Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-27
THE Ex-pREsIDENr PROBLEM.
From the Connecticut Post.

From the Connecticut Post.
The retirement of Mr.. Cleveland to
private life has revived the question
what shall we do with our ex-presidents?
Like Banquo's ghost, it will not down.
The argument that it is beneath the dig
nifty of man who has been president of
the United States to engage in profess
sional work may be thrown out as spur
ious. History is strewn thick with num-
erous instances of leading officials, even
in empires and monarchies, retiring from
the affairs of state to manage their pri-
vate concerns with contentment and dig
nifty. Cincinnatus leaving the dictator
ship or Rome to follow his OK and his
pillow is the type of true Republicanism.
There is also practical side of the case.
Most of our presidents have retired from
the presidential chair before they are
much over 60 years of age. They are there
fore very often in their prime. 1t seems
at first thought as if the country could
make use of their experience and abil-
tiles. One proposition has been to make
ex-presidents life members of the senate,
on the theory that man who has just
filled the executive chair with success
would be of great value in treating cur
rent measures in congress. The objec
ton Is that congress is often SO evenly
divided that the balance of power might
be held by senator-at-large. Were this
the case, the spirit of the constitution
would be defeated. Life senators might,
IN fact, hold the balance of power for a
long time If, for instance, Mr.. Cleve-
land was life member of the senate
at the present time, his vote would de-
prive vice-president Morton of casting
the deciding vote in favor Of Republican
measure if there was a tie. The mere
statement of this possibility with a man
of MIR. Cleveland's obstinacy of DISPOSE
ton, and intense egotism will be suffi-
cient to array Republicans against such
an innovation, If it should be seriously
proposed.
Subjected to like analysis the idea of
pensioning ex-presidents becomes unten-
able. A distinct difference exists here
between veteran officers of the army and
navy and judges who have given their
whole lives to the service, and the nomi-
nees of political party, who may be in
reality mere accident, and who, like
Mr.. Cleveland, may retire to private life
having established an enduring reputa-
ton for individual eccentricities rather
than for craftsmanship. The salary of
president of the United States is now
generous, though not excessive. There
is no instance, we believe, in which re-
cent presidents have failed to save por-
ton of their salary during their term of
Office, although all of them have enter
tanned very generously.
Several of our ex-presidents, to be sure,
have withdrawn from public life into
dismal obscurity. But this is their own
fault, not the fault of our system of gov
eminent. The prominence in which he
has been placed, the acquaintanceship
which he has formed, and the prestige
of his name, even if he should not care
to resume routine work. has large cash
value for an ex-president.
The sound view, then, is that the re-
turn to private life of man who has
been president of the Uuited States
should really be regarded as an impress
sive illustration of the genius of our civ
llization and institutions. For our ex-
ecutive is, or should be, prominently
one of the people. When his term of
serving those who elected him is over,
there is no improperly in his resuming
his old equality with the people. Ex-
President Arthur and Ex-Vice President
Wheeler, it IS believed, fastened their
decease by vain regrets for the blaze and
excitement of political life. Grover
Cleveland shows far more common sense
and American pluck in leaving the white
house on Monday only to knuckle down
to hard work at his law books in New
York after an interval of two days.