Show PRESIDENT FOR A DAY the assistant secretary of ake united states senate declares that no matter who mity may be elected president preside ht next fall the chief executive of the nation from noon on march 4 till march 5 next year is likely to be robert lansing provided he remains it at the head of the cabinet th this is is based on the assumption that the president elect does not privately take his oath of office the fourth day of next manh happens to come on sunday according to precedent in such cases the newly elected ed president is n not inaugurated till about noon of the succeeding day this leaves a lapse between the expiration of one presidential term and the beginning of the next mr lansing would be the only secretary of state to attain this distinction it will not however be the first time that a man elected neither as president nor as vice president has stepped in to the presidency for a day march 4 1849 fell on sunday at that time the official next in ord arder er for the presidency after the vice president w was as the president pro tern tem of the senate according to law of succession enacted in 1792 but later repealed david 1 atchison senator from missouri happened to be president pro tern tem and he became chief e executive acu ecu of the united states for twenty four hours senator atchison was there after fond of urging argin g joco jocosely isely hi his s claim of being the twelfth pres president i of the united states he claimed to be the only president froma state west of the mississippi the one whose term of office was shortest and the only one who never signed an official document as such in 1821 and again in 1877 inauguration n augu ration day fell on sunday but in each case the president elect took a private oath of office obviating the necessity of an others serving as 49 president for a day the plan might of course be repeated in 1917 cleveland plain dealer |