Evening star., 1925-03-29

one chance in three of be-
" coming President of the
United States. Out of 80
| Presidents, succeeded to the posi-
| tion through the vice presidency.
And several Vice Presidents. incIud-
ing some that did not move into the
White House, were romantic, pictur-
esque figures. who. like Gen. Dawes,
kept right on being themselves after
entering Office and did and said things
that made Washington sit up and
| take notice.
On at least one historic. previous
| occasion the Senate divided evenly
| on a presidential nomination. but that
day the Vice President was in the
chair and cast the deciding vote. The
occasion was the vote on the nomi
nation of Martin Van Buren to be
Minister to England. Little Van"
and all the Jackson cabinet but Post
master General Barry had resigned
on account of the quarrel over Peggy
O'Neale. the tavern keepers daugh-
ter. whom Jackson had made cab
met lady," and whom Van Buren had
defended. Congress was not in ses
sion, so Old Hickory gave Van Buren
recess appointment to the court
of St James. When Congress met in
December Van Buren was on the job
in London and his nomination was
sent to the Senate again.
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
was Vice President, and he and Jack
son had just parted political COM
pany Each was bitter toward the
other, so Calhoun took hold of the
Van Buren, opposition in the Senate
and worked I'D a majority against
the Red Fox OF Undertook" The
ANTI Jackson people. headed by Cal
houn, had three or four votes to
spare against Van Buren, but by pre-
vious arrangement caused tie vote
in order to give Calhoun the salts
faction Of casting the vote that turn
ed down Jacksons heir to the presi-
dency, to which Calhoun himself as
pired.
We'll, we've killed Van Buren,"
Calhoun remarked after the voting.
He and the other Senators hostile to
Jackson and Van Buren, gloated over
their victory. But they got scant
satisfaction out of Benton of Mis-
souri,, the stanchest Jackson man in
the Senate. who overheard Calhoun's
remark and retorted:
You're mistaken. You've made q
President
Gen. Dawes first day in the Senate,
when he vigorously attacked the
rules of procedure. brought to the
minds of many the time. "a years be-
fore to the minute, when Theodore
Roosevelt was sworn in as Vice Pres
fdent. For some ineXplicable reason
Teddy" wore a flaming red necktie,
which. in itself, was an affront to the
austere, formal Senate Of that day
An extra session had been called, as
customary, to receive the nominations
of the new cabinet, so at IL o'clock
the new Vice President. his necktie
like a headlight, seized the gavel and
banged it down loudly three times on
the desk before him. Half dozen
older Senators jumped as if they had
been shot. In his stacoato voice
Roosevelt said:
THE Senate of the United States
win be in order for the transaction
OF such business as the President
! of the United State-es may direct" !"
The venerable Senator Morgan Of
Alabama, who had a front seat be-
cause he was a little deaf. slowly
rose and addressed the colonel.
''Mr. President" he said. slowly:
1.-THE Senate of the United States will
be in order for the transaction of
such business at it may direct"
Thus T. RS battle with the Senate
started the first minute he was Vice
President-an omen of an eight-year
career full of fireworks.
X X X
CENATOR BENTON turned out to be
~ good prophet. Jackson first
made Van Buren, Vice President in
1882 and then President in 1886. In
the former year the first national
Democratic convention was held.
| king Caucus" composed OF the mem
bers Of Congress. had been nominat-
ing the candidates for President and
Vice President since Washington's
time. Jackson smashed that system
when he defeated the caucus nominee
in 1928, and four years later he caused
a popular convention to meet in Bal
timore to nominate a candidate for
Vice President. The call announced
that it was a convention of Demo-
Gratis favorable to the reelection of
Gen. Jackson"
Prior to the meeting of the conven
tfon Jackson had been nominated by
| number of State Legislatures and
State conventions. The Baltimore
convention did not nominate a candi-
| date for President, but "concurred" In
nominations of Jackson that had been
made by the States. 1t also adopted
the famous "two-thirds" rule, which
has governed Democratic conventions
ever since.
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