Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-02-24

"'eoe tpaPtT NO. oo) refers To the man
ner OF choosing the president provided
Tor III the constitution in the following
language
IL was desirable that the sense Of the
people should operate in the choice Of
tue person To whom so importanta Il trust
was to be coniided. This end will be
answered by committing the right of
making II not To any pte,establlshed
body. tut 10 men chosen by the people
Tor the special purpose aud al the par
ucular coniuncture. II was equally de-
slfa6le that the immediate election
should be made by Hsn u,ot capabie N
a"afyzthg he q'taitiea aiapted 10 tie sutton,
aud acting under circumstance iayora
Ole TO deIiberatiou aud to judicial com.
/ biuation of all the reasons aud induce.
ments that were proper To- govern hetr
| chotce. 4 sHtaH number of persgn1 selected
! by their fellow citizens from the general
| mass will be most likely to possess the
! Information and discernment requisite
TO 70 complicated an investigation.
Distrust Of the popular will cannot
be more clearly expressed than in the
language Just quoted The advocates
of Il strong government had no faith
~ the ability of the people to govern
/ themselves. Their CONSTANT aim was
to concentrate the powers of govern
mcnt in the hands Of select few.
! Among other nsirumentalities en-
| ployed by them TO carry out their
/ purposes was the electoral college.
They desired that the power 10 select
the president should be vested in "a
small number Of citizens" They be-
lieyed the popular mass incapable OF
making an intelligent choice, aud
therefore they devised plan BY which,
to quote the language Of Hamilton,
the Immediate election would be made
by men capable Of analyzing the quail
itie- adapted 10 the station" But the
/ design Of the federali-ts was frustrated
/ by the democratic influences which
have finally made the electors mere
agents for the registry of the popular
will. Instead Of exercising their own
choice, as they are empowered 10 do
by the constitution, they simply cast
their votes n they are directed by
that portion of the people who choose
them at the ballot.box. Nevcrlhe-
les. the electoral machinery itself lS
/ the same old aristocratic contrivance
which now by common consent has
become u.cle.. for any purpose save to
/ thwart the people IN expressing their
choice, aud, a. we all know, j. danger
! ou- III ii. execution.
In the convention of 1889, Peunsyl.
vauia was tho only State voting for
+ the election of president by popular
+ vote. and her sons, Wilson and Morris.
advocated with power and eloqucuce
( the system Of election IN district. hy
the popular vote. This proposition
received but the votes OF Pennsylvania
and Maryland. Her sons believe now.
a Franklin, Morris, Wilson, jackson
aud Benton taught, the State j. the
people. and the expression Of their
voice by their direct vote under the
iedoraiiye aud not the national system
Is, believe, their wish now. I'm the
debate in the Virginia convention on
the adoption of the constitution. Jas.
Monroe. amerward president of the
United States, said, referring to the
mode Of cleciing the president con.
tanned in the constitution:
The president might he elected by
the people, dependent upon them, ami
res onsible for msiadmiuistratlon. A.
thi. i not the case must disapprovc
Of this clause "a it, present form.
In President Jackson's first annual
message be earnestly pressed upon
Congress the importance of 10 amend.
ing the constitution a. to dispense with
all intermediate agencies in the eIec-
ton of president and vice president.
Said he,
To the people belongs the right Of
eleciing their chief magistrate; II WAS
never designed that their choice should
IN any case he defeated. either by The
Intervention of electoral colleges, or by
the agency confded. in certain coniin.
gencies, 10 the house Of representatives.
would therefore recommend such
may remove all intermediate agency in
the election of president and vice pres
ident. The mode may be 50 regulated
as TO preserve TO each state its present
relative weight in the election; and a
failure in the first attempt may be pro.
vided for by contidine the second 20 a
choice between the two highest candl
dates.
He recommended also Limitation
of the presidential service to single
term of four or six years. Gen. Jack
son renewed the above recommenda-
tion in each of his seven annuals mes
sages following; and he was especially
earnest in his desire to prevent any
election for president ever being deter
mined by the house of representative.
The arguments in behalf Of the popu-
lar vote by districts which have been
made by statesmen of the past are so