Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1913-02-04
THE APPOINTMENT WAR.

Sioux City Journal: The caucus
decision of the senate republicans to
stand up for President Taft's rights
in the matter of appointments is
met by grim determination of the
democrats to keep up the blockade.
The republicans can argue all day
and all night in support of their po-
sition. The democrats cannot put
up one word of rational argument
in support of their attitude.
Woodrow Wilson has been elected
president of the United States for a
term of four years, beginning March
4 next After assuming Office it will
be the duty of President Wilson to
make nominations for all the APP
pointive Offices in which vacancies
may occur or terms expire from
March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1917.
The president-elect is entitled to
four years in charge of the appoint
i've power, and that is all he is en-
titled to- William Howard Taft was
elected president for term of four
years extending from March 4, 1909,
to March 4, 1913. During this full
four-year period the appointive pow
er is in his hands. It is not only
his right, but it is his duty, to fill
all commissions expiring prior to
the close Of his term. By doing SO
he will not be robbing his successor
of anything. The successor will be
in Office for a four-year term and he
will be expected to make his ap-
pointments until the close of that
term.
The same law which gives the ap-
pointing power to the president
gives the senate the function of con-
| frming all appointments. This
means that If the president make q
glaringly unfit appointment the SEN
ate will be warranted in refusing to
ratify it, thereby forcing the presi-
dent to make another unobjection-
able appointment. 1t was not in
tended that the senate should hold
up any presidential appointments or
refuse to confirm any without cause.
| The democrats in the United
States senate are now holding up
practically all of the appointments
made by President Taft since the ad-
journment Of the last session of con-
gress There are more than 1,400
appointments awaiting confirmation,
and the number is increasing daily
They cover military, naval and d.
plomatic Offices. as we'll as Offices in
other departments of the public SER
vice. The democrats have offered to
let most of the naval and military
appointments go through II the re-
publicans will be content with that.
The republicans have scornfully re-
fused the sop. They are standing
firmly for the ratification OF all the
appointments President Taft had q
fright to make, and against which no
good reason can be advanced for re-
fusing confirmation. The democrats
smile and proceed to filibuster in a
way that threatens to prevent con-
sideration of all but few military
and naval appointments before the
change of administration. The rea-
son for the blockade is obvious, and
the democratic blonkaders do not at
tempt to deny 1t. II all the places
that should have been filled by a
republican president can be held
open until there is democratic
president the republican appoint
ments will lapse and the democratic
president will be expected to ap-
point democrats to most of the
places.
There is a little more than a
month in which the appointment
war can be fought. The democrats