The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-22
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THR LEADING JOURNALS
UPON CURRENT TOPICs-CoMPmED RvERY
DAY FOR THB EVENING TELEGRAPH.
Tinkering the Constitution.

PRESIDENT Johnson, Wearled OF MS reVereuce
for the Constitution as framed by our fore
fathers, by the failure Of the recent Demo
cratic Convention to nominate the actual
choice of the people" has thrown the weight
OF his vast influence with Congress in favor OF
four new amendments of the Constitution, all
apparently designed for the better protection
Of ce-seekers. A mere amendment like the
18th, which secures only the liberty of four
millions of people, whose race were slaves
when the Constitution was adopted, and the
peace of forty millions of people who have
been convulsed with civil war to settle the
condition Of this race, seems to President
johnson to display dangerous irreverence
for the infalhble perfection Of our charter OF
liberties. But the failure Of the Democratic
Convention to nominate him, and the fact that
he is practically deprived of the privilege OF
running as a candidate, while his ardent ad-
rnrers the people are 'by the manipulatlons
of the Convention" debaTred from voting for
the man of their choice, convince him that the
Constitution is imperfect in respect to the
mode of electing President.
The end of his term of ofice-now, alas! ap-
preaching all too speedily for the welfare of
the country-admonshes him that the Presi-
dents term of office ought to be six years in
stead of four. The patriotic heart of the
President is grieved within him at the thought
of the disasters which may overtake the coun-
try for want of two years more OF his invalu-
able Chief Magistracy. This suggests his
second amendment making the Presidential
term six years.
His narrow escape from conviction and re-
moval on his Impeachment trial, and the
happy thought how impossible and needless
would be all efforts to remove any President
if he were to be succeeded by those very mem
bers Of the Cabinet appointed by himself who
advised the acts for which he was impeached,
have suggested the third amendment. 1t pur-
poses to prevent all future impeachments of a
President, by providing that, in the event of
his removal, he will be succeeded by the mem
bers of his Cabinet beginning with the Secre-
tary Of State and ending with the Attorney
General. The President omits to state whether
members of the Cabinet pro tenn. would be in-
cluded in the order OF succession; but as such
measure would aid the President in desig-
mating his successor it would doubtless add so
much to the value of impeachment, as pO-
ltical remedy for mjsrule, that the President
would be pleased to have Congress include all
Cabinet officers pro tenn.
AS Mr.. Johnson finds, on preliminary can
vass of the Legislature of Tennessee that that
body is indispOsed to elect him to the Senate
of the United States, he is SO deeply sensible
OF the mischief wrought by this inadvertence,
not to say criminal oversight, on the part of
the trainers of the Constitution, that he recon-
mends that the Senators, like the President,
shall be chosen by the people His last
amendment provides that the judges of the
Supreme Court shall hold for twelve years
instead of for life.
The most important of these purports to
provide for the election of a President directly
by the people, and aims to abolish nOmiua-
tiOns by party conventions. But we doubt if
the means proposed would tend in the slightest
degree to accomplish the end sought. Party
nominations originate in the determination of
each party and of all voters not TO throw away
their votes by scattering them on twenty can
didates, but to make them tell on the result
by concentrating all that are of one political
faith on the one candidate who best represents
that faith, and will poll most votes in favor Of
it at the polls. IL is based on the truth that
all important political questions may be best
decided by the people on a square issue-to
which there can be only two parties Shall we
extend slavery shall We subdue he Rebellioni ?
shall we abolish slaveryY shall we grant uni
versal suffrage These are the great square
issues on which the people want to vote, and
on which they can vote In two parties, one
party voting substantially no and the other
yes. The great mass of voters care more for
the success of their party on these great issues
than what individual may be selected to repre-
sent them. So long as these motives prepon-
derate there will be the same temptation to
concentrate votes on one candidate, the same
increased chance of electing the nominee Of
q national convention over any and all indie
pendent candidates, and therefore the same
certainty that two or three national cOnVen-
and that the whole people will vote for them
after Mr.. JOhnson's amendment had been
adopted as before. lie proposes that, instead
of the people of each State en- maSSe voting for
electors on general ticket, the State shall be
divided into rs many districts as it is entitled
to electoral votes, and that the people of each
district shall choose not one eleCtor, but one
VOte-i. e., for whatsoever candidate for Pre-
sident or Vice-President the highest number
of popular votes in district shall be given
one electoral vote shall be counted on behal
of that district for President or Vice. Presi
dent. The President would still be elected
not by the votes of the people directly mol
yet by the solid votes of States as now, bu
by the votes of districts, of which eacl
State would have as many as it now has o
electoral votes. This would divide the votes
of States, so that one district comprising
certain counties in a State, might vote for tn,
Republican candidate, and other counties IL
the same State for the Democratic. But i
would not be a direct vote by the people-fo
in a direct popular vote every mans vote mus
be counted TO determine the final result; bu
in Mr. JOhnsOn's plan only the votes of electo
raj districts are counted, and those who vote
with the minority in any district are no
Gounted at all. II would be possible there
fore, that the majority of popular votes NIGH
be for one candidate, and the ma ajority OF dis
tricts, not only in each State but in all th
States, might be for another candidate. Thi
might defeat the popular win as manifest
and as often as the present system. FO
instance, the State of New York is now bal
anced very evenly between the two parties