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14
The Commoner.
VOLUME 12, NUMBER
Mr. Roosevelt and the Third Term
9
tho namo of tho American people for
"Unsolved, That In the opinion of
thin Iiouho, tho precedent established
by Wellington and other presidents or
tho United Mutes In retiring from tho
presidential ofllco after tlielr second
torm, has become, by tinlverHal consent
a part of our republican system or
government, and that any departure
from thlB time-honored custom would
be unwise, unpatriotic rind fraught
with perils to our freo Institutions."
Tho abovo roBolutlon was adopted
by tlio Iioubo of representatives on
tho 15th day of Docombor, 1875. It
was offered by Mr. Springor, of Illi
nois, aftor consultation with leading
frlonds of tho principle and was car
ried immediately and almost unanl
x mously, being opposed by tho votes
of only 18 monibora out of 251. It
rocoivod tho support and approba
tion of all parties. Men who quar
roled bitterly upon all other politi
cal subjects woro of ono heart and
ono mind when It camo to bo a ques
tion whether tho custom established
by Washington and other presidents
of retiring aftor tholr second torm
ought to bo rospocted, or could bo
safely departed from.
So much is now being hysteri
cally written and spoken about
Roosevelt, and as ho Is unquestion
ably a candidate for a third torm, it
is well to calmly and dispassionately
consldor "tho procodont established
by Washington and other presidents
of tho United States, in retiring from
tho presidential office aftor their
socond torm." I assume that it will
bo universally concoded that the
safety of republican institutions re
quires that there should bo some
limit to tho eligibility of tho chief
magistrate Tho. length of time or
tho number of torms is not of such
paramount importance as that tho
maximum limit, whether fixed by law
or regulated by custom, should be
strictly obsorvod. Tho custom pre
cedent or law fixing this limit, once
brokon is no longer a safeguard. We
aro, then, without restraint upon the
ambitious and unscrupulous, and life
tonuro is not only an easy step, but
lnhoritanco an almost cortain se
quence. All history toadies: "That trans
gression of customary limitations was
uiniuriiiiy louowod by destruction.
Everywhere and always It was a fatal
sympton of decay; tho sure fore
runner of ruin. When Caesar re
fused to lay down his consulship, as
his predecessors had dono, at the
end of a year, and was re-elected timo
after tfme, with tho acquiescence of
tho senato and tho people, all that
was real in Roman, freedom ceased
to exist. Two ronubllpR in T?,.n
wore brought to an end in the same
way. .Napoleon hogan by being con
sul for a torm, then was elected for
lire, and finally bocamo emperor with
the powers of an absolute despot
Tho last Bonaparte was president for
four years, was re-elected for ten
Ing tho imperial crown." That two
terms shall be the maximum limit
of presidential eligibility is as old
as the olllce itself, it is true that
?h?,i, w0tMng.!n tho institution
forbidding more than two torms, but
v, vo torm Precedent set , by
Washington, followed by his succes
sors, consocratod by time, and ap
proved by all of the public men of
tho country had ripened into a rule
as efficient In its operation as if it
bad been a part of the organic law "
i?-n r?.?laild every custom favoring
civil liberty, onco adopted by com
mon consont, becomes binding upon
prince and people. These customs
K?e U5 Q bdy of tho common
law, and the English constitution
itself is but a collection of them.
Washington, elected and re
elected unanimously, when solicited
to become a candidate for tho third
ftem'iTefuBed and retired to private
lire, thuB setting the precedent, and
the congress of 1796 thanking him in
,.n1..4 ....ir on nvomnln R!lid!
nv ttuiuunj till urtu...i'.
"TPnr vniir nnillltrv'R Rake: for thO
fsako of republican liberty; it is our
earnest wish that your example umy
bo tho guide of your successors, and
thus, aftor being tho ornament and
safeguard of the present age, become
tho patrimony of our descendants."
Jefferson, when Solicited to become
a candidato for tho third term, re
fused. In letters addressed to the
legislatures of Vermont, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania, he solemnly and
publicly announced to tho country
that ho would adhere to the prece
dent set by Washington, in retiring
at tho expiration of his second term.
In a letter to the Vermont legislature
undor the date of December 10, 1807,
ho says: "That I should lay down
my charge at a proper period is as
much a duty as to have borne it faith
fully. If some termination to the
sorvico of the chief magistrate be not
fixed by tho constitution, or supplied
by practice, this office nominally for
years, will in fact become for life:
and history shows how easily that
degenerates into an inheritance."
And ho in the same letter further
said: "I should unwillingly be the
person who, disregarding the sound
precedent set by an illustrious pre
decessor, should furnish tho first
example of prolongation beyond the
socond term of office." Similar ex
pressions are found scattered all
through his correspondence, as long
as ho romainod in office (until the
expiration of his second term), and
after he had retired to Monticello
ho continued to repeat his firm con
viction that strict adherence to the
two term precedent was the only safe
principle.
