Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-05-19 | Page 6 | Rublee's Case

RUBLEE'S CASE. The senate is to take another vote on the nomination of George liublee, who has been acting as a member of the federal trade commission for the past sixteen months under a recess appointment. ap-pointment. Ruhlee was rejected by the senate becauso he was "personally obnoxious" ob-noxious" to Senator Gallinger of New Hampshire, not because any charges affecting his honesty or efficiency had been made against him. That twelve DernoeratH should have voted against confirmation in order to enable Senator Gallinger to feed fat an ancient political politi-cal grudge, while five Republicans voted the other way, would ,be incomprehensible incom-prehensible except for the fact that there is an inner circle of senators who have attained the rank of bosses in their home states, and who insist ffhat their selections for public officials and not those of the president be recognized. recog-nized. The rank and file of the senators vote for and against according to their party politics, the minority being generally gen-erally auxious to make trouble for the administration even if it involves the turning down of a good man. But it is a personal matter with the senatorial bosses and politics does not cut any figure. The case of Rublee is one of the most flagrant on record, and the twelve Democrats who rallied when Gallinger raised the black flag have shown themselves in their true colors. There should be honesty and fair dealing deal-ing even in the United States senate, and no combination of political highbinders high-binders should be allowed to exist any longer than it takes for the voters of the various states to get action. . If e,ach individual senator is to be allowed the privilege of preventing the confirmation of men who come from his home state, only the baser sort of politicians will fill the offices, or a maioritv of hem. at least. And"if those same senators can hold up legislation legis-lation at will, the so-called popular branch of the government, tho house, becomes a useless cog in the wheel and the president a mere figurehead. The fact that Rublee is a Progressive and that all is fair in politics as well as love and war, does not excuse his turning down at the behest of Senator Gallinger on the ground that he was ' ( personally obnoxious. ' ' It may j easily happen that the next man to be! made the victim of this vicious and j un-American senatorial practice will be a Republican, for personal spite and : hatred knows no party. If there is: nothing against Rublee but the Gallin-1 ger objection, he should be confirmed. Common decency requires that much at the hands of ''the greatest deliberative body on earth." It is doubtless true that the Democrats who voted against the New Hampshire man, some of them, at least, did so in order to wreak vengeance ven-geance upon the president for refusing refus-ing to appoint some of their parasites, but it is not so stated. So far as the news dispatches go, the turning down was tho Tesult of Gallinger 's "personally "person-ally obnoxious" plea, and no man with any sense of honor or justice can countenance coun-tenance any such outrage, no matter who happens to be in the executive chair at the moment.