Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-10-16
FKESIDENFIAL ELECTIONS
Plan Foreshadowed BY the Senate
Committee for Electinf Pred
dent and Vlce-PresidGnt

NEW YORK, October sth, 20.
Senators Morton, of Indiana, ca
lpenter, Of Wisconsin, Anthony,
Rhode Island, and Baysrd, of Del
ware, members OF the COMMITTEES G
Privileges AMI Elections, of the Senal
of the United States, to-day close
/ their Conferences, which have bee
continued from day to day for the pa.
week, in this city, in reference to th
mode of eIecting the President. Th
Substance of their deliberations thus fl
involved the following propositions
First, to abolish the Electoral Colleg,
lseeond, that the President and Vic
President be elected by the peopl
voting directly for candidates; thirt
that each State shall be divided into 8
many districts as tue State is entities
to Representatives in Congress, to b
composed of contiguous territory com
pac. In form and as nearly equal i
population as may be, and the persol
having the highest number of votes 70
President In each district shall receiv
the vote of that district for President
which shall count one presidentia
vote, aud that each State shall be en-
titled to two presidential voters q
large, who shall be counted for the per
son having the highest number of vote
in the whole State; fourth, the persoE
having the highest number of sucl
Presidential votes in the United State
shall be President; fifth, these provis
ions to be applicable to the election o
Vice President; sixth, Congress shal
provide for holding and conducting
the election for. President and Vice
President, and to establish tribunals
for the decision of contests as to ths
vote i'm any district or State, and make
regulations governing the proceeding:
of these tribunals. By the adoption O
the district system of voting by the
people directly for candidates, with
two Presidential votes in the State al
large and the plurality rule for deter.
mining the result, the election is
brought as nearly home to the people
as can be, not to make 1t an election by
the nation as one community, and il
still recognizes the States while it en-
ables people of each district in the
State to express their will, SO that here.
after a, State need not cast q solid vote
as under the present system. 1t tends
to dispense with the convention which
is now necessary in order TO form an
ELECTORAL ticket for each election, and
it enlarges the liberty of the individual
voter who can vote for any citizen he
may select for President or Vice Presi-
dent. By the plurality system the
will always be final, and there
can be no necessity for election by the
House of Representatives, which is SO
much objected to. The plurality rule
has been adopted successfully in alfthe
Union except four In the election Of
State officers, and it generally prevails
in the election of members of congress.
In none of the States where it has been
tried is there any thought of abandon
ing it. Other questions are considered
in connection with votes In States and
district and covering the exigency of
death or resignation of the President
after election and before Inauguration.
There are suggestionswhich have been
but of course no conclu-
sions could be arrived at. lAni sl i''f
-fuEW
of the National Debt.
. 1t is noticed that Secretary McCul-
och stated the public debt of the Uni
reached ,on the 3ist Of August,
1865, the enormous sum of $2,757 ,6s9,-
III 43. On the S1st of September, 1873,
Secretary. Richardson stated the public
iebt was only q, ,13s, ,79S, 1893 IL, being a
reduction in eight years and one month
If s618, 1895, ,673 26. This indicates not
,nlyan ability but disposition to pay
,ur national Indebtedness by the
people without parallel in
he history of the world. But even
hese figures fall far short of the reality.
ilThe statement of indebtedness made
,y Secretary McCulloch, as of August
81, 1865, included only the ascertained
lebt, existing in the form of Treasury
lotes, fractional currency, certificates
,f ,firdehtodness, and bonds, and not
lebts due to individuals for supplies
and services performed. and
used or destroyed by the Gov
,rnment, far which no payment had
,een made. These unliquidated dobts
would at that time have amounted to
! very large sum, the greater part of
which has since been paid. tits there
ore safe to conclude that. the actual in
iebtedness of the United States which
existed at the close of the war has been
'educed at the rate on the average of
400, ,O0O, 600 per annum. Should this
continue the whole of the public debt
will be extinguished in single gener-
ltion. aliI .moll uJj35I p. -.-.st
1t ought not to be forgotten that it is
wholly owing to- the Republican adj
and a Republican financi-
il system that, notwithstanding the
ate financial revulsion, no man has a
bill in his pocket. There
ould hardly be stronger evidence of
he soundness, of the system, which is
upon the immutable rock of
'ur existence as a nation. Heretofore,
Inder the, Democratic regime, when
ver a bank suspended, every man
lastily scanned his pocket-book to as.