The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-12-02
what sort of nsn a President
khuuld he.

uhJ uhh hCoIuuluulCN'l ultu NulCu tlht
Journal calls attention, setting forth
what the writer couceivOs To be pop.
ular radical error in regard TO tue sort
OfmAn that should DO elected President
OF the United States. He deprecates
the idea Of a candidate going Into ONCE
under pledge TO carry out some pre-.
vailIng notion, passion or prejudice OF
the hour Under such method, he
says that
"our Chief Magistrates and Congress.
men must almost inevitably be dema-
gORues, while the Constitution meant
TO give US the opposite. Allow me 10
ask whether candidate who IL TO be
elected upon some issue upon which
hts party has been dashed Into pIsln-
dice, must not unRYoidably be n liar,
hypocrlte, OFT fanatloi lie must, II he
be nj all 1T for Congress, know that
events change continually, and that the
correct measure In n given case must
be the product Of a consideration OF all
the facts and reasoning then within
reach, and that therefore his previous
opinions, as well az those OF the people,
Presidential platform Hl1OS 1885 has
been u Presidential fraud, or at least a
popular Illusion; and every party
has been compelled, by the cold force
ofthe logic Of events, 10 act against the
platform under which 1t came into
power. Van Buren, had to oppose the
pet bank deposit system which brought
him into office; Harrison, or rather Ty-
hnh IN NIL
friends; Polk would not, or could not,
carry 81 40 and fight; neither Taylor
nor his Vice President could stand upon
their platform Of having no enemies to
punish or friends to reward; Pierce trod
the resolve OF his party that the slavery
agitation should not be reopened, UNI
der foot, though he had made IL part
othls Presidential oath In his inaugur-
al address; Buchanan got swamped In
KANSAS upon LecOmpLon and the fool
doctrine OF popular sovereignty; Lin
cOlu had TO oppose every plank Of the
threatened with Impeachment because
he persists In looking back instead Of
forward.
might produce similar Instances In
our Congressional elections. The truth
lht tllut LutEb hIG uu LuOAp GLhulpuN
means 10 prevent the people from ruling
than the method now In fashion Of run
ming a candidate upon some evanescent
hobby. It always throws sand into the
peoples eyes, and makes them fail to
Judge the man (the thing for which cleo
lions are specially ftted), while they are
intensified upon some public measure.
NVLnt 7 I;l,o q, f1.on. 4, hJs,,nu,IIin1
ness TO cater TO misguided public Gu.
riosityi and what dlslike In other
candidates Is their readiness TO form
conclusions on public questions, and to
rehearse them before popular audi.
ences, Jackson said, In 1924, "thAt II
he thought his right arm knew what he
would do, II elected, he would cut 1t of
and throw It into the fire." That was
the talk o. a hero, while readiness TO
talk iS primG JGciG evidence Of u bah
bier. We can never have again great
men for Presidents, as long as we sub.
ject our candidates for that high posi-
tiOn to cBtechisms. As In churches, the
articles of faith and the CateChIsms gen.
orally contain that which takes re-
ligiOn Out Of the seCts, so our platforms
take out Of our parties the real princl.
pies Of the Constitution"
Probably the only proper criticism to
bs made upon the above excellent theo.
reIical idea OF electing candidates to
office is its general impracticability.
The suggestions look we'll on paper.
Could they be carried out in actual
practice no doubt they would be
great Improvement upon the prevailing
usage Of electIng candidate hedged
about with all sorts OF partisan
pledges. But 1t requires no special
acamen to detect their weak spot
Candidates are "born OF The occasion"
under our form OF Government. The
whole theory OF the Government is that
the people are represented in the person
Of candidate. Whatever opinion or
feeling Hgitates them, seeks practical
expression in a representative. During
a campaign that opinion or feeling may
be in regard TO the tariff, or slavery, or
internal improvements, or anything
else. Under such circumstances, 1t IL
but little short OF nonsense to talk OF
taking up a candidate who is not in
sympathy with some phase Of the pop.
ular feeling. We admit that 1t would
be better to elect men In chose general
character for intelligence, honesty and
capacity I'LL confidence could DO re-
posed. II would be well II such man
could he found in every Congressional
and Legislative district throughout the
land, and when found put in nomina.
ton. But even then the people would
naturally demand from him such an
HYowal OF sentiment rs would serve
10 classify him. The grcaltrouble with
candidates IL that they seek TO compete
with each other before the people by
intensiiying reasonable party senH.
lnent into furious craftsmanship, and
once carried into ofIics on such wave
they feel that they cannot go back up.
on their own professions, and hence,
preserve IN Appearance OF consistency,
are hedged about with recolleCtions Of
their status On the hastings. One will
often find Congressman nj Washington
who, In the privacy of conversation,
very plainly eyIuce this embarasS.
Inent, either from IN actual change
since their election, In consequence Of ii
wider horizon, or else from the fact that
they "stooped to conquer" daring the
campaign by resorts to extravnGant
and lnsincere ultraIsm.
Ifuniversal Intelligence prevailed in
the country very different class Of
men would be elected to office. Then
the man Of ultra professions would not
lie chosen. Our politics would not BE-
a Procru-leun bed, na they are now,
into which the candidate must
exactly tit. Men would not go
To the Legislature or TO Con.
gress with handouts aud hobbies
upon them. They would feel free to
change with "thc logic Of events"
aud the people would not exactnn iron
measurement Of Inconsistency from them.
Itisihp Misfortune with most men that
they do not feel free to keep pace with
their convictions, the reason being that