The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-11

Washington. D. c.. Dec. s.-Ths
somewhat feeble agitation IN con-
gress for the building Of house. in
which the vice president Of the
United States may live. brings to
mind again the peculiarities Of that
position which John Adams de-
scribed as the most insignificant
ofilee that ever the mind Of man
contrived or Lis imagination con-
ceived."
The vice presidential chair is in
deed the Joker of our system Of gov
eminent. M. Bryce says in his
monumental work on the United
States. the vice president is ''aut
Caesar aut nullus." That is. II he
does not become president his job
amounts to nothing at all. It 10 true
that he is grandiloquently referred
to in the public prints ~ the sec
ond highest executive of{icer in the
United States government" but he
is not really an executive officer
at all. He executes nothing. The
only occupation which has been pro-
vided for him is that OF presiding
over the senate, and 1t is one OF sin
gularly little importance. For the
president of the senate has none OF
the power which belongs to the
speaker OF the house. He has no con
troll over the course Of legislation
he appoints no committeeman. In
fact. he does very little except rar
on his impressive rostrum with 8
little mallet and say, THE gentle
man from Arkansas has the floor
And then he is stating a fact rather
than rendering q decision. He has
very little to say as to who shall
occupy the floor or how long.
The absolute superauity Of the
vice president as q part of the gov
eminent is sufficiently proved by thu
fact that during IS years, in all, Of
the nations history, there has beer
no vice president. He has ethel
died or resigned on account OF il
health or succeeded to the pres
idency. And the wheels of govern
ment turned Just as well without ,
vice president
An Absurd Position.
The vice president can be 70
+! garded only as a man held in re
serve in case something happens 4
the president, and doomed In tn,
meantime to futile existence on al
inadequate salary. The absurdit,
Of the thing, Of course, lies in tn,
fact that the trainers of our conEti
tuition should have provided no ade
quate occupation for a position
which obviously calls for big man
if i: is to be other than q source O
danger.
For, while the vice presiden
amounts to precisely nothing if thu
president lives, he becomes the mos
important man in the country if thu
president dies. And if experience
be taken as guide there IS jus
about one chance in six that tn,
president will die or be killed, ans
the vice president be called upon tt
serve. He should then, by al
means, be a man of presidential
, caliber. But seldom has be beef
such man. This means no diSre
spect to vice presidents, past, pres
ent or prospective. No doubt som,
Of them have been. are, or will b.
great men. But it is obvious that {
job which means four years or per
haps eight years of futile waiting
five chances out of six, is not calcu
lated to draw men of energy ant
ambition. The ambitious man es
pecially always has in mind tn
parable about the father who ha,
two sons. One of them went to Sc;
and the other became vice presiden,
Neither OF them was ever heard O
again.
II man of high ability takes tn
vice presidency, he may be regarde'
as martyr to the cause, or else
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