Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-11-09

and accuse Providence of having q hand in
it. If the aforesaid fathers were any wiser
than people are now, the breed is running
out, which we do not believe. If any body
believes that he has degenerated, he is en-
titled to his opinion; only he should stop
propagatiug abreed that is running out. And
if Providence had hand in it, the work
would have been better done. That is ortho-
dox enough for the most rigid.
The Constitution was a failure from the
start in the most prominent item, the cleo
ton Of President; the feature on which
double portion of the aforesaid wisdom was
expended. 1t soon required amendment,
but now it is nothing but a trap. Nothing
so Utopian was ever imagined by the most
fancy French Republican dreamer. Think of
parcel of wise fathers putting their wise
heads together and contriving a plan by
which the people were to select few Of the
wisest men among them, to meet together
and after wise and mature deliheration,
choose the wisest man in the nation to be
President.
Thus the wisdom of the whole people was
be boiled down into few electors, and
their wisdom was to be concentrated in the
choice of a President. In this way the result
was expected to be vastly wiser than if the
people voted directly for President.
Originally, person having majority of
the electoral votes was to be President, and
the one having the next highest number was
to be Vice-President. This wise provision
elected Vice-President against majority
of the votes; certainly a novelty in a pop
ular Government. 1t supposed also, that
because man was a candidate for President,
he would be glad to get the Vice Presidency.
There should have been an additional pro-
viso; that If he got neither the Presidency
nor the Presidency, he should have a
clerkship in one of the Departments, or one
Of the Presidents old coats. This was
amended when it was found to work badly,
and electors were allowed to vote directly
for Vice-President, sacrificing a small part of
the wisdom, which the continuance was to
secure, to directness.
The way the thing works now, every body
knows. A President may have a majority
of the electoral votes, and a minority of the
people. Even when but two candidates are
voted for, the President may be elected
against large majority Of the popular vote.
This is pleasing feature for popular Gov
ernment. In fact the wisdom of the fathers
seemed to consist chiefly in traps to circum-
vent the popular will. In the recent cleo
tion the fate of the nation was said to depend
on New York. That is q beautiful Govern
ment, which hangs by the election of a sin
gle State. New York decided the election
of President. If the division of parties had
been as close in New York as it often is in
most of the States, one or two thousand
votes thrown in there from other States
would have decided the fate sf the nation.
And this could easily be done . these voters
were of no value in the other States If the
election had been close in New York, does
any one suppose that this trap would not
have been sprung effectually?
A variety of circumstances can naturally
occur in which an election would be as
much fraud upon the. people as if it had
been done by the little joker; and the only
providential thing in the matter is our es-
cape from the dangers of the Presidential
contrivance. Another specimen of the wis
dom Of the conscript fathers, was their al
lowing the concentrated wisdom of the
electors to vote but once, and then throw
ing the election into the House. An office,
having 60 900 offices in its gift, many of them
being worth fortunes to the incumbents, and
carrying with them high position at home
and abroad, may hang by single vote in
the House of Representatives. And this
contrivance was made by men who quoted
Roman history, and who had read how
Roman Emperors bought their election with
the spoils of the Empire. Yet they had to
deal with many thousand men, while cad
didate for President, with all the patronage
of this Government in his gift may only
have to approach dozen, or even a single
one; and if a minority candidate, he will
only have to pay higher for his election.
The only election that has been made in
the House convulsed the Government. But
then the patronage of the President was not
a 1.-THE of what it is now, and the nation was
much more homogeneous in feeling than
now. Yet the Government was in real
danger, and people talked of arming and
marching to Washington. The election by
the electors is full of possible danger; but
a failure on their part, throwing the election
into the House, would be crisis which
would peril the very existence of the nation.
There is no sense in talking about the super
human wisdom of the fathers, when their
work was so ridiculous. Furthermore, the
setting up Of their dOings and sayings as the
standard 10 which al wisdom and states
manship, and governmental science must be
adjusted, is positively dangerous. 1t entails
perpetual danger on us, and calls it wis
dom almost divine. 1t puts on us the
breeehes of boy as the standard of man
hood, and restrains our growth to them.
As it seems to be the province of the Press
to punctuTe venerable humbugs, we wish it
understood that the wisdom of the fathers
of the Constitution don't pass in this con-
eern, only as proven by their works. We
would just as soon set up a calf, and call it
God, as the Hebrews did, as to set up
foolish work of .he fathers and call it wis
dom, and the hand of Providence, and all
that sort of thing. The mode of eleCting
President should be changed now, while the
country is enjoying unusual quiet and har-
mony, without waiting for a revolution TO
bring II about The President should he