Newark post., 1912-05-29
THE THIRD TERM ISSUE

an article written SOIne months ago
by Charles J. Bonaparte, formerly
Attorney General i'll the cabinet Of
Roosevelt.
Article II, Section /, Clause +,
of the Constitution, says:
No person except natural born
citizen. or citizen OF the United
States. at the time Of the adoption
Of this Constitution. shall be eligi-
bic to the office Of President; nei-
ther shall any person be eligible to
that office who shall not have at
tanned the age Of 35 years. and
been II years Il resident within
the United States.
These are the restrictions and
the only restrictions, imposed on
the eligibility Of any citizen for
the Presidency; they have been
retained in the Constitution, with
out addition or subtraction. for
123 years; although meantime nu-
mer0us suggestions looking to fur
ther restrictions have found ex-
preston in Presidential MESA geS,
party platforms and proposed
Constitutional amendments; thus
Indicating that the American peO-
pie probably see no rood reason
to artiticiallv increase the diff
Guilty Of finding Il fit man to be
their first public servant.
\ good many intelligent and
fairly we'll informed people be-
Iieve that, in his farewell address,
Washin&ton warned his country
men against any man in the PreSi-
dency longer than eight years :
and that he refused a third term
himself to give this warning the
sanction Of his example; in fact.
there is not a word in the farewell
address which can be thus con-
strued. Washington says:
The acceptance Of and continu-
ance hitherto in. the office to
which your suffrages have twice
called me, have been a uniform
sacrifice of inclination to the opin-
ion Of duty and to a Difference for
what appeared to be your desire.
[ constantly hoped that it would
have been much earlier in my
power consistently with motives
which | was not at liberty to dis
regard. to return to that retire
ment from which | had been re-
luctantly drawn.
He then explains that he had
prepared an address announcing
his intended withdrawal from
public life before his second elec-
ton. but the critical condition OF
the cOuntry's foreign relations at
that time and the unanimous adj
vice Of prominent public men had
led him to relinQuish this purpose.
He then adds:
| rejoice that the state of your
concerns, external as well as in
ternal. no longer renders the pur-
suit Of inclination incompatible
with the sentiment of duty or pro-
priety. and am persuaded, what
ever partiality may be retained
for my services. that, in the pres
ent circumstances Of our country,
you will not disapprove my deter
minatiOn to retire.
1t appears clearly from Wash
ington's words that he wished
and intended to refuse a second
term from precisely the same mo-
tives which led him to actually re
fuse a third term-namely, his dis
taste for office and longing for
private life. and it is fair infer
ence from these words, that if the
country had seemed to him to need
his services at the end Of his sec
Ond term, as it seemed to need
them at end of his first, he would
have accepted a third term, i'm
PEELED by the same sense of duty
which led him to accept a second.
It is obvious that no President
could establish any precedent on
this question unless he both
wished a second reelection and
could certainly or very probably
obtain it; and, whatever may have
been the case with respect to the
first of these conditions, no Presi
dent could have felt assured OF
reasonably confident of getting {
third term. if he asked for it. af
ter Washington and before Jack
son. The prodigious popularit,
of cold Hickory" caused some
serious suggestion of a third tern
for him; and it was generally con
ceded by the well informed il
nolitics that if he woT1ld take one