Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-22
A suPERFLUoUs COMMA.
What Department Clerk Found in
the Constitution.

A bright young clerk in the State Depart
ment threw that staid institution into some
thing of a panic a few days ago by re-
markable discovery which he was con-
WINGED he had made 1t was nothing less
than the discovery that every President
who had occupied the chief magistracy
since lack Taylor, who was born in 1884,
was Ineligible under the Constitution and,
that unless citizen Of the United States
who was a citizen 113 years ago when the
Constitution was adopted could be found,
there could be no more legal chief magis-
trates under that sacred instrument. The
astonishing disclosure Of the State De-
partment clerk came about in this way. In
the course of the regular business a letter
reached the department from a consular
officer abroad to whom an heir had just
been born inquiring whether said heir, In
whose political future the father evidently
had great confidence, would be eligible to
the presidency Of the United States when
he reached the required age. OF course.
there was no question about his American
citizenship, the consul said. but he was in
terested to know about his eligibility for
the presidency. The letter turned over,
in the regular course Of business. to the
bright young clerk. Being a thorough,
painstaking young man he went direct to
the original authority-the Constitution.
There in Article II, Section 1, he found the
following qualifications set forth:
mo person except natural born citizen.
or a citizen of the United States, at the
time of the adoption of the Constitution,
shall be eligible to the office OF the Presi-
dent ETC."
The more he studied the words and the
punctuation the more he became convinced
that the comma after United STATES"
limited the selection Of Presidents to per-
sons who were natural born citizens ciu-
zens of the United States at the time Of the
adODtiop of the Constitution - IF hfq inter-
probation was correct the United States had
not had a constitutional President for a
good many years and, worse still, unless
the Constitution were amended Immediately
there might never be another, as 1t Is en-
tirely improbable that man Is living in
the United States today who Is 113 years
old and who was a resident Of the United
States at the time Of the adoption OF the
Constitution.
The bright man naturally burned with a
desire to take his discovery mmediately to
his chief but his thorough, painstaking ma
ture cautioned him not to be too precipi-
tate. He remembered the injunction Of
Davy Crockett, BE sure you are right and
then go ahead" After all, the fatal comma
might be mistake. or a typographical
error in the copy Of the Constitution he had
examined. So he went into the musty
archives of the department where the origi-
nal document reposed and there too he
found the same awful punctuation mark.
Now at last he was sure of his ground. He
sought Secretary Hay, but the Secretary of
State had already left the department
Then he took his discovery to Assistant
Secretary Adee. Mr. Adee who is old in
diplomacy and bomb-proof against sur
prises. carefully examined the language OF
the Constitution.
Interesting. very interesting" said he
Literally from the standpoint Of ety.
mology,' he added, IT presume that Ian
guage and punctuation would limit the Sc
lection Of the Presidents to persons who
were natural born citizens or citizens OF the
United States at the time OF the adoption
Of the Constitution"
Then he handed the Constitution back to
the bright young clerk. There was no en-
thusiasm in his voice.
There is nothing in it, said Mr.. Adee,
as he turned back to his work ut Is
well settled principle of law that the OBJ
vious intent governs in a case like that We
have treaty in which Isthmus' is spelled
1stmus. but that does not vitiate the
treaty. Go back to your work. young man.
and leave the Interpretation Of the Consti-
tuition to the Supreme Court. 1t will attend
to all questions of that kind"
And the young man sadly departed.