Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1886-01-05
MISCELLANEOUS.
[For the Spirit of Jefferson.l
Presidential Succession.

The death of Wice-President Hen
bricks occurring at the time it did,
has informed our law. makers of the
necessity of amending: the Constitu-
ton on this. question of presidential
SUGGESTIONS. Numbers of suggestions
and plans have been.proposed through
the leading journals Of the country.
Quite q number of the most influential
favor the Hoar bill, providing for the
succession of the cabinet officers in
their order. Whilst this plan may
harmonic with the views of the So
called Republican party, it is every
thing else but Democratic. Democ-
racy teaches us that this government
is peoples government, that the will
of the people is the fountain-head of
all authority. The cabinet officers do
not acquire their places from the will
of the people. The Hoar bill allows
the president to appoint his own sue
cessor, instead of the people. Under
the rule of the Republican party, the
Federal government has become
bloated elective monarchy, consol-
idated empire, absorbing and over
shadowing the States and threatening
the destruction of popular govern
ment and the liberties of the people,
and its chief executive has been
clothed with power and authority
greater than any monarch of Europe.
1t was not contemplated by the franz
ers of the constitution-that is, by
the true Republicans, the advocates
of popular governmental put the
executive power of the government
in the hands of single person. The
plan of q single executive was Alex
ander Hamilton's, who admitted it
was not Republican in form. 1t was
forced upon the convention at time
that the great champion of the peo-
ple's rights, Thomas Jefferson, was
in Europe, and unable to prevent it.
Prior to the adoption of the constitu-
ton, all republics which had been able
to maintain themselves any great
length of time, had plural executive.
The Republic of Switzerland. the
model republic of the world, which
had maintained itself for over four
hundred years against the powerful
monarchies around it, had its exec
utive power administered by chief
executive council of seven. The plan
Of the Republican members of the
convention that framed the constitu-
ton was to fashion the government
after this model. The plan they pro-
posed to adopt was known as the Vir-
ginia plan,-the executive branch of
the government to consist of 4 chief
council of three, to be taken from
different and distinct parts of the
country, to act as board and decide
all questions by vote. In making Il
peoples government, their idea was
to have its three branchcs-executive
legislative and judicial-repreSentn-
tice of the people. The United States
have grown so large and extensive,
that the different sections-east, west,
north, south and southwest-have in
terests peculiar to each and antag
onist1c to the other sections. The
greater the country grows, the greater
the feelings of sectionalsm This feel
ing of scctionalism might be destroyed
by having each section of the coun-
try represented in the executive as
we'll as the legislative and judicial
branches. If five leading reprcscn-
tative men from different sections of
the country, each equal and co-ordi
nate in authority, were brought to-
gether into Council to administer the
executive power of the government,
each section of the country would be
represented. 3.