This precedent of retiring from
tho presidential office at the expira
tion of the second terra was adhered
to by Madison, "the father of the con
stitution" and by Monroe, 'the moat
popular of all of our presidents, save
the first. By Gen. Jackson's time the
precedent of retiring at the end of
the socond presidential torm wna n
sidered by him, and by the country
at large, to bo as well established
and as sacred as tho constitution
Itself. Jefferson in his autobiog
raphy says: "Tho example of our
presidents voluntarily retiring at the
uiiu oi tno second term, and tho pro
gress of public opinion that the prin
ciple is salutary have given it In
practice the form of a precedent and
liiBomucn mat should a president
consent to be a candidate for a third
election, I trust that he would be
rejected 'on this demonstration of am
bitious views." How much stronger
is that example now than when
Twr8?ni T0t? iS autol)igraphy.
Then it had only been set and sanc
tioned by four presidents, viz:
Washington, Jefferson, Madison and
inumutJ, UUn OUT Pnvnrnmn ,
M, l.. i . . ,?.'" "'"" W118I
o. kt ?ul tmrtv-8ix years of
ago. Now after more than 122 years
of federal existence we find that the
precedent has been adhered to by all
of our presidents. From Washing
ton to Grant the wisdom and the
necessity of tho two term rule had
never been questioned. In the sum-
1J f 18!5 i1 8ma11 coterI selflS,
and unprincipled politicians began
but Gfn Grant for a third tern.
n?LBJal0U8 was the country then
nf fhi- tt uBUHn oi the violation
"w oauiuu nroPDMnni v.
tion met in 1876, Gen. Grant' namo
was not so much aa mentioned in the
convention for tho nomination of a
third term. Again an abortive effort
was made by designing politicians in
tho republican convention of 1880,
to nominate Gen. Grant for a third
term. The advocates of tho third
terra then insisted that tho prece
dent established by Washington and
other presidents had reference to
more than two consecutive terms,
and that, as Gen. Grant had retired
at the termination of his second term
in compliance with this precedent,
and another term having intervened,
tho precedent had no application. But
tho great mass of the people, as well
as a large majority of the public men
were wedded to the spirit of the two
term rule and imbued with that prin
ciple of public morality which detests
a political sham and a fraud.
Since 1880 no effort has been made
to set aside the precedent estab
lished by Washington and other
presidents, until now when it ia
urged by some that Roosevelt should
have another term because, thev r.iv.
-r w r
ne is a necessity at this particular
time; that no one elsa run norfWf
the reforms that he inaugurated in
his first and second terms, and which
nave Deen abandoned by his succes
sor. There were sycophants and
flatterers who told Washington,
Jefferson, Madison and Monroo the
same thing; but the lofty patriotism
of those great men scouted such sug
gestions. There were adherents of
the two Bonapartes who prepared the
public mind of France for their am
bitious and selfish schemes by just
such talk and such writings as we
are hearing and reading now in this
country in reference to Roosevelt
for a third term. All of the talk of
Roosevelt as a reformer, is the veri
est fraud and sharai Roosevelt has
denounced 'all "malefactors of great
Galth' ' during ' is tw turns'
as president not one step was taken
to regulate or control these heart
!fS?,,andirutal dePredators upon the
public-Roosevelt has always had
the support of the "malefactors of
52 7ealUl" as th0 reswl of cor
rupt deals. The Steel trust, the
?;?UrU8t' and the great ""road
and other great corporations, have
been his ardent supporters, and la?gl
contributors to his campaign cor!
ruption funds. The "malefactors of
great wealth" hnv iJl' T ,8or
their unqualified endorsement to
suggestions of reform. They thoi
oughly understand that his diatribes
are mere bruta fulmina and on
intended to mislead the people. '
We are told by these "W
termers" that President Rooseven
hnVLaly h" ??e termoTthe
to. A"' 'ent McKinW8
the form, and underno circumstances
will I bo a candidato for or accept
another nomination." But why
should any one expect Roosevelt to
be bound by this announcement, or
have any respect for a tradition or
IiAST CHANCE FOR FRlflE LAND.
