The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1867-11-29

United States should vote directly for |
President and Nice-President, instead !
OF voting for electors in their several |
States, and this proposition, ut several
times, has been brought forward in
Congress. AT the last session, it was
again introduced by Mr.. Wade, now
President of the Senate, and defended
by him in an argument. Great com
plant is made that the people are not
heard directly in the choice of Presi-
dent that the Electoral Colleges are
useless or insxpedient; that they should
be removed from our system, and each
voter permitted to vote directly for the
President of his choice.
Gentlemen, a system of cumulative
voting by the citizens of Pennsylvania,
which can be provided by an act of
their Legislature, rs l understand the
Constitution, would secure to our citi-
zens, II not the precise objects sought
by the friends of that reform, at least
greater advantages than 1t would con.
fer. The result would be that each OF
the political interests existing in this
State.swould select as many electors rs
they were entitled to by their numbers
and they would be felt proportionably
In the Presidential election. How Is
tnow? Do you not know what is COM
ing on next year in our State? 100000
votes are to be polled for Presidential
electors. Each party has about 100000.
What is going to take place? From
Lake Erie to the Delaware, this State
is to be convulsed a thousand disagree
able circumstances are TO attend the
election mems minds are to be taxed
and worried for months men of prop
erty are to have their attention turned
to the security of their investments.
All the unpleasant and illegitimate in
tiuences which attend elections, and to
which have alluded, will be called in
to existence in that great approaching
struggle; and why? Because which,
ever interest obtains majority in this
State, though | t be majority of but
one vote, secure tweuty-siX electoral
votes for President of the United States:
and the struggle will be for the little
majority which turns the scale. Now,
do we not all see at glance what the
fact is? Each party is entitled to thir-
teen of these electors, or about that
number, because they are composed Of
American ireemen who are entitled TO
an equal voice in our common govern
ment. But both cannot secure electors;
the whole 26 must be given to one side;
and perhaps that result will determine
the government of this country not on
ly for 4years to come, but for four centu
ries. We enter upon the canvass rs Il
game of chances, fearful that the most
adroit and unscrupulous interest of the
two in the State, can command the re-
suit; that there will not be IL fair strug-
gle between the men who are honest
and those who are not. Let us have
honest voting, let each party have the
Presidential electors that its numbers
entitle it to, and let Il EN- be felt upon
the general result; let the people in
each of the othee States vote rs we vote
and let the majority of Americans de-
eide the contest.
Finally, this plan Of Representative
reform Is convenient, III high degree;
it is both practicable and convenient. 1t
requires in this State nothing of legsa-
tion, except simply to permita citizen,
who has. say twenty-four votes for
Members of Congress, and twenty-siX
for Presidential electors, to cast those
votes as freeman, according to his
own choice and pleasure, let him be-
stow them upon any smaller number,
for instance, giving two to each of the
twelve candidates, or four 10 each of six.
Trust the people and their common
sense will regulate their action. You
do not want intricate laws constitutions
tinkered, or ~ great scheme of recon-
struction. laughter. You simply
want to trust the people, and permit
them, when they possess votes, to cast
them as they think best; us their judg-
ment may be directed, by views of pub
lie Interest or public duty. If we should
have that system for eecting members
of Congress and Presidential electors
next fall, we can each go to the polls
and vote for twelve Representatives in
Congress to sit for Pennsylvania, and
thirtaan ..lnntnr., Of Il
Vice President; or, If any one should
think that the political interest with
which he is associated is tourishing and
growing in strength, so that they are
entitled to one additional member, he
can vote for thirteen representatives. If
nc should be mistaken in his calcula-
tions, he would fail rs to one of his votes
numbers would be counted exactly, and
there would be no injustice.
Now, | must point out one additional
special injustice of the ordinary majority
rule at elections, unmitigated by any
such plan as that proposed. Observe
that the party which prevails at the
election does not merely carry the day,
does not merely get its votes counted and
get the result appropriate to the count
ing OF them, but it gets all the power
which belongs to the other side in addi-
tion to its own. Suppose that the two
parties in Pennsylvania are so divided
that one has 5000 votes and the other
3Ol ,000; in choosing electors for Presi-
dent and Vice President the 3Ol 900 who
prevail, who have 900 majority, do
not meiely get their votes counted in
the Presidential election, do not merely
influence the result in selecting our
Chief Magistrate hy their own votes,
but they have in effect counted into
their vote the votes of their opponents,
the other 100000. Your 3O1 900 consti-
tutins the majority in the State, WELD
the political power of the whole 600, 600
--wield not only their own appropriate
power, but power which does not be-
long to them, but belongs to the politi-
cal interest opposed to them.
That is what sharpens this Unjust ce
OF disfranchisement, and that is the rea-
son why, in legislative bodies, little
turning of the scale gives one pal ty or
anothe when in point of fact they are
nearly equal, such mass of preponder-
ating power.
Take the elections which occurred in
1866 in the States North and West, the
states formerly called the free States.
In those elections two million of voters
lin round numbers) voted the Republic
an ticket for members of Congress and
for Governors in the respective States.
The other party, the Democracy, pOlled
in those States at those elections Il little
over 1900, 900 votes. What was the re-
suit? To Congress 100000 voters
chose % representatives only, and the
1000, 600 voters li3. The proportion be-
tween the two great inasses of our elec-
torai population, known by the respes-
tive party Eames, was 20 to lG in votes
actually polled in the States to which |
have referred. Th5 representatives to
Congress selected at those elections from
those States, instead of standing as 20 to
lG, stood li3 to Is. And why . Be
cause under the majority rule at elcc-
tons in those States the majority not
only obtained representation in Congress
for it's own votes, but obtained the
greater part of the representation that
belonged to the other side. Under a