St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-09
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES.

A GLOBE correspondent suggests that the
time that congress is frittering away might
be proftably employed in considering the
following changes to be made in the organic
law: First, extending the presidential term
from four to six years and making the in
cumbent ineligible to second term; sec
ond, to give to each eX-president pension
sufficiently large to place him above want
during life; third, TO reduce the number of
members of the house of representatives.
These are all suggestions well worthy the
consideration of an intelligent body of
statesmen, but the difficulty is that at this
writing there is no such body in existence
in this county. Congress, as at present
constituted, is not capable of dealing with
the most ordinary affairs ofpublic interest,
much less questions involving important
changes in the organic law. Some day,
when we have congress that is compe-
tent to grapple with these subjects then
we indorse our correspondents suggestion
that they be considered. There are valid
reasons why the presidential term might be
extended with advantage to the country.
The further apart the recurring seasons of
business paralysis which always attend
presidential elections, the better it would
be. There is something also in the
idea that a president has only fairly
qualified himself by experience for
the discharge of his responsible duties when
his term of Office expires, and more fire.
quently than otherwise he is remanded to
private life and his place filled with sue
ceSsor who comes to the place with the
same lack of experience in executive Office
that embarrassed him in the beginning. BY
lengthening the term of Office the country
would have the advantage Of being bene-
fitted by the administration of an expert
enced executive officer. This argument in
favor of a heightened term would, however,
be against our correspondents second
suggestion that the president be made in
eligible to the second term. If a
mans experience is valuable to the
public it would look as if the public should
be entitled to use it. If a president has
given one good administration 1t looks rea-
sonable that the people should have the
right to call his services into requisi-
ton for a second term. 1t is true that by
limiting the presidency to one term it re-
moves from ambitious statesmen the temp
tation to peryert the machinery of govern
ment from its legitimate purposes to Great
ing booms for the incumbent, and for this
reason the ineligible clause might be in
serted with advantage TO the public
interest. As to the proposition to
retire presidents on a pension it is quite
likely that great deal of opposition would
be developed to this plan. In the first
place any man with any sort of frugal hab-
its could manage to save enough out of the
salary of the Office for four years to live on
comfortably for the remainder of his days.
Mr.. HAYES did it, and what Mr.. HAYES
did any ordinary man ought to be capable
of doing. Gen. GRANTS financial misfor-
tunes were the result of his lack of
knowledge of business affairs. The
more money that Gen. GRANT had
the more he sunk that is all
there is in his experience. AS to the last
proposition submitted by our correspondent,
relating to the reduction in the number OF
members of congress, whole volumes could
be written in favor of it, but it wouldn't
avail anything. 1t is just one of those
cases that argument can't reach. There is
no way to accomplish the reduction except
by first obtaining the assent of congress,
which is an absolute impossibility. A re-
duction of officers and a reduction of sal
aries are two things that no Office
holder ever aSSented to. 1t is very
easy to convince the people outside
of congress that 1T would be both
a wise and economic measure to reduce
the membership of congress; but it would
be as easy to turn the course of the Missis-
sippi river so that its waters would flow
into Hudson's bay instead of the Gulf of
Mexico, as to convince the people in
congress of the fact. The advantages of
smaller membership would be better
representatives, fewer jobs, more economy
in the appropriation of public funds, more
work, and fewer buncombe speeches. The
advantages to be gained by this change are
more apparent than the means to ac-
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