
you are at liberty, for any reason that in your
Judgment is TO the public interest to disre-
gard any bid. The matter Is one Of admin
istrative judgment and discretion, and as such
i am without either authority or obligation to
express any opinion with reference to it.
The Attorney General, in other
words, said to the Postmaster Gen
eral; "You may do this, but ] don't
advise you to do 1t" To any other
official of the Government, except Mr..
Payne, this would have been sufi-
GENTLY of hint to prevent his giving
his sanction to the execution of the
Machen contract. But we must as
sumo either that 'hints" are lost upon
Dir. Payne or else that he chose de-
iberately to violate the spirit of the
Attorney Generals injunction in be-
half Of the then all-powerful Machen.
Under the circumstances we can read
lily understand now why at the time
he so strenuously opposed the apph-
cation of The Times to be permitted
to have look at the Attorney Gen
erals opinion.
There is only one other explanation
possible of Mr.. Payne's course in this
matter. And it is based upon the as
sumption that he is a monumental
joker; man with so fine a sense of
humor and of the general fitness of
things as to defy the intelligence of
ordinary mortals and, indeed, any
thing except the analysis of time. We |
give our own explanation of his atti-
.ude for what it may be worth.
Mr.. Payne has told us, it will be re-
membered, how he and the Hon. Eu-
gene Francis Loud, late Representa-
live of the Fifth Congressional dis