The news & observer., 1897-02-21


asked me to find some other Senators
and send them to him. Only two were
about the Capitol They were s0.n clos
eted with Senator Edmunds. He told
them his opinion of the situation He
said that If anything should happen to
Mr.. Cleveland the country would be with
out a head. There would be no one with
even the temporary authority to call an
extra session of Congress. 1t would be
impossible to take any step. No special
election could be ordered. There would
be no relief from the confusion until the
regular date for the assembling of Con
gress came around in December Until
the Senate chose President pro tempOre
and the House elected Speaker nobody
could perform any Of the duties of Pres
ident
THE law then relating to Presidential
succession was laid before the other
Senators. The anomalous condition had
not occurred to them. They agreed at
once that Senator Edmunds was right
! When he suggested that under the cir
cumstanccs the President ought to be es-
I pecially careful, they approved the sug-
gestion. As the result Of the conference,
Senator Edmunds came out and asked me
to get a carriage for him. He rode direct
to the White House and told Mr.. Cleye-
land he must not go to Indianapolis. He
went over the ground, showing the Presi-
dent that if accident happened to him, the
country would be left without an EXecu-
tive for months, until December game.
| The President was aStOnished. He had
not had the slightest realization Of how
much depended on his life at that time.
He acknowledged the force Of Senator
Edmunds' argument, Immediately caneell-
ed the orders for transportation, and re-
mained In Washington"
There was much criticism over the fail
ure of Mr.. Cleveland to be present at
| the Hendricks obsequies. The newspa-
| pers could not understand the apparent
| lack of oonsiderat ton. The President
/ said nothing. This is the first time the
/ circumstances of the Senatorial confer
ence and Of Senator Edmunds' hurried
visit to the White House have been told.
| As soon as Congress convened, after
| Mr.. Hendricks death, Senator Edmunds
| fathered and pushed to enactment a bill
/ which made impossible the repetition Of
| such crisis. The law OF succession now
| is such that % vacancy in the office Of
| President of the United States is beyond
all probability. If the President dies, the
| Vite-President takes the office and holds
| it to the end Of the term. If both the
| President and the Vice President die, the
| Secretary of State succeeds and is acting
President until Congress can be convened
and special election can be held, the
law directing when and how the procla
nation for a special election shall be is
sued Succession falls in turn upon the
members of the Cabinet, including the
Secretary OF Agriculture In the brie
interim which would pass between the
deaths of President and VicePresident
and the special election there die eight
possible acting Presidents. Those who
liz TO puzzle over almost impossible and
certainly improbable contingencies may
try to Imagine what would happen il
Mr.. Mckinley Mr. Hobart, and all the
| members of the Cabinet down to the
Secretary Of Agriculture, should be re
moved suddenly. BY the law Of success
sion it would seem that Mr. Wilson, OF
Iowa would be President for a few days
But Mr. Wilson was born in Scotland
The law prescribing the qualifications
for President Of the United States says
he must have heen born in the country
Could 'Tama jim" as the ex-Secretary
Of Agriculture is familiarly known in
Iowa, become acting President? The
law of succession says that members OF
the Cabinet can only take the office oil
President temporarily, when they are
eligible under the Constitution" There
is nothing that requires President tC
choose as members Of his Cabinet natives
Of the United States, and yet the law Of
succession says that only native Ameri
can members of the Cabinet can become
acting Presidents.