The Coolidge examiner., 1935-11-15

important h1gh-ranking official in our
national government; Hendricks was probably
an abler man than the majority of his prede-
cessors had been, yet the: same obscurity, which
had engulfed the others when they were elected,
had been his lot when he went to Washington
as vice president with Grover Cleveland He
had been in public life for 40 years., beginning
with his election to the Indiana legislature in
1S45. In 1850 and again two years later he was
elected to congress. Defeated for the governor
ship of Indiana in 1860, he was elected to the
United States senate in 1868 and served there
until 1862 In the Democratic convention of 1868
he ran second to General Hancock in the ballot
ing for President but both lost out to Horatio
Seymour. Again a candidate for governor of
Indiana in the same year, Hendricks was de-
feated, but in 1872 he staged comeback and
was elected. In the 1876 Democratic convention
he was again strong contender for the Presi-
dency but when Samuel J. Tilden was nominated
instead, Hendricks received 73O out of the 73S
votes cast for vice president The Democrats
were defeated that year, but eight years later
they won and Hendricks became vice president.
He died eight months after Inauguration, but
his death while occupying that office was not
unique, for four previous vice presidents had
died before finishing out their terms. Why, then,
was his passing a significant event? The answer
to that question lies in the result of his death
and an event which followed soon afterwards
The Constitution of the United States provides
that lin case of the removal of the President
from office or of his death. resignation or in
ability to discharge the powers and duties of
the said office, the same shall devove on the
vice president; and the congress may, by law,
provide for the case of removal, death, resigna-
ton inability both of the President and vice
president, declaring what officer shall then act
as President land such officer shall act accord
ingy until the disability be removed a Presi-
dent shall be elected" Up to the time of Hen
bricks DEATH however, the congress had not seen
fit to pass law providing for the case of re-
movai, DEATH resignation or inability both of
the President and vice president and this de,
spite the fact that four vice presidents had al
ready died while in office and one had resigned.
If ar any of these times when the office of
vice president vacant, the President then
in the White House had died, resigned or been
unable to discharge the duties or powers of his
Office the nation would have been without a Chief
Executive. Of course, the congress could have
passed a law providing for his successor-pro-
vided it was in session. But what If 1t had ad-
journed? Since the President alone has the
power ION extraordinary occasions to convene
both houses either house." who could have
called the congress together to choose the new
Chief Executive?
Although the need for providing for such con-
nothing done about it until Vice President
Hendricks died in 1885. Then the congress acted
to avert the potential dangers which might re-
suit from the loss of both the President and vice
president. On January ~. 1886, it passed a
law providing for Presidential succession in
case the vice president could not serve. Under
it's terms the secretary of state would become
President. In he too, would be unable to
serve, the next in line would be the secretary of
the treasury and so on down the cabinet-Secre
tary of war, attorney general postmaster general,
secretary of the navy, secretary of the interior,
secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce
and secretary of labor.
Under the provisions of the Twentieth amend
ment to the Constitution (the lame duck amend
ment," adopted February 6, 1889, still further
safeguards in the matter of Presidential success
sion added to the law of the land In
the Presidentelect should die within the time
OF his election and his inauguration the vice
president-elect would become President
Considering the Importance of the office which
the vice president may be called upon to fill. it
is a curious anomaly of our government that his
position is so lightly regarded and that so little
care is usually taken in filling that position with
an outstanding man. In the early days of the
republic, when the two men receiving the high
est electoral vote were chosen President and vice
president, respectively, there was little room for
complaint about the caber of the men who
served as vice president 1t taken as a
matter of course that the vice president would
become the new President when the Chief Execu,
tive under whom he served had filled his allotted
time in the White House. Thus Vice President
JOnn Adams succeeded President George Wash.