Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-07-23

An lIIstounooo Proluoice Agasnst N Ortlco
Which Has Been Held BY Statesmen.
The routine duties OF the Office Of vice
president are unimportant and the In
fuence of vice president in the adj
ministration OF which he is member
Is insignificant. He has less to do with
the course OF legislation than any Of
the members of the Senate over which
he legally presides. In executive mat
tiers and in the consideration Of appoint
ments a president consults with his
cabInet-never with the vice president.
The presidents private secretary, In
deed, outranks usually in point OF In
fiuence and authority the vice presi-
dent, and the latter parsonage has come
to be regarded as an amiable figure
head, whose only real importance arises
from the possibility of the presidents
Office becoming vacant.
Yet some of the most important men
in American history, especially In the
early days of the republic, have held
the Office OF vice president, and have
brought to the discharge Of its 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 Mr..
Adams In support Of the revolution. A
signer Of the Declaration Of Indepen-
dence, he was accredited as Minister to
France in 1777 and as Minister to Eng
land in 1856, two of the most important
offices which an American at that time
could I'LL, and outranked only by the Of
fee held by George Washington, Mr..
Adams's predecessor as president, who
was Commander-in-chief Of the Ameri-
can army. The second vice president
of the United States was the illustrions
Democratic statesman, Thomas Jefer-
son, whose participation in the events
leading up to the Revolution was GER
tainly more active and important than
that Of any Of the members of the Sen
ate over which he presided. George
Clinton, who enjoyed the remarkable
distinction Of being Governor Of New
York for eighteen years consecutively
land the first Governor Of New York,
tool, was the fourth vice president OF
the United States, and Daniel ID. Tomp-
kins, who was Governor OF New York
for ten years, was the sixth.
1t has been said often by critics Of
American political history that the
most distinguished statesmen, Henry
Clay, Daniel Webster, and others Of
like prominence, have by some politi-
cal fatality fallen short Of the presi-
dency, and the name of John @. Cal
houn of South Carolina has generally
been included in this list. But Mr.. Cal
houn did not fall short of the vice presi-
dency, for he succeeded in office Gov.
Tompkins of New York. and was for
eight years the vice president, having
as his distinguished successor Martin
Van Buren, of New York. Mr.. Van
Buren, was certainly the most prOmin-
ent Democratic statesman In the period
in which he lived, and after serving as
vice president he was elected president
in 1886, defeating William III. Harrison,
grandfather Of Mr.. Cleveland's prede-
cessOr. A careful and satisfactory per-
Torrance of the duties of the vice presi-
dent was, in the case Of Mr.. Van Buren,,
no bar to his subsequent promotion to
the presidency, and later Willard Fill
more, elected vice president in 1S4S, be-
came president, and in the presidential
contest Of 1866, though running on an
outside ticket Of third party, Mr.. Fill
more received 100000 votes. In more
recent years the Office Of vice president
has been of less prominence, but it has
been held with distinction by at least.
two New York OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES A.
Arthur and Levi p. Morton-the former
afterward president and the latter
candidate for that Office.