The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-03-13
By James Morgan
Copyright, 1920, by
The Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate

when he met young Charles Francis
Adams at the White House, his pat,
| riotic soul took fresh alarm at the
| sight of that promising eighteen-year-
old representative of the third genera
. ton of the Adamses. Taking the boys
mother aside he earnestly begged her
to caution him never to harbor the
/ hope or wish to succeed his father and
grandfather except at the free call Of
the American people. With difficulty
Mrs. Adams saved herself from laugh
! ing in his anxious face. and when his
back was turned the family made
merry over his absurd anxiety.
| No Despot Presidents
The philosophical Franklin predicted
! that the Presidency would end only in
dynasty. AS fiercely a. ever he had
arraigned the royal tyrant in the past.
Patrick Henry denounced the Presi-
Dental tyrant of the future, who would
take the field at the head of his army
fasten his CALLING yoke upon the necks
of the people and make one bold rush
for the American throne.
| Seemingly the makers of the Consti-
tuition did take a bold chance with
| tyranny when they gave such immense
authority tothe President. In reality
they gave him SO much that he has
| hoo hCiLuCl SACuSe nor WISH 10 take
| more and become a usurper Response
| plllty balances power in the Presi-
dency, and generally Presidents have
wearied of the burden laying it down
with sigh of relief
| Most Presidents have felt as Wash
| lngton felt when he was accused of
an ambition to prolong his rule JEFF
| ferson describes him stalking the floor
| IN thunderous fury and, with words
too harsh for the ears of school chill
dren, swearing that instead of seeking
to be dictator, he would rather be
back on his farm than be Emperor of
| the world.
Some Presidents nave been dreary
medlocrltles; perhaps most o: Them
| have been only commonplace. But
| Americans boast, as we'll they may,
that there never has been a bad Presi-
dent, never a President that has in
tentlonally betrayed his great trust
People often wonder at this good for
| tune in the blindmanis buff of politics
Seeing Presidents picked out of the
! crowd, seemingly at haphazard. they
| imagine there must be something in
the tradition of the office itself which
mas the magic power to convert an un-
woHhy man into good President and
| save the country from the folly of
/ popular nominations and elections.
The truth is. the great power of the
Presidency has a SOLDERING effect upon
the people as we'll as upon the Presi-
dents. President Hayes said that
| Napoleon in the White House in time
of war could do almost as he pleased.
! Possibly he could. but it is doubtful.
| Anyhow, the popular instinct has seen
TO 1t that no man of that stamp has
approached the White House.
The Presidents themselves form per
/ haps a matchless line. At least it
seems TO Americans that no list OF
/ premiers, no other political succession
since 1879 quite measures up TO the
! Presidential average. in ability and
character. Certainly no dynasty could
afford to invite comparison. Neither
the Hapsburgs nor the Hohenzollerns
produced, in half thousand years.
two Princes who are equals in fame
of Washington and Lincoln
/ Kings are only accidents If they
rule by right divine, democracy can
not be led far save by the divine right
| eousness of character.