The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-05-17
REASON
BY Frederick Lands

BY Frederick Lands
To Assume That q Senator
Would Place HIS Comvic-
tons on the Apction Bloch.
for q Fen Postoficc8 De-
grades Our Form of G0uerH-
merit.
IF President Hoover is wise he will
Aveto the plan to take away the
patronage of those United States
senators who voted against him on
farm relief. for that would be I'M
worthy Of his great Office, and be-
sides it would give the Republican
elephant more carbuncles than it
has had since the floundering DAYS
Of the Taft administration.
Mr.. Taft tried that plan of pun
iShment and it was resented. not
only by those against whom it was
directed, but by their colleagues and
the country at large. The net re-
suit Ct the war which that proScrip-
ton started was that Taft breezed
under the November wire with only
the electoral votes of Utah and Yer
mont, the grand total not being suf-
tlcient to permit Taft to give an
electoral vote to each member Of his
cabinet as a souvenir of esteem.
Il II
To assume that any senator would
place his convictions upon the auc-
ton block for a few postoffices de-
grades our fern Of government. and
to attempt to coerce a senator would
be as corrupt as to attempt to bride
a senator.
1t would not look good Just now.
when Mr.. Hoover is calling the
American people back to the colors
Of law enforcement.
nUR federal Constitution is the
~ most talked-about and the
least understood of all the heir
looms which have come down to us
from the beginning of the republic.
Under our charter Of government.
a President has no right whatever
to seek 10 influence either house of
congress, his authority ending when
he sends to congress his message.
recommending legislation
This eXertion of influence upon
congress-and many Presidents have
eXerted twas one of the greatest
fears the fathers Of the republic had
and they sought by every means
within their power to make each of
the three departments of govern
ment legislative, executive, and
judicial independent of one another.
Then the party system came along
and cast this ancient division OF
powers into the discard, and the crv
Stand by the President" superseded
the original admonition, Stand by
the Constitution all of which has
made the presidential office the
most powerful in the world, a thing
undreamed of by the founders.
II
TT is essential to party government
a. that party platforms shall be
binding on public officials elected on
such platforms, when they have
been adopted by means, free from
fraud, but this does not mean that
in every detail of legislation, offered
to carry out the platform pledge, all
members shall take the Presidents
position, discard their sense of right
and wrong, and follow blindly the
ultimatum Of the White House.
If the senate, the only delibera-
tive body we have at Washington,
thus should abdicate its functions
we might with perfect logic go a
step beyond and dispense with the
selection Of senators and fill the
chairs of the upper chamber with
robots, which could be manipulated
when the finger Of the executive
pressed a button.
1t must be confusing to the for
eign-born citizen, attending night
school, to familiarize himself with
OH fundamental law, to read in the
daily papers these denunciations Of
senator's because they proceed to
function as the Constitution Of their
country commands them to func-
tioa, because they do not consent
to degenerate into mere red caps,
waiting to carry out executive de-