Garfield County News | 1939-03-02 | Page 6 | Two Americans Have Been Called "President-for-a-Day" but Their Right to That Honor is Doubtful

two tw 0 r americans am A mexicans have been called president for a day but their krisht t to that honor Is doubtful by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 0 Wea wes terri newspaper New paper union years ago this NINETY month the united states had a president for one day that is it had if you believe the inscription on a S statue which stands in plattsburg Platts burg mo ilis his name was david rice atchison and the statue was erected in 1928 1923 because many Missour missourians ians believed that ho he was entitled to the distinction of being listed among the chief executives of the nation even though that claim to fame is based up on a technicality hero flere is how it came about technically president james K folks term of office expired on march 3 and a cording according c to custom his successor gen zachary bochary taylor should have been inaugurated on march 4 but march 4 camo came on a sunday and because of this fact taylor did not take the oath of office until monday march 5 according to tile the familiar story based upon a contemporary statement in the congressional globe on march 3 george M dallas dalla s vice president u under polk announced in the senate over which ho he was presiding the close of my official term being near at hand I 1 conform to on an established and convenient practice by withdrawing from the deliberations of this body thereupon senator thomas hart denton benton of missouri moved that erol kl V THOMAS W FERRY his colleague senator david R atchison Atch lson be appointed president president deni of the senate pro tern tem since tile the terms of president polk and vice president dallas expired on march 3 and the term of president elect taylor did not begin until march 5 when he was inaugurated it has been contended that atchison Atch lson was legally president for that one day sunday march 4 1849 even though lie ho was not sworn in this claim was based upon the presidential succession e assion act passed in 1792 which provided that in case of the death removal resignation or inability of both the president and the vice president the dent of the senate should act as president until the disaba disability ity b be removed or a president shall be elected an early edition of the biographical congressional directory 1774 1911 backed up this claim by saying about his election as president of the senate pro tern tem this office made him president of the united states during sunday march 4 1849 as general taylor was not sworn into office until the following day und and the official missouri manual for 1928 declared that he was technically president of the united states until after the formal inauguration of president taylor march 5 not legally president however a later edition of the directory took the distinction away from him by eliminating any reference to his having been president for a day it says that he was ire elected reelected re president pro tempore of the senate march 4 1849 but tills this falling on sunday lie he did not qualify until monday march 5 6 1849 and was therefore not legally president pro tempore on sunday march 4 11 therefore he was not legally president of the united states either most historians support that view of the matter they base their opinion upon the provision in the constitution which requires that the presidents oath of office shall be taken before lie he enter upon uie the execution of his office but not before lie ho shall become president john marshall famous chief justice of tile the supreme court once declared that the terril term of the actual dent will expire and that of the president elect commence at 12 in the night of tile the third of tarch therefore james K polk was president until midnight march 3 1849 and on n I 1 A N DAVID it ATCHISON the stroke of that hour zachary taylor became president even though he did not take the oath of office until two days later Atchi atchisonn sons friends claimed for him not only the honor of having been president for a day but also that he was the only president who hod had never been elected to either cither that office or the vice presidency the only president from a state west of the mississippi river ond and the only president who never signed his name as such tile the claim in regard to the vice presidency is somewhat more valid than that of president for a day it was ba based sed upon these facts when franklin pierce became president in hi 1853 atchison was still a member of tho the senate william R king who was elected vice nice president with pierce died in cuba t efort ef lie he could be sworn into office and act as presiding officer of the senate atchison was chosen president pro temporo temp tem pare which made him presiding officer of that body and as such was acting vice president pres As for the statement that he was the only president from a state west of the mississippi that of course was no longer valid when herbert hoover was elected in 1928 As a matter of fact atchison had a career distinguished enough to guarantee his being remembered even without the claim that he had been president for a day born at frog town fayette county kentucky on august 11 1807 lie he was named for david rice a pioneer presbyterian by terian terlan