Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1920-04-01
PRESIDENT NOT SEEKING
THIRD TERM IN OFFICE?

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President Wilson stands with former
Presidents Of the United States who
were opposed to a third term. It was
said today that those closest to the Pres.
ident knew that he did not intend to
seek third, term or use the power of
his Office to dictate the nomination of
his successor.
It was declared that leading mem.
Der of the Democratic National Com
mittee had stated that President Will
son, who is now in control of the party
machinery, would not relinquish it by
announcing his intention to retire Mt the
end of his term. To do so, it was point
ed out, would plunge the party into bit
ter factiopal warfare at the San Fran
cisco conventions and prevent the Presi.
dents friends from debating the party
platform. While it is not the purpose
of the President to seek the nomination
it Is his purpose, it is said, to largely
mold a platform and write into it the
issues which he thinks the Democratic
candidate must support.
In support, of the assertion that Mr.
Wilson intends to retire at the end oil
oAio SCi III ~ Ii uccibtco tuut " uHct MIC
Cormick of Pennsylvania, former Chair.
man of the Democratic National Com.
mittee, satisfied himself on that before
he consented to become associated with
the campaign of Attorney General
Palmer for the Presidential nomination.
Mr.. Mccormick is regarded as being as
close to the President on. political mat.
ters as any man in the party. The Pres.
ident selected him as manager of the
last Presidential campaign, and the
friendship that grew up then has con
tinued. Men familiar with the situation
believe Mr.. Wilson informed Mr.. Nc
CorInick of his attitude on third term
before Attorney General Palmer en-.
tered the race.
Mr.. Palmer also is credited with being
familiar with the Presidents views. In
letterlwritten on Feb. 5, 1918, twenty
seven days before Mr.. Wilson was in
augurated, the letter wrote Mr.. Palmer,
then a member of the house, his views
on the proposed constitutional amend
ment limiting the Presidents tenure to
single term of six years. 1t was the
President's opinion which caused defeat
of the amendment in the house. 1t was
adopted by the senate.
In February, 1916, when Mr.. Wilson
was about to seek denomination despite
the singe term plank in the 1912 plat
form, the letter was made, public by
MIR. Palmer with the consent of the
White House. Several sentences in 1t
show that the President approved of the
American tradition against a third term.
Dttt tha
tion of two terms into the Constitution,
If you do not trust the people to take
care of themselves, but make it two
terms mot one, because four years il
often too long), and give the President
chance to win the full service by prov.
ing himself fit for it, 'said the Pres.
dent.
s"As things now stand, the people
might more likely be cheated than
served by further limitations of the
Presidents eligibility" said the Pres.
dent. "His fighting power in their be.
half would be immensely weakened. No
one viii fear President, except those
whom he can make fear the elections.
We singularly believe our own princi.
pies, by seeking to determine, by fixing
Constitutional provision, what the peo-
pie shall determine for themselves and
are perfectly competent to determine for
themselves. We cast a doubt upon the
whole theory of popular government.
81 believe that we should fatally EN-.
barrasss ourselves il We make the Con.
stitutional changes. If we want our
Presidents to fight our battles for us
we should give them the means, the
legitimate means, the means their oppo.
nent will always have. Strip them of
everything else but the right to appeal
to the people, but leave them that; suf-
fer them to be leaders; absolutely pre-
vent them from being bosses. We would
otherwise appear TO, be going in two
opposite directions We are seeking in
every way to extend the power of the
people, but in the matter of the Presi.
dency we fear and distrust the people
and seek to bind them hand and foot
by rigid Constitutional provision. My
own mind is not agile enough to 90 both
ways" SFa g f4s +.
A indicating that the President is op-
posed to using the power of his office
to determine the nominee at San Fran.
cisco, those who say the President will
remain neutral in the race point to this
paragraph in this letter. ..
sit is intolerable that any President
should be permitted, to determine who
should succeed him-himself or another
by patronage or coercion, or by any
sort of control Of the machinery by
which delegates to the nominating con.
ventions are chosen. There ought never
to be another Presidential nominating
convention, and there need never be an.
other. Several of the states have sue.
cessfully solved that difficulty in the re.