178 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



in the presence of criminals too great to be 

 punished. 



" Like the Senator from Indiana, I -would 

 remove from the path of the incoming admin- 

 istration every obstacle. I wish to leave the 

 President-elect free to the full and useful exer- 

 cise of the good judgment and good qualities 

 which we all ascribe to him. At the same time 

 I wish, and particularly unless some motive, 

 some practical inducement to the contrary can 

 be presented, to preserve the consistency of 

 the Senate, to preserve the position which the 

 Senate has maintained in the last and most 

 dire exigency known in our jurisprudence, to 

 the end that at once we may observe all the 

 considerations entitled to respect and preser- 

 vation. The honorable Senator from Indiana 

 thinks that considerations of one nature should 

 yield to considerations wholly of a different 

 nature. If he can show me that this amend- 

 ment obstructs the way to administrative re- 

 form, then I will consider at least whether all 

 the elements to which I have adverted should 

 not be subordinated to the. particular object 

 now in view. 



" But, if it be true, as I believe it is, that the 

 amendment before us restores to the President 

 or confers upon him all the authority, all the 

 freedom, all the discretion in practice and 

 effect which the Constitution allows, then, as 

 I say, I prefer that the mode of conferring that 

 freedom should be found in some way consist- 

 ent with and observant of the convictions 

 which great majorities of both Houses have 

 solemnly recorded as to the spirit and the re- 

 quirements of the Constitution. My reflection 

 upon the subject has convinced me that the 

 modification proposed is sufficient, and at the 

 same time that it does preserve not as a sham, 

 as the Senator said, not as a mere matter of 

 form, but in theory of law and constitutional 

 observance, the spirit of the Constitution in 

 this regard. So believing, I shall vote for it 

 cheerfully, unless in the mean time some Sen- 

 ator is able to point out considerations which 

 have not occurred to me, and which conflict 

 with its usefulness and the freedom it will 

 give." 



Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, said: "I wish 

 to call the attention of the Senate to some of 

 the practical operations of the new doctrine 

 that the President has not the power of re- 

 moval, but that he must appear before the 

 Senate of the United States as a prosecutor and 

 bring the officers of his appointment to trial 

 and judgment before the Senate before the re- 

 moval can take place ; for that is the substance 

 of the bill which passed two years ago, and 

 that in substance is retained in the present bill 

 proposed as a modification. 



" Now, sir, what has been our experience ? 

 "We are the only body in this country that has 

 ever had any experience upon the question. I 

 submit that the judgment of the Senate must 

 unanimously be that the attempt to place the 

 President in the position of a prosecutor before 



he can remove men from office, to bring these 

 men to trial before the Senate and show cause 

 why they should be removed, to have those 

 alleged causes considered, and to have the 

 judgment of the Senate passed upon them, in- 

 volving the character of the officer and his 

 right to the office, is a thing almost impracti- 

 cable to be carried out. "What is the effect ? 

 A man occupies an office as a collector of rev- 

 enue, if you please. The President suspends 

 him, and sends in notice of his suspension to 

 the Senate. It would be strange, indeed, if 

 that officer should have no friend in the Con- 

 gress of the United States. If he has a friend 

 in the House of Representatives, that friend 

 appeals at once to the sympathies, it may be, 

 of the Senator who represents his State. 

 The question comes before the Senate. This 

 man's character is involved. This is a prose- 

 cution, it is alleged, to put him out of office for 

 cause not at the pleasure of the President, not 

 for political reasons, not because the President 



E refers another man to execute the duties of 

 is office, which, if it were allowed to go into 

 effect, would produce no bad result upon the 

 character of the individual, but it is in the na- 

 ture of a prosecution against the officer to dis- 

 miss him for some reason. What is that rea- 

 son ? What are the reasons for which a man 

 should be displaced from office, if you are to 

 go into that subject ? Some maladministration, 

 some fraud, some dishonesty, some incapability, 

 some cause which must be alleged and must 

 be proved. The case must go before a com- 

 mittee; the facts must be examined and re- 

 ported to the Senate ; the question must then 

 be discussed in the Senate in executive session ; 

 the judgment of this body must be called upon ; 

 and, when they pass on the question whether 

 the man ought to be removed for cause, they 

 pass on his character as a man. They bring 

 him to trial, and the case comes to trial and to 

 judgment ; and the decision of the Senate on 

 the question of removal is a decision which is 

 to blast the character of the individual for- 

 ever. The attempt cannot be made to remove 

 him for cause with out bringing before the Sen- 

 ate all those considerations which are brought 

 before a court when a man is placed on trial 

 to be subjected to a penalty ; to be made sub- 

 stantially incapable of holding an office, in the 

 judgment of the Senate of the United States, 

 for cause alleged against him. If the thing 

 were to be entered upon, and every case of re- 

 moval were to be tried by the Senate where 

 the person was suspended for alleged cause, it 

 would be practically impossible for the Senate 

 of the United States to pass on all these cases. 

 We know that these discussions take place in 

 executive session. These executive sessions 

 ordinarily occur late in the day, after the regu- 

 lar legislative business is passed. We know 

 that any person, in executive session, who is 

 very much for or against a proposition, by dis- 

 cussing it, may ordinarily postpone the execu- 

 tive session until it comes to an end ; and the 



