Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-01-14 | Page 6 | Heckling

HECKLING v Representative Samuel W Smith of Michigan is anxious, to heckle the pres ident much as the cabinet members are heckled in the English parliament He des res to know whether a Tepre " sentat va or senator may arise in his place and propound a quest on to the president It is perhaps largely a matter of form rather than of law de j) jtpendng upon the pres dent s willing IfiKsess to epter into a joint debate Should the heckling degenerate into jr'mere scold ng the pres dent could 1& abandon the plan of delivering his mes JIP( Bages in person and fall back upon the i 6afer and more- comfortable method of 91 his predecessors for 100 years I pi, The proposal of representative I j Smith is a part of the movement to l U eBtal sn clser relations between the S K president and h 3 cabinet members on i Lithe one side and congress on the other I ) Under the American system the cabi 1 Rnet members being appointed by the 1 president consider that their reBponsi i b lity is due only to him and through 1 b him to the people Under the English I I system of admm stration the cabinet I members are held to be responsible to gj te people through the parliament ft The people probably would indorse any movement which had for its object ob-ject a better working system as be i.iween congress and the official family tTie advantages of interrogations are well understood A cabinet member who possesses certain information on a topic of inteiest to congress can impart j a information more fully in a few minutes or a few hours of personal con Haet with congress than by a long series 1 j of communications and piles of official ' documents ft If the interrogat ons of the pres dent I were conducted in a uniformly I , f- courteous and considerate manner they j I probably would not be objectionable H The pres dent would be glad to state his views and to convey any informs III iion not incompatible with the proper ' ( conduct of h s office If however j members of congress ms sted upon mak . ing themselves offens ve by partisan fnckB of quest oning for political pur poses the inquiB t on would be of no use to anybody Iio doubt the people If purely from 1 , curiosity would welcome such an una 5 j - vation Only tnal can demonstrate 9 whether it has enough advantages to ( warrant its be ng retained as a i permanent mst tution