New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-10
1 MlLOGLTY PRESIpEXT

A certain class Of cheap Democratic critics
are already iceFing al General Garfield as 90
minority President" There are several
things to he said in reply to this, if such Z
poor Snecr needs an answer. In the first
place, 1t is not true. Giving the Southerr
! States fnll credit for their fraudulent MAORI
ties, General Gariicld's majority on the popular
VOTE as that Is now estimated, viii be some
whore from $1,000 to $1,000 votes. in the
second place, il the official returns should place
! HIM in 4 minority Of the popular vote, which
IS not likely. every intelligent citizen would
! know thai it was because the free aud fan
vote of the North had been OVERLOADED 10y
he tissue blllots and false counts of the
| South. In that section Of the country IL
| when alone a free election, as American
yo,crs understand It, is helA, General Gar
fields lnaiorities aggregate, according to
present estimates, $4,000 votes; General
IIancock's, 1,S00 votes. Even those Demo
crats who claim that che Southern States are
mutually Democratic viii admit thai the size
OF the maiorities there is unnatural, and re
suits from the suppression Of the negro vote.
81 there could have been fair election in the
Soath, General Gariieds majority Of the
popular vote would have been enormous.
| In the thId place, II ought not to bc neccs-
sary to remind these vjs"acres that the preSi-
don't Of thc United States Is chosen 10y the
Electoral Colleges, and rot by direct vote OF
the people. Ii would be no new thing in our
politics 10 have a so-caicd minority Presi-
"d,nt" Ab;aham Lincoln was one, and not
the iir,, or the last. 70 have MAORI y both
IL the p pular and the electoral vote rs Cen
grA Ga.tr'd has. may almost be called an
exceptional rcst-at least IN or recent lis
tory. G. IA rI Grant, at 0O;h cicc ions, Lin
cou at bis secold clcc ion, Franklin Pierce, and
General Harrison in 1910, are the only Prcsi-
dents ~ the past fOrty yeas who have had
II. The Xls.ine record OF the popular vote
begins with ga minority President John
QuiGcy Adams. The present system of elect
lug Presidents first took effect IN 1901 but
no complete rcturDs Of the popular y0.e exist
back of 1924 UP to which time, indeed, many
Of the States chose their electors by icgiaia-
tive ballots In that year Mr.. Adams was
elected by the House Of Representatives. not
having majority either OF the electoral on
popular VOTE and thus beng doubly "a
"minority President" General jackson had
a majority of both votes at both
or BIS cIcCllOnS 10 lHc 1rC,lUcuCy,
and Mr.. Van Buren, likewise when he was
elected in 1886. In the past ifty-six years,
then, eight Presidential elections have shown
both popular and electoral majority for the
successful candidate; IN the past forty year,
only five, or Just one-haif Of thc whole mum
Der. Among the minority Presidents" if we
must caA them so, of the longer period, are
john Quincy Adams, Polk, General Tay-
Tor, Buchanan, Lincoln and Hayes.
General Garfield is a majority President, in
every sense of the word. He has hand
some electoral majority, and an apparent
popular majority, both of which would have
been greatly increased by fair vote in the
South And before one year OF his term
still greater majority of the American people
will be proud that he is their President.
Democrats are already learning to speak of
him in terms of the highest esteem. He has
qualities of mind and heart that will dignity
and cnnoble the office, and we predict for
him high place in the admiration and afiec-
ton of the American people.