The times., 1899-11-03
THE VICE PRESIDENCY.
Il the once UnneerSSar,.

ne 4eiihite retirement of AtI. Hobart
from the duties Of the Vice Presidency
VIII revive IN many minds the question
occasionally moOted from sls beginning of
the Republic tin now. whether the Vice
Presidency has nos come 20 be- like the
electorate. a sCperfiuous Office John Ndams
found iu the anomalous status ~ tho Wee
President a target for his satire descrih-
ing his as the most insignificant Office
that ever the mind of man contrived or
his imagination conceived. and enguiriag
whether the trainers Of the Constitution
had in view the TWO Kings of sparta or the
two Consuls OF Rome. one to have
al the power while he held IL, and The
other TO be nothing. Nevertheless ia
those early DAYS the importance OF the
wee Presidency Vas recognized in a very
practical manner by the election o 60 o.
younger and more vigorous men than those
elected 10 the Presidency. Adams was three
years younger than Washington, jefferson
elght years younger than Adams and Burr
thirteen years younger than Jefferson. Not
oniy was it deemed natural that the heir
Dresumptive should be q man with her-er
chances Of life than the ancestor. blt hack
OF everything else was the feeling thar he
training m public affairs which he would
acquire in the second rank would be az
great value to himself and 20 The country
on his promotion; for. until Burr's political
collapse toward the close OF Jefferson s Iirsr
term the Presidents understudy was reEa-
larly chosen to succeed him.
With the departure from this uracti.e
the decadence Of the Vice PRESIDENCY NAV
be said 10 have begun. and 10 was has;eEed
oy the convention system Of nominating
candidates for both the greater and the
lesser Office. with its incidentaIs OF log
rolling and playing upon sectional p-eju-
dice As the utiiitaTian view Of the vi e.
Presidency waned, and the ornamental or
at best the faCtiOnal view took irs place
the average age Of the Vice Presidents In
creased. The idea seemed 10 be that the
office was a sinecure through which relir-
ing politicians could pleasantly bow them
selves out OF public life. or BY the gift OF
which some restless element In pa3 u
could be appeased- In recent years. there
fore, the rule as 70 age has come 20 be
the very reverse OF that which prevailed az
first. Wilson was ten years older tnan
Grant. Wheeler three years older than
Hayes. Arthur year older than Carried
Hendricks eighteen and Stevenson two
years older than Cleveland and Morton
nine years older than Harrison Hobart
Who was year younger than Mckinley.
was the Frst exception 10 the rule Of
seniority in a quarter century. All this
goes to show how far the Vice Presidency
has drifted in actual practice from the
iuedl OF NuuuEed years ago.
The prestige OF the Office received a vet
more direct blow from the enactment OF
the Presidential succession law Of 1855
The law OF l792. which still survived pro-
vided that in case OF death. resignation,
or inability OF both President and Vice
President the duties Of the Presidency
should pass first 10 the President OF the
Senate and then TO the Speaker Of the
House Of Representative. The Forty
eighth Congress had expired in March the
Forty y-ninth was not TO assemble till De
cember and Vice President Hendricks had
died in the interval AS a matter Of curse.
no Speaker had been elected, the presi-
dency pro tempOre OF the Senate had not
been filled for the new Congress. and
the Senate is a continuing body.
there was grave uncertainty In the minds
of many Senators whether the President
pro tempore Of the late session could prop
eTly continue 10 execute that office without
q new election. The situation was rendered
all the more serious by the circumstance
that the Senate was controlled by the Re
publicans whereas the popular election OF
1884 had decreed the transfer Of executive
power to the Democrats. When the Senate
met in December it chose Mr.. Sherman for
its President pro tempOTe, and until the
January Mr.. CIeveland's life vas
all that protected this expression Of the o
popular will from reversal The more
thoughtful members OF both houses OF
Congress realized the unwisdom OF leav-
ing the law as il stood, and a new statute
was enacted. passing the succession
through the Cabinet in the order OF the
creation OF the several departments repre-
sented there. beginning with the Secretary
OF State and ending with the Secretary OF
the Interior, the Department Of Agriculture
not having at that time been raised 10
Cabinet dignity.
Although four Presidents and Eve Vice
Presidents have died in once. and the
Government has been carried on for a total
OF thirty years under only one Of the two
executive heads provided by the ConsJItu-
tion, il has never needed TO put either of
its succession laws into operation, the
chances. therefore, are at least fair that
il might never need 10 do so in the future
But since the method Of selecting a Vice
President no longer has reference TO the
special qualifications Of the man chosen,
and since the chief places in the Cabinet
are given TO the men who, OF the whole
mass Of citizens are most nearly in accord
with the policy and purposes OF the Presi-
dent. the question recuTs with force, wheth-
er the Vice Presidency is not now super
fluffy and a rather dangerous one. The
cases Of Tyler and Johnson are too famu-
lar 10 call for more than reference Even
so conservative an Administration as Az
thurs caused political convulsion which.
under some other conditions easily conoeiv-
able. might have put a peTilCus strain upon
our Institutions.
Mr. Hobart is an exception TO the general
rule OF Vice Presidents in more respects
than in the matter OF seniority OF years
He was chosen, il is true. on sectional
rather than on personal grounds, but.
thanks to the complete control Of the party
at the time by Mr.. McKi1ley's campaign
manager. il was not necessary 10 b1at the
bushes of the opposing faction for a candi-
date. The TWO men represented the same
ideals as far as they represented any Dur
ing the summer and autumn OF 1850 they
were continually in consultation. and IN
the years that followed Mr. Hobart shared
tie Presidents COunsels as probably no
other Vice President has shared them in
more than a half century. If Mr. Mckin-
lev had died in Office, Mr.. Hobart wOu
have succeeded TO his plans and methods
as truly as to his titulaT office. lt IS not
safe however for great nation 10 let It's
course be guided by exceptions Elther
the Vice Presidency should be nlled, as OF
old, with a strict view 10 the possi0-e sue
cessfOn. or il should be wiped out Of eN-
istence altogether. and the hOnOrs and re-
snonsibilities OF the President transferred
ar once in ease of d sudden vacancy IN t1e
Office. 10 the adviser who is presumpJvely
hest educated to carry out the unfinished
work Of his chief
The Lunar Atmosphere.
From the London ChronicleJ
The question as to the possibility Of the moon
Of al