The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
THE LIVES OF OUR { EX-PRES|DENTS Country Is Without a Surviving
 Ex-Chief FOR THE THIRD TIME John Adams Was First and Survived Many Years-Later Presidents
 Are Not Long Lived.
 Five at Once.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

From the St. Louis Globe Democrat
 For the third time in it's history the country is without an ex-Presdent. When the administration of John Adams began there was, of course, but one man who had served before him as the chief ex- ecutive and the death of Washington, in 1799, left the first vacancy in that exalted but anomalous position which MT. Cleve- land characterized as "a melancholy product of our system of government"
 For 70 years thereafter there was al- ways at least one ex-President in honor able retirement, and it was not until the last years of Grants second term that the line again ran out with the death of ! Andrew Johnson in 1S75 Since the be- ginning of the Hayes administration we have never been without an ex-Presdent until today, but during the last 30 years we have been so often limited to a sn- gle ex-President that there has grow up a belief that the existence of more chan one at a time is quite unusual and more than two quite extraordinary. Thers is no other foundation for this belief than the experience of recent years. As a matter of fact, two or more ex-Presldents living at the same time has been the rule rather than the exception from the beginning or the government.
 Adams Survived Many Years.
 Of all the presidents, John Adams lived longest after retirement from office, rounding out full quarter of a century as past master of the nation. Before the great old man finally closed his eyes he had survived the two administrations of Jefferson, the two of Madison and the two of Monroe, and had seen his son. John Quincy Adams. inaugurated. Nor was John Quincy Adams much behind his father in post-presidential longevity, for he lived 19 years after his retirement, almost to the end of Hbe Polk adminis- atration. Thus from the beginning of Jeff Persons first term in 1901 to the third year of James K. Folks in 184S, nearly 4half century, there was always an ex- z President Adams.
 But while the Adamses were unique in E their succession, they were not alone in 4 their persistency as ex-Presidents for |9of the ces.lier chief executives Jefferson |t lived + years, and Madison 19 years after < retirement. Monroe was an ex-President d only six years and Andrew Jackson only Height.
 N When Martin Van Buren walked out of #the White House tc make room for Will liam Heniy Harrison he began an ex- Mresidential career that in length was only exceeded bS that of John Adams, and in tho number Of administrations 1t covered it broke all the records for no E less than eight men were seated in the presidential chair after him before he answered to the last call.
 Saw Many New Presidents.
 In his 2l years a, d four months of "dignificd retirement he survived the terms of Harrison the elder, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and part of Lincoln's. Fillmore, however, was close second to Van Buren, sur viving 21 years and few days after the expiration of his term, and extending his span of life into Grants second term. Ty- Ter lived IT years after his retirement Pierce 12 years and Buchanan seven years, while Polk expired only five months after he left the White House-
 Since the civil war the average of sD