The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1915-01-14
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
AND THE CONSTITUTION

, work badly. But when the appointing
power is used TO build up faction or
to promote the personal political in
terests Of the individual making the
appointment4-and this unhappily is Oft
en- the case--it works disastrously to
both the party and the country.
The Americans. like the English and
unlike the French, are political prag-
matists, and are ready to adopt in
politics any continuance which works
well and none which does not work
we'll Generally the presidents have ac-
cepted the recomm endations of the SEN
ators and representatives. rejecting
them only for cause, and then waiting
for a new recommendation. In some
Instances they have accepted the mega
tive advice and made new successive
appointments until one was found to
which the senator Of the district could
make no reasonable objection. So far
as we recall, they have made appoint
ments during the recess of congress
only when the previous appointment had
not been voted on by the senate. To
make such a recess appointment of one
whom the senate has rejected appears
to us a clear violation OF the spirit.
If not of the letter, of the constitution.
Moreover, the constitution calls not
only for the consent but also for the
advice of the senate. When the presi-
dent, therefore, ccnsults a senator and
considers his advice, he is acting con-
stitutionally and in accordance with
regular and understood practice. He
is taking the counsel not Of an individ-
ual but of representative OF the peo-
pie. The individual may be Of good
character or bad; he may represent a
good influence in public life or a bad
Influence; but. whatever his Individual
or political virtues may be- he Is the
one selected by the people and desig
mated under the constitution to act
with reference to nominations. The
president is not bound to take his ad-
vice If 1t is bad advice; and, If II is
good advice, no matter what the char
acter of the senator or the political
faction to which he belongs may be,
there is no reason why the advice
should not be taken. Let the president
get his information about prospective
appointees from what source he Will;
but to substitute for the advice of
the senate the advice Of private per-
son. or even of a member of the cab
met, is to go outside of the recogniz-
GU pIdCtiCe anu OF Tie PROVISIONS Oh
the constitution. The evil of the boss
system does not lie in the fact that
political bosses are worse men than
other men, but that they are frrespon-
sible. They are public men with power,
but are not given the power by the
people. To insist that the advice and
consent of private individuals or even
of a member Of the cabinet who is
not representative OF the people
should be followed by the senate even
though this may be done In a good
cause, is to give sanction to that which
lies at the basis of boss rule.
These considerations refer not to the
purposes which president as political
leader may have, but to the methods
that may be employed in carrying them
out II the only reason for the rejec-
ton of an appointee Is that he does
not belong to the wing OF the party to
which the senator from hig, state or
from his part of the state belongs, the
rejection is fndefensible. Those readers
who know the Outlook do not need to
be assured that our sympathy is with
the president in his purpose to oppose
reactionary forces in his party and to
further in It the progressive split