Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-28
PRESIDENTIAL IsABnIlY

bllity. he asserted emphatlcaiiy that
/" when once the Nice-President entered
g the Presidents Office in case of such a
grave inability as to justify that step.
he held it irrevocably for the balance OF
the term" Senator Jones had no iusti-
fication for dogmatizing upon the question,
for if any thing about it is obvious, i. is
that the Constitution does not make any
definite provision in the premises. 1t is
impossible to derive from that instrument
any such clear-cut theory as the Senator
| from Florida has propounded. Under the
Constitution there is no definition of Preai-
dential inability, nor is there any settle
ment OF the vexed question of temporary
or permanent inability. Nor can it be said
that the most reasonable view is that
which Senator Jones has taken. 1t may
on the contrary be fairly assumed that
the object of the Constitution is to
guard against any lapse in the Presiden.
tial Office, but that no other object
was contemplated when the Constitu-
ton was framed. II, for instance,
the trainers of the Constitution had been
asked what their intention was, it must
be supposed that they would have an
swered: "To provide for the continuous
performance of the Executive functions. !"
But if President should be temporarily
disabled, as for example by an attack CT
brain fever, and if during his inability the
Vice. President should take his place. and
if presently the President should recover
fully and completely, it would certainly
not be in accordance with reason that he
should be prohibited from the resumption
of the office to which the people had
chosen him. To assert that there is no
such thing as temporary inability under
the Constitution is not admissible. The
Constitution does not touch upon that
question at all. 1t is silent regarding it.
And it would have been very remarkable
had the fact been otherwise, for we can
conceive of ne reason why the trainers OF
the Constitution should have gone out OF
their way to insert provision so irrational
and fantastic.
The rational presumption is that since a
President is elected for four years, he must
hold Office during the whole OF that period
and that if be is disabled from any cause
the Vice President shall take his place SO
long as he is laboring under such disability
but that if his disability ceases, be shall
return to his duties and perform them to
the end of his term. But Senator Jones
proposition, though not justified either by
the language of the Constitution or OF
commonsense, is less likely to be mis-
chievous than at first appears, because the
really crucial question IS that of the de-
termination of inability. If the Florida
Senator's point of view were adopted, and
if it became the law that the Vice. Presi.
dent, being once called upon to exercise
Presidential functions, thereby became
President, the only effect would De to sur.
L
inability with more difficulties than ever.
In such case no President would ever ad-
NIT his inability unless he was individually
dying, for he would know that such an ad-
mission was the exact equivalent of resig-
nation. Nor would it be possible to super
sede the President unless he was absolutely
unconscious, or had become Enthusiastically
insane. In such case as President Gar.
fields, it is quite apparent that the nation
would not have tolerated such deposition
as Senator Jones contemplates. It would
have insisted that he should retain the
office so long as there was the faintest pos.
sibility of his recovery, and it would Ger.
.tainly not have brooked any attempt to
GUST him by Vice-President whose rela.
tions to him were known to be antagonistic.
Had President Garfield known that his
case was hopeless he might himself have
surrendered his office, but assuredly the
people would not have required him to dc
so. And it is further apparent that a very
serious danger would be created by Senator
Jones plan. For if the President and
Vice-President were enemies there would
be constant temptation to the baser and
weaker minds among the Vice. President
supporters to remove the President by as.
sassination, or by the infection at least Of
such physical injuries upon him as would
afford an excuse for supplanting him. The
events of the past year have shown what
awful consequences may spring from fac.
tional quarrels, and it would be fatuous in
the extreme to incorporate in the Constitu.
ton anything that might, directly or indi.
rectly, lead to similar calamities in tie
future. It would be wiser to abolish the
office of Vice. President altogether than tc
give that official an increased interest in
the death or disability of the President.
| Nor is there any warrant for the introduc.
ton of such an innovation as Senator
Jones proposes. The cases in which The
disability of the President are likely tc
embarrass the country seriously are very
fer. For the most part inability will be
either SO ephemeral as to call for no special
procedure, or so decisive as to leave nc
room for doubt as to what shall be DONE
And it does not seem possible to take
from the President the final determination
of the question OF inability, SO long as he is
capable of exercising his Judgment. TIC
give that power to any other than the
President, or to vest it il Commission,
would be to open the door to usurpations
and abuses which might under conceivable
circumstances entirely change the form Of
government. For to do this would be to
empower person or persons TO decide who
should be President Of at least two men
and as the possession of power is invariably
an Indictment to its abuse, we must take
into consideration the possibility that this
authority might at some time be exercised
wrongfully. Aud this is danger far
greater than can ever come from the ina.
bility of any President, even ii there was no
way By which that inability coald be sup
plemented Senator Jones has made a
serious mistake, in fact His premises and