The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1920-02-26
HAD QUIET YEARS
Chief Executives Who Lived Long
After Retirement.
OF Them All, the First John Adams
Holds the Record, Twenty-Five
Years-WiIson the Oldest
Since Buchanan.

President Wilson, who was sixty
three years old December %. is the
Oldest man to occupy the White House
since Buchanan, who entered it at
sixty-six and retired at seventy.
Anyone who runs over the history
of the presidency will be struck by the
rise and fall Of the age at which pres
idents have entered and retired from
office, and the varying length Of time
by which they have outlived retire
ment, remarks the Philadelphia Rec
ord. OF the first eight presidents, all
but two of whom served two terms
EACH six retired when past sixty-five,
one of them, Jackson, within IL days
of his SEVENTEEN birthday. The first
Adams retired at sixty-two, Van Bur-
en- at ffty-nine. OF these eight, four
lived to be past eighty. One passed
seventy-eight and another passed sew
enty-nine. Washington alone of them
failed to reach seventy. The first
Adams Outlived retirement by twenty
FIVE years and JEFFERSON. who died on
1926, the fiftieth anniversary of In
dependence, outlived retirement sew
enteen years. Monroe, who retired
at sixty-seven, died July 4, 1881.
Since Jackson, no president except
Wilson. Buchanan. Taylor and the
first Harrison has sat in the White
House when sixty-one years old. OF
all who have served In that time, ten
retired or died In office before reach
ing fifty-seven, and only two outlived
retirement twenty years. Not one
lived to De eighty, and only five
passed seventy. Polk 0utlived retire
ment less than six months. and died
at fifty-four. younger than any other
ex-president. Few presidents in the
last fifty years have lived to see three
of their successors. and several have
not seen two. though Pierce saw four.
Although the average length of hui
man life In the United States is
greater than It was when the repub-
lie was young, distinguished public
men have hardly shared in the boon
indeed, while never exactly what
everyday folk call soft snap, was
far less exacting office in early
times than 1t is today. The Napoleon
ic war gave Washington, the first
Adams, Jefferson and Madison a good
many trying hours, but they all had
their periods of respite. Washington,
wherever he happened to be as chief
magistrate, managed to escape now
and again to the spacious and dig
nified quiet Of Mount Vernon. John
Adams, the first president to occu-
py the White House at Washington,
the domestic arrangements of which
appeared impossible" to his thrifty
and orderly New England wife, often
returned to the quiet of his home at
Quincy. Jefferson found repose at
Monticello. and Jackson made the
long journey to the Hermitage, where
rest awaited his coming.
All Of the early presidents were
safe from intrusive messages by tel
egraph or telephone, and they re-
ce!yed mail in no masses as now daily
pursue president on vacation. Even
Polk could not have been much dis
turbed by the stammering words OF
Morse's new-fangled messenger, for
It was publicly used for the first time
In reporting to congress the result OF
the Democratic national convention
at Baltimore In 1874,