Evening star., 1938-08-10


seeking a second term and who had
implied publicly that he had the in
dorsement of President Washington.
The member in question was Col. John
Francis Mercer and to him the Presi-
dent wrote under date OF September
Is, 1892:
Il come now to another part of
your letter, and in touching upon it.
do not scruple to declare to you that
I was not little displeased to find
by q letter from Capt. Campbell to
gentleman in this neighborhood, that
my name had been freely used by you
or your friends for electioneering pur-
poses, when I had never associated
your name and the election together,
and when there had been the most
scrupulous and pointed caution OBJ
served on my part not to express a
sentiment respecting the fitness Of any
candidate for representation that
could be construed. by the most violent
torture of the words into an inter-
ference in favor of one or to the preju-
dice of another.
Would Let People Decide.
"Conceiving that the exercise of
any influence, however remote. would
be improper, as the people ought to
be entirely at liberty to choose whom
they pleased to represent them in
Congress; having pursued this line
OF conduct steadily. my surprise and
consequent declaration can be matter
of no wonder when I read the follow
Ing words in the letter above alluded
to:
"I arrived yesterday from Phila-
delphia, since which find Col. Mer-
Ger. has openly declared that Mr..
Richard Sprigg. jr., informed him that
Bushrod Washington told him that
the President in his presence declared
that he hoped Col. Mercer would not
be left out of the next representation
in Congress, and added that he thought
him the best Representative that now
goes or ever did go to that body from
this State
Il instantly declared to the person
who showed me the letter that to
the best of my recollection I never
had exchanged a word to or before
Bushrod Washington on the subject
of your election, much less to have
given such a decided opinion; that
such q measure would have been
incompatible with the rule I have
prescribed to myself, and which
had invariably observed, of not in
terfering directly or indirectly with
the suffrages of the people in the
choice of their Representatives.
added that I wished B. Washington
might be called upon to certify what
or whether any conversation had ever
passed between us on this subject,
as it was my desire that everything
should stand upon its proper founda-
tions. Other sentiments have been
reported as mine that are equally
erroneous"
Col Mercer was q member Of the
Second and Third Congresses and
Governor of Maryland.
Eschewed Weight Of Influence.
President Washington's theory that
the congressional elections should not
be interfered with by the Chief Ex-
ecutive was in line with his philosophy
not only against party factionalism
but also against presidential influ-
ence upon the legislative body itself.
Presumably Col. Mercer had won
the nomination when the letter from
President Washington was written, so
it is not merely voice raised against
the expression by members Of the
party as to their own choice of cam
didates, but the right of the people
to choose as between the party can
didates without having President of
the United States use his office to
influence such an election.
The improperly Of a presidential
Intervention in Congress elections has
again and again been emphasized by
a critical public opinion. When the
late President Wilson sought to de-
feat by public letter the nomination
of Senator Vardaman of Mississippi
the voters resented that step and
elected him anyway. When Mr.. Will
son called for the election of Demo-
cratic Congress in November, 1918,
IN period OF national Crisis the
people refused the request notwith-
standing the fact that Mr.. Wilson
had risen to greater heights of popu-
larity, due to the war enthusiasm,
than had any other President for
many years.
Mr.. Roosevelt already has inter-
vened in primaries in Ohio, Ken
lucky, Oklahoma, California directly
and indirectly in other States. Prob
ably his most direct participation will
be in Maryland, where he is deter
mined to do all in his power to
defeat Senator Tydings because he
steadfastly refused to be a rubber
stamp and believed instead that he
was rejecting the wishes of the people
of the State of Maryland. They alone
can decide the issue.
(Copyright, 1889