The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1858-12-01

| only chance OF promotion depends on
akillful working of the wires. IF it were
felony by statute to hold or attend Ma
tional Nominating Convention, or any
other contrivance for combining or restrict
ing the Peoples choice of President to
one or two persons, we should have far
better Presidents than we have averaged
for the last half century.
But the Constitution must be altered
if the People are to vote directly for Pres
ident," it is said. That is an entire mis-
take. The Constitution is just right now.
The Electoral machinery, SO far from
being in the way Of is indispensable to,
the free and fair working of the "Popu
lar Sovereignty" principle. Abolish it,
and National Conventions with exclusive
party candidates become Inevitable
With Electors they are utterly superfiu-
Gus.
The true mode of choosinga President
is this: Let the Republican and Demo
cratic voters of each State nominate and
support an Electoral Ticket, pledged TO
cote for that candidate for President and
V5ce- President respectively a0hona the
largest number Of voters for that ticket
throughout the Union shall indicate as
their choice Then let each voter inwhat-
ever State vote the Electoral Ticket Of his
party headed by the names of the candi-
dates of his choice for President and Vice
| President. The Electoral Ticket of the
strongest party in each State will thus be
chosen, and the People will decide, in
choosing it, for whom the Electors Of the
respective parties shall vote. For in
| stance: Let us suppose that the Repub-
licans in 1860 should carry all the Free
States, including Kansas and Minnesota,
except Indiana, Oregon and California,
! they would have majority of the Elec
toral Votes, and would therefore choose
the President. Choose whom! We
answer, Whomsoever the largest number
of the voters for the Republican Electoral
tickets throughout the Union shall have
designated on their Electoral ballots
For instance, we win suppose that
100000 shall have voted for the Re
publican Electors on ballots head
ed, For President, John G. Ere
mont; Vice President William
L. Dayton"
100000 do. do. do. headed, "For Pres
ident, William Fl. Seward; Vice
President, Francis P. Blair, jr. >
and
! 100000 do. do. do. headed, "For
President, Salmon P. Chase; Vice
President, Edward Stanly;" and
100000 do. do. do. headed, "For
President, Charles Sumner; Vice
President, Cassius NJ. Clay"
The result in each State California
probably not excepted) would be known
all over the country within ten to twenty
days after the close Of the polls; and the
Republican Rational Committee would
thereupon announce by telegraph that a
plurality of the Republican voters had in
dicated Fremont and Dayton as their fist
choice: therefore, the entire Republican
Electoral Vote should be cast, as per
agreement, for Fremont and Dayton
| who would thus be chosen.
Here is the entire machinery of Ma
tional Conventions and exclusive party
nominations dispensed with, and the PEG
pie left free to vote each man his first I'M
biased choice; with the assurance that he
would thus in no wise~" throw awav his
VOTE" nor endanger the defeat of his par
ty; but, on the contrary, he could vote
his first choice in full confidence that
1. The strongest party would carry the
election: and 2. The man preferred as
President by the largest number in that
party would be chosen. What could be
fairer than this? What other mode Of
choosing President so thoroughly, radi-
callv republican and Democratic?
Citizens who do not aspire to seats II
National Conventions nor to work the
wires thereof from position in the lob
by! this is your fight. We have shown
YOU how you may demand and secure tc
yourselves the choice of your own Presi-
dent, if you will; if you will not, why
then you must continue to have him viz.
tualIy chosen for you, as now, by two
antagonist National Conventions. You
have but to say the word, and this system
must be adopted; or you may remain
needless and Indifferent, in which case the
old sham will be perpetuated. Choose
for yourselyesi
J As for the fancied practical difficultie:
J in the way of real choice of Presiden
by the People, they all vanish on investi
} CATION. The Republicans and Unior
} Americans of Pennsylvania ran com
mon Electoral Ticket in 1856, and would
probably have carried it had there beer
no American Straight-Out or Boilers
J Every voter put in ballot headed Ere
mont or Fillmore according to his prefer
enee, and With five days after the klec
ton the run of the vote as between Ere
mont and Fillmore was generally known
, Had like union been formed in Nev
JERSEY and Illinois, both those State
; would have been fixed against Buchanan
, The first Election in which the Peopl
, shall claim and exercise the right of ma
king their own candidates for Presiden
and Vice President, viii celebrate the fl
neral of National Conventions.
r MAY we not ask the Political Pres
E of all parties to give this subject . saarci
n ing and unprejudiced consideration, an
y let their readers know what is thought
itf