Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1885-12-05
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THE DEATH OF THE VICE PRESI-
DENT.
From the N. Y. Herald.

For the thlru Time during inc pres
ent generation a vice. president dies in
office. The first was William r. King,
of Alabama, on April IS. 1858; the
second Henry Wilson, of Massachu-
sets, on November %, 1875, and now
Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, on
November %, 1885.
MIR. Hendricks public services are
described aud the circumstances of his
sudden and bret illness related in 9TH
er columns. For a final analysis we
may apply to him precisely the
words we used concerning Vice.
President Wilson just ten years ago.
ssThe secret of his political influence
was the fact that he sought to look at
all public questions from the stand
point of average mankind, his larger
experience and common sense serving
as a field to enable him to see with
greater ~distinctness the same thing
which they discerned more dimly, but
with equal truth of outline His po-
litical vision was not rendered un-
steady any more than that of ordinary
people by cross lights from the learn
ing or acuteness of minds of a more in
teIlectual cast" That is to say, neith-
err of these men was an original thinker.
Both of them, through long political
careers, trusted themselves always to
the same clew for guidance-their I'M
derstanding of what was the average
sense of the people. The difference OF
their conduct arose from differences OF
their understanding of that average
sense, differences of the accuracy with
which they gagged it.
The distinguishing feature of Vice.
President Hendricks political position
at the time of his death was his oppO-
sition to the progress of what is called
s:civil service REFORM and the motive
which led him to take this attitude and
make himself the rallying point of all
the democratic resistance to President
Cleveland's reform policy is indicated,
we believe, by this analysis. 1t spang
from what he understood to be the aver
age sense of the people. He did not
believe that they wish for anything OF
the kind. He convinced himself that
they wish the ''spoils SYSTEM to be
continued, and therefore he was a
champion of its continuance. If he had
been convinced that the popular sense
is the other way, so also would have
been his conduct. 1t remains to be
proven whether his understanding of
the peoples wish is accurate. Our
own conviction is that it is not. But
that he was honest and sincere Ill his
championship of the perniciOns system
which President Cleveland is pledged
TO abolish ought not to be doubted for
a moment.
However violent antagOnisms MIR.
Hendricks encountered i'll a long life
full OF bitter controversies, those noble
qualities, honesty and sincerity, never
have been deliberately denied to him
by any adversary. AS the New York
Tribune, of late the organ of his foes,
once said of him in a dispassiOnate
moment when he was the Tribune's
candidate for governor of Indiana, so
we may repeat, ellis record as sena-
tor, representative, commissioner and
state legislator is pure and untarnish-
ed" 1t is the record of can honest
jurist and an able and in~corruptible
statesman"
The main blemish of Mr.. Hendricks
political conduct-thought it perhaps
is one to which an independent. Journal
like the Herald is more sensitive than
the press generally-was the intensity
of lis p%artisanship. To this also he
was induced by what he conceived to
be the average sense of the people.
He thought that they like intense par
tisans. Therefore he was one always,
and thereby he was betrayed into many
errors, not the least grievous of which
was q principal topic of talk in every
political circle in Washington last
night, as is described in our dispatches
from that city. BY reason of his re-
fusal to vacate the chain for the pur-
pose no president of the senate was
elected at the special session of that
body last March, and if President
Cleveland should die to-day there is
nobody empowered to act as president
of the United States. The act of 1892,
passed in pursuance of the constitu-
tional power of congress ''to provide
by law tor the case of removal, death,
resignation or inability both of the pres
ident and vice-president," and sub
stautiaIly repeated i'll the Revised
Statutes, makes no provision for the
contingency of their death at a time
when there is no president of the SELL
ate or speaker of the house OF repre-
scHtatlVtS. NoF are JIG poiitioai ooih-
pleXion and political temper of con-
gress, which will meet next week,
such as will be likely to solve dispas-
sionately the questions which arise out
of this situation and the possible con-
tingencies. The republicans, having
possession of the senate by a strong
majority ARE not likely to surrender the
political advantage which they derive
from the vice presidents death, and it
is no consolation to patriots to see SO
speedy a r%etribution visited upon the
democratic party, whose majority IN
the last house of representatives neg
lected or refused to pass the Presiden-
tiaI Succession bill sent down to it from
the senate. which would have put mex
into the order OF succession the secre-