The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-09-10
THE PRESIDENTS INABILITY"

charge the powers and duties Of the said offic,
[of president the same shall devolve upon tn,
vice PRESIDENT" and congress in the case o
John Tyler IN 184l, decided that the word,
1.-THE same" meant the Office Of president snt
not merely the "powers and duties" of thu
office. la word, the precedent In the case o.
Vice President Tyler, followed in the case Of
Wee Presidents Fillmore and Johnson. settled
the question so effectually that it Is beyond
further discussion, that when the contingency
arises for the vice president to assume the pow
ers and duties of the Office Of president he be
comes the president as fully as the president
whose place he takes, and he holds the Office
from the time he takes it to the end OF the
term, as there IS no authority Of constitution
or law anywhere to Gust him until the end Of
the term, although the disability" OF the presi.
dent whose place he takes may be removed a
month afterwards.
In the case of the vice presidents death,
removal or disability" the case is different
Congress is expressly authorized by the consti.
ution u designate who shall take his place in
Case of his death or until his disability be re-
moved" and has also provided tor speedy
election OF another president to fill the vacan-
cy caused by such death, disability, sc. But
there is no such provision in case the vice
president succeeds to the office. He holds I'M
ques,ionably to the end OF the term.
No wonder, therefore, that the case of Presi.
dent Garfield is exciting the intensest interest
and anxiety Has the time actually come
when his inability can no longer be question
ed, and If so, is his career or term as president
to all intents and purposes at an end' Ex-
Secretary Robson, of New Jersey, has written
n letter, IN which he defines what must indis.
pulably constitute u case Of presidential disa-
bility" under the constitution, thus: "When
a duty actually presents itself requisite to be
performed by the president, which he Is unable
properly to perform, then the inability contem.
plated by the constitution actually exists, and
by the constitution itself not only The right,
but the duty to perform it, devolves upon the
vice president"
We have seen no attempt to criticise this
definition of presidential disability, and if it IS
correct, IS it not In the case Of President Gar.
field, already reallzedy His surgeons say that,
however favorable and cheerful his symptoms
may be since his transfer to Long Branch,
there is no pretense that he can be 1T to attend
to the most trivial duties of his high office
within the next three months. Yet are there
not Observation-Disclosures of such duties that al.
solutely must be attended to before that time
1t is admitted, for instance, that an almost alb
solute necessity exists to convene an extra ses-
sion Of the senate to elect a president of that
body to save the country from anarchy in case
he vice president should succeed to the Office
of president and IN turn become the victim of
an assassin, like Garfield, or should otherwise
be taken off, But clearly the president IS
wholly unable IN his present condition TO issue
the necessary proclamation thus to convene
The senate Then, rs Dan Voorhees, contends,
it is absolutely necessary that congress- shall
be convened to pass law to provide for defin.
ing what shall consulate such case of presl-
dental disability as shall authorize the vice
President Garfield Is wholly incapacllaled in
his present condition to issue such call Be-
sides, in three months congress meets in regu.
lar session, aud preparatory to such meeting
number OF duties devovc on the president,
such as advising congress generally In regard
to the state OF the country, what legislation IS
necessary, NC; and ~ soon as it passes any
laws TO approve or reject them.
The case of the presidents disability being
thus virtually ndlsputable, the only question
remaining is, whose duty Is 1t TO indicate to,
or decide for Vice President Arthur that such
disability exists and that the time has come
for him to step IN and assume the office of
president? Dan Voorhees, wants congress to
meet and create court 0r commission to make
that decision. But there Is no congress IN SEES
sion, and no president able TO convene con.
gress, and the president may linger on weeks
In palpable disability before congress, even IfI
convened, could pass such law. But in the
absence of such law, and as the overwhelm-
ing necessity of the case actually exists, who
IS to make that decision? Clearly as the case
now stands the vice president must make It for
himself II is to be remem Dercd that the con
st'tulion in no sense regards the Office of pres.
dent as personal estate or possession to be
enjoyed, but as burden or duty, which the
vice president would not be eager or willing to
assume, but would accept only under sense
OF solemr obligation. The constitution there.
fore makes 1t his duty to decide when he shall
step IN and there is no tribunal to decide for
him or to release him from that duty.
or course there Is way In which the vice
president could be spared the unpleasant duty
OF deciding on the presidents disability. The
cabinet might, NJ q matter of courtesy and