Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-24
THE VICE PRESIDENCY.
An Office Whose Importance Has
Gradually Diminished.


| The definite retirement of Mr.. Hobart
| from the duties of the vice presidency, says
| the New York Post, will revive in many
minds the question occasionally mooted from
the beginning of the republic till now
whether the vice presidency has not come
to be, like the electorate, superfuous
| office. John Adams found in the anomalous
| status OF the vice president target for his
satire, describing his as 1.-The most insig
nificant office that ever the mind of man
contrived or his imagination conceived" and
inquiring whether the trainers of the con-
stitution had in view the two kings of Sparta
or the two consuls of Rome, one to
have all the power while he held it and the
other to be nothing?" Nevertheless, in those
early days the Importance of the vice pres
idency was recognized in a very practical
manner by the election to 1t of younger and
more vigorous men than those elected to
the presidency. Adams was three years
younger than Washington; jefferson eight
years younger than Adams, and Burr thir-
teen years younger than Jefferson. Not
only was it deemed natural that the heir
presumptive should be a man with better
chances Of life than the ancestor. but back
of everything else was the feeling that
the training In public affairs which he
would acquire In the second rank would
be of great value to himself and to the
country on his promotion, for, until Burr's
political collapse toward the close OF JEFF
ferson's fret term, the presidents under
study was regularly chosen to succeed him.
With the departure from this practice
the decadence of the vice presidency may
be said to have begun, and 1t was hastened
by the convention system of nominating
candidates for both the greater and the
lesser office, with its incidentals of log
rolling and playing upon sectional prejudice.
AS the utilitarian view OF the vice pres
idency waned and the ornamental, or, at
best, the factional view, took its place, the
average age OF the vice presidents in
creased The idea seemed to be that the
oifice was a snecure through which retr-
ing politicians could pleasantly bow them
selves out Of public life, or by the gift of
which some restless element in a party
could be appeased In recent years, there
fore, the rule as to age has come to be the
very reverse of that which prevailed at
first Wilson was ten years older than
Grant Wheeler three years older than
Hayes, Arthur year older than Garfield,
Hendricks eighteen and Stevenson two years
older than Cleveland, and Morton nine years
older than Harrison. Hobart, who was a
year younger than Mckinley. was the first
exception to the rule of seniority in a quar-
ter century. All this goes to show how far
the vice presidency has drifted in actual
practice from the ideal of hundred years
ago
The prestige OF the Office received yet
more direct blow from the enactment OF
the presidential succession law of 1886. The
law OF 1892, which still survived, provided
that in case of death resignation or in
ability OF both president and vice president
the duties OF the presidency should pass
frat to the president of the senate and
then to the speaker of the house OF rep
resentatives. The Forty-eighth congress
had expired in March, the Forty ninth was
not to assemble till December and Vice
President Hendricks had died In the inter-
val. As matter OF course, no speaker
had been elected; the presidency pro tenn
pore OF the senate had not been filled for
the new congress and, although the senate
is continuing body, there was grave un-