The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

presidential life has been much lower. Hayes SUI vived his term longer than any other post bellum President, equaling Pierces record of 12 years, but only a few months longer than Cleveland's 12 years and three months since he retired for the second term. Counting Cleve- lands four years between his first and second terms, he was an ex-President over i5 years, being the only chief ex- ecutive who ever held that unofficial title twice Johnson, Grant and Benjamin Harrison lived eight years after leaving the White House, and Arthur expired 20 months after the end of his administra- ton.
 Early Presidents Lived Long.
 The early Presidents lived longer than those who followed Lincoln. The duties and responsibilities of the office have grown with the growth of the country and there is more physical and mental wear and tear in four years service in the White House today than In 20 in the days of the Adamses. Cleveland was not an extremely old man when he died the oth CT day, but he and Hayes reached the greatest age Fl years-of any of the Presidents since Buchanan. Lincoln was 56, Garfield 49 and Mckinley 58 when they were as- sassinated. Johnson died at 66. Grant at 63, Arthur at 56 and Harrison at 68. Compare these terms of life with the 90 years of John Adams, the S3 of Jef- ferson, the S5 of Madison, the 73 of Monroe, the 80 of John Quincy Adams the 78 of Jackson and 79 of Van Buren.
 Of all the Presidents who preceded William Henry Harrison, only one failed to reach the scriptural limit, and that one the greatest of them all- George Washington, who died at the comparatively early age of 67, literally slaughtered by his physicians
 With such longevity records before us it is easy to understand that ex- presidents were not as rare before the civil war as they have been since, but it Is little strange that the greatest number should appear at the time which marked the beginning of their decline. During the first year of Lin coins first term there were no less that five men living who had formerly held that great office. They were Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan. Van Buren and Tyler died before Lincoln, but Buchanan survive three years of Johnsons administra- tion and Fillmore and Pierce lived un- til some time after Grants inaugura- tion.
 In LincoIn's Term.
 At no other period of the country's his tory could so many living ex-presidents be counted as in this first year of Lin coln's term, but in the first year of John Quincy Adams administration there were four former presidents living, and if the single-term rule of late years had pre- walled there would, no doubt, have been seven. for, when the second Adams was inaugurated, every president who had preceded him was alive, except Washing ton. For a few months after Polk en- tered the White House, there were four ex-presidents living--J. Q. Adams, Jack son, Van Buren and Tyler.
 From the beginning of the administra- tion of Madison down to the second year of Grants second term, there was only one year-the last year of Jackson's sec ond term-when there was not more than one ex-president living and during most of that period there were as many as three Three living ex-presidents seem to have been almost constitutional rule until the dreadful mortality during Grants administration exterminated all of them.