Daily Republican., 1880-05-03
Tho Eloeteral Vote.

country lut0 reVOluLion WALL Pto'oA' VA"
Democrats fiom seating Democrat as
President the. fourth Of next March II
he Is not elected. The whole machin-
ery Of both houses Of Congress is In
their haads and there is nothing to pre-
vent them from Doing so but the will OF
the people which is the power behind
the throne that they dread. 1t wss
only when all the trouble was over
when President Hayes was seated, that
The people Of the nation walked up to
see the actual danger through which
they had passed. There seems to re
well authenticated evidence that Henry
Wattersop's hundred thousand men
idea to seat Tilden in 1877 was not all
q myth, and it was only when it was
found that there were more than twice
q hundred thousand fully prepared en-
the other side that the ohiyalrous Ken
tuckian abandoned the plan of seating
Tilden by force. 1t Is probable that
but few ever knew how near revolution
the country was in that momentous
struggle which was decided by q seven
10 eight vote. 1t dses seem a little
strange that the American people usu-
ally so wide awake to legislation which
effect their interests should not in
the early stages Of the history Of the
nation have foreseen the troubles which
were possible to arise through disa-
xresment on the count OF the electoral
vote and have made provision against
such emergencies. However it seems
that until latterly an oyerwesRirg
confidence in the honesty and in
tegrity of the people that they
would do what was right has caused
postpcuemeut Of action until the present
time when the danger Of revolution
through an Illegal c,unt of tho electc-
ral vote, is more imminent than ever
before. The last Congress should have
passed some law or joint rule, govern
ing the electoral count, while the Sen
ate was Republican and the House
Democratic. A rule passed then would
not have had the show OF partizanship
that . rule passed now would have
when both branches are strongly Dem
Ccratic.
There seems n,w, however, to be q
disposition, amongst pemoc attic Sera-
tors to arrange for the adoption of a
joint rule of Congress governing the
question and which it is hoped will
avoid the difficulties encountered in
1879. This proposed rule provides
that if only one electoral return shall
be received from the State it shall be
counted, unless both houses OF Con-
gress, acting separately shall determine
10 reject 1t; and that in case where
there are two electoral returns from a
State, no electoral vote shall be counted
to which either house sustains an OBJ
lection. This resolution is plain and
simple, and embo odies the principles
contained in Senator Bdmunds' resolu.
sion referring to. the same matter, offered
at the last Congress, except that part
of It which provided for the settlement
Of the disputed questions at home by
the States themselves. OF course this
proposed rule leaves the question to be
determined in the hands Of Demo-
cratic Congress which will have abso-
lutte power to reject return from Re-
publican State, about the hon
esty Of which there cannot be
any doubt and where there
are two returns made, It will enable the
same majority to reject the lawful one
and accept that which Is bogus and
fraudulent. This would induce Demo-
cratic politicians to make up bogus
return where the election has been
close, and it is to be feared that where
the electoral vote Of the two parties ran
as close together as they did in 1876,
the Democrats in Congress would put
their candidate in without hesitation,
or if they considered it wiser not to do
this, they could arrange matters so as
to throw the election into the House of
Rsprsssnt tatives, which has been pro.
viding for such q contingency by its at
tempt to unseat enough Republican
members to give the Democratic party
a majority of the State delegations. II
is certain that no scheme which
places 50 much power in the hands
of tie Democratic party will be
satisfactory to the Republicans, but
the Demccrat.Eare in power, and the
Republicans will have to take what
they can get, and this proposed rule
after all is better than no rule at al
on the subject. Though the Democrats
may have a majority in both houses eI
Congress- yet that majority is small and
cannot possibly be much larger, and
this fact will keep them within proper
bounds. Besides w may look for SEINE
conservatism In both houses. Ther.