The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-23
HARDING Is
IN FAVOR OF
/ 6 YEAR TERM
Would o. z. Amendment
Limiting Presidents
Tenure.
RY DAVID LAWRENCE.

1 couyright, 1922, by The Argus.)
| washington. D. c., March %
/ President Harding is not averse 10
| the enactment of a constitutional
/ amendment limiting the chief ex-
/ tcutiye of the United States to a
| single term of six years.
4 Although Representative Wood
81 Indiana, Republican, who has
inst introduced in congress such a
proposal for an amendment to the
eonstitution was said at the White
4 house today to have refrained from
discussing the suggestion with the
president, it is a fact that Mr..
Harding recently has expressed in
Informal discussion a deep interest
in the question of what should be
the presidential tenure.
Mr.. Harding is not particularly
concerned whether the limitation
affects his own tenure or not. He
I is said to have remarked on one
occasion that it would be a source
| Of much satisfaction to him if the
| question of reelection were dispos-
l ed of definitely during his term OF
| Office. 1t is also true that some of
Mr.. Harding's advisors have dis
agreed with him on the merits OF
8 single presidential term and have
urged that the present unwritten
custom OF the American people is,
after all, the most satisfactory way
Of dealing with presidential sue
cession.
Wouldn't Run Again.
So far as Mr. Harding is con-
cerned, even if constitutional
amendment were passed by two
thirds of both houses of congress
and ratified by three-fourths OF the
states before the elections of 1924
it could not affect the length of his
present term. There would be ne
bar either against MIR. Harding.
reelection for a term of six years
beginning in March, 1925, but thos'
who know Mr.. Harding best sa!
that if a federal amendment pro
Viding for a single six-year tern
we're 10 be ad0ed to the constitu
ton, he would consider himsel
bound by it and would decline t,
be candidate for reelection.
There are diverse views in tn,
administration circle as to the sin
gle term. Attorney General Daugn
erty is said to be one of those who
thinks the present system Is al
right Others, however, believe tina
the desire for reelection gets int(
the minds of American president:
and frequently makes them les'
nncitiEa IN Aan5aiAn NJ
their first term. Some argue, too
that president who takes a firm
attitude frequently is threatenel
with political reprisals if he is I
candidate for reelection, whereas i
there were a single term he woulC
be inclined TO act more independ
emily and fearlessly.
Public in Dark.
Few federal amendments are
adopted unless there is behinC
them active organizations. Th'
merits or demerits of the proposed
scheme have not been placed before
the public very much and no pub
lie organization has been clamor
ing in presidential tenure.
The last formal action taken by {
national body was that which th'
national convention of the Demo
cratic party took at Baltimore il
1917. more or less at the behes
OF William Jennings Bryan. Wood
row Wilson never felt himsel
bound by that plank, but his view
point was that it was none of hi'
business but the affairs of the Dem
ocratic party and if the party de
aded to change its mind at a flu
ture convention it could so. His
tory showed that the Democrat!