Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-01-18

dent, and by the operation OF the 2zd JOINT
rule gives that power to each house separ-
ately, as in the case Of its own members
There is no such express power gwen 10
Congress in the constitution, nor Is 1t neces-
sary to carry out any express power
tbereinsgiyen, and its exercise would pe III
direct conflict With the known purposes OF
of the trainers to make the Executive ana
Legislative Departments as nearly lnoe-
pendent Of each other as possible.
The Theory of the Electoral College
was that body of men should be chosen
for the express purncse OF electiDg tIe
President land Vice President, VINO Woula
be distinguished by their eminent aDlty
and wisdom, who would be independent OF
passion; who would not be influenced Dy
tumult, cabal or intrigtte, and that In the
choice of the President they would CO ieit
perfectly free to exercise their Judgment IN
the selection of the proper person. In
short the idea was that small body OF
select men could be more safely intrusted
with the election of President and wee
President, than the whole body OF the
people. ,
Now that democracy is better understood
and popular government has been more
thoroughly tested, we have learned tha5
large bodies can be more safely trusted than
small ones; that while It r.;Gy be possible TO
corrupt small bodies, it is impossible 10 cor
rupt large ones, and that the danger CT tu-
mutt which was. ever present in the minds
of the trainers of the Constitution, arises
chiefly from the exclusion of the masses
from power and comforting it upon few.
That the candidates for electors should
be pledged in advance to vote for particular
persons. was not contemplated by the
trainers Of the Constitution, but was ex-
pressly excluded bJ their theory. They
were to be independent, not Influenced by
previous committals or engagements, so
that when they came together they could
deliberate with perfect freedom for the best
interests Of the republic. How completely
this theory has been overturned in practice
for more than seventy Pears, 1t is unneces-
sary TO recite. The electoral colleges have
turned out to be wholly useless. Every
reason given for their original establish
ment has absolutely failed in practice. But
while they are powerless for good, they
| may be
Potent for Evil:
In their election errors may easily be com
| UllIIcU. 6nu III NCiI ln1hT lhSSeshNNo liz
| been. While nobody would mistake the
name of Grant or Greeley. changes in the
names in long list Of electors may occur
from errors in printing or fraud, suf1clent TO
reverse the vote OF State. The present
electoral system circumscribes the power
and rights of an individual voter and pre-
vents him from voting for the men of bis
choice for President and Vice President I'M
less there are enough OF his way OF think
| ing In bis own State to meet in convention
and nominate electors to represent their
views, and the present requirement OF the
constitution that electors shall meet on the
same day in their respective States and cast
their votes, is as liable to accident and in
| terruption, as in Wisconsin in 1897, lie
would prefer that the President should be
elected by the people as one community
giving the election to the man who recelY'
ed the highest number of votes
without Regard to State Lines
or municipal divisions, so that the national
| character should be fully represented in one
department of the Government. But il
assuming that The smaller Stats will no
consent to an amendment by which the
President would be elected by the people OF
| but IulLCu OttItCo co OAAS AN
believed they could have no objection tC
such a change as would bring the election
of President directly TO the people of the
several States, each States to be divided int
as many districts as it has
Senators and Representative.
Each dissrict to have One vote in th'
election of President and Vice President
and the vote of that district to be counted
in favor of the candidates for Presiden
and Vice President who receive the larges
number of votes in it. This would still
give to each State the same number o
votes it now has in the election Of Pre&i
dent and Vice President, the votes, how
ever, 10 be given directly for the candidate
by the people, without the Intervention 0
electors.
The speaker then argued the fairness 0
the proposed plan, the intrinsic injustice
to tee States Of the present system, It
peril to the country, and the Opportunity
affords for corruption, cabal, and intrigue
when the election is thrown into the Hous
of Representatives. But it will be asked
what is the remedy?
He answered that he would be glad
some method could be devised by whicl
the nation could escape the danger of hav
ing the House of Representatives to elect ;
President. If such is TO be the resort IL
case no candidate for the Presidency gets 6
majority of all the votes, he would hav
both houses of Congress meet in joint con
vention, and each Senator and Representa-
tive to have one vote. This would be il
exact harmony With tie principles uroI
which the election is now to be made b,
the people of the several States. By th,
new system which he proposed the peopl
of the several States shall vote directly 70
President, each State to have as many dis
tricts and as many votes as it has Senator
and Representatives in Congress- and VIII
) The same rule should not be preserved whe,
the election is thrown into Congress,
hard to perceive.
His object was to point out to the Senat
} and country dangers that lie IN the patbwa
of the nation. Contingencies, some o
them not remote, but near aud probable
which threaten the country with revolution
and the government with destruction, an
to urge that the path of duty is the path G
safety; that now, in a time OF peace anC
political calm throughout the nation, vi
should address ourselves to the removal o
, these perilous Instructions that were hid
den to the eyes OF Our fathers, but hav
been brought to our knowledge 10y ObserVa
ton and experience; and to sum up in re
E capitulation, would say that if the system
3 of Electoral Colleges is to be continued
2 some means should be devised by which th
4 election of these Electors in the States ma.
3 be contested, so that if it has been controlIe
f by fraud or violence, orif there be two sets c
: electors, each claiming the right to cast th
: vote of the State, there may be som
= machinery or tribunal provided b
, which the fraudulent returns coul
2 be set aside or corrected, an
the contending claims Of different sets Q
: electors be settled in advance OF ths tim
e when the vote is to be finally counted, an
by which the President Of the Senate ma
no longer be left to exercise the dangerou
f powers that seem to be placed in his hand
by the Constitution, nor the two houses o
= Congress by the operation of the twenty
second joint rule.
J Patriotic men of all parties must rejoic
that Gen. Grant has been elected by 8
large majority that the electoral votes
Louisiana and Arkansas are unimportan
to the result, for, without intending here
express any opinion in regard to their vote:
4 must be permitted to say they are SUI
! rounded by such circumstances and al
! tended with so much doubt in the publ
, mind that the peace Of the nation would
be imperilled if the result of the Presider
/ AL oIoo.;o,, 1raa 70 loa dot arnined hV thaTY