The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-04-17

chief justice, but there was bitter OPP
position. Finally Secretary of State
Fish went personally to the senate and
begged for Cushing's confirmation.
The opposition was melting away
gradually, when Parson Brownlow
sent TO the clerks desk and had read
letter from Caleb Cushing, dated
March 20, 1861, to Jefferson Davis,
President of the Confederacy,s rec
ommending Archibald Roane, and say
ing: 'He resigns his position in the
attorney generals office from senti-
ments of devotion to that which alone
he can feel to be his country, namely,
the confederate states. / most heart
lily commend him as a gentleman TO
your confidence and esteem"
And that ended Cushing's nominal
ton. Senator Conkling had been
championing Cushing's cause; but he
quit, promptly. The nomination was
at once withdrawn.
Twenty years later President Cleye-
land experienced similar difficulty. He
nominated William b. Hornblower to
be associate justice. but Senator Hill
prevented his confirmation. Then
Cleveland nominated Wheeler Fl. Peck
ham, and Senator Hill made an awfully
bitter fight, claiming that Peckham. as
well as Hornblower. had been instru-
mental in defeating state tickets; so
this nomination was defeated. Then
Cleveland nominated Rufus w. Peck
ham, and he was confirmed.
While the corridors are awesome
with dignity. the senate in executive
session sometimes becomes turmoil.
This is especially so when friends of
the administration are urging the con-
firmation of some nomination which is
particularly Objectionable to an indi-
vidual senator. 1t is narrated that
when a man whom Senator Pettigrew
had cause to dislike, if not hate. was
nominated to be postmaster. at Sioux
Falls, Senator PettiSrew resorted to the
use of language so forcible that some
of the older senators stopped their
ears in dismay. But that was Petit
CREWS hardest fight; and he won out.
Then, after Stanley Matthews had
been a senator for six years. and his
name was sent to the senate for po-
sition on the supreme bench, all of the
enemies of n lifetime began. buzzing
like bees in tar barrel, and Matthews
only squeezed through the executive
session by a majority of one. 1t was q
close call. He had been a good soldier,
a good senator and he became good
associate justice.
During the Mckinley administra-
tions and during the present admins
tration there have been no conflicts
between the executive and the senate.
Mckinley and his successor seem to
have found it not difficult to ascertain,
in advance. something concerning the
views of the senate, and respected
those views as some other presidents
have not done. One of the older sena-
tors says: There seemed to be no
need of the conflict which arose over
the removal of Conkling's friend, Ches-
ter A. Arthur, from the collectorship
of the port of New York. That called
forth the greatest speech l ever heard
in all my life; the speech of Senator
Conkling in defense of Arthur; .
speech four hours long. holding the sem
ate in rapt attention during all of that
time; a speech begun in the sunlight
and concluded in the moonlight. That
conflict was needlessly precipitated,
and produced tremendous conse-
quences.
Until the close of this session of the
congress, at noon of March 4, there will
be many executive sessions of the sem
ate, for the president must make nu-
merous nominations, all of which will
require senatorial concurrence. The
red lights will be shining over the doors
and the uniformed officials viii be
there, and what is said in executive
session we will never know.
There is at least one untarnished
free masonry which cannot be be-
trayed. And the red lights will con-
tinue to shine. SMITH d. FRY.