Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-05-23
INTERESTING HISTORY
Bearing Upon American Presidents
in the Past.
The Men Selected Have not as q Gen.
eral thing Been Very Old.

JoNEsBoRo, TENN. May 12.-The re-
cent article in the Journal as to who
may or may not be the candidate of
the Republicans for President in 1896
was we'll timed and just to the point
In every way. 1t is entirely too soon
for the friends of any of the distin
guished gentlemen whose names have
been prominently mentioned to begin
to press the claims of their favorites
with too much eagerness. But as this
is q question that will not ''down''La
question that will grow with iDcreas-
ing interest as the days go by, and the
prospect of sweeping Republican
victory grows brighter with each pass
ing day, n little speculation on this
subject will make interesting reading,
If itdoes not fully settle the question
as to the nominee. AS no less per-
sonage than the editor of the Jo urnal
himself once said in speech some
years ago that You can always judge
the future by the past, so we will look
into the past for the speculations that
we may offer on this question and in
doing so will deal only with the ques.
ton of age in regard to those who have
been President as well as those who
would like to be President.
Senator Allison was horn in 1929 ::
Benz. Harrison was born in 1889, so
that on March A, 1897, Allison will bo
some sixty eight aud Harrison some
sixty five years of age. Twenty three
men have filled the Office of President,
and their average age has been little
over Fifty five years. Three of these
Pierce, Grant and Cleveland first
-tin,e-weie in their forties when they
were inaugurated fifteen, Washing
tons Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John
Quincy Adams, Van Buren,, Tyler,
Folk, Fillmore. Lincoln, Johnson,
Il ayes, Garfield, Arthur and Ben Har-
rison, were in their fifties when inaug-
urated while only five, John Adams,
Jacksohs William Henry Harrison,
Taylor and Buchanan had reached
their sixties when they came into the
Office. John Adams was sixty two
years old when he was inaugurated !;
| k,it he was Of that tough and rugged
II Nv England stock, hale and hearty,
lsaeVhatf lie Served out his four years as
President, was defeated by Jefferson
and then lived twenty five years as an
OK. President, dying in 1926, while his
son John Quincy was President. An
drew Jackson was also fifty two when
he was inaugurated but, as he was
man of an iron will as we'll as o man
of iron constitution, he served out his
eight years as President and then lived
eight years as an ex-President, although
his last years were full of suffering
William Henry Harrison was sixty
eight years old when he was Inaugural
ted--an aged and feeble old man--so
that with the terrible March weather
on inauguration day, and the more
terrible rush of the hungry Office hum
ters that followed, he died in one short
month, the first President to die in Of
fee [; and with his death the Wings
lost the opportunity of a lifetime.
Zach Taylor was sixty five years old
when he was inaugurated, and, al
though he had fought the Indians in
the Everglades of Florida and the Mexi
cans on the burning sands and amid
the rugged mountains of Mexico, and
tstood tall well, yet when it came to
tackling the Presidency with its heavy
cares and numerous office seekers he,
too, died in about sixteen months.
James Buchanan was sixty six years
old when he reached the Presidency,
but then he had lived in Office all his
life and was remarkably we'll pre-
served old gentleman, so that he served
out his four years as President and
then was spared seven longer. Those
last seven years were given him, no
doubt for reflection and repentance.
Taking the above as precedent it
will be seen that the outlook for the
nomination and election of any man
to the Presidency after he reaches up
in the sixties is anything and every
thing but encouraging as two of the
five men of this class elected to the
Presidency have died in office.
In 1910 when the Wings had every
thing their own way and could have
succeeded with almost anybody on
their ticket, they lost the one great OPP
portunity of their lives by electing
sucn an old man as VIM. Henry Haa-
rison for President and such "mug-
wump" as John Tyler for Vice Presi-
dent.
AS the conditions which will con-
front the country in 1896 will be pretty
much the same as those of 1910, the
Republicans will be more than apt to
not repeat the mistake made by the
Wings at that day.. but out of abund-
ance of good Presidential timber on
hand, will no doubt select men Just in
their prime for President and Vice
President-strong, young, stalwart
men =
Then again, we review the history of
the nomination and election of these
old men TO the Presidency, we find
some rather remarkable circumstances
in the case of each one. John Adams
had served eight years as the first Vice
President Of the United States and ut
that day and time was considered the
proper thing for the Vice President to