Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-11
THE HASKIN LETTER
THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL
PROBLEM
By Frederic J. Haskin

OF the tnlteu States may hNCs OiAhs
to mind again the pecullarities OF
hat nosition which John Adams de-
scribed as the most insignificant
Office that ever the mind of man
contrived or his imagination con-
ceived.
The vice presidential chair is in
deed the joker of our system of
government. Mr.. Bryce says in his
monumental work on the United
States. the Vice President is "aut
Caesar aut nullus." That is, If he
does not become President his job
amounts to nothing at all. 1t Is
true that he is grandiloquently re-
ferred to in the public prints as the
Second highest executive officer an
the United states government but
he is moi 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 it Is one of
singularly little Importance. For
the President of the Senate has none
Of the power which belongs to the
speaker of the House. He has no
control over the course OF legisla-
ton, he appoints no committees
men. In fact. he does very little
except rap on his impressive ros-
trum with a little mallet and say.
THE gentleman from Arkansas
has the fioor." And then he is stat
ing a fact rather than rendering a
decision. He has very little TO say
rs to who shall occupy the floor or
how long.
The absolute superf1uity of the
Vice President as a part of the
government is sufficiently proved by
the fact that during thirty-f1ve years
in all, of the nations history, there
has been no Vice President. He has
either died DR. resigned on account
of i'll health or succeeded to the
Presidency. And the wheels of
government turned just as we'll with
out a Vice President.
An Absurd Position.
The Vice President can be re-
garded only as a man held in re-
serve In case something happens 10
the President. and doomed in the
meantime to a futile existence on
d!ty of the thing, of course, lies in
the fact that the trainers of our
Constitution should have provided
no adequate occupation for a posi-
ton which obviously calls for a big
man, il it is to be other than a
source of danger.
For. while the Vice President
amounts to precisely nothing IL the
lives, he becomes the
most important man in the country
If the President dies. And IL expe-
rience be taken as a guide there is
just about one chance in six that
the President will die or be killed,
and the Vice President be called
upon to serve. He should then, by
all means, be a man of presidential
But seldom has he been
a man. This means no disre-
spect to Vice Presidents, past, pres
ent or prospective. No doubt some
OF them have been. are, or will be
great men. But 1t is obvious that a
job which means four year or per-
eight years of futile waiting
hve chances out of six, is not calcu-
to draw men of energy and
ambition. The ambitious man espe-
cially always has in mind the para
about the father who had two
sons. One of them went to sea and
the other became Vice President.
of them was ever heard of
again.
If a man of high ability takes the
Presidency, he may be regard
~ 49, y ~ Ia NfldSC, VI tlSe
L gambler. But it is obvious that
many good men are going either
20 martyr themselves or to take
such long chances of getting into
the presidential chair. Everyone
that Roosevelt. the Invest
occupant the Vice Presidency ever
had. was put there to get him out
the way. and that he resisted this
form Of retirement with all his
Thus the Vice Presidency,
~ its nature, tends to defeat it's
'wn purpose. which is to provide an
adequate successor to the President
n case o fhis death In office.
How much better it would be il
he Secretary of State succeeded the
in case of death. The
calls for a big man and
him something to do. Fur
he is a member of the
Cabinet and in close touch with the
of the administration,
because he agrees with
hem. and therefore Is presumably
qualified to carry them out. The
Vice President is not even a mem
Der Of the Cabinet, and he might
views opposed to those of
President without ever having
reveal the fact as Vice President.
His Social Duties.
But in recent years certain duties
a devolved upon the Vice Pres
dent. and have given him an occu-
which is necessary If not
He has become, especi-
ally during the administration
which is just drawing to an end,
/ sort of social representative of the
taking onerous burdens
Of entertaining and being entertain
d off the shoulders of the Chief
much rs the wife of a
'usy man of affairs represents him
II tea and receptions. Official
for the administration" is the
way Vice President Marshall is said
)nce to have described himself.
Commissions from minor coun-
.ries, Populations of Latin-Ameri-
journalists and politicians, WIS.,
ting oriental princes. are among
he guests to whom the Vice Pres
dent must function as host. All of
hem want to see the President of
but especially since the war
the United States into the
of first money power of the
the number of such visiting
and delegations makes
It impossible for the President to
zee any considerable part of them.
Is a place where an assistant
is really needed. He is
llso needed to address congresses of
his and that, and societies for the
of so-and-so, the various
organization of Daughters and Sons.
all OF the innumerable other ag-
which convene. crate and
IT is important that the
rood will of these affairs should be
Won for the administration. Some
me representing the administration
go up before them, and say
II the proper things from Ladies