208 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



whether they will or will not have a constitu- 

 tional amendment. 



"Again, sir, I do not think that this looks 

 to the corruption of the Executive. I think it 

 looks rather, it strikes my mind, to the effect 

 upon Congress as regards its political action. 

 The first Congress comes in with the President 

 under our present system, and the second Con- 

 gress goes out with the President. Now, it 

 has heen said I do not mean to repeat the 

 saying offensively, but simply to give it as an 

 illustration it has heen said that the first 

 Congress is engaged in getting offices under 

 the new President, and the second is always 

 engaged in seeing how to make a new Presi- 

 dent, so as to get the offices. It would be 

 well to have one session of Congress inter- 

 vening to do business without having such 

 a temptation before them. That is one of the 

 arguments before the country on this subject ; 

 that is one of the arguments produced before 

 us on the question of six years. 



" Then, again, it is said that why we have 

 been so unsuccessful in Vice-Presidents when 

 they come to be Presidents I suppose there 

 will be a general agreement with me in the 

 House on this subject is that they have always 

 looked to reelection ; and, as men are very 

 much alike all over the world, that it would 

 be best to have the temptation of reelection 

 taken away from the Yice-President as well 

 as from the President." 



Mr. Ellis H. Roberts, of New York: "Mr. 

 Speaker, this is not a question of trust in the 

 people, as of course it in no way relates to our 

 present Executive. It is a question whether 

 or not a great principle had better be settled 

 in time of calm ; whether or not a great prin- 

 ciple had better be laid down independently 

 of personal considerations. 



" And it does seem to me that it is well for 

 the American Congress to consider whether 

 the Republic can afford to elect its Chief 

 Magistrate twice, thrice, continuously as has 

 been suggested by the gentleman from Mas- 

 sachusetts (Mr. E. R. Hoar). As I read his- 

 tory, republics are overthrown by the plea 

 of necessity and in times of great excitement. 

 And I desire that in cold blood the American 

 people shall have the opportunity to say wheth- 

 er or not they are willing in any emergency to 

 reelect a President for the third time. As I 

 read history, dangers to republics come not, as 

 the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Butler) 

 suggests, from below, but always from above. 

 Always the pretense is that the country needs 

 a strong man, always the pretense is that there 

 is disturbance somewhere, that there is need 

 of an army and a military chieftain. Dictators 

 come through the plea of necessity. Tell me 

 one republic that has ever been overthrown in 

 any way other than that. Now, I want the 

 American people to have at least the opportu- 

 nity to see how they read history, and whether 

 they do not believe that in that way lies mur- 

 der to the republic." 



Mr. Ward, of Illinois, said : " I cannot un- 

 derstand the arguments made by some gentle- 

 men Qn this side of the House in favor of this 

 joint resolution, nor can I quite understand 

 some of the objections made against it. Mem- 

 bers talk as though, if this amendment was 

 not adopted, some great outrage would be 

 committed in the future ; as though the peo- 

 ple were not as capable as members here to 

 determine in the future who shall be Presi- 

 dent ; as though we could determine to-day 

 who shall or shall not be eligible to that office 

 better than those who may come after us. 



"In my examination of this subject, and 

 with the thought I have been able to bestow 

 upon it, I can find no reason sufficient to jus- 

 tify me in saying that the American people 

 shall set up a statute so high that it cannot be 

 readily reached ; that we shall say to the peo- 

 ple in the future, 'You shall elect only this 

 or that man,' as if we dreaded lest some man 

 should be elected whom we might not be will- 

 ing to have elected. Members have addressed 

 themselves to the subject here on the idea 

 that there is a call for this proposition from 

 the people. Now that I deny. I have heard 

 no clamor for it; there is none that has 

 reached my ears to justify the assertion here, 

 at least, that it is a thing demanded by the 

 American people. 



"As a proposition standing by itself, the 

 portion extending the term of office of Presi- 

 dent to six years might be well. But I am 

 willing for one to trust myself in the vote 

 which I may deposit for the next presidential 

 candidate, and I am willing that those who 

 follow me may trust themselves for all time. 

 This attempt to limit the right of the people 

 in that regard is but an evidence of a lack of 

 confidence which gentlemen have in those who 

 may follow them, and an assertion of their su- 

 perior ability to determine who shall hereafter 

 serve as President in this country." 



The Speaker : " The Constitution requires 

 on this question a two-thirds vote to pass the 

 resolution." 



The question. was taken ; and it was decided 

 in the negative yeas 134, nays 104, not vot- 

 ing 50 ; as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Albert, Albright, Archer, Arthur, 

 Ashe, Atkins, Banning, Beck, Begole, Bell, Bland, 

 Blount, Bowen, Bright, Bromberg, Brown, Buck- 

 ner, Buffinton, Bundy, Caldwell, Cannon, Cessna, 

 Chittenden, John B. Clark, Jr., Clayton, Clymer, 

 Comingo, Cook, Cox, Creamer, Crittenden. Cross- 

 land, Crounse, Darrall, Davis, Dawes, Dunnell, 

 Durham, Eldredge, Field, Finck, Foster, Garfield-, 

 Giddings, Glover, Gooch, Gunckel, Gunter, Ham- 

 ilton 2 Hancock, Henry E. Harris, John T. Harris, 

 Harrison, Hatcher, Havens, Joseph E. Hawley, John 

 W. Hazelton, Hereford, Herndon, Holman, Hoskins, 

 Hunter, Hunton, Kasson, Kellogg, Killinger, Knapp, 

 Lamson, Lawrence, Lawson, Leach, Lowndes, Lut- 

 trell, Magee, McCrary, Merriam, Milliken, Mills, 

 Monroe, Morrison, Neal, Nesmith, Niblack, Miles, 

 O'Brien, Hosea W. Parker, Perry, Phelps, Phillips, 

 Pierce, Poland, Potter, Eandall, Read, Bobbins, El- 

 lis H. Roberts, James W. Eobinson, Boss, Sawyer, 

 Milton Sayler, Schell, John G. Schumaker, Henry 



