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Show rULL UP THE BLINDS. It begins to look as though the ' Senate might shortly conclude to do away vith executive sessions, so far as the consideration consid-eration of appointments is concerned. After all, why should not these matters . be discussed in open session? The popu lar impression, whether justified by the facts or not, is that executive sessions of II the Senate are used merely as a cover I or trades and bargains, where bad nomi- I nations and in spite of all precautions such nominations will be made occasiori-' occasiori-' ally can be confirmed without the pub- ! lie knowing upon whom rests t he responsi- bilitj' therefor. The people are fast coming to the con- i elusion, which very many Senators seem ! also" to have reached, that it would be i better to tear away the curtain that is j supposed to veil the awful sanctity of ' executive sessions from the public gaze, j Bince there is nothing done that needs to ? be or should be' done in secret, and mis- J takes now made might and would be avoided. Speaking upon this point, the Washington Wash-ington correspondent of the New York World says: "Does any one sup- pose that Stanley Matthews would ever have -. reached the Supreme , Court Bench if he had been compelled to I come before the Senate in" open session ? j . He was rejected pnee and confirmed only after a desperate fight by the bare ma-jority ma-jority of one, in the face of a positive adverse ad-verse report of the Judiciary Committee! i ! What Senator would have dared to vote for him if he had known that his vote would have become an open official record? re-cord? The secret sessions of the Senate are much more favorable to bad appointments appoint-ments than to good ones. Under the cover of the closed doors the bad appointment appoint-ment affords a basis for a trade that a good one cannot command." |