St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-17


Is made be counted unless both
houses agree TO IT, At this time
the Republican party was in absolute posses
sion OF both houses Of congress and promised
70 retain that power indefinitely. This rule
Afforded the Republicans extensive oppOr-
tunities for throwing out.votes Of Democratic
states when necessary. # was a simple mat
ter TO get vote objected to, and when It was
Obierted to either one Of the houses could
prevent its being counted. The Democrats
could not get even with the game until they
controlled one of the two houses Of congress,
which there was no immediate prospect Of
their doing.
Under this rule the electoral vote was
counted in 1865, 1859 and 1878. During all
this time, the Republicans controlled both
houses Of congress, aud it had not occurred
to them that he rule was not an admirable
one. In 1878 II gave the senate the oppor-
tunIty Of rejecting the vote Of the state Of
Arkansas, which the house was willing TO
admit, on the ground that the returns were
only authenticated By the seal Of the secre-
tary Of state. II debate had been
permitted, it could have been shown that
that was the only official seal in the state.
In 1874 there was tidal wave, which swept
large Democratic majority into the house.
This congress met In December, 1875, and
at the first session the Republican senate
adopted aud sent TO the house q resolution
re-adopiing all the joint rules in force dur
ing the previous congress, except
the tweuty-seeond joint rule.
-
usefulness when another party had the
house Republicans had no notion Of allow
ing q single house 10 throw out the vote OF
state when one Of the houses was Demo
cratic. AT the same time il began to occur
to the Democrats OF the house that possibly
they had not appreciated all the beauties of
the twenty-second joint rule while the Re
publicans welded It, and they
began TO understand that there were
chan nnels in which the rule might be useful,
so the house simply referred the senate reso-
luton TO the committee on rules, and moth
ing more was heard from 1t.
In August, 1876, after the presidential
nominations were made. and the country
was fairly started on the campaign which
threatened 10 result disastrously to the Re-
publicans, the senate, congress then being
about to adjourn, informed the house
that. as it had made no reply to the senate's
resolution about readopting all the joint rules
but one, the senate would no longer recog-
nize any joint rules as in force, and since
that time there have been no joint rules
Speaker Randall made . ruling once, based
on theory, that the joint rules could not be
abrOgated by the senate alone, but this rul-
ing did not commend Itself to the Judgment
Of pariiamentarians. Iu the spring of
1876 Senator Morton introduced bill TO
govern the counting of the electoral vote,
which provided that unless two sets OF re-
turns came from a state the vote of state
should not be rejected unless both houses
concurred in the rejection. THIS was In an
ticipation Of Democratic objection to the
votes OF southern states as returned by carpet
bag returning boards. Under Morton's bill
the senate could prevent the house from re-
jecting these returns, so that the Morton bill
was as well adapted TO the situation as the
old twenty-second joint rule was 10 the pre-
vious situation. This bill did not become
law, but its essential features are ineorpo-
rated in the house bill, which the senate
passed at the last session of congress, but
which the house has not acted On. The
house referred the bill to committee, Of
which VIM. w. Eaton, Of Connecticut, is
chairman, and be has introduced substi-
tute for it which can never become a law,
because no senate, whatever may be its poll
ties, will agree TO IT,
Eaton's bill provides that when the electo-
raj vote of state is objected to, the question
on sustaining the objection shall not be put
to the two houses separately, but shall be put
in joint convention, each member voting
individually, so that the house could easily
out-yote the senate. The senators viii never
merge themselves with the members of the
more numerous branch of congress into
joint convention.