minister in that state because his father a man of strict religious convictions hoped the boy would become a clergyman however young atchison chose to become a lawyer and studied for that profession A famous senator admitted to the bar in 1830 he began practicing in liberty county Misso missouri url and at the age of 27 he was elected to the state legislature when he was 33 he was appointed judge of platte county and within the same year he was appointed united states senator for 14 years from 1841 to 1855 he was one of the best known members of the upper house of congress upon his retirement ti from public life he devoted his time to agriculture and died in clinton county missouri january 26 20 1886 despite the fact that the president for a day distinction has been given to atchison and a 57 AK N M ZACHARY TAYLOR monument erected to him mainly because of it he was not the only man for whom that claim could be made in some respects it could more justifiably be or applied to thomas white ferry a united states senator from michigan when a situation similar to that of 1849 arose in 1877 when vice president henry wilson died in november 1875 ferry was chosen president pro tempore of the senate and as such was acting vice president he presided over the hayes til den electoral contest at tho th impeachment peach ment trial of W IV belknap secretary of war and at 16 joint meetings of the two houses of congress in the ab sence bence of president grant lie he further discharged the duties of ills his temporary office by formally opening the centennial exposition at philadelphia on july 4 1070 1876 grants term of office expired spir ed ot at midnight on march 3 1877 normally his successor rutherford B hayes would have been inaugurated at noon on march 4 but again march 4 fell on a sunday so hayes did not take the oath of onico office until monday noon march 5 so by the same process of reasoning which gave atchison the distinction of being president for a day ferry who was acting vice president wa salso a one day president at least one dictionary of american biography makes the assertion that ferry was president of the united states for the time intervening between the end of grants term and hayes inauguration so if you are one of those who believe that david R of missouri was president tor for a day you should accord the same sam honor to thomas white ferry of again it may bo be said that the th man thus honored needs no such sue dubious di distinction to m make a ke hl hit m memorable for ferry like at A chison had a distinguished ca c reer lie he was born in mackinac Mack lna mich june 1 1828 1820 the son of a presbyterian minister who had ha established a mission to the in it 34 1 10 FN 11 1 i A 4 U V A k v if Z 1 U rutherford BD B HAYES deans on the island of Michil lf mackinac mackl nac the father later late moved to grand haven mich where he acquired extensive holdings of timberland and en in the lumber business young ferry grew up undo under frontier conditions in that region regio with little opportunity for cecur ing an education for a time he h was a clerk in a store in elgin ill then returned to grand he ha ven to work for his father and brothers brother in the lumber business showing an aptitude for politics he was elected a member of the board of supervisors and county clerk of ottawa county on the whig ticket when he was only 21 years old two years later he was sent to the state legislature os as a republican and in 1856 to the state senate four years later he was favorite son for the nomination as vice president and running mate with abraham lincoln but lie he lost out to hanni val hamlin of maine when his term in the state senate ended he returned to the lumber business although for eight years he was a member of the republican state central committee A lincoln escort in 1863 ferry was appointed to represent his state on the board of managers of the national soldiers cemetery at gettysburg and the following year he was elected to congress ile he served as a member of the congressional committee which accompanied compa nied the body of the mar tyre d lincoln to springfield ili for burial and in 1866 he was a delegate to the loyalist con convention ven in philadelphia where he further increased his reputation by his able speeches elected to congress three times as a representative he was later advanced to the senate where he served two terms during ferrys ferlys service in the sell senate a te ho he was chosen president pro tempore and after the death of vice president wilson was 64 acting vice president which as previously stated led to th the claim that no ne was president for a day between the administrations of grant and hayes lie he was a candidate for reelection election re to tile the senate in 1882 but his efforts to win a third term resulted not only in his defeat but also in disaster to ills his lumber business which finally was placed in the hands of a trustee after this double disappointment ferry went abroad and spent three years in travel ife he resumed his business operations upon his return but failed to recover his former prosperity he never married and lived with an aunt until his death in cral grand id haven blaven on october 14 1890 even though authorities on constitutional history will not allow david rice ilice atchison Atch lson and thomas white ferry the distinction of icing