The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-01-24
MORE CRANK TALK.
The Misehievous Scheme to
Make the President Incl"
igible for RI reelection.

WASHINGTON, Jan. "a, 1S95.-Mr. Den
mis- D. Donovan, of Ohio, In reporting
fayorably to the House today Mr.. bry-
ans joint resolution making the Presl-
dent ineligible to succeed himself, said
The evils which this amendment seeks
to remedy were SO well described by
MIR. Cleveland in his letter accepting the
Democratic Presidential nomination in
1884. that the committee quote his Ian
guage. When an election. to office shall
be the selection by the voters of one
of their number. to assume for a
time a public trust instead of his dedl-
cation to the profession of politics; when
the holders Of the ballot, ~quickened by
a sense of duty, shall avenge truth be-
trayed and pledges broken. and when
the suffrage shall be altogether free
uncorrupted, the full realization OF
a government by the people VIII De az
hand. And one of the means to this end,
not one would, in my judgment, be more
effective han al to the Con-
stitution disqualifying the President from
reelection. When we consider the pa
tronage of this great office, the allure
ments of power, the temptation to retain
public place once gained, and, more
than all, the availability a party finds
in an incumbent whom a horde OF ofhcc
holders, with a zeal born of benefits re-
ce:ved, and sfostered by the hope OF fav-
ors yet to come, stand ready to AID,
with money and trained political SER
vice, we recognize in the eligibility OF
the President for reelection a most
serious danger to that calm, deliberate
and intelligent action which must char
acterize a government by the people,
Mr.. Hayes took substantially the same
ground i'll his letter accepting the Re-
publican Presidential nomination in 1876,
from which the following quotation IS
pertinent:-''The declaration of principles
by the Cincinnati Convention makes no
announcement in favor of a single Presi-
Dental term. I do not assume to add to
that declaration, but, believing that the
restoration of the civil service to the
system established by Washington, and
followed by the early Presidents. can De
best accomplished by an executive who
age of his office to promote his own re-
election, I desire to perform what l re-
gard as a duty, in stating now my in
hexible purpose, if elected, not to be O.
candidate for election to a second term"
The patronage under the control of the
President is necessarily large, and while
it is possible to imagine him SO free from
ambition as not to use the power at hand
to continue himself in office, yet it is not
safe to assume that he will always$re-
sist such strong temptations. The Presi-
dency of the United States is the highest
honor within the gift of the greatest
people on earth, and the occupant of the
office is enabled to exert a vast influence
on the welfare of his FELLOW man. He
should be surrounded by Every induce
ment to do well, and should be shielded,
as far as possible. from the temptation
to abuse for personal advantage, the
powers exercised by him. Eligibility to
election to succeed himself, without add
ing to the honorsS of so exalted a posi-
ton, invites onefnot entirely unselfish to
mistake the approval of appointees for
public communication and to accept as a
free will offering the political services
of those who expect to continue in office
with their chief.
The committee think that the welfare
of the country does not depend upon the
continuance in office of any particular
person, however worthy, and believe hat
the dangers attendant upon a reelection
of a President to succeed himself are
greater han the advantages to be ex-
pected from It; and therefore recommend
that the resolution be passed.