Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-11-03
bents of that Office, and four vice presi-
dents have died in Office.

| uentS nave dled IN Ofhce.
There have been a good many men
of high ability vice presidents, in spite
of the insigniicance the public at
taches 70 the Office, until there seems a
prospect of its incumbent exchanging
it 1Or the higher one. Undoubtedly
the greatest of them was Aaron Burr.
His name needs no comment, even
now. Gov. Tompkins was a tremen-
dous figure in the local politics of his
time. He was a congressman, a noted
leader in Tammany hall, being one of
the hundred young men Tammany
bought house for to share among
themselves at the time it was neces-
sary to be householder in order to
have a vote in the city, and four times
governor. during one of which terms he
almost beggared himself raising and
contributing money for the carrying on
OF the war of 1872. John G. Calhoun
was political Colossus, more sinned
against by history than SHINING against
it, and John G. Breckenridge and Rich
ard NJ. Johnson were both able law.
yers and astute politicians. George NJ.
Dallas was mayor of Philadelphia,
United States senator, and ambassador
to Russia and England at various
times, and an able, though not aggres-
sively busy, man. The least note
worthy of our vice presidents, Hamlin,
COlfax, Wilson and Wheeler, have still
won regulations ds public men, which
the bulk of their fellow citizens may
well envy them. Hannibal Hamlin
was chOSan governor of this state in
1857, after having been speaker of the
state assembly, and congressman and
senator. Schuyler Colfax was in con-
gress in 1856, was chosen speaker of
'he house of representatives in 1873,
ard is best known nowadays as a
temperance lectures. Wilson and
Wheeler rank lowest in the scale of
vice presidential eminence. The lat
ter, especially, presents the least sig
nificant figure of any man who has held
his late Office. But he is an able busi-
ness man and a good lawyer, and had
done excellent legislative service.
There have been various methods
applied in the election of vice presi-
dents of the United States. In 1889,
and again in 1892, Washington had
had every vote cast for president.
But at his first election no less than
eleven persons were voted to fill the
second Office. At the election of 1900,
the head of the contest muddled things
so that the necessity of some definite
method of distinguishing president and
vice president in the popular vote be-
came apparent. There were four promi.
nent aspirants-Jefferson and Burr,
both republicans, and Adams, and C. C.
Pinckney, both federalists. There was
tie between Jefferson and Burr,
each having 73 of the 138 votes.
Adams had 65, Pinckney had Ga, and
one Rhode Islander voted for John
Jay. The election went to the house
of representatives (where each state
had only single vote), and after a
week of excitement and thirty-six
ballots, Jefferson got ten of the six-
teen states, Burr four, and two votes
blank. The constitution was then i'm
mediately amended so as to require
the electors 10 designate on their bal
lots their choice for president and
vice.
A caucus OF members of congress
then, was the first method hit upon
for the selection of candidates. It is
difficult to conceive of any other plan
suited to the state of things at that
time. a national convention, even if
it had been thought of, would have alb
sOrbed the greater part of the year, and
there was then no press which could
in any sense be called national. The
newspapers were few, and of limited
circulation, and a nomination by them
would have been considered imperti-
nent by the country gentlemen then so
influential. The congressional eau
cuses we're held with closed doors, and
no part of their proceedings was CON-
municated to the public except
the result. Five presidents in
succession were chosen in this
manner. Then, when Andrew
Jackson's first term neared its end and
his reelection became an object in the
near future, the idea of a national con-
vention was suggested, it is said, by
Maj. VIM. i. Lewis, a confidential
friend of the president, in order to de-
feat Calhoun's intrigues and secure the
election of Van Buren, to the vice
presidency.
The convention met in Baltimore in
May, 1882, and it consisted of 328
delegates. Leading members who were
disinclined to vote for Van Buren were
given distinctly to understand that
they must vote for the presidents can
didate, or be prepared to quarrel with
the president. Such was the power of
the administration and such the dis
cipline of the party, that out of the 326
delegates only GO presumed to give
a vote against Martin Van Buren,
just enough to impart to the delibera-
tions of the convention slight show of
independence. The people, however,
were not quite so obedient to the man.
dates of the party chief. Gen. Jack
son received PIG electoral votes in
1882, while Mr.. Van Buren received
but 1S9, which, however, was A more
than he needed.
Thus was inaugurated the system of
nominating candidates by national con.
vention, which has continued to the
present time-a system, it is scarcely
an exaggeration to say, due to the
vice president, whose value the public
only acknowledges when it sees a
chance to use him, and whose value
on an emergency great bulk of the
public has no clear comprehension Of
at all.
Crude Petroleum.
There is at present, in round mum