Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-06-28
AN OFFICE OF CONSEQUENCE.
Vice Presidents Have Filled m Important
 Place in American History.

Nice Presidents Have Filled an important
 Place in American History.
 The routine duties of the office ol vice-presdent are unimportant and the influence of d vice-president in the ad ministration of which he is a membe: is Insignificant. He has less to do with the course of legislation than any oi the members of the senate over which he legally presides. In executive mat ters and i'll the consideration of ap' pointments a president eonsults with his cabinet-never with the viee-presi- dent. The presidents private secre. tary, indeed, outranks usually in point of influence and authority the vice. president, and the latter parsonage has come to be regarded as an amiable fig urehead whose only real importance arises from the possibility of the presi. dential office becoming vacant.
 Net some of the most important mea in American history, especially in the early days of the republic, have held the office of viee-president and have brought 10 the discharge of it's duties qualities Of the very first importance The first vice president of the United States, John Adams, was afterward president. and certainly no New Eng land man was more prominent than MT Adams in support of the revolution A signer of the declaration of inde pendence, he was accredited as minister to France in TIT and as minister t. England in 17s5, two of the most impor- tant offices which an American at that l.. the office held by George Washington. Mir. Adams predecessor as president who was commander in chief of the American army. The second vice-pres. ident of the United States was the illus t1.ious democratic statesman, Thomas Jefferson, whose participation ln the events leading up to the revolution was certainly more active and important than that of any of the members of the senate over which he presided. George Clinton, who enjoyed the remarkable distinction of being governor of New York for IS years conseeutiveiy (anI the first governor of New York, tool. was the fourth viee-president of tHe United States. and Daniel D. Tompkins who was governor of New York for ten years. was the sixth
 It has been said often by critics Q: American political history that the most distinguished statesmen, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and others of like prominence, have by some political fa- tality fallen short of the presidency. and the name of John c. Calhoun. oi South Carolina, has generally been in T
 lid not fall short of the vce-presidency for he succeeded il, office Gov Tomp- kins, Of New York and was for eight years the sice-president having as his distinguished successor Martin Van Blu ren, of New York Mir. Van Buren was certainly the most prominent demo. cratic statesman in the period in which ke lived, and after serving as vice-presi- dent he was elected president in 1886 defeating William H. Harrison, grand father of Mir. Cleveland's predecessor. A careful and satisfactory performance of the duties of the ce-president was in the case of Mr. Van Buren, no bal to his subsequent promotion to the presidency, and latet. Willard Fillmore elected president in 1S4S. became president, and in the presidential con test of 1856, though running on an out side ticket of third party, Mir. Fill, more received for the presidency S00- 900 votes. In more recent years the of flee of viee-president has become of less prominence. but if has been held with distinction by at least two New York republicans-Ch Chester A. Arthur and Levi P. Morton-the former afterward president and the latter candidate for that ofliee.-N. Y. Sun.