Republican farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1810-1920, 1918-02-01
NAMES BURLESON
TO P. 0. PLACE
10 MONTHS LATE

Washington, Jan. 25-The Senate
yesterday confirmed a belated renom-
nation of Albert s. Burleson, to be
Postmaster General, after receiving
letter from the President addressed
to Vice President Marshall, in which
he explained that he had not known
until a few days ago of the existence
Iof a statute putting the Postmaster
General on a different status from
ether members of the Cabinet as to
tenure of office, which required his
denomination after the expiration of
a Presidential term.
The Presidents letter read:
Il am taking the liberty of sending
denomination of the present Post
master General.
81 would be obliged if you would
explain to the Senate that my atten-
ton was called only the other day by
the Attorney General to the fact that
by special statute the Postmaster Gen
erals office is put upon a different
footing from that of other members
| of the Cabinet by an explicit limita-
| ton of his term of Office to four
years. I regret very much that l
| did not sooner know of the existence
of this statute, and take pleasure in
! submitting the name"
Senators expressed the opinion that
no complications would be involved
through the failure of the President
to reappoint the Postmaster General
until yesterday. Even though Mr..
Burleson had not been confirmed, they
argued, he was de facto Postmaster
! General and the courts would regard
him as legally entitled to the office
| if asked for an opinion.
Senator Smith of Georgia, who re-
Gently investigated the status of the
hold-over Cabinet, asserted that there
was no question of the validity of
every hold over appointment, without
confirmation by the Senate with the
exception of that of the Postmaster
General. He said:
"The law makes it plain that the
Postmaster General must be renom-
mated and confirmed by the Senate.
But the law infers in his case that he
was de facto appointee and that his
acts, therefore, are valid. No COM
plications can result from the failure
10 renominate him. His appointments
and acts will stand the test of any
court
Before the Senate acted on the nom
ination Senator Hardwick of Georgia
called attention to a resolution he of
fered two weeks ago, in which the
President was asked to inform the
Senate by what authority his Cabinet
| hn1 hxy
the Senate for second terms. He said
that every reelected President at the
beginning of his term had always sent
his Cabinet nominations to the Senate.
The Constitution required that all
Cabinet officers be confirmed by the
Senate, he asserted, and hold-over Of
ficers ought to come under the re-
quirement. The statutes, however,
made it obligatory only in the appoint
ment of the Postmaster General,
whose appointment might hold over
only for one month after the Presi-
dent took up his second term.
CAS- a matter of act, the country,
ever since April 4, 1917, has been 1e-
gally without a Postmaster General,
said Senator Hardwick. 81 want to
congratulate the country on the fact
that the President has at last found
out what the law is and has at last
complied with it. I would still fur
Their congratulate the country and the
president if the President would COM
ply with the spirit of the Constitution
about all these things as well as the
letter of the law, and would follow
the custom of his predecessors as we'll
as obey the Constitution, by sending
to the Senate nominations for the
other Cabinet places"
Raymond Wilcox, manager of The
New York Call, was asked last night
if The Call, to which has been denied
second class mailing privileges by
Postmaster General Burleson, would
ask to have that order declared void
on the ground that Mr.. Burleson acted
without legal authority when he
barred the paper from the mails
st have known for some time,'' he
said, that the postmaster-general has
been holding his Office Illegally AS
to whether or not The Call will take
any action in the case is a question
that cannot be answered tonight. The
publishers as we'll as Morris Hillquit
who is our attorney, will have to be
consulted in regard to that"
The Irish World, Freeman's Jour
nal, and Gaelic American, which had
their last weeks issues held up by
order of the post Office department,
are represented by John ]. Rooney.
1t was said yesterday that he was in
Washington to protest against the ac-
ton of the government.
jeremiah A. O'Leary, who was head
of thee ompany that published the
suppressed monthly known as Bull,
could not be reached last night.