The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-26
OUR EX>PRESIDENT.
From the Boston Herald.

1 From the Boston Herald.
 Unfortunately the United States of
 America has but one ex-President. It is l in the nature of a national calamity that | this is so. Fortuitously and as fatality l alike has this come about. The question
 as to what shall be done with our ex-
 Presidents has been at times discussed
 among the people. Ordinarily, 1t would seem that there might be several of these. We have a President now who,
 aside from the accidents of life, has, ap- 1 parently. more than score Of years be-
 fore him, and as we have frequently in-
 cumbents of the office for no longer than one term and never have them for more 1 than two terms. it is likely that If he lives he may have several associates 1 on his retiring from the position. The 1 settlement of his future status In the government may therefore become more interesting than 1t seems to be at pres l ent.
 The national constitution left the Pres- 1 ident on retiring from his office, to be a private citizen. It Is not clear however, that the framers of that instrument con- templated that there were to be so many eX-Presidents as have since been cre- ated. We owe the fact that our ex-
 Presidents now serve at the most eight years to an unwritten law established by
 the precedent received at the hands of President Washington. Still, it Is prob able that there was no great trouble in
 the minds of the fathers on this point They provided, as they thought, for the most eminent and esteemed citizens to fill the place always. Their constitution
 al machinery did not work exactly as
 they had anticipated. yet it gave us as
 eminent men as there were in the na-
 tion for the place through a full era in
 the government. When John Adams re-
 tired from the Presidency he apparently
 felt his political career to be ended. When Thomas Jefferson and James Mad ison left 1t, there is no reason to think that they or any one else thought of
 them as other than retired statesmen
 These three Presidents cotemporary with
 the framing of the constitution were it's
 best interpreters, and they fully accept ed the construction given 1t in operation by President Washington.
 It hasn't had any other construction
 nor do we think 1t is likely to have
 We are not saying that some of the pro- jects to give the ex-Presidents positions
 of influence, and. perhaps 10 some de-
 gree, of authority, are objectionable; but they involve change in the spirit of the national constitution as 1t has been in ODcIdDOn lOT HDT6 Indn a century, and they are therefore unlikely to be brought about. It is difficult to the verge of im- possibility to alter that operation in in- stances where the people are convinced that change would be an improvement.
 We see this in our manner of electing United States senators and on some other and less important points.
 ? Still, fortunately, our ex-rresidents are not shut out from participation, after Io f.F 41.o the events of later life by the recollection of the great office they have held. Their practice, especially of later years, has been consistent with the republican idea of government which they had helped to illustrate when they left the Presi- dency they simply became absorbed Into citizenship again. It was somewhat staggering perhaps to find President John Quincy Adams going into the polit- cal life once more in the house of repre- sentatives of congress; but, on reflection, 1t was felt to be in accordance with popular ideas. As people became accus- toned to seeing him there, they were soon reconeiled to it, and more than half the nation felt that he had come back to be further useful in the public ser- vice. He much excited the animosity of another portion by his views on a dis- puted question; but his opponents show ed here on celebrated occasion that they respected the man above his asso- eiates, and the recollection of the office he had held had probably something to do with 1t.
 The example of MT. Adams has not been since followed, except in one in- stance, when in revolutionary times a President entered the senate to cc >e nne there but short period because v his taking away by death; but nearly all our Presidents who have left office have been absorbed into the ranks of the peo- pie. and have then become eligible to political office. We do not think that 1t is the public feeling that they should from motives of propriety, decline to ac- cept office. We doubt if any one would advocate their being shut out by law from taking political office later, and we are sure that the numbers of those who would restrict them by public sentiment from so doing are few. As it is, the eli- gibility to office is a part of the private citizenship into which they have re- lapsed How far they shall participate in public affairs Is for themselves to de- termine, but we are inclined to think that as a precedent John Quincy Adams was useful in it alike with those who stood aloof from so participating
 If a more concrete illustration of what we are saying Is called for. we are in- clined to think that the single ex-Presi- dent of the nation now living furnishes it. Grover Cleveland is, to our mind, very much model in this respect. He Is President in retirement who has be- come part of the citizenship of the land. fully mindful of the dignity of the office he had before held. and equally conscious of the responsibilities of the present that his connection with 1t has devolved upon kim. In becoming a good citizen he is not an ambitious and never an intrusive one. It is vulgar delusion to suppose he desires or seeks the Presi- dency again, and 1t is foolish. If not mis- chievous. to consider his name in that connection. We do not know whether he would accept any minor office; 1t might be fortunate for the country If he would; we are very sure that he would take