There will 1)0 Just such a rush for
Mexican land this wlntor, as there was
in Oklahoma when it was opened for
settlement. In Tropical Mexico, the fer
tility of tho soil la inexhaustible. Land
that 'will grow bananas to perfection,
can bo got free, all that Is required la
to have five acres of bananas planted
within five' years. You can get tho
planting done by authorized Improve
ment Companies, on tho Installment
plan, by paying $5 a month at first. You
do not havo to go to Mexico. People
living in the United States and Canada
can get particulars regarding Mexican
Free Land by addressing The Jantha
Plantation Company, Block 913, Pitts
burgh, Pa. Bananas begin bearing in
about ono year. Tho profit is from $200
to $300 per aero. Producing banana
orchards sell for ono thousand dollars
per acre. I write this hoping that
many of your readers may be benefited
as I havo been, for I think it the oppor
tunity of a lifetime, and within tho
reach of all.
NEW RUPTURE CURE
Don't Wear A Truss.
Brooks Appliance Now dis
covery. Wondernil. No obnox
ious sprlnRa or pads. Automattc
Air Cushions. IJind und
draws the broken purl
tocotlior as you would a
brokon limb. No salves. No
lympboL No lies. Durablo,
chem . Sent on trial. Fat Sept.
10,1001.
CATALOGUE FUEL'.
C. E. BROOKS, 173 STATE
STREET, Marshall. Mich,
PATENTS
WatioB E. Coleman,
Patent JLawyor.'WaablnBton,
X i A 4tIsa and Krlra flTH
Hates reasonable. Highest references. Best Bcrvlcea.
FITS
H Amsrlena Inatltuti
GUHbD oiher Tforda you do not
pay our omul professional 100
until nnnul nnriiMttuflgd QarmaR.
o, 002 Crane1 Ave., Kaaaaa City, Ma
1 A V Ifi TV HP Gl SECCKJGD ORFI5IC
M JM. J. Mi JM A KKTUKNI5D.
Freo report ns to 1'atentabllltv Illustrated Quldo
wRSjfAJU11 L,st of Inventions Wanted, sent free.
VICTOll J. EVANS & CO., Washlncton. D. a
Acorns
RF.UEDY sent on FRBB TIUAL. H
Itcures send Jl.00; II not. don't.
, Company , 8 10 Ohio it ., Sid ncy, O,
n man or woman to act aa our In-
fnrnmtlnn rnnnrlni All nr nnnra
timo. No exnerlonea nppossnrv. trj) to 1300 ner
month. NolhltiKto soil. Send stamp 'or particu
lars. SALES A8SOCIATJ ON, 79 AhhocIr
tlonBldc. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.
Wanted
of
. vacuum, mat tno
house of rem-aspnrnH., . :,no
resolution hWing tMs 3S?
gardless of party. "cie. r-
The congress of 1796 which
than ced the father of his couX"
for his salutary example, and the
S of representatives of 1875
which deprecated a departure from
taJt Sa?J?. wero both perfect ml?-
term, etc. This is nn rwniltr
8?h?rhaild ???m as that ud by the
third terms" in 18S0 in their effort?
to secure tho nomination for Sin
Grant for a third term
52-2JS w?sa
dent McKinly, SeX reUS
a8JUbely a?d as absolutely i Mf he
t;dwbeen, cted president in 19 00
fn ln8, eleC,ted for the second term
hte VwrA and another torm would b
his third term, and a violation ntJhl
fnrf ed;t established by Washing
Btitnt "" ll -yeara con
ffnJiiTaaM
I Want Hlfih-olass Salesmen
to net as General Aecntt or tbo
aloof myrLOniDALAND. Noox
petlonconecossnry. Nocapitalro
qnlred. Good men oarn (100 to
fSOOweekl; Sldollneinoneftilly
make t.'iO to $200 weakly. Bend
for "Confidential Circular to
General Agenta,nuwl"8clUng
Manual." Both freo.
E. o. no WE
707 Harlrord Did;., CHICAGO
FAULTY METABOLISM
AS A COMMON CAUSE OF DISEASE,
Is the subject discussed In Bulletin
No, 1 of the Sbafer Pathological
Laboratory. The Bulletin Is "sent
free on request and will prove Intcr
esdnc to everyone in Pain and
Poor Health.
Address: John F. Sbafer, M. D.
2I Ponn Ave., Pittsburg. P.
2iJM?iS25c
-&ssS588SZEBBZ
,CMcaa
avsuKasMiMissyaKB
Subscribers' flawrtlsiiifl Dcpt.
Tills dopartmont is for tho benefit
-tho lowLr303 a or PQr insertion
them Jwirfi?to7rnas boon mado for
Tho Commnnei? ?! communications te
" commoner, Lincoln, Nebraska.
CgPJEPiSUS; mH? 80"i wrlto for '
"Bt- T. A. Baggett. GutKrlo, Okla,
L??P BuyorB, attention. For Bale
county Skli ofP d land lnr L?
and Jart in o'ni&rty ,",ow ocouploS
cashdWfeo
,M
nimy ft i L'juw wttPBU?1 a an w : && mpirr
(
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