Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-10-25

prevent an admittedly needed and
popular amendment.
All things considered 1t may be nc.
cepted that the sentiment Of the
country Is such that the amendment
may be secured upon the presentation
OF the proper arguments TO the elect
ors and those who. as officials, may
be insIrumentalities In bringing II
about. The labor that is before us
consists In pulling together and put.
ting In order the differentiated la.
tent sentiment In regard to the pro
posed amendment. 1t Is this labor
which the National Business League
has undertaken TO perform. IL Is to
this endeavor that all right minded
electors are expected 10 extend cour-
ageous and industrious assistance.
No reasonable objection a be
raised against the lengthening the
Presidents term OF office.
As things are now there Is In fact
only about three years Of settled con-
ditions and many would acknowledge
only two years. The fourth year is
given up to the campaign. In fact 1t
Is only during the first two years OF
the presidential term that business,
and that word does not mean the
the great capitalists only, can feel
F, that conditions are settled. Along to-
wards the end OF the term the policy
which the President has pursued is
used by the opposition on which to
unite In order to create an issue"
for the coming campaign. The effect
OF all this is that business becomes
more or less. gambling against the
chances Of the Presidential success
| sion.
There Is a growing tendency IN this
and indeed all countries, 10 look upon
the government or the administration
as the cause OF prosperity or adyers-
ity Of the people. The tendency dis
poses the people to look more and
more to the government as the auth.
or OF their condition. Demagogues,
seifishly and ignorantly finding this
tendency to exist, endeavor from time
to time TO arouse the voter into active
F., hnutitffv ayatpAt tho administration
He endeayors TO convince his too cas-
lily persuaded auditors that a change
of administration policy, especially
In relation to the currency or the
tariff. We will say, will change their
fortunes from bad to good. The eff.
feet of this Is that during the Presi-
Dental term, and under any policy.
which may be put into practice, there
are those who are disposed to find
fanlt with 1t and to create an impress
sion that exactly the opposite policy
would be more In the interest Of the
general public. At times this sort OF
criticism results In the formation of
parties p%redicated on propositions
TO squarely reverse the policy which
IL being put into practice by the sit
ting President and 10 put into opera
ton an entirely opposite policy,
The effect of this condition Of
things Is to present TO the business
man q situation in which two dis.
%tinctly opposite policies are proposed.
lie can make no calculations for the
future. and he must hold in allegiance
many Of his enterprises, and curtail
his business, until he finds out what
Is going to be done; what the result
OF the election will be.
This condition of suspense operates
to depress business and intensity adj
verse conditions. or at least to mod
ify the benefits of the administrative
policy which may be in practice at
the time. The element Of unwarrant-
cd doubt operates To bring about
changes of policies n Presidents,
changes that are in themselves un-
warranted and possibly harmful.
A long term for the President could
not only create a lenger period OF
business security. but Il would give
ample time for a President TO formu.
late and carry out his policies. Very
often Presidential administrative
plans cannot he put into operation
and the benefits Of them realized
by the general public before the time
for another campaign approaches. In
other words the presidential term OF
four years is too brief for a President
to inaugurate and carry out a policy.
A six year term would give ampler
time.
Another thing, the election OF a
President for six years would have a
tendency TO silence those agitators