Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-11-17

WA II INV llljl TIE EiluJtlgn Is over
sVAE the public mind should con-
A 70 Germ itself seriously and sys-
tenlatic;llly touching two CON
stitutional amendments for the better
ment Of the public service: "a TO elect
q president for term of six years and
make him forever ineligible Tor re-elec-
tion;(2)to choose United States senators
by popular vote OF course all intelli-
gent observers know that to amend the
constitution is a most difficult per-
formance- Many amendments have
been proposed and only fifteen adopted.
the last three being shot into it there
fore patient, energetic and systematic
effort will be required years Of per
sistent and intelligent endeayor-to
work the reforms above mentioned.
but the good 10 be accomplished is well
worth all that it will cost. There newer
has been bur one president who lid not
desire and labor for II second term. and
that was George Washington, vino did
not want Il first terhi His fame was
already secure and nobody was at all
sanguine about the perpetuity of the
republic, which began its life March
4, 1889 On the contrary, there were
many nisgiviiis4s Oh the subject Ii is
safe to say that the constitution would
never have been adopted, the republic
would moi have been born, had il not
been for the vast and powerful per-
sonality of General Washington and
for the certainty i'll the public mind
that he would be the first president.
He had more to lose than to gain by
accepting the presidency. 1t was an
experiment of extreme hazard with the
chances in favor of failure This bad
state of affairs grew chiefly out Of the
jealousy OF the states toward each
other The big states thought that the
constitution conferred too much in
6uence upon the little states, and the
latter thought that it did not give them
enough Rhode Island and North Caro-
lima went 50 far as to stay out of the
republic for Il year or more after the
federal government was organized.
Really, Washington did more good as
president of the constitutional conyen-
ton fhan as commander in chief of the
Revolutionary armies. K great soldier
is not Il rarity undel. the sun but q
man whodcan take thirteen discordant
and jealous states and weld them into
great nation is seldom seen among
men, Washington did it. and they are
immortal. No wonder that Washing
ton did not banker after the presi4
dency and 10 wonder that he prepared
farewell address at the end of his
first term declining a second election
and was only tlissuaded from publishing
Hamilton and all the leaders of all
factions a So
But barring Washington. all the
rest of the presidents spent a large
portion Of their first term striving for
4 second That the ambition for Il
second term influenced to a greater or
smaller degree their conduct during
Of the fact that they were human
merely that and nothing more. That it
sometimes affected the public service
! injuriously cannot be questioned. That
six year term with the neligibility
clause would take away that tempta-
ton is patent to ALL and that a consti-
tutional amendment providing for that
should be adopted is clear as crystal
Tie proposition 10 elect United States
senators by popular suffrage has been
much more discussed and appears to
meet with general favor. It rests on
different grounds from the presidential
proposition, and it is this: The closer
that all elections are brought to the
great body Of tie people the better it
will be for all concerned. 1t is much
easier to manipulate Il small body OF
men in a legislature than to manipu-
/ late the voters Of an entire state, and
it is easier 10 Influence the few than
/ the many by forbidden means Colo
mel robert g. IngersoH coutemptuously
dubbed the senate the millionaires'
lclub" Scandals touching the election
of senator's have become SO numerous
and 80 iiagrant that decent people are
weary cf them and earnestly desire q
! change Of methods. SO both amend
| ulents ought to be adopted.