The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-01
PRESIDENT no. DAY.
Unique Distinction of a Wan Now
Almost Forgotten.
From he New York Press.

From the New York Press.
Grover Cleveland to-day is known as
the twcnty-third President Of the United
States. He was in his FIRST term the
twenty-frst President so It would seem
that the chair of the chief executive of
this republic has been occupied by only
twenty-five uaen. That is what general
history says.
There has been twenty-three men in tho
Once OF PRESIDENT, and one Of them wore
me honor for only one day. His name is
completely forgotten now
March T. 1Sl9 came on Sunday. a day
thai the constitution does not recognize
as legai ln the transactions Of such Of
~ ~ ~ to usiness as administering the oath
or once On that day at noon, President
POLK term Of office ended, ana President
eject zachary Taylor could not take his
place, or at least did not think he could
The prospect of the country being with
out an Official head for the twenty-four
hours or there being doubt about who
congress and in the press
When Gen. Taylor arrived in Washing
ton a few days before his Inauguration
ne was besOught TO take the oath of Of
nee on sunday so as TO prevent confusion
ana what some persons believed to be
danger 1t was IN the hot days of the
free sellers" and barn stormers" and
the storm Of slavery was brewing. Dur
ing Saturday and Saturday night there
were half dozen fights in congress. The
eapltol was a camp Of violence, but Gen.
Taylor held out that he would not become
President on Sunday
David r. Atchison of Missouri was pres
ident pro tempOre Of the Senate, and 1t was
held by congress that the functions Of
president must reVolVe upon him from
Sunday noon till Monday noon, and for
these tWenty-fOur hours he has had the
distinction Of being president of the
United states, having all the functions
and powers OF that ONCE. The oatn Of the
ONCE was not administered to him, for the
same reason that 1t was not Immediately
administered to Gen. Taylor; but he be-
ing virtually vice president. IL was not
considered necessary
That President Atchison considered him
self president there can be no doubt, for
u Monday morning, when the Senate re-
assembled, he sent to the white house for
the seal OF the great office ana signed one
or TWO official papers as president. These
were some small acts in connection with
me Inauguration that had been neglected
by President Polk.
But there was much fun and good-nat-
ured badinage INDUCED in among Atchf-
sons friends and himself during his short
presidential term. He was a democrat,
while the president-elect was a whig. A
majority Of the senate was democratic
and his friends johngly proposed to him to
usurp the Office by calling the army TO his
back and preventing odd Ironsldes"
from being sworn in. If any such thing
had been seriously contemplated Gen. Tay-
Tor was too much the idol of the army to
let it be successful.
Had Gen. Taylor been an unpopular man
and had Atchison had the character and
dllibiAioii VI Il hitldAoIp WIN q friendly
army, congress and timid supreme court,
President Atchison's name would proba-
bly, not have been so soon forgotten and
the constitutional day of inagurating the
president Of the United States would have
been changed so that 1t would never again
fall on Sunday
According to an almanac maker Of the
time, the next Inauguration to fall on
Sunday will be March 4, 1921, and just
century from the date of President Atchi-
sons term Of office there will be another
Sunday March 4, and following this will
last inaugurated on Saturday. The cen
fury gains a whole day from the leap year
scraps left over. This day is added to the
last year 1860 If this calculation is cor
rect and the constitutional day Of inau-
guration is not changed, the twentieth
century may have three zone day only"
presidents.