| Show editorials E D 1 TORIA torla LS THE springfield Be republican publican thinks three very desirable things should be brought about the direct election of the Preal president dent and vice president by the people the extension of the tho presidential term to six years and the ineligibility of the president to reelection election re the philadelphia press commenting anthe on the above baye sass the republican publican jRe Be gives no new reasons for ita its advocacy of the extension of the tho presidential term arid arld of a constitutional provision making the reelection election re of the president ineligible I 1 as indeed none are needed sooner arlater or later luter these two things must be done and it would be best to act on the old adage and do them now bufil SullI sufficient clent reasons may bave edve been given in the estimation of their advocates for doing those two things but we yet see no overpowering reason in favor of them the pres pros dent of the swiss republic is elected annually and switzer switzerland I 1 and gets siong along comfortably comfor taby tab y under that regulation the extension of the presidential term to bix six years if the provision were to be made during the present session of congress and applicable to the present presidential term would not fail to be considered a boid bold stroke against the present incumbent if made applicable to his second term it would be ba co considered mildered a bold stroke in hib bib favor but the question would certainly be sprung would it be consistent to add the two years to either his first or his second term seeing that he was elected to each with the express un ua ler 5 ier bandin 1 and under the tignal provision of a four yeara yearb term while perceiving no sufficiently weighty reason for changing the quadrennial ren renn nial lai lal term to a one still if it must be done to avoid the eha cha charge i rge of invidious distinction it would be a good thing to make the change applicable to the term succeeding g that for which the present incumbent has just been elected then there would be no good faith falth broken nor either express or implied provision ignored in the matter in regard to the election of the president bythe by the people perhaps there is not a 16 grev gret great deai deal to be said against it there would be the common evils of the popular ballot attending it such as illegal voting and the extensive difficulty in caso case of a contested sted election in this latter case the union might bome bomb time nind find itself in a pickle very similar in character to that in which two or throe throb southern bouthern thern states are at the present time still the plebiscite in the pr presidential evidential election might be practically unobjectionable tio while it would certainly have this thib meri merl it would be bd both ke republican publIcan and democratic and in strict accordance with the fullest principles 01 0 american liberty one of the tha main maln arguments advanced for popular election of the president is that thereby llo lio ilo sueh euch quat idary would exist as the present one in which the electors who were instructed to vote for greeley find fand themselves that of voting either for a dead man or for somebody who may not be acceptable to the members of their party convention by the by now amendments that concerning cernin presidential elee elce election tion matters are on the the tapis could not some be suggested ted in the interests of morality for in instance stancer would it not be a good provision that the party advocates during the election campaign make the grossest misrepresentations utter the vilest calumnies calum nies and tell the biggest lies concerning their opponents be mulched mulcted in eo many votes for every proved mis mig representation misrepresentation ci lumny calumny or ill lit ibby any practicable provision the election campaigns of the country could be purged of those demoralizing characteristics which cause the united 1 states to be a byword among other nations it would be a capital thing and would exalt the union infinitely more than any of the other three or four amendments suggested concern concerning ini ivi the presidential election or term i tue THE dispatches report that I 1 in accord with our suggestion yesterday the judiciary committee have a greed agreed to alport a bill to increase the presidents salary to annap annually v that is to double it t that will he be a very hand haud bome some gome rome increase probably lelent sufficient puff to begin with alth it would be considered thoroughly satis satisfactory factory in their own ease eabe by most salaried persons throughout lut the country but it is to be hoped that this doubling of the presidents bala esia salary ry I 1 if congress passes the bill will not entail the doubling of the salary of evely very other government officer in the union at lda ida least not it at present pre wre fai det let us get the public debt paid first and I 1 he taxes lightened and then see what can bo be done to make every body better off legitimately |
