The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1886-11-20
The President And The Office.

The President in his speech at
Harvard College made allusion to
an important fact the absence OF
collegiate or university education
in large number of the Presi-
dents. Out of twenty-one prede-
cessors, twelve had good eduea-
tons, he himself was not college
bred. From this it is argued that
it is in power of any man to attain
the Presidency; but this is an error.
A man may fit himselff for that and
other responsibilities; he may
propose, God will dispose. A re-
cent writer, after industrious in-
vestigation, has compiled many
interesting facts.
One of the most remarkable and
interesting suggestions that re-
view of the Presidential nomina-
tons and elections gives is this:
1t may be set down as automatic
that no manipulation, however ex-
traordinary; no genius in shap-
ing events; no magnetism OF per-
sonal character or of name. no
brilliancy of rhetoric, no eonsum-
mate flower of craftsmanship, no
persistency of determination or
iron-like frmness of will, even if
all these qualifications are found
in the highest development in one
man; and are. all suborthnated to
the ambition for the Presidency,
will be able surely to gain the
mighty prize, tits fact that none
of the very brilliant men of any of
the three or four preceding gener-
atoms has been elected; with the
I
exception Of jackson, Harrison
and Grant, none of the generally
popular men, and of these Harri-
sons was the popularity of an idea,
and Grants that of military hero.
None of the statesmen of great
Ilearning, prodigious ability, pro-
4 found foresight, whose impress
\ had been left on our legislation
\ and public policy, has been elected
since the earlier days of the Con,
stitution. Indeed, when we read
stories of nominating conventions,
and of subsequent elections, it would
almost seem as though he who had
made moderate fame and then
waited for the happy turn of for
tune hal far the best chance fol
success.
Take the first election of Jeffer-
son. Aaron Burr and Jefferson
had received an equal number OF
electoral votes. Under the Con
stitution, as it then was, there was
no separate vote for Vice Presi-
dent. He who had obtained the
largest number of electoral votes
was declared President elect, and
he who had the next largest num-
Der was declared Vice President
elect. As there had been in 1900
no choice in the Electoral College
the election devolved upon the
House of Representatives. The
House was not able to elect for
seven days. 1t probably would
not have elected jefferson at all
had not a strange unexpected in
huence been brought to bear.
This was the force of Alexander
Hamilton's great authority and
ability. Hamilton, the Federalist
personification of all in political
theory which Jefferson opposed;
not only politically but personally
hostile, Hamilton was a chief in
fiuence in making Thomas Jeffer-
son President of the United States; !
and it has been well said that this
lis one of the strangest tales his
tory has to tell" Even this was
not accomplished by securing
Federalist votes for Jefferson, but
the Federalist Representatives
from Vermont and the two of Mary
land voted blank ballots, so that in
the final ballot it appeared that
ten States, majority of those vot,
ing, had given Jefferson their bal
lots. Among the strange drama
tic episodes of our political histo-
nv, there is none more striking
than that Jefferson, the founder
of the Republican-Democra