Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-01-24
WEEKLY COURIER.
WEDNESDAY, MoRSlss, JAN. "a, 1877
uPoM cARerul REFLECTION

WEDNESDAY MoRSlNe, JAN. "a, 1877.
upon CAREFUL REFLECTION
We become confirmed in the belief
that the bill presented for the count
OF the electoral vote is mistake
something the sooner dropped the
better. From the first We have wish
ed for and been willing to favor any
plan that would lead to pacification,
so long as it surrendered no substan-
tial right. This bill does surrender
the plainest right laid down in the
Constitution as to the count of the
vote, and the special Feature which the
action of the government concurrent
with the making of the Constitution
confirmed and made certain, viz: the
high power Of the President of the
Senate. We append here one of
series of resolutions passed by the
convention which framed the Federal
Constitution, just preceding the ad-
journment of that body, providing
for the manner in which the govern
ment should be set in motion and ex-
planatory Of how the count for
President should be made and who
should do it:
RESOLVED, That it is the opinion of
this convention, that as soon as the
conventions of nine States shall have
ratified this Constitution, the United
States in Congress assembled should
fix day on which electors should be
appointed by the States which shall
have ratified the same, and a day on
which the electors should assemble to
vote for the President and the time
and place for commencing proceed
. ings under this Constitution. That
after such publication the electors
should DO appointed, and the Senators
and Representative elected. That
the electors should meet on the day
kxed for the election Of the President,
and should transmit their votes, Ger
titled, signed, sealed and directed, as
the Constitution requires, to the Sec
rotary of the United States in Con-
gress assembled; that the Senators
and Representatives should convene
at the time and place assigned: that
Z the Senators should appoint Presi-
dent of the Senate for the sole pur-
pose OF receiving, opening and count
fng the votes for President; and that
after he shall be chosen, the Congress,
together with the President, should,
without delay, proceed to execute the
Constitution.
The above is just as clear state
ment as can be of what the trainers
of our Federal Constitution meant
when they said tsthe Vice President
should open the certificates and the
votes then be counted"
Had the Fathers meant that nc
J votes could be counted to which the
House objected, then they were SO
foolish as to place it within the power
of the House to al,oays defeat an elec.
ton by the people, and place such
election in its own hands OF, if the
vote of no State could be counted
which was objected to, by the Senate
then the dominant political party in
that body couldalways place it in their
power to. elect the Vice President. IF
however, both Houses, Witnessing the
count, might agree upon arresting i
as made by the Vice President, be
cause in violation of the plain provis
ions of justice and right, this, beyond
question, would be their privilege
and their duty. The power thus ex.
ertised by the Vice President is no
near so arbitrary or SO entirely be
yond restraint as that vested in til,
present clerk of the democratic House
in organizing the next House, ant
which will be SO nearly divided be
tween the parties that the officer or
gaRizing it can make ii republican OF
democratic, because of the contested
seats. 1t will be organized by on,
man, just as has been done before
and just as has been done in counting
in Presidents, and the next Congress
will have democratic Speaker, ant
the whole legislation Of it shaped b.
that party. We have said that tn
power to count absolutely include
the power to fix upon the votes to b
counted, in so far that the countin,
shall not be arrested. We are aware
too, that this view, for the want of !,
sensible reply to it, has been declared
nonsense, but to us, our position ap
pears SO nearly automatic that we will
not stop here to discuss it.
The bill reported, if it is anything
is total abrogation of the constitu
tional powers of the President of tn,
Senate. The passage of the bill
would. be declaration on the part o
Congress that the Vice President doe
not amount to even decent figure
head in the count of the vote, bu
that Congress alone is the arbiter-
doctrine in direct variance with tn
words and deeds Of the Fathers, am
the opinions of our great nationa
law commentators, Kent and Story
and, indeed, we will add, derogator
to the reputation Of the trainers o
the Federal Constitution as men o
sound judgment, in thus placing orig
inal jurisdiction in the hands of those
who they at the same time provides
should have upon q certain contin
gency,-a failure to agree,-a mutua
sort of half-and-half reversionar
right to divide the spoils. As til
bill stands, it provides that Of Cor
gressmen there shall be ten. Nov
when they come to be chosen, tn
Senate can choose ali republicans an
the House all democrats, and thi
they will doubtless do; and next, tn
bill provides that Clifford and Fieli
democrats of the Supreme Bencl
and Miller and Strong, republican
shall be of the Commission. Thu
far, the bill gets line of politics
combatants, seven in number on eac
side, and leaves the four members Q
the Supreme Court to fix upon fit
man to stand at the head of the lin
and cap the column. 1t may be urge
that the objector is captious becaus
he ascribes political prejudice to al
FhAl n NC 10 <1,so Sc 4Lnk
selection of the commission show
how the committee regarded thi
prejudice. Judges of the Supreme
Court off the bench, in work extra
judicial, are very much like othe
men, and SO the committee thought
It seems, when they selected them
taking great care to very nicely ad
just political matters. Thus fourteen