Evening star., 1923-08-26
LONGER PRESIDENTIAL
TERM CURB TO BURDEN
lndecision in Early Days of U. S. to Make
Tenure Seven Years With Ineligibility
to Reelection Is Recalled.

be to make the budget director the
head of a bureau Of which the chair
man of the House appropriations COM
mittee and the chairman of the SEN
ate appropriations committee would
be members, to administer this
system.
Steps must be taken to lessen the
burdens of detail now carried by the
President. This can be partially
remedied by the President himself
without further legislation. 1t has
not been done in the past because an
executive responsible for his office
wishes to exercise the power that
goes with the responsibility. He is
reluctant to delegate to others even
the details in which official influence
resides 1t serves as the connecting
link between leaders of the party in
power and the President The sltua-
tion is greatly aggravated by the
eligibility to reelection.
Not infrequently much OF the
energy of the head of the admins
tration during the first term is eX-
pended in getting ready for re-elec-
ton This is not necessarily the wish
or judgment of the President. 1t is
not his choice. but the case is made
out for him by the eXigencies of the
office and party responsibility. In the
case Of our lamented Harding. who
never was enamored with the PreSi-
dency, who had many times expressed
his preference to remain in the Sen
ate, where he was happy and satisfied
4
to reelection that portion of the
press persisted that he would not
stand for renomination-much of his
time had to be given over to leaders
and issues. national and state. looking
to party success. This involved the
President, whether he willed it or not.
His own wishes were not and could
not be considered. To deny him a
denomination. or for him to decline il,
in either case would be tantamount
in the public mind to confession Of
failure, and would render valueless
the party nomination to any one else.
Prevents Sound Judgment.
This situation has the tendency.
Senator Fess argues, to prevent the
exercise of sound and indepedent
judgment in the face of great clamor
and enthusiastic advocacy of meas
ures. In the case of Harding's bonus
veto tremendous pressure was CEN
tered upon him to take that stand.
It was placed by leaders on party
necessity. A less courageous man
would not have taken his position. 1t
was urged that he should not act as
a man of independent judgment, but
rather as a leader acting in party in
terest. Herein lies the weakness and
liability of reelection, Senator Fess
feels.
Ineligibility would remove the
grounds which today make the Presi-
dent too much the head of the party
rather than the head Of the govern
ment. no matter how much he might
detest the discrimination. The six or
seven years term is long enough to
develop a real policy. advocates of
this reform contend. and would en-
able an administration to accomplish
better results than two terms Of four
years each, because Of the over EN-
phasis of party success rather than
of the general good. This applies to
too much legislation fully as much as
to the character Of legislation.
The objection to ineligibility pre-
viously enumerated will not hold. No
man who reaches the high office Of
President needs the spur Of re-elec-
ton to insure good behavior or to
guard against usurpation and sordid
views. Neither would a longer term
deprive the country Of experience. but
rather insure It.
It has been demonstrated that no
man has been so indispensable that
when he left office the country did
not continue. and without much of
q lar to it's machinery" Our strength
is in our system of government. our
institutions, our popular loyalty.
rather than in the type Of leadership.
When q, change in the latter takes
place, the government goes on. ="
The longer term would not defeat
but insure greater stability Of admin
istration. If for no other reason than
the necessary relief and protection
of our President, the burdens of whose
office could not have been foreseen
when the constitution was adopted.
the longer term without reelection
must be provided by an amendment
to the e~constitution. Senator Fess says
THE untimely death of President
Harding, who died as much a martyr
to his country as any man who fell
in battle, accentuates the Importance
Of the change"