The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-02-21

The Pour Great Contests in Our Electoral
Colleges
Warrington Letter to Clevelani Leader

OODcsoss
Warrington Letter to Clevelani Leader
There have been during cur history four
disputed Presidential elections. Ia most
OF these cases tie election has been
thrown into the House OF Repre-
sentatives and the C0ngre ssmen, vot-
ing by States. have elected tie Pres
iGent Each State has one vote. and the
Institution originally required Congress 10
choose from the two highest candidates on
The list By the Twelfth Amend ment - the
Constitution they may now choose from
the three highest The first DIS
puted election was that of 1890 IN which
Jefferson and Burr had q tie vote Of -
each. Both OF the candidates were Demo-
Gratis and the House was Federalists Ii
elteieG jefferson and defeated Burr who, bY
The then rule, became Vice President
The Federslists, however. really wanted
Burr, az he was a New York man, aud
@ould be more favorable to the con.
= eTCial interests Of New England aud
be North They held a caucus snd
determined 10 vote for him, but
ore Of their mem bsrs went back on the ca1-
Gus a. just toe wrong time, and this elected
Je. eTson. IN this vote BiyaFd, Of Delaware,
an ancestral relative OF Tom B8gard was
one Of the members, aud it is said that he
decided IN certain emergencies rather THAI
have proracted electi5n- The laT pro-
yides that while voting on such q subject
tEt UOUe6 eUhl4 uot huI9ufu NlluOut GOuluB
10 q decision. At this Presidential election
Il sat for seven days, though Il took RumeT-
Gus Tecesses.
The election OF 1925 was also settled in the
House The contest was betNesn John
Quincy Adams then Mon1os's Secretary OF
state, Henry Clay Speaker OF the House
William II. Crawford, Secretary of the
Treasury. and Andrew Jackson, who
bad been Senator but was now
private citizen of Tennessee. Clay
vas the fourth in the 81, and
vas consequently ineligible to cleo
ton. His vote was such however. that the
throwing OF ID to either Adams or Jackson
would have secured the election Of either.
Clay gave his vote to Adams aud made him
President Adams appointed him his S5cre-
tsry OF State. and straightway the cry arose
that mis- Office bad been given him As a price
for bis electoral votes Andrea Jackson be-
iieVed il, and I don't think the impression
vas never quite removed from his mind.
John Randolph accused Clay OF Il on thu
floor OF the Senate, saying that his cJmbt-
nation with Adams was q combination OF
Blifl and Black Georgia combination of
the Puritan and blackleg" For this it was
that Clay challenged Randolph to that
noted duel which was fought on Virginia
soil near Washington, with no material IN
Jury 10 either.
In the third great electoral dispute the
question was the choice of a Vice President.
This was settled by the Senate. Richard VI.
Johnson was chosen to act as Vice President
with Martin Van Buren, as President. The
fourth electoral trouble, that OF Hayