The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-03-19

cussion of that issue. but comment on
il only as illustrating Mr. Cleveland's
character He was positive. He was
Affirmative. He was courageous. He
believed in parties. He believed IN
party policies. and he believed in con-
sistency in regard to them, and he did
not believe in trimming down policy
to catch the votes of those who really
did not agree with 1t. The first time
Mr. Cleveland was in power he was IS
ISOLATED with q Republican senate. This
gave little opportunity for any radical
change by legislation in previous poll
cies of Republican administrations, but
it did offer. an opportunity for Mr..
Cleveland to point out to the country
that our government is a government
of three distinct branches-the execu
tive. the legislative and the judicial
and that the executive has a sphere
which the legislative branch has no
right to invade
Controversy With Senate.
we hear much in these days of the
usurpation of legislation by the execu
tive branch. As long as the legislative
branch has the power of the purse the
danger of executive usurpation is
imagination. The real danger arises
from the disposition of the legislative
branch to assume that II has the om-
impotence of parliament and may COM
pletely control the discretion conferred
upon the executive by the constitution
The country is under obligation to MIR
Cleveland for having pointed out in
his controversy with the Republican
senate some of the limitations that
there are I'm the constitution in at
tempted legislative action to restrict
legislative executive discretion. In the
end Mr.. Cleveland won in his contro-
versy with the senate. Whether he
might have done so had both the house
and the senate been against him is
matter of doubt. The history of An
drew JOhnson's controversy with con-
gress shows how far q partisan iegis-
lature may be induced to go in an I'M
constitutional attempt to cut down ex-
ecutive power The limit of legislative
restriction upon executive action is a
difficult line to define Any one who
attempts to do more than to pass on
single instances as they arise may find
himself in great fficulty, but as such
instances are considered and decided
The limits are gradually being defined.
We owe Mr. Cleveland and his cour-
age i'm dealing with the senate of the
United States the establishment of
some useful precedents.
Three Great Issues.
in Mr.. Cleveland's second term there
was a large majority of his party in
the house and a working majority in
the senate, so that the whole respons-
bility of government fell upon the
Democracy, with Mr.. Cleveland at its
head. The significance of his second
administration centers about three is
sues. The first was the tariff; the sec
ond free silver, and the third the sup
federal authority by use of the process
of federal courts and by federal troops.
The same influences I'm his own party
which had sought to defeat him for
nomination in his third canvass he
found intrenched in the senate so
strongly as to be able to defeat the de
clared policy of his party in favor of
tariff for revenue, and he refused to
sign the German Wilson bill, but al
lowed it to become a law after de-
nouncing t as the result Of perfidy and
dishonoT. This was doubtless the
greatest disappointment of his poittical
life, for il developed the opportunity to
test the wisdom of the party policy ad-
vocated by him and declared I'm the
party platform. while the business de-
preston which existed before and
after its passage furnished ammunition
to his political opponents, who id not
hesitate TO argue that the prospect OF
revenue tariff on the one hand and the
passage OF the Wilson-GoTnan bill on
the other. paTalyzed the Industries of
the country Whatever ones views
upon the tariff, whether he be a pro-
tectionist or a free trader, he cannot
but have the deepest sympathy with
MIR. Cleveland in his deep indignation
at the party disloyslty which defeated
the Wilson bill as IT passed the house
and gave US the nondescript bill which
became law.