Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-12-01
MEETING OF THE ELECTORS.


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NEE TING OF THE ELECTORS.
This is the day, first Wednesday IN
December" that the Presidential Elec- !
tors meet in each State of the Union |
and vote for President and Wee
President. The language of the Con-
stitution of the United States is as
follows: "The electors shall meet in
their respective states, (on the hrst
Wednesday of December,b by act OF Con
gress) and vote by ballot for President
and Vice President, one of whom at
least shall not be an inhabitant OF the
same State with themselves they
shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President and in distinct
ballots the person voted for as VICE
President" ETC. Lists of all persons
voted for are to be signed and trans
mitted 'sto the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate the President
of the Senate shall, in the presence OF
the Senate and House of Representa-
tives, open all the certificates (on the
second Wednesday in February, by
act of Congress) and the votes shall
then be counted, ETC."
We have in the above referred to as
much ofthe Constitution as will give our
readers an idea of what the electors are
to do to-day in their respective meet
ings. And our object is to show, that
although the people expressed their
choice at the late election, yet full
effect can only be given to their will
through the Electoral Colleges that
meet to-day. We did not, under pres
ent law. choose President on the I'd
of November last-we only then dele
rated to certain men called electors"
the power to choose one for US. This
is the way our forefathers, the trainers
of the Constitution of the United
States. fixed the matter, and this is the
way it remains They would at that
time seemed to have had mistrust of
the capacity of the people to make a
proper selection, and hence provided
for the selection and election of these
certain supposed men of wisdom and
due intelligence. The majority of the
American people look at the subject IN
| a different light now, and see no rea-
son why their President should not be
elected by the popular cote, as Cover
nors and all other servants Of the peo-
ple are. The reason for the law hav-
ing ceased (if there ever was a good
reason) the law itself should cease, and
the Constitution be changed.
The electors when they met to-day
were under no legal bonds or restraint
as to how or who they should vote for.
Their duty may be said to be a moral
one-or rather a political one but 1t
nevertheless is plain one. They
must in honor obey and cary out the
wishes of the party that elected them
ANY other course would bring upon
their heads the universal execration OF
that party. This results from the par
ty machinery now existing in nominat-
ing candidates by party Natio nal Con-
ventions. Our forefathers, it would
seem, did not contemplate the forma-
tion of political parties and the hold
ing of National Conventions for the
designation of candidates to be voted
for by the electors. The experience
we have had in this and the Presiden.
tial election of four years ago go good
ways to show us the danger we are in
under the present system. There will
not, we presume, be any trouble in the
Colleg ges of electors that met to-day
But no man knows nor can foretell
what may come to pass "on the %
Wednesday of February" when the
certificates from all the states come to
be opened in Congress and the Presi'
dent and Vice President declared
Fortunately there is no reason to ap-
prehend trouble out of the present elec-
tion, but it is very easy for all to see
trouble in the future, unless our states.
men soon supply the remedy.