The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-12-22


large as they can be made without
destroying their capacity to act as
one body. 1t would be better for
as If the House of Representatives
had 500 members Instead of little
more than half that number. Now,
the dangers OF the Electoral Col
lege have arisen largely from its
limitations as to ths NJ nber of its
members. 1t has net p. elected the
smaller States; il has not always
correctly reported the pt :jular will;
and it has placed tho peace and the
prosperity of the co sEtry IN peril
by putting il in the power of sin
gle man to decide who should be
our President. AS long as 1t ex-
lists the true voice of the people can
never be accurately ascertained.
Grant, for example, received in
1868 81 per cent. of the popular
vote, but z? per cent. Of the cleo
tcral vote; in 1872, 55 per cent. of
the popular vote, and 81 of the
electoral vote. In 1864 Lincoln re-
ceived % per cent. of the popular
vote, and 81 per cent. of the eiector-
al vote. Buchanan, en- the other
hand, received Ouly As; Taylor on
ly AZ; Polk not quite half ct the
popular vote; vet they were all
elected to the Presidency by the
Electoral College system. Tho
whole history or this college, for
the last 20 years, demonstrates that
it is a nuisance tina, ought to be aba
ted, and that the Presidedt of the
American Nation should be elected
by the votes Of all the American
people. We must come to the di-
democratic election.
Senator Morton's plan is q great
improvement over the present sys-
tenn; but, after all, it is emily a
ch0ice between two evils. His
scheme is to elect the President by
congressional districts, giving each
district one vote and the state at
laege two votes-each district vote
ing independently. This is not q
direct vote by the people, and l
trust 1T will be defeated. 1 asked
the Senator why, with his views
that we are ga nation, not league"
he did not prefer direct vote? lie
said he did prefer it, but he thought
The smaller States would resist, and
that his was the best practical plan.
I have great respect for the Senator
from Indiana, bat have no respect
for compromises, ana think Re-
publicans should insist on q NATHAN
81, not q congressional, district vote.
It is q good issue to make with the
Bourbon leaders.
In these remarks I have used the
word democracy in its original
sense of rule of the people. l
did not mean, in other words, the
counterfeit that circulates in that
name.
THE SUPREME COURT.
praised Senator EdmHnds last
week for his mastery movement to
investigate the election frauds of
the Southern Demo crazy. This
week he has introduced a resolution
as unwise as his action last week
was sagacious. He proposes to
have the Supreme Court act as
national returning board. Wnen
men ence leave the plain path of
democracy, it is surprising how
soon they get into the BRAN ble-bush-
es and tear out both their eyes.
What is the Supreme Court? A
body of citizens with decided po-
litical opinions; citizens not respon-
sible to any popular tribunal; citi-
zens secure of their exalted position
during life and citizens, albeit, who
have often the desire to occupy the
White House. Hands off They
have enough to do in expeunding
the laws without asking them to in
terfers in the election of President.
Let US carry out the first principles
of popular government, and have
faith in the capacity of all the people
to elect their President, and there
will be no need at all of these mex
pedient and dangerous devices. If
we want to increase the popular re-
spect for the supreme court there is
only one way to do it-by declaring
that no man, once a judge on its
bench, shall ever be eligible for any
other office in the gift of the nation.
LOUISIANA.
Oregon will not be allowed to de-
eide the Presidential election. The
wiser leaders of the Democracy are
already ashamed of Growers act.
Even to least cultivated ear, Cronin
does net rhyme with reform. The
fight will be made on Florida, Lou
isiana, and South Carolina. Flori-
da will soon be disposed of, if the
democrats introduce it. The DEM
ocratic frauds there are too plain for
dispute.
In South Carolina and Louisiana
nkE hn n
true issue behind a dust of legal
bubbles. shall go to South Caro-
lima and write to you from Column
bia next week. Before leaving, let
me tell yeu what the Democrats will
not tell about Louisiana.
There have been nine great mas
sacres of Republicans for opinions
sake in louisiana since the close of
the war: the chief of which were
the massacre of New Orleans, in
1866, in which 200 persons were
killed and 16O wounded, and many
of the wounded murdered on their
way te the hospital and when in it /:
the Bossier massacre, in which 800
were killed and wounded; the Cado
masscre, in which 46 were kills d and
wounded the Jefferson massacre,
in which 6S were killed and woun-
dea the New Orleans massacres Of
1853, in which 63 were killed and
wounded; the st. Landry massacre,
in which 200 were killed and woun-
ded; the COlfax massacre, in which
50 were murdered, most Of them in
cold blood, after they were disarmed
and prisoners. "Over 1000 pers-
ons," says Vice-President Wheeler,
in his famous report, "were killed,
wounded, or otherwise injured,
previous to the Presidential cleo
ton, in which Grant defeated Ssy-
mOur. Up to February 8, 1875, af-
ter q careful investigator, Gen.
Sheridan reported that 2141 persons
had been killed and 2ll5 wounded
IN Louisiana "for political opinions
These were all cases authenticated
by affidavits. In all, probably, twice
that number had perished, of whose
death no official evidence is to be
found.
Bear this red record in mind