In view, however, of the growth of the country, the vastly increased
complexity of interests involved, the intricacy and the cost of the
election processes to which recourse is necessarily had, I would
substitute for the present brief tenure of the presidential office--a
tenure well enough perhaps in the comparatively simple days which
preceded our Civil War--a tenure sufficiently long to enable the
occupant of the presidential chair to have a policy and to accomplish at
least something towards its adoption. As the case stands to-day, a
President for the first time elected has during his term of four years,
one year, and one year only, in which really to apply himself to the
accomplishment of results. The first year of his term is necessarily
devoted to the work of acquiring a familiarity with the machinery of the
government, and the shaping of a policy. The second year may be devoted
to a more or less strenuous effort at the adoption of the policy thus
formulated. As experience shows, the action of the third and fourth
years is gravely affected--if not altogether perverted from the work in
hand--by what are known as the political exigencies incident to a
succession. Manifestly, this calls for correction. The remedy, however,
to my mind, is obvious and suggests itself. As the presidency is the
one office under our Constitution national in character, and in no way
locally representative, I would extend the term to seven years, and
render the occupant of the office thereafter ineligible for reelection.
Seven years is, I am aware, under our political system, an unusual term;
and here my ears will, I know, be assailed by the great "mandate"
cackle. The count of noses being complete, the mind of the composite
Democrat is held to be made up. It only remains to formulate the
consequent decree; and, with least possible delay, put it in way of
practical enforcement. Again, I, as a publicist, demur. It is the old
issue, that between instant action and action on second thought,
presented once more. Briefly, the experience of sixty years strongly