The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-11-28
DEATH or TIE VICE Es1pENT.

a veil of deep sorrow was cast over
Thanksgiving Day by the deatho of the
Vice President of the United States on
the eve of the festival. 1t was start
ling telegram that brought that piece of
news to the public Wednesday. On
Tuesday Mr.. Hendricks was well enough
to participate in a social party; was
soon after taken i'll, and steadily grew
worse until five o'clock Wednesday af-
ternoon, when he died. Thomas \.
Hendricks has been a man of note in
Indiana for nearly forty years, and his
name has been conspicuous in the af
fairs of the Federal Government for
more than thirty. His fellow citizens
of that State had conferred upon him
the highest political honors they had IL
in their power to bestow, long before
his fellow-countrymen elected him to
the second honor in their gift. He had
been a member of the Indiana Legisa-
turs; Delegate to her Constitutional
Convention of 1850; one of her Repre-
sentatives in the popular House in Con-
gress; one of her Senators in the other
branch of Congress and Governor of the
State. For many, many years he has
been one of the foremost men of Indi-
ana, il not the very foremost. Certain
ly he was down to his dying day the
foremost man in Indiana within the
lines of the Democratic party. When
ever very strong man was required for
a party emergency in the State the great
mass of the Democrats turned towards
him as the one only man whose active
canvass of the State, either as candi-
date or on the stump, could make the
State reasonably sure for his party tick
ct. His Democratic colleagues always
felt that, If assurance and safety were to
be found in any mans candidacy or can
vass, it would be found in his. The re-
suit usually justified that assurance,
though not in every instance. The
fact, however, demonstrated the conf
dcuce reposed in him as THE man who
could command the full strength Of his
party vote and more. He was, indeed,
always stronger than his party when he
was candidate, a circumstance that
grew out of the strong personal esteem
in which he was held. One of the
strongest holds he had upon the public
was the result of the profound personal
respect which was the most marked
manifestation of the popular regard for
him. He did not rank among the pop
rlar idols of his party, or among the
most brilliant statesmen, but he di cc-
cupy front rank in that group of dis
tinguished Democratic statesmen TO
which Thurman, Tilden, IIoratio Sey-
mOur and Samuel J. Randall belong.
With the masses Of his party he was
popular because he was a thorough-go-
ing Democrat and strong exponent of
their ideas. His death will be widely
and most profoundly mourned.
Mr.. Hendricks death leaves the Presi-
dental succession once more a subject
of public interest. The Office Of Vice
President will not be filed. When a
Vice President becomes President he
assumes the office completely for the full
term for which he was elected. There
being no Vice President, should the
Office of President become vacant, the
President of the Scnate-or, il there
were none, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives for the time being
would act rs President until President
could be elected. Happily Mr.. Cleve-
land is possessed of youth and health,
and there is no reason to anticipate any
political results from the death of the
Vice President beyond the loss of his
influence and example.