Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-06-14
ARTHUR.
The DiSqrdcefM Nomination. for the Vic
PreSidenc1-4 High office sham eteSsI
EetittIed.

Be!ittIed.
Philadelphia Times
When great political party nominates fo
Vice President of the United States such
man as Chester A. Arthur, of New York,
is about time to think whether this Office ha
not fallen too low already in popular esteem
1t was the evident intention of the fathers O
| the Republic that no man should by any
possibility reach the Vice Presidency who
was not, in the opinion of his fellow citizens
equal also to all efficient discharge of the
higher duties to which, under providentia
dispensation, he might at any moment sue
ceed. The theory of the old constitution was
! in fact that the second choice of the people
for President should become Vice President
George Washington receiving the entire num-
ber of votes in the electoral college in 1889,
was declared President, and John Adams, of
Massachusetts, "haviDg received plurality of
second choices" was declared Vice President.
Adams was the peer of Washington in every
thing but generaIship and the service of his
country in the field. So in 1897, when Ad-
ans succeeded to the Presidency, Thomas
Jefferson became Vice President. At the
fourth Presidential: election it happened that
while Adams had only 65 votes Thomas JEFF
ferson and Aaron Burr each received 70,
without designation on the ballots as to
which of the two offices either was to fill
This dilemma threw the election into the
House of Representatives,, which, by vote of
States, gave the first place to Jefferson and
the second to Burr, r,although each was pushed
through thirty five ballots for the Presiden-
cy. Incidents of this struggle, some of which
were of q scandalous nature, gave reason
for the adoption of the twelfth amendment
to the Constitution, which provided that the
candidates for President and Vice President
should be voted for separately, as they are
to-day.
It is long step from John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson to William Almon Wheel
or, but it would be a much longer one to
Chester A. Arthur. There have been lapses
now and then i'll favor of mere mediocritv,
and the tendency has been downward, with
an occasional check, but the Vice Presidents
chair has generally been filed by worthy and
able men. George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry,
Daniel d. Tomkins, John G. Calhoun, Rich
ard M. johnson. George III. Dallas and John
G. Breckinridge were all men who reflected
credit upon the Office and would have worn
Presidential honors worthily, and John Ty-
ler, Millard Fillmore and Andrew johnson
gave the country reminders in one way or
another that it was great mistake to take
it for granted that president would live out
his term, and that being a partisan worker
and having a knowledge of parliamentary law
are the principal considerations in
choice of Vice President. AS to
the present incumbent, to say nothing of
the only man now living who has occupied
the place, it is enough to say that he has
done great deal to bring it into contempt,
but nothing to bring it into disrepute.
The trouble is nowadays that the nomina-
ton for Vice President is an afterthought.
Before the national convention meets it is
scarcely given a moments attention. There
is no popular ante-convention canvass over
the candidates. The people and the politi-
clans have their eye on the first place alone.
Who shall take the second is apt to be de-
termined in part by the geographical location
of the head of the ticket, and in part by
disposition to conciliate the interests suffer-
ing defeat in the first nomination. In the
Chicago case sectionalism might have been
placated by the choice of good Eastern man
like Hoar or HaWley to keep Garfield COM
pany, and the ticket would have been i'm
hoaSurdUly StIeHStueHou' DuG ID was
thought necessary TO make peace with the
beaten bosses, and so the convention, which
had been dominated and inspired by opposi-
tion to the machine. puts up the most plant
tool of these bosses for the second Office in
the gift of the nation. Such nomination is
not only an iusult to the administration and
a shameless groveling to the machine in
fuence, but it is dangerous belittling of
the Vice Presidency and an inexusable
affront to the public intelligence. The
Democrats will have chance to emphasize
this outrage by a creditable nomination
for Vice President, such as they made in 1876,
and if they do, it will be point of great
advantage in the campaign.