Daily Republican., 1879-01-13
THE NEW ELECTORAL PLANS.

THE NEW ELECTORAL PLANS.
Deooersas OpposS0g Action at Tbis
Session.
A special despatch from Washington
says:
At present the apps.rspoes are that
the differences between the Senate and
the House on tho bill to provide for
counting the Electoral vote for Prssi
dent and Vice President cannot bs re
conciled, and that bill Of this charac.
ter will not be passed at this session.
To-day Senator Bayard and Representa-
tive Southard had an extended conver-
sation upon this subject, but it resulted
in no plan for adjusting the differences.
Mr.. Southard, it Is believed, in OPP
posing the Senate bill, merely repre-.
sents Senator Thurman, who is opposed
to any change in the present law. Mr..
Thurman believes that it would be i'm
polite to make any change at this
time, in view Of the fact that the Dem
ocrats will b. in the majority in both
branches o Congress after March 4th
next. This opposition to a change is
based entirely upon partisan grounds,
Senator Bayard takes different view
of the matter. He recognizes what is
plain to Senator Thurman and every
intelligent man, and advocates a change
because of the imperfections Of existing
laws upon this important subject. SEN
ator Bayard, speaking of the matter to.
day, said g regret that there should
be such difference Of opinion between
the House and Senate upon the Ed
munds bill. | followed my conscience
in advocating it, as afordng US perhaps
the best and the only thing We can Sc
cure. 1t does not give us quite what We
want, but is vast improvement over
our present method OF counting the Elec.
toral votes. 1t destroys the power of the
President of the Senate over the vote !;
it vests in each State the settlement of
the question as to which are its legally
elected and qualified Electors, and, in
case there are conflicting decisions, it
provides that the two houses must con
cur to elect. | can t see any good ground.
why there should be objection to this.
The Edmunds bill, it seems to me, is
better than the Southard bill, because
it disposes of the Vice Presidents power
over the votes, which the latter leaves
anything but settled and think, too,
that the Southard bill is weak in open.
ing the door for Federal Interference in
the matter of deciding the qualifications
of electors.
You will see by examining both bills
that under the one presented by Mr..
Edmunds the States are given the most
and absolute control over
the settlement of this question, and this
safeguard is SO thoroughly Democratic
that am at loss to understand why
Democrats should oppose it. The Ed
munds bill wants the House, in case of
conflict, to concur to accept the returns,
whereas the Southland bill requires that
they shall concur to reject. hardly
see how these opposing ideas can be
reconciled, and l can't see where the
danger is to come from by adopting the
Edmunds proposition, when the State
tribunals are given such cont. Olling
power. hardly like the argument
that some Of our people use, when they
say 'l-t us wait until We get contrsl of
both Houses. This does not seem t"
me wise or statesmanlike, when such
vast interests are at stake, and possibly
the peace of the country. And then
they seem to lose sight of some very
important facts. There is such thing
as veto, and that We could not over
come.
Now, five drift along and pass no
bill, it should be remembered that the
present presiding officer of the Senate
will have the handling of the next set
Of Presidential returns, and he might,
possibly, under the present law, AFRO.
( ate to himself the same dangerous
power over the votes which the Ed
munds bill efIectually disposes of. The
party in power, as a rule, always con-
strues the law in contests to suit its
OWN partisan ends, and probably always
will, and believe that a matter of this
kind should be settled beyond the
power of forced construction for party
purposes. My position, briefly, is that
VIZ can obtain reforms and protection
under the Edmunds bill, and it would
be- wiser to accept it than leave the
question unsettled to become the sub
-ct of controversy again. would be
Wiling to make any sacrifices before
would see tho title to the Presidency
i4cided by another Electoral Commits
lion.