Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-02
The rules committee Of the Senate

The rules committee of the Senat.
thereupon met In secret session to con-
slider what 1t deemed a violation Of thu
Senate rules. This committee had mo-
challenged the publication of report;
of the debates during secret sessions or
this or any previous occasion. BY
unanimous vote it brought in q ,resolu.
ton solemnly declaring that violation
of the rules of the Senate had beer
comitted by some Senator or officer Of
the Senate, and further declaring thai
such person, unnamed in the resolution
deserves and should receive severe
consure and punishment"
Press Association Excluded.
At this same session the committee
on rules unanimously adopted a resolu-
ton excluding the United Press ASso-
citation from the privilege Of the floor Of
the Senate and voted to summon Mr.
Mallon, under a subpoena, to compel
him to reveal to the committee the
sources from which he had obtained
the secret roll call Of the Senate.
objected to this proceeding in the
Senate on the ground that no news
paper man Is bound to respect the rules
of the Senate; that in singing out the
United Press for punishment by ex-
Guiding its representative from the
floor during public sessions, the COM
mittee was discriminating against a
single correspondent who had perform
ed his duty to the public interest; and
that this procedure constituted an at
tempt by the committee to establish a
censorship over the press. The rules
committee had no authority to curtail
or extend the privileges Of the floor
In order to prevent this attempted
discipline of the United Press insisted
upon the enforcement of the existing
rule regarding the privilege of the floor
which barred all representatives of the
press from the Senate floor. have Of
fered an amendment to the rules which
will accord representatives of the press
associations the privilege of the floor
without discrimination.
Mr. Mallon appeared before the rules
committee, at an open session held on
Monday, May 81. He declined to reveal
the sources of his information. He as
serted the right of every newspaper
man to obtain and every newspaper to
print any information pertaining to
the proceedings of the Senate, whether
Following this hearing the rules COM
mittee voted to amend the secrecy
rules of the Senate and a resolution re-
ported by the committee is now pending
on the calendar. It provides in sub
stance that sessions Of the Senate for
the consideration of nominations may
be debated and voted for In open ses-
sion and that the roll-call by which a
nomination is confirmed or rejected
shall be made public.
Conflict Ages Old.
Thus, after 140 years of secrecy in the
consideration of an important part OF
the public business by the Senate, we
are making progress in the direction
of an enlightened and democratic pro-
cedure. Secret or star chamber sessions
of the Senate are relics of the discarded
practices of the British Parliament,
abandoned more than two centuries ago
when the Anglo-SaXon race was strug-
Cling to achieve self-government.
The conflict between secrecy and
publicity has gone forward through the
ages, with men in power asserting their
privilege to conceal their acts from the
people, and free press, wherever it has
existed in any country in the civilized
world, challenging that right and news
paper men often suffering imprison-
ment to give the people the facts con-
corning their own representatives and
their own Government
On II different occasions the effort
has been made in the Senate to abolish
secrecy, but up until the present time
the arguments for public consideration
of the public business have not pre-
vailed.
The defense has always been made
that by closing the doors on considera-
ton Of executive nominations Senators
are permitted to discuss freely their OBJ
jectionS to nominee which could not
no In
has been made that such free
discussion insures closer scrutiny Of
nominees for such offices, without sub
jecting them to charges in public which
cannot be clearly established by ade-
quate proof.
The complete answer to the argument
that secret sessions promote careful
scrutiny of the qualifications of nomi-
nees will be found in the records Of re-
cent years. The nominations of Albert
B. Fall Secretary Of the Interior; Harry
M. Daugherty, Attorney General;
Charles r. Forbes, director Of the Vet
Grams Bureau, and Thomas F. Miller,
alien property custodian, were all con-
sidered and confirmed in secret sessions
of the Senate. Each Of these high ON
Gals was subsequently indicted and two
of them were convicted and sent to
prison after open consideration Of their
criminal acts in the Federal courts.
Debate in Open Session.
Had these nominations been consid-
cred in open sessions Of the Senate,
some of them at least would have been
fully debated and confirmation strongly
opposed. But in these cases the Senate
practically abdicated its constitutional
duty to advise and consent to nomina-
fioy.~ tffaI hp fha procidaY1f and
out of courtesy to the executive con-
firmed them without serious consider
alton
II the doors of the Senate are opened,
I contend that any President will hest
tate to submit the nominations Of per-
sons whose fitness for ONCE Is subject
to attack. The consideration Of nomi-
nations in open session will make Sen
ators strictly accountable to their con-
stituents for their actions upon this i'm
portant phase Of the Senate's constitu-
tional dutv.
I do not believe it can be successfully
maintained that any man or woman
should be placed in public office whose
qualifications and character cannot
stand public scrutiny.
A candidate for President, the office
of the greatest dignity and power IN
our Government, is not spared the
scrutiny of his public record and pri-
vate character. The last campaign GER
tainly demonstrated the truth Of that
statement. Can it be soberly commended
that an appointive oficial, often can
didate foisted upon the executive by q
powerful political machine In one OF
the States, shall be permitted to take
ONCE without meeting this test?
In my opinion, the Senate has per-
formed a great public service in recent
years by fearlessly exposing the secret
acts of executive officers Of the Gov.
eminent which no man in or out OF
the Senate will now defend. The Sen
ate suspected that Secretary OF the
Interior, then in office, was bartering
the naval oil reserves Of the Nation
by an illegal system of secret leases. It