The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-12
a THIRD TERN NOT WANTED.

The President has put stop to the
/ third term talk He has announced that
he does not want a third term, and that
if his party should tender him the nomi-
nation for President in 1904 he would not
accept it. There is no uncertainty in
the language used by the President in
stating his position. He leaves no room
for saying at some time in the future
that he will have to obey the call of his
party and the people.
There is a very strong feeling through
out the country against a third term,
and the people will think more of Mr..
Mckinley for respecting this feeling than
they would if he should seek a third
term and get It. OF his popularity there
is doubt. and it is probable that if
he should try for the presidential nom
iuation in 1904 he would get it, because
there are SO many politicians who would
assist him, but he would be turned down
by the people. His popularity would not
be sufficient to overcome the deep rooted
opposition to a third term for any presi-
dent.
the third term matter that the cabinet
was called together 50 mysteriously on
Monday evening mention of which was
made in our dispatches yesterday. The
discussion OF the subject had reached
point where the President thought he
ought to take notice OF it if he did not
mean to try for a third term Therefore
he consulted mis- cabinet before acting.
1t is safe to say that he never had any
Intention of seeking a third term. From
what he saws 1t is apparent that he thinks
IL is for the best interests of the coun-
try that the unwritten law in this mat
ter should be respected. II that law
should be brushed aside it would not be
long before some one would be proposing
that the constitution should be changed
so that a President could be elected for
life. Perhaps it would be better, all
things considered, that President should
be elected for six years, and should not
be eligible for reelection. A President.
then, would be entirely free to act for
the welfare of the country. Now, dur
ing his first term. he Is supposed to be
influenced in most of his acts by the pos
sbility OF getting a second term.
There is ground for suspicion that Sen
atCr DeDew put out his interview. re-
specting a third term for Mr.. Mckinley,
in Chicago the other day, for the purpose
of forcing him to say whether or not
he really desired reelection. OF course
Mr.. DeDew said that he was anxious
that Mr.. Mckinley should be renomi-
mated. He may have been sincere in
ma king that statement, but ia would
not be at all surprising if it should even
tuaHy appear that a clique of Republican
politicians have another candidate IN
view, and wanted to get Mr.. Mckinley
out os the way. AS long as there was
a probability that the latter desired a
denomination it would have been a diff
cult matter to get Republican office-hold-
ers to think seriously of any other can
didate.
If the President ever had a thought of
trying for another term-and there is no
reason for thinking he had-he must have
been satisfied from the comments which
appeared in the newspapers immediately
after Mr.. Depew's interview was pub
hshed, that the American people were
unalterably and almost unanimously OPP
posed to third term for any President