Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1870-02-18
ch,nses Ia The xaIiaEaI Eleeilons.

the national elections, and propose Iaui0'N
changes that time and experience have SHOWN
to be necessary. The first is bill intro
duced by Senator Drake, of Missouri 10
render national elections uniform.
II nrovides that the Presidential electors
shall be- chosen On the second Tuesday OF
her. and that on the same day preceding tne
beginninp Of a new Congressional term reP,ese
t,fiyes to Congress shall be chosen III a.
St.tas The substitution Of 4 date ihoh'1
o,rlisr than the present for holding fresiuen.si
sle.-iops l. Of no great Importance, bul' On 'Ie
whole We think It would he pfeleraoe'
would give ample time for the SUMMER can ass'
and tb. election day would come AT a more la'Oi-
able season Of the year, 50 Tar as "eA.her i Vou-
cernel The uniformity OF rA'her 'ne s'ii"i'
,.,o-,snoss ~ Congressional elections is good
feature, which ought to have been reAlzed oeioie-
7. Iii nrevent colonization. Besides, as 1t Is
nov several States have formed the habit OF
bol5;,, their elections too late, and they DO not
soon disnosel to cure it OF their own accord.
Tins when an extra session OF a new Congress
SCALED. which is often the case, on the 18th OF
March New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connec-
,i,ut and several Southern States have no delega-
tions present, which embarrasses the speaker IN
f,rninr the committees, depriyes the States IN
question Of all power in the House for the time
being. and exerts a hating influence on business
generally. Il is time this iHcongrulty was done
away with.
The original idea Of leaving these elections
to he regulated by the States at will com
N ended itself to our foreiathers as a conces-
sion to the separate states and safeguard
against Capitalization The republic has now
become So vast that a certain measure of cen
tralization is unavoidable. One Of the I'M
fortunate results of this concession to the
States was that South Carolina did not allow
her reoule to vote at all for Presidential cleo
tors. the Legislature choosing them, as well
as all the State officers nor was this changed
until at the close Of the war the State gov
ernment was wiped oat, and new one m
stituted. Another Of the unhappy results Oh
abandoning the control Of all elections TO the
States was shown in the famous &c broad
seal " controversy in New jersey, in which
an entire State delegation was contested by
duplicate sets, in consequence Of the election
Of members by general ticket. Congress
then required members to be chosen by
separate districts. and fixed one day for hold
iu. tie Presidential election throughout the
country.
That both plans have worked well is be
yoni all question. The holiinsof the Preai-
5srtisl election On the same day all over the
republic has prevented the moving of great
mob orvoter- from State To State to control
tae results. That was specifically what it
was intended to stop, and it did. In our
own times we find the same evil precisely at
fa,tiu, our State elections Pennsylvania
votes month earlier than Maryland. New
Jersey and New \ ork. and the consequence
Is that every October sees a regular lmpor-
t.t.sn ofbogus voters from all those States 70
control results there. The frauds thus per-
retra;cd have grown to such enormous pro
prtion- as to hayo compelled the State to
cas.. severe registry laws. On the other
haul. when tie elections in New jersey and
New ok take place, thousands Of Illegal
voters are sent from Pennsylvania to help the
Democratic cause there. The case Is similar
with Ohio and Indiana, which are colonized
regularly every year with voters from Ken
lucky and Illinois.
I'm fact the whole arrangement Is 50 loose
.a4t some remedy has long been demanded.
IfaI the Congressional elections take place
ar the same day, no doubt the States Will
gradually change their arrangements. So that
al. their State and local officers may be chosen
az the same time. But however thatmay De,
il is manifc-;ly proper that the national cleo
tons should be better regulated, and that we
should relieve them, as far as possible, from
all pernlcious influences.
The other proposition to winch We alluie
takes the form of proposed amendment to
the rational Constitution, thus
Article. The electors Of President and Vice
President shall be chosen as follows
Two electors Of President aud Vice President
shall be chosen at large, from each STATE iy the
qualified voters therein.
A number of electors in each state, equal
TO the whole number o. 49, ~ . i.
, chosen in .1re districts Of contiguous and
compact territory, each containing, as nearly as
possible an eIa. a'lou I M Of choosing
.,rb e,ector, sbau be prescribed in each State
by the Legislature thereof but the congress
may az any uui7 ny Is" 'i''''
Congress shall prescribe the mode Of deter-