The Cairo bulletin., 1912-06-05
Thinks President Should Serve as
Long as Behavior is as
Desired
RECORD OPEN In FOUR YEARS
Representative Should be Able to
Return to Power is Govern.
ment Principle

Borah, of Idaho, In the senate today
spoke against the proposed amend
ment to the constitution limiting
the presidential term to six years
and making the President Ineligible
for reelection. He said he woulc
like to know what there was in the
present situation which should pro.
hibit man serving his country sc
long as his acts and character com
manded the support and approval OF
the majority of his couhtrymen. He
asked If anything had yet transpired
in the more than one hundred
years experience that would indi-
cate that the present plan of gov
ernment was defective and express
ed doubt that the supposed defects
of the plan would be eliminated by
the proposed change.
"No one knows until a man has
been an incumbent in that great Of
flee tthe Presidency, in what man
ner he will meet its great responsi.
blities or how wisely he may exer-
else its great power" said Senator
Borah But at the end of four
years the record lies open to all. The
wisdom or want of wisdom, the
poise or want of poise, the under
standing or the lack of understand
ing, the duties of the office, every
thing which a thoughtful and con-
siderate people, engaged in the
grave task of choosing a chief mag
tstrate needs to know, can be known,
Must Be Prepared.
we must certainly be prepared
at all times to assert and success
fully maintain that the strength
and virtue of our individual citizen.
ship Is the measure of the strength
and virtue of the government itself
To assert to the contrary, is to as.
sert that representative government
has an inherent and incurable de.
feet"
Senator Borah said that if the
people, in the exercise of the fran.
chise, could not reject a dangerous
man or continue In office a useful
man, then the whole affair must ter.
inmate in wreck
"No form Of free government.
continued the Senator, mo scheme
Of social polity can ever be devised
by which you can make a strong anf
efficient and powerful government
out OF incompetent and irresponsi.
Bile citizens. The power which I,
to keep this Government going
which Is to supply 1t with vitalit,
and strength and durability must
be found outside of the mere techni
cal forms of government outside thu
formal statutes and constitutior
must be found among the people
when 1t is not found there, there |!
not hope elsewhere"
Senator Borah declared that tn,
vital principle of representative gov
ernment is that the representative
should return at stated periods fol
the approval or rejection of the peo
pie, 1.-The conclusive presumption be
ing that in the form of public con
science we have not only the high
est but the wisest tribunal to which
we can apply In so grave a matter
IT the judgment of ninety millions
Of people expressed under the order
ly forms of procedure are not to b,
accepted to what arbiter shall w,
go? If 1t shall be charged that +,
man has become over ambitious
that his plans seem to threaten th,
stability of our institutions. I,
whom can we submit that proposi
tion than to those in whose keepin,
are all the institutions under tn
flag"
Business Tranquility Imperiled.
The Senator said arguments for
longer term were advanced as ple,
FOR business tranquility. He sal,
marvellous strides had been made II
the industrial world and that bust
ness dominated and directed every
thing and everybody. II, for one
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