Omaha daily bee., 1914-04-26

soon had no weight at all with congress and win
closed his term with almost as little power as Nh
Taft had the last two years of his term in tn
White House. Indeed, the administrations of Nh
Adams and Mr.. Taft are almost duplicates.
Under Madison and Monroe congress was the rea
heart of the government, neither Of these presi
dents having any influence with the legislativ
branch, but on the contrary, congress having deci
sive influence with them. Yet when Jackson too
the executive reins he drove the government wher
and he liked; and in spite of the hercuear
savage, and remorseless opposition of giants lk
Clay and Webster in spite of a split in his owl
party and the disruption of his cabinet jackson
was all but absolute Tyler, Taylor and Fillmor
were presidential maniklns with no more force /
their official arms than if they had been of wood
and Buchanan was pitiful in his weakness.
LINCOLN of course from the peculiar circum
IL stances of war almost as powerful as Wash
ington; yet, so much on the decline his powe
that his party had determined not TO re-nOminat
him, and the committee to notify Lincoln of thi
fact already had gathered in Washington, when
fortunate turn of the saved the political for
tunes of the Great Emancipator. The time AM
circumstances of his assassination have glorfed am
idealized Lincoln, and vague belief has grown on
of this that if Lincoln had lived his power wou
have been great that the storm of reconstructed
never would have blown up; or, if it had, that W
would have weathered it quickly and easily
Yet the probabilities that Lincoln would
have been shorn of his power by congress the
moment he tried to put through his great
wise, kind, and humane plan for the reunion
of the American people.
JohnsOn's power, of course, as little
Lincoln's power had been vast and his strength
so utterly crushed that he was barely
saved on his impeachment trial. Grant went
into office as the martial hero of nation which
his military genius had saved. AT the begin
ming of his first term Grant had power that al
most equaled that of Jefferson or Washington; a
vet in his second term he found himself bound a.
hand and foot. Hayes, of course, had such lit
( tie strength that he almost neutral; and
any one of half dozen senators had more
actual power than that welded by Arthur.
NCeveland was tremendously powerful for a
season, yet most of this strength was gone o.
early in his second term, Harrison had D,
little influence with the legislative branch of of
the government that he called the two houses
of congress "that team of wild horses" Me
Kinley had great power, due largely to the SPANS
war; yet it was apparent than real as is show
by his bacl-down from his Porto Rican policy a
the dictate of majority of his party i'll congress-
The power of Roosevelt was enormous and grey
throughout his seven years of office; but strong a
he was with the people and resOulrefpl as he wa
i'm devices to make congress do his will, Roosevelt
could not get through single great measure with
out desperate resistance ending in compromise.
President Wilson appears to be having his ow
way at present; but he has been III Office Just ON
year and there is plenty of time for him to b
broken on the wheel. From a study of the iuctua
ons in the rise and fall of the power of the pres
dency during our history, no human being can sa
at this time whether the power of the present aC
minisration will continue, His seeming control O
congress is partly due to the same condition tha
Totfo, nc aINa Dta0p tba n