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Show THE GOVERNMENT The Vice President is a potential President. We usually forget that, when we nominate a man for the office, of-fice, and make our choice with only tufc office of Vice President in view. We should pick the Vice Presidenr, with care, choosing a man fitted toi1 the Presidency. Occasionally as- in the present instance we do select such a man; but it is custormary to throw the nomination to this office as a sop, to a faction of the party which needs to be pacified, or to iome doubtful state to bestow on a "'favorite son," or to a candidate from a section of the country remote re-mote from that of President, or to i man of opposite characteristics, or it has been known to be given to one who makes a liberal contribution to 'he campaign fund. All this is done with no idea of The suitability or ability of the candidate can-didate to serve as President if need be but with an idea of strengthening strengthen-ing and balancing the ticket. Tf the Vice President succeeds to the. Pres;. idency, he comes into an office which the voters did not have in mind when they chose him. Sometimes such a succession has: proved very disappointing. In the case of Tyler and of Johnson, it changed the policies poli-cies of the administration, for the succeeding Vice Presidents did not represent the same principles as the predecessors. This should have been i'oreseen. Sometimes the Vice Presidency has been regarded as a good place to shelve a man who is menacingly powerful and must be recognized. It often operates to relegate him into desuetude. But not always. John Admas complained of the "Insignificance" of the Vice Presidency; Presi-dency; and many a man of action and vigor has refused the office because be-cause it offered such trifling opportunities oppor-tunities for service. A "drug on the market,"- a "fifth wheel," a "white elephant," and "His Superf luenco Excellency," are some of the simi-iieNs simi-iieNs applied to the official whom wo have delegated to "mark time' against a possible time of need. What a pity that we could not give him something real to do! Something Some-thing worthy to utilize the energies and ability of a man big enough to be a potential President. We allot but one duty to the Vice President, and that a figure-"leady figure-"leady duty. It is also outside his legitimate realm, the executive branch of the government, and over in but not of the legislative nra'nch. We make him President of I he Senate, but an official leas powerful pow-erful than tho Speaker of the House. We give him no vote in the decisions decisi-ons of the Senate, except in case of a tie; no voice in its discussions; nor do we permit him to appoint any of its committees. It is true that, being entrusted with no important function, he is free at all times to step into another office if needed there. A bettor excuse ex-cuse for this waste of ability is, perhaps, per-haps, that the President is hold responsible res-ponsible for all the acts of the executive exec-utive in his administration. To place under him an official whom he did not appoint and could not dismiss, would be to hold him responsible for results he had no power tn control. While the President is overburden- j ed, and it would be abiessing if he : could- divide his prerogatives with I another, yet that would be dividing j I the responsibility and counter to the ; trend of the time. : Many statesmen have inveighed! j against the office, calling it "illcon-j "illcon-j ceived," a "misfit," and illogical." j Roosevelt suggested that "the Vice ; j President should represent the policies poli-cies and principles of the platform on which he is elected, should, stand well in the councils of his party, oe trusted by party leaders, and be able ab-le to take up the work of the administration admin-istration where it was left off. One way to assure this would bo to increase in-crease his power. He should be more consulted by the President on every great party question, should sit in the Cabinet, should vote in the Senate Sen-ate and perhaps on occasions have a voice in its debates." i'rtsident Harding invited Vice rresiuent Coolidge to sit at the cabinet: cab-inet: table and hear the uiseusisons anu otter counsel. This has the advantage ad-vantage of familiarizing the Vice Praesident with the personality ot the heads of departments, and with all their problems andi plans and thus he is better able to carry on the work if he has to. The President also is helped by his advice. But admitting the Vice President to cabinet meetings has advantages advanta-ges as well as advantages. If the Vice President should disapprove any undertaking or method, it would be unbecoming of him to oppose op-pose it; and yet he would be helu responsible, by public opinion, if he did not, being fully aware of all pro ceedings. The President has the right to have no one in the cabinet who is antagonistic or not in the most complete harmony with his policies. pol-icies. Since the Vice President sometimes some-times represents a different faction of the party, it might happen that he would be persona not grata in the "Executive Family." The Vice President assumes tnu office of President if (a) the President Presi-dent diies, (b) resigns, (c) is incapacitated, inca-pacitated, (d) is removed from office. of-fice. Six of our thirty Presidents hav died in office. They and their successors suc-cessors are: President Harrison, sac ceeded by Vice President John Tyler; Ty-ler; President Taylor, by Millard Pillmore; President Lincoln by Andrew An-drew Johnson; President Garfield, bv Chester A. Arthur; President Mo- Kinley by Theodore Roosevelt, and President Harding by Calvin Coolidge. Cool-idge. No President has ever resigned, andi none been removed from office. There is no legal way to determine when a Pre-sident is incapacitated. President Garfield was shot July 2 and lived until September 19; but his office secretaries performed his work, and there was no attempt to declare him incapacitated. It is unlikely un-likely that such an attempt would be made, even if a President should become insane so great is the regard re-gard in which the American people hold their President. The Vice President is required to have the same qualifications as the President. He is elected in the same way and at the same time, takes the same oath, serves the same term and cannot be removed except by impeachment. im-peachment. He receives a salary oi $12,000, and is not furnished a residence. resi-dence. A few years ago a citizen of Washington offered the government ;i residence as the official home of the Vice President, but it was nut accepted on account of the cost of upkeep. If the Vice President succeeds to 'he Presidency, he takes the presl- dential oath before some near-by ! civil officer entitled to administer an oath. A public inauguration nt such a time has always seemed unfitting; I and it is the rule that, when the j reins of government fall from the hands of one executive, they shall j be gr.-ispedi instantly by another, thus jour government suffers no break in continuity, i If both President and Vice President Presi-dent should fail, the law provided . that the President protem of the Pen J ate. and after him th" Speaker of the I House should succeed to the Presidency. Presi-dency. But such an arrangement j might change the party in power. ' since Congrefs is noi always of th 'same party as the President. In ISSr, 'the law wr.s changed and the members mem-bers of the cabinet now woul 1 per-frn! per-frn! the duties of President if both die Presidency and Vice Presidency should be vacant. They would succeed suc-ceed this position in th-? following order: Secretary of State. Treasury. War. Attorney General, Postmaster Cener.il, Xavy and Interior. I |
