128 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



and in terms, that the President of the United 

 States in his message had said that the civil 

 service of the United States was demoralized. 

 That is the language which he imputed to the 

 President of the United States. I have read 

 that message with some care and a great deal 

 of satisfaction. I find no such clause in it. 

 The President of the United States has said in 

 his message, to his honor, that the public ser- 

 vice of the United States in respect to ap- 

 pointments to office could he improved. He 

 has shown, by his return of the management 

 of affairs during the period of his administra- 

 tion, that, instead of the public service in his 

 hands being demoralized, it has become moral- 

 ized from the condition of demoralization in 

 which he found it at the expiration of the 

 term of Mr. Johnson. He has expelled pecu- 

 lators and defrauding officers from the service, 

 and he has done it as quickly and as readily 

 whenever he has found people who have been 

 appointed by himself as he has in respect to 

 officers who were appointed by others." 



The Senate then went into executive session, 

 and further discussion was suspended indefi- 

 nitely. 



In the Senate, on December 13th, Mr. An- 

 thony, of Ehode Island, offered the following 

 resolution : 



Resolved, That a standing committee of seven, to 

 be known as the Committee of Investigation and 

 ^Retrenchment, be created, to investigate and report 

 on such subjects as may be committed to it by the 

 Senate, such committee to be elected by the Senate 

 as other standing committees. 



By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded 

 to consider the resolution. 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, said: "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, if this resolution is to be adopted, creat- 

 ing a standing committee of the Senate for 

 the purpose of making investigations to bring 

 about retrenchment and correct abuses in the 

 Government, I desire that it should be vested 

 with the same powers that were conferred on 

 the joint select committee which formerly ex- 

 isted. Some objections are made to a joint 

 committee of the two Houses for this purpose. 

 It will be remembered that I introduced some 

 days ago a resolution' providing for a joint 

 committee on retrenchment, and now the 

 Senator from Rhode Island introduces a reso- 

 lution for a standing committee of the Senate 

 on retrenchment. My object is to get at the 

 retrenchment and correct abuses in the Gov- 

 ernment, and I have no preference as to 

 whether it be done by a joint select committee 

 of both Houses or by a standing committee 

 of the Senate, if one is as thorough as the 

 other. I will move, therefore, to amend the 

 resolution of the Senator from Rhode Island 

 by adding to it the folio win <j :" 



And the said committee be instructed to inquire 

 into the expenditures in all branches of the service 

 of the United States, and to report whether any and 

 what offices ought to be abolished ; whether any and 



what salaries or allowances ought to be reduced; 

 what are the methods of procuring accountability 

 in public officers or agents in the care and disburse- 

 ment of public moneys ; whether moneys have been 

 paid out illegally ; whether any officers or agents, 

 or other persons have been, or are employed in the 

 public service without authority of law or unneces- 

 sarily, and generally how and to what extent the 

 expenses of the service of the country may and ought 

 to oe curtailed. 



And also to consider the expediency of so amend- 

 ing the laws under which appointments to the public 

 service are now made as to provide for withdrawing 

 the public service from being used as an instrument 

 of political or party patronage. 



That said committee be authorized to sit during 

 the recess of Congress, to send for persons and pa- 

 pers, and to report by bill or otherwise ; and that 

 said committee may appoint a clerk. 



Mr. Anthony : " The amendment which the 

 Senator from Illinois proposes covers the 

 ground of subjects which will be referred to 

 this committee ; but I think it is much better 

 to appoint it as we appoint all the other com- 

 mittees, and then the Senator from Illinois can 

 move to refer to this committee the subjects 

 embraced in his amendment. "We have a com- 

 mittee on naval affairs, but in constituting 

 that committee we do not say that to that 

 committee shall be referred all subjects relat- 

 ing to the navy. I should vote to refer those 

 subjects to this committee immediately after 

 its formation, but I think it is more parlia- 

 mentary and orderly, more in conformity 

 with the usage of the Senate, to state the 

 name of the committee and its object, if at all, 

 very generally." 



Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, said: "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I hope that in organizing this committee 

 on retrenchment we shall pursue the ordinary 

 usage of the Senate. When we organize a 

 committee on retrenchment, as a matter of 

 course every one knows what that means. 

 You cannot make the definition broader than 

 the word, because the word is known, and no 

 definition can make it any broader. As to 

 the power to send for persons and papers, to 

 summon witnesses, to go about, if necessary, 

 and take testimony all these are powers 

 which are conferred upon any committee of 

 this body whenever the committee itself asks 

 for them. I would not myself, in any case, 

 unless it was a gross case, where an abuse of 

 power might result from it, refuse to give 

 these requisite powers on the request of the 

 committee. 



" Why not, then, let this committee stand 

 like all other committees ? and if any propo- 

 sition is introduced and referred to this com- 

 mittee, and it sees proper in that particular 

 case to send for persons and papers, an inti- 

 mation of that kind from the committee, or a 

 resolution of that kind introduced here, would 

 be followed by the authority being conferred 

 as usual. Why not pursue the same course in 

 the organization of this committee? It seems 

 to me that the attempt to define power always 

 limits power. If, as I have no doubt is true, 

 the Senator from Illinois desires a committee 





