Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-04-22
Fiue Minutes A Day
With Our Presidents
~ second Hand President
BY JAMES MORGAN.


Willard Fillmore. the second Vice
President to be promoted by death,
was the most commonplace President
even in a t~wenty-year period when the
Presidency remained at low-water
mark. Tall and with magisterial
front. but cold and hollow, he looked
the part which he played the dunn
my of Northern trimmers in politics
OF Southern traffickers in slaves.
A fable of the day hit off h truth.
The new President must have a car
iriage and "Old Edward" Moran, a
White House attendant in many Ad-
m-inistrations, took him to see a hand
some outfih whose owner was leaving
Washington and would sell 1t at q
bargain.
''This is all very well, Edward"
Fillmore unused, according to the popu-
lar yarn; but how would 1t do for
the President of the United States to
ride around in a secondhand car
.riage?'
but, sure" argued "Old Edward"
Ixcellency Is only a sicind-hand
Prisident."
Fillmore was from New York. which
Is the unwilling mother of Vice-Presi-
dents, with no less than ten to her
credit. Instead of big States bullying
little States, as the fathers feared,
our biggest State has been mostly dis
appointed III It's dlllbllAOiAo v NaS
Presidency, and it is the custom to
give 1t the Vice-Presidency, as a con-
ISOLATION purse. OF the four New York
Presidents, three had to take the sec
ond place before they could get the
first, Cleveland was the only one or
them to enter the White House by the
front door.
In Fillmore we have another from
tier President. For Western New York
-o n -, oHNn,tf xphan ha uroG hnTn there
of New England parents. After re-
.ceiving about the same kind of school
ing as our other ~log-cabin Presidents
he was bound out to learn the trade
of wool carder.
While serving that apprenticeship
there happened the most important
event in his life until he suddenly
found himself In the-Nhite House. AS
with the race of boys in general, he
fell in love, at nineteen, with a girl
older than himself. Abigail Powers
was the village schoolma'am. and in
his boyish admiration of her super
|iority be was spurred to read and 10
repair the defects of his education.
THE aspiring apprentice excited the IN
|terest of the village lawyer, VINO heip-
ed him to become a lawyer, INC ms
marriage with the scnoolma am 1ol-
flowed. ,.s-
That is the one man in the Ire
of the thirteenth President. The rest
is only a string of dates and a list Oh
Offices: member of the LEGISLATURE,
member of Congress; defeated Tor
lGovernor; elected State Controler. On
1.-The strength of having carried New
York for that modest office, the wings
nominated him the next year for vice
president. and fate made him Presi-
dent. 80,
The one enduring act of the Fiji
more Administration was taken when
lit sent Commodore Perry to knock al
THE long-closed gate of Japan, and
with the gift of a toy railroad ana
TOY telegraph. to tempt the japanese
Ito come out of their hermit secluslon
THE rest is politics, and that is a chap
ter in itself.
As American men struggled to rise
from the bottom in the more primitive
!days of the country their women offer
failed to keep up with. them. by the
time half of Filmore's predecessor
lgained the Presidency their wives wers
either dead. worn out or tagging te'
hind.
Mrs. Fillmore, finding herself with
lout strength or ambition to reign witt
lher husband, her place was taken d.
La daughter. This girl of eighteen
miss Mary Abigail, was enough Of
jnew woman to ave insisted on httini
herself by q course In a normal schoo
Ito earn an Independent living. BENZ
jobligated to teach a certain length o
thine after graduating, she went OF
teaching after her father became
IVice-President. She kept at 1t n
her mother summoned her to presto
over the White House. where sh'
promptly induced Congress to install
library. the mansion having been unit
Then a bookless desert.
A month after the end of her nus
bands term Mrs. Fillmore was dead
Next Miss Harry died of cholera. ant
Then. after a tour of Europe, the pa
hetic loneliness of a retired Presiden
Twas relieved by a marriage with
Iwealthy widow.
Fillmore had tried to aver this re
Itirement by an unsuccessful EFFORT I
lbe nominated to succeed himself. fou
wears afterward he attempted TO preal
1.-The retirement and return to IN
PRESIDENCY. Although he had both Tn
lKnownothing and Wing nomination
he ran third in the election. He i've
on in his Buffalo home until the yer
wear when another Buffalonla
Grover Cleveland, started for tn
white House by way of the shrievalt
of Erie County.