New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-11
Mr.. Wilson'S Break with the Senate

Tho Senate has got along with Presiuen'
nv 80 sttoor months by yielding to him IL
has been plant and docile ana ne mas t,a,o
s;stont and mastery. Not since Je"ei'0H
-. Sonoto fallen so completely under the
do,,nation Of the White House. The puolc n.'
,tates therefore about taking 100 seiiou''
h-o,cb between the Senate and the riesiUe"'
,,b,cb has beep made by the Warourg anu 'VN'
appointments. so-.o,on NOT 81
yot serious quarrel may easily develop not 80
much over the merits of the appointments 'Nen
solvcs as over side issues created oy 'he uneN"
o., manner in which objections 10 the appoin'ee'
,,are mot The President tactlessly Tell ln'o 'ne
.t,,tude Of seeming TO challenge the general risn'
,,od ny the Senate Of investigating IN us own
.,r,o and manner the records of nominees "uo9e
-, q n,ust confirm There IS no prerogatl'e VI
ub,cb the Senate is so intensely jealous as is
.....rr;sorv mower over nominations. IL VIII let
,.rals no draaooned by a President on questions
., LEGISLATION which are within its own province
but il passionately resents any attempt on HIS
mort 70 curtail the authority which 1t exercises
se,..,,. NTH him over treaties and appointments
In the warburg case our sympath1es are Ill
1T, Mr Warburg. We think that the Senate
should have jumped at the opportunity OF oraitins
the DuDF service ii man VI 49,
canacitv for the post for which he was nominated
We deeply regret the failure OF the oohni''ce VII
Ranking and Currency to recommend nun ior Gull
6rmation But had a little more diplomacy oeen
used by the President the committees dppio'"
might easily have been won. The request u WI
Warburc TO appear before 1t personally might
have been qualified by private UNDERSTANDINGS "o
10 the scope OF the questions to be put 10 hlin'
Az II is the President has touched the senate
sensibilities on the raw by seeming TO dispute ID
the abstract the authority of Senate coininn'ee
tn summon nominees and examine them' oh
question of defending what it considers It's prlVi
Ieges the Senate is likely TO act as one man. re-
CARELESS Of the merits Of the individual case
actually before it.
Tho same unfortunate interjection Of side issues
has complicated the Jones case. The President
volunteered TO tell the Senate committee what
deserving candidate Mr.. Jones was tie SAID tna'
Mr. Jones had become director In the harvester
trust for the purpose OF reforming that trust
But according TO the published abstracts OF Mt
Joness testimony before the committee he not
only disavowed having acted as reforming IN
fuence but testified that he had proposed no
changes in policy and had agreed completely with
everything which his fellow directors had done.
IL Mr.. Jones is conspicuously qualified 10 be
member of the Reserve Board we do not think
that 1t is very material whether lie was once
director in a trust or not. But the apparent con
hict between the Presidents letter urging his con
frmatlon and the published transcripts OF Mr..
Joness testimony has raised an entirely different
issue The President intimatcs that the Jones
testimony reports are garbled He IS shifting the
ground OF his criticism Of the Senate and shifting
IL to his own disadvantage. If there is any way
to tempt the Senate into real fight 1t is through
attacks Oh its methods, which most Senators will
uphold whether right or wrong.
In most OF the controversies in which Mr.. VII
son has become engaged in Washington he has
had bis opponents at disadvantage. But instead
OF keeping the Senate at disadvantage by put
ting clearly on its shoulders the responsibility OF
holding up qualified nominees he has let it fight
behind the rampant OF its customs and privileges.
Behind that It may be goaded into making
really damaging fight