Evening star., 1939-02-08


he pleases and that the Senate as
a Whole-not one or two Senator'S
has the right to refuse to confirm
anybody it pleases.
But this tends to oversimplify the
problem, which, in reality, is whether
a President may be guided by polit-
ical considerations in the naming
of man of his liking, and whether
the Senators, on their part, may use,
in effect, their veto power to check
the confirmation of such nomina-
ton.
In both instances considerations of
politics play a part. The President
doesn't admit it any more than does
either of the Virginia Senators. But
the moment the controversy arose,
1t acquired political aspect. Thus
the publication in Virginia news
paper that Gov. Price, allied with
the Roosevelt faction, would have
the veto power" over Federal ap-
pointments caused Senator Glass to
seek specific denial from Mr..
Roosevelt on that point.
Fails to Satisfy Glass.
The President states that he was
not in the habit of confirming or
denying newspaper reports on
Federal appointments, but Senator
Glass, on the other hand, chose to
construe the absence of a specific
denial as a sort of affirmation.
Doubtless he was prompted to do
this because it is we'll known that
political leaders throughout Virginia
opposed to the Glass-Byrd faction
would so construe Mr.. Roosevelt's S
Indifference to the published report
about Gov. Prices alleged veto
power. AS long as the President did
not categorically deny the report,
his supporters in Virginia might be
tempted to exploit the position of
the Roosevelt faction as the one
: favored at the White House, and
this naturally arouses the ire of
the opposite group.
What happened later in the fulfill
ment OF a routine with respect to
the asking of suggestions from the
Senators about judges was important
only in that the letter of the custom
was followed. Subsequently, when
the names submitted by Senators
Byrd and Glass were pushed aside
and the President did, in fact, pick
o man who had been identified all
over the State through the activities
OF his friends as allied with the pro-
administration faction, 1t was nat
ural that the political turmoil should
be increased.
The vote In the United States
Senate whereby the nomination was
rejected simply meant that nearly
all the Senators felt they had better
stick together since at any time a
similar situation might arise in their
own States. 1t was by no means
related to any other issue.
Public Might Wonder.
. What the disinterested observer
Of such political occurrences will
want to know is why, when the
squabble arose between the President
and the Virginia Senators, some one
at the Department of Justice or else
where in the administration didn't
do bit of quiet searching for some
outstanding citizen who was discon-
nected from either faction, yet who
would be acceptable to the two
United States Senators.
= Mr.. Roosevelt in his farewell letter
10 the rejected judge rightly pointed
out that nothing had been adduced
which in the slightest degree re-
f1ected on the ability or integrity
Of the nominee, but it remains to be
seen whether the Presidents further
comment will bear the fruit he hopes
Tor, especially when he says the re-
lection will have a good effect on
the citizenship and the thinking of
the whole Nation in that it will tend
to create greater interest in the
Constitution of our country"
What the President means by this
Is that the controversy will tend to
emphasize the untrammeled right
Of the Chief Executive to exercise his
appointing power without regard to
politics, or with regard to it, so
long as he selects qualified person,
and the improperly Of the Senate
presumably in rejecting a qualified
person just because Of political
considerations.
May Stir Public Interest.
The probable effect of the contro-
versy will be to focus the attention