The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-21
A Remedy for Constitutional Defects.

JOuuUbTS vi but 90 w
Wholesale revision OF some Of its vital fsa-
lures, taken in connection with the rare cour-
tesv and inoff-nsive earDestness which cha
raoterize his message to Congress on the sub
jeot, entities his propositions tn a candid aud
respectful consideration. Mr.. Johnson is not
the first President protesting an intense ad-
miratiou for ''the Constitution a. it is"
who has, notwithstanding this admiration,
been anxious to modify 1t in some
essential resp poets. Andrew Jackson before
him was similarly anxious to modify the fun
d mental law on the subject of the election of
our Chief Magistrate, aud on his recommends
tion and arguments MIR. Johnson has largsly
drawn. But President Jacksou's anxiety to
deprive the House of Representatives of the
privilege of deciding Presidential c'ntest
which failed of a settlement at the hands of
the people was the result Of the bitter dis
appointment which he suffered in 1921, when
Henry Clay's paramount Influence in the
House msds John Quincy Adams President,
and is therefore entitled to much less weight
than the arguments of his successor.
Mr.. Johnson fully Iealiz-s ths fact that the
Electoral College is an agency which teuds to
prevent, rather thau to ascertain aud express
the will of majority OF the people. Hitherto
it has worked as we'll as any other system
would have done, for tn the siugle exception
of Jackson's defeat by the House, in 1924,
when he received the largest support both
from the people aud the Electoral College,
every President duly declared elected has had
large plurality OF al the votes cast by the
people, although in the CASES of Polk in lS4l,
Tayl lOr in lS49, Buchanan i'll 1856, and Liu-
coin in 1860, the successful candi iates
did not receive on the popu ar vote clear
majority over all their dlif-reut competitors,
as was shown in the valuable tables which VIZ
recently published. Bat Mr.. Jobnson's pro-
posed amendment fails to strike at the root of
the difficulty. The division of the 5 ,ates iuto
Electoral Districts will not prevent, un ier
certain contingencies the election of a mi
norty President. In cases where there are
three or more candidates in thu field, Mr..
johnson proposes that The one receiving the
greatest number of votes in certain Electoral
District "sball be holden to have received Que
vote" In this way ii would still be possible
for one candidate to carry clear majority
of all the Electoral Districts, and yet to
receive a mere majority OF the entire vote.
When there are but two opposing candidates
it might frequently happeu that Que would
Garry bare majority of the Electoral Dis
tricts by bare majority of the votes cast;
while his opponent might receive au over
Whelmiug vote in the remaining Districts, and
large majority of all the votes cast. Such
q result might ensue if all the Districts We're
equal or nearly equal in point of voting popu-
latioD; much more frequently might 1t happen
under system by which the State OF D7la-
with about six thousand voters in each, while
the average voting population of the twenty
six districts of the Slate of P1nnsy ylvania
would be ever twenty-three thousand.
The true remedy for the evils of the Electo-
raj College system is to do away entirely with
the gross inequality of the States in the choc4
of Chief Magistrate, and to appeal directly to
the people of the Union at large, Tue in.qu Atty
of representation in the Electoral C ,lege, which
Mr.. Jphuson, being an old fashioned States
rights Democrat, proposes to retain, is alto.
gsther piece of Injustice which should have
been swept away by the war for the Union,
along with the other dangerous heresies of the
States rights doctrines. Secession aul re-
Ssllion We're based upon these herssies,
and were essayed in vain eud.a-
vor to uphold them against the spirit
of the age and the genius of our republican
institutions. Whil- We are about the task OF
remOlelling the framework ofour Government,
the ridiculous anomaly OF clothing 5000 voters
n the State of Delaware with u power in the
CHOICE OF our Chief Magistrate equal to thai
exercised by % 0O0 voters in tue contiguous
State of Pennsylvania should no longer bs per.
mitted to remain. II is inherently unjust,
people who should be most eager tO
strip themselves of this unequal share
of power should be the voters OF Delaware
and other States which have a small repre-
placing voter in Delaware on perfect equ al.
ity with voter in P-nnsy lvania, aud then
appealing to the people at large, aud not Ia
those dangerous aud strite-bsg-tting heresies,
the sovereign states, to decide bstweeu the
aspirauts for the highest houOrs of the nation.
our institutions will be rendered truly Demo
cratic, in practice as well as in theory.
Mr.. johnson furthermore deems it in.xps.
dent to lodge in the House of Representative
the settlement of Presidential contest whict