The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-26
NAMES BURLESON TO p. Q. PLACE
 10 MONTHS LATE.

Washington, Jan. 25-The Senate yesterday confirmed a belated renom- ination of Albert s. Burleson, to be Postmaster General, after receiving a 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 of a statute putting the Postmaster General on a different status from other members of the Cabinet as to tenure of office, which required his renomination after the expiration of Presidential term.
 The Presidents letter read:
 q am taking the liberty of sending you for submission to the Senate a re-nomination of the present Post master General.
 T would be obliged if you would explain to the Senate that my atten- tion 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- tion of his term of office to four years. I regret very much that did not sooner know of the existence of this statute, and take pleasure ill submitting the name"
 Senators expressed the opinion that | no complications would be involved through the failure of the President to reappoint the Postmaster General ncfn 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 1 if asked for an opinion.
 Senator Smith of Georgia, who re- gently investigated the status of the lIold-over Cabinet, asserted that there was no question of the validity of every hold-o 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 to renominate him. His appointments and acts will stand the test of any court.''
 Before the Senate acted on the nom 1nat1on Senator Hardwick of Georgia called attention to resolution he of fered two weeks ago, in which the President was asked to inform the Senate by what authority his Cabinet held office without confirmation by 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.
 "As a matter of act, the country ever since April 4, 1917, has been Ie- gally without Postmaster General said Senator Hardwick. q 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 ther congratulate the country and the President if the President would com ply with the spirit of the Constitution about all these things as we'll as the letter of the law, and would follow the custom of his predecessors as well 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-G Burleson, would ask to have that order declared void on the ground that MT. Burleson acted without legal authority when he barred the paper from the mails.
 q have known for some time,'' he said, ''that the postmaster-ge 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 well 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 J. Rooney It was said yesterday that he was in Washington to protest against the ac- tion 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.