Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-12-05
"sENAToRrAL COURTESY
Prevents Presidents from Making sslec
 tions for Appointments.

! No one familiar with the manner in
 which national patronage is parceled
 out among senators and representatives
 will suffer any shock to his nervous
 system on hearing that President
 Roosevelt insisted that two wheat field
 senators "draw cuts'' to determine
 which of them was to have certain ap.
 pointments.
 The operation of what has been
 known for more than generation as
 senatorial courtesy has prac tically
 removed from the president s actual
 selection all appointments below those
 of ambassadors and consuls general.
 As to the postmaster and smaller of-
 fees, they belong, absolutely, to the
 representatives; and the civil service
 law is twisted constantly for the bene- fit of members in both houses who be.
 long to the party in power.
 Whether or not President Roosevelt actually Tipped coin to see which of these senators was to name certain appointees is not of the slightest con sequence. l sincerely hope it is liter ally true! And for reasons that viii
 be stated.
 These men were sure to get the of fees or to prevent anybody else from securing them. Didn't they, each and severally, threaten our pugnacious chief magistrate, before his face, to fight any appointee to the offices in dispute made without their consents Although these Roman fathers didn't speak to each other, senatorial masonry united them against threatened infraction of abominable usage! They would vote together to defeat any choice that they didn't dictate. Think of that! And yet, sadder to relate, their entire brotherhood in the senate cham Der, without distinction of party, would uphold them.
 Surely a president of the United States has his trialsl
 From my viewpoint--the result of more than twenty-five years study of national politics at Washington--the so-called senatorial courtesy has been treated with the proper contempt that every president of the United States should feel and show toward it. Such arrogation of authority never was comprehended by the framers of the constitution.
 Alexander cut the Gordian knot; Co- lumbus convinced scoffing assemblage by standing an egg on end. These were trivial acts in themselves, but their effects are seen to this day.
 Now that we have fallen into his tory, let us not forget that Solomon settled dispute between two women who claimed percentage of the same child by threatening to cut the baby in twain. A "wise man. wash t needed to see that the real mother would surrender her claim while the pretended one would exhibit indiffer- ence. Solomon's reputation for judi | cial ability doesn t rest upon that baby case. He had made his reputation; just as Roosevelt has achieved his.
 Anything that wVl enable the great masses of the American people to com prehend the arrogant attitude that men elected by them solely as lawmakers assume toward the appointing power 1 designated in the constitution is a val. 1 uable step in the direction of reform. l
 It is merest infantile fippancy for a journalistic critic of the president | to insinuate that he (Roosevelt) prob l ably tossed coin to decide whether | the American battle ship fleet should | go to the Pacific or remain in the At lantic. That was matter wholly with. l in his authority, as eommander-in- chief of the army and navy. The same thing ought to be true of all i'm l portsnt appointments for which the ad- has to be responsible not the dictating senator who "dc. l mands as his right" most of such places.
 Seriously, I d like to see the traffic in public appointments shown up, much l as were the secrets of the Chicago stock | yards. Why shouldn't the president appear one afternoon of each week in the Marble room, at the east end of | the capitol, and auction off his appoint. ! mentsi
 That would surely bring ridicule | upon senatorial dictation,-Brooklyn 1 Eagle.