The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-18
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
BY PHlNEAs FLETCHER.

A good deal of error seems to exist even in what are called, and naturally supposed to be, well-informed circles in regard to the second greatest office in the gift of the people, namely, the vice. Presidency of the United States. Take, for instance, the case of the Hon. Elihu Root, the present secretary of war. Inn medlately before he sailed for London re- gently where he now is engaged in de- lending the Alaska boundary question from the American point of view, he made the declaration that the President and viee-President could not under the provisions of the federal Constitution, be citizens of the same state. That is the popular, but erroneous impression. To have 1t announced by man who is so distinguished at the bar as MT. Root is, and who holds so important a place in the present administration, is, to say the least, astonishing. A leading New York journal promptly corrected MT. Root by pointing out that the only Constitutional limitation upon the choice of the people, so far as geographical location Is concern ed, is contained in that provision or the Twelfth amendment, which supersedes the second clause of Article IL, Tn the original instrument and reads as follows:
 The electors shall meet in their respec- tive states and vote by ballot for Presi- Gent and Vice President, one of them, at kDast shall not be an inhabitant Of the same state with themselves
 The Constitutional interpretation or construction, of this provision, is that the Presidential electors of Ohio or of any other state, in the event of two candi- dates from that commonwealth having been nominated, one for President and the other for Vice-President, could cast their votes for only one of the candidates thus named, but that the electors of all the other states could vote for the other Ohio candidate, and if they were in the majority, make him the Constitutional President or Xice-Presldent, as. the case might be. To state the question in an other way; the Constitution does not bar MT. Root from being nominated on the next republican ticket with Mr Roose- welt as the candidate for the Nice-Pres- idency It provides only, that when the Presidential electors of New York meet they could vote for only one of the two candidates, for either the President or the Vice-President. The electors in all the other states could vote for both MT. Roosevelt and MT, Root and so elect them.
 Shall the Vice-President bear more active part in the government than the occupant of the office, when there is one, at present bears, is another question which which has been thrown into pub lie disputation during the past month. The idea at the base of 1t appears to be that the Vice-President should be made a member of the Presidents cabinet and not restricted to presiding over the sen- ate and giving a casting vote when there is a tie in that body. The suggestion is western one, it's birthplace being Chicago. An important eastern journal does not ap- prove of the scheme and asserts that sthe Constitution would have to be amended to accomplish the change" This journal does not appear to know that at least on one occasion a President attended a cabinet meeting, and that no one charged at the time that the act was an infraction of the supreme law. It was away back in that early day when George Washing ton, who presided over the convention that framed the Constitution, was Pres ident John Adams Viee-President, and the two chiefs of strict and broad and Constitutional construction, Thomas Jeff erson and Alexander Hamilton, respective iy were members of the cabinet. Jeffer- son describes this incident. event, or