being presidents for a day they probably will admit that there was another man who has a right to that title IF the claim 1 is s made with certain reservations ills ilia name nam e was samuel johnston johnsto n and he came from north carolinn carolina never heard of hiell him I 1 you exclaim probably not but the fact remains 1 1 that he was 1 I 1 an american I 1 4 k president for ts r just one day july 9 1781 but let it be added immediately dia tely he was president of the we united states state in congress assembled or samuel president of jonnston Jok tile the continental congress under tile the articles of confederation and that is very different from president of the united states of america the articles of confederation were adopted by the continental congress on november 15 1777 they did little more than put into definite written form the principles on which the new nation brought into being by the declaration of independence had theretofore been conducted but at least they wore were a start toward a framework of government two days later these articles were sent to the various states with a plea for their speedy adoption some of the states assented to this readily enough some rati ratified fled the articles with certain reservations while others led by maryland held back until their views in regard to disposing or of western lands should be agreed to finally on march 1 1781 the maryland delegates to congress john hanson and daniel carroll placed their signatures on the document at this time samuel huntington of connecticut was president of the continental congress having been chosen to that office on september 28 1779 there was no new election of a president when the articles were finally ratified on march I 1 and on july 6 president huntington gave notice to his colleagues that the state of his health would no ion longer g permit him to serve in that office declined the lie honor so on july 6 congress chose as his successor samuel johnston of north carolina evidently johnston care for tile the honor for on the following day he offered his resignation offering such reasons as were satisfactory according to the contemporary record and his resignation was accepted thus he become became the president for a day of the continental congress and in accordance with the manner in which such officers signed documents although there is no record that he signed one was president of the united states in congress assembled on july 10 the day johnston resigned thomas mckean of delaware was chosen dent of con gress a n nd d S served until john hanson was elected as 0 his successor on november 5 1781 hanson was elected for a definite term of one year and served from november 5 john hanson 1781 to november 4 1782 because of tills this fact and because it is said that the articles of confederation the first constitution of tl the c united states did not come I 1 into n to effect until his election the claim has been made that john hanson rather than george washington should be regarded as the first president of the states state this theory was pretty effectively demolished during the washington bicentennial celebration in 1032 when the carnegie institution of washington issued an article by dr edmund C burnett of the institutions d division 0 n of historical research which b bore ore the title of who was the F first arst president of the united states after considering all the evidence in regard to hansons dansons Han sons right to be considered the first president doctor burnett says the evidence is conclusive that no president of the continental tin tir congress by whatever name it t may be designated whether the congress as it first called itself or the united stata states s in congress assembled as it came later to be called was ever president of the united states and this is true for this best of reasons anong others because no such office as president of the united states existed until it was created by the federal constitution framed in 1787 and adopted hi 1783 1780 there is tle therefore only one rational conclusion that can bo be reached and that is that george washington was the first president of the united states slates staf 01 r A Brit brushing shing off old scripts courting our neighbors agot Br breaks brealer eales now stars 1 ily virginia cislo june moon rits REMEMBER its going to return to the screen 1 probably ro bably as lover come back to me with N nelson eddy as its star and perhaps w with ith miliza korjus appearing in g opposite him this is j just one of tile the old pictures that will bob up before long in now new versions morocco for instance the first picture that marlene dietrich made in this country with gary cooper as her leading m man sin most of us think that it was also her best one there may be a new show boat 11 in fact most of your old favorites will be back for holly wood Is playing safe and brushing oft off many of tho the scripts that brought v j 5 t 3 rg P 4 qi V 4 7 div I 1 t N oi 01 1 1 21 41 41 W A 4 1 X ki 41 al 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 ato G W I 1 e 1 I 1 I ile K g 4 MILIZA KORJUS the public to the box office once upon a 4 time given different directors stars and a nd sets practically be new pictures when you yon see captain fury with brian aherne victor len and juno june lang you will see special dances that are arc authentic of the hertto period