Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-12-05
ELECTION or PRESIDENT.

Inc quandafy III WHICH tue 0reciey anV
Brown electors found themselves by thu
death of Mr.. Greeley, with no certain can
didate for President for whom to cast thei
votes, exposes weakness in our manner
of choosing President not before partieu'
larly noticed. The question, "for whom
shall they vote - has been generally DIS
cussed since Mr.. Greeley's death, but no
answer could be given except that there
is nothing in the constitution designating
the person to be voted for in such case,
nothing to prevent the electors voting for
whomsoever they please. 1t has been
suggested that as B. Crate Brown was the
person whom his party selected to succeed
Mr.. Greeley in the event Of the latter's
death while in the Presidential chair had
he been elected, the electoral vote OF the
Greeley party shonld be cast for him for
President. There is reason and fitness in
the suggestion, but only that there is moth
ing in constitution or statute which obliges
them to vote for Brown, or which would
interfere with their casting their votes for
Grant, O'Connor, Hendricks, or any other
man not constitutionally ineligible 20 the
Office of President.
Since the Greeley and Brown electoral
vote is in minority, and could not elect
a President, the defect in our mode OF
electing President and Vice President can
have no serious consequences at this time.
But suppose Mr.. Greeley had been desig-
mated by the people in the election as their
choice for President, and now, at his de-
cease. the Greeley and Brown electors
have the power to appoint, in his stead the
person who shall he President of the
United States, what an opportunity for Sc
rious difficulty and disturbance is opened.
Nor it Is OF no consequence what the
Greeley electors do with their votes; then
it would be matter of the utmost inn
portance and grave responsibility. The
defeated party might claim that as their
candidate was the only other person beside
Greeley for whom the people had voted
for President he should be the choice of
the electors, or the partizans of Hendricks
might claim that he best represented the
popular expression. or those OF Charles
Francis Adams might plausibly urge him
because he stood second in the Cincinnati
convention. and so candidates might null
tiply indefinitely and anarchy be the rs
suit
That such crisis might be safely passed
is not impossible. but it depends upon cir
cumstances. = The fact still stands that
there is grand opportunity for trouble
opened which should not be. If the Presi-
dent dies in Office the succession is secured
by constitutional enactment, so as to avoid
the peril of uncertainty that otherwise
might ensue; but here is a case in which
the dangers that may arise are equally as
great as those which might result from
the death of the President with no provis-
ion made for successor and no preeau-
tions whatever are taken.
Twice in our history the electoral col
lege has failed to elect President. The
first time was in 1901, when Jefferson was
afterwards elected by the House OF Repre-
sentatives; the second in 1920, when John
Quincy Adams was elected by the House
over Andrew Jackson, although the latter
received more votes than the former in the
electoral college. But when such con-
tingency as no choice by the electoral col
lege arises, and the question of the Presi-
dency is to be settled by the House, that
body is limited in its choice OF candidates.
If there be tie between two candidates
voted for in the electoral college the
House must select one of those two candi-
dates: and il there be no tie and yet no
choice. no person havinga majority of the
whole number of electoral. votes, the
House must confne itself in its choice of
a President to the five highest candidates
voted for by the college. But while the
House Of Representatives, which is sup
posed to represent the intelligence and in
terest of all of the people, and to be as
capable of making wise choice of Presi-
dent as any body of equal members that
could be selected, is thus limited in its
choice of candidate, there is absolutely
no constitutional limit whatever to the
electoral college in the choice of Il Presi
dent.
While the expressed will Of the people
in the November vote is sufficient to gov
crn them in all ordinary eases. the death
of candidate, like that of Mr.. Greeley,
leaves them untrammeled without any rule
TO govern them out their own will and
Judgment. 1t is fortunate that this defect
in our electoral system has been disclosed
to us by events that make it plain to the
sight of everybody, and yet is attended by
such conditions that no mischief can en-
sue. II will lead to an examination of the
whole mode Of elec'ing President. and
perhaps TO the abolition of the electoral
college and direct vote of the people
for President and Vice President.