The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-22

| CT SJillCc WHEN tne tie DetWceu ulIIl
and Jefferson In the Electoral college
| sent the contest to the house Of rep
resentatives, and by killing Hamilton
In the duel In 1904. The fourth vice
president. George Clinton, who retained
his standing in his party to the end
| OF his life, thought the Adams and
jefferson precedent would put him in
the presidency when jefferson stepped
down az the end of his second term.
but Jefferson's friendship for Madison.
| the secretary of state, the value of
Madison's own services to the country.
which was much greater than that of
Clinton's together with the Virginia in
fiuence, then very powerful In the JEFF
| ferson Republican party. secured the
nomination in 1908 for Madison in the
congressional caucus. which put up
candidates for president and vice pres
ident in those days. Indeed. there was
| another Virginia presidential aspirant
In the field in 1908. James Monroe. who
did not'reach the presidency. however,
| until eight years later Clinton was
renominated for the second Office in
lSOS, and died in office just before the
nominations of 1912 were made.
| When Madison was preferred to Clin-
| ton In 1903 a new ''line of succession"
10 the presidency, connecting with the
post of secretary Of state. was started
This bond remained intact for fifth of
century, for Madison, Monroe and the
second Adams stepped from the office
of secretary of state into the presiden-
cy. This chain was broken in 1882,
when Clay, who had been secretary of
state under Adams in 1883, was beat
en- by Jackson. No man passed directly
from the office of secretary of state to
that of president after Adams, in 1925,
and nobody who held the former office
at any time afterward ever reached
the latter except Martin Van Buren,, and
James Buchanan Both these men were
in other offices between the time they
held the lower and the higher of these
two. Nobody since jefferson. except
Van Buren,, ever passed directly from
the vice presidency into the presidency
Van Buren was the last of the vice
presidents to reach the higher Office by
election, although four of them. Tyler.
Fillmore, Johnson and Arthur, did this
through the death of the incumbent of
the latter.
Though by electing fortunes supreme
favor came to but one vice president
after Jefferson, several of them ardent
ly strOve for 1t, and seriously hoped to
gain 1t. Calhoun, who was chosen vice
president twice. the last time being In
1925 when Jackson was first elected
president. believed he would be the lat
ter's political heir, but the old Demo-
cratic dictator broke with him, and he
was supplanted by Van Buren, in that
magnate's regard. Richard M. John
son. who had the second place on the
ticket with Van Buren, in 1896, who did
not receive the solid support Of his par
ty and lacked a majority in the Elect
oral college, but who was chosen by the
senate, was an ardent and powerful
aspirant for the presidency In 1874. With
Van Buren. Cass and Buchanan, john
son created the deadlock In the Demo-
cratic convention of 1874 which sent the
delegates to Polk. the earliest of the
presidential dark horses. The election
Of Johnson to :he vice presidency In
1887 was the only instance in American
history in which the senate chose the
incumbent of that office.
A later vice president than Richard
NJ. johnson eagerly sought the presi-
dency, and he was tIhe only vice presi-
dent since Van Buren, who secured the
nomination for it. This was John G.
Breckenridge. When breckenridge
got the candidacy, however, which was
In 1860. his party was split. He was the
standard bearer Of only one section OF
It, and, of course, was aware that he
would be beaten at the polls. Since
1860 no man who ever held the second
office was ever seriously mentioned for
the first office until the present period.
when Levi p. Morton figures as
presidential aspirant Thomas A.
Hendricks name, though, was often
coupled conspicuously with the presi-
dental candidacy before he was elect
ed vice president, In 1884.
NOT IN DEMAND.
rr, .,,,.~no,. co,ootip,as mani
tested by men Of what Is called pre-
sidential stature to accept a vice presi-
Dental nomination is embarrassing to
parties, and may prove a source OF
peril to the country through the death
Of the president and the promotion OF
an incompetent or perverse man. The
vice presidency has come to be a sort
of consolation prize, thrown to the ele-
ment beaten in the contest for the pres
idential nomination, and the candidate
Is often selected without any thought
of his fitness for the higher office to
which he becomes heir-contingent. A
very serious blunder of this sort was
made by the Wings In the convention
of 1889, which put up a ticket for 1S4O.
After Clay. the idol of the Whig masses,
had been cheated out of the presidential
candidacy by an elaborate scheme Of
cnlCdIGTy ueNtE IcSOIteO " pSLOIS VI
since, and w. H. Harrison was nomin-
ated instead, thus giving availability
the first victory over capability which
it ever gained in q national convention,
the chief culprits in the convention
were alarmed at the thought Of a pos
sible detection of the Clay element,
and offered to give the vice presidency
to any Clay man that faction would
name. They offered the nomination to
Benjamin Watkins Leigh, of Virginia,
to Tallmadge, Of New York, and to
Southard, of New Jersey, all Clay men,
all of whom refused 1t under the cir
cumstances.
Then John Tyler, who had, 1t was
said. shed tears at Clay's' defeat, was
nominated. Tyler's friends however.
after the fight between him and the
party which elected him began, denied
this CRYING story When "Tippecanne"
Harrison died month after taking Of
flee and "Tyler, too" became president,
the Wings soon discovered their blum
der. for Tyler antagonized their party
on the issue which Clay forced to the
front, the re-establishment Of the
United States bank, and in the feud,
beginning in 1874. However, the blame
for the feud did not altogether be-
long to Tyler. Neither the bank nor
any other political question was be-
fore the convention which put UP Tyler.
The Wings framed no platform and
made no declaration of principles what
ever at that time. In their twenty years
of existence as q national organiza-
ton they made a platform only twice
in 1874 and 1852. Everybody who
knew anything about Tyler's record
knew he was committed against a bank
like that which Clay proposed after
Tyler became president.
ANOTHER MARPLOT.
Another vice-president, Andrew
Johnson. whom the death of the presi-
dent sent to the higher Office, made
trouble for the party which elected him
and for himself by his hostility to 1t on
the leading issue Of its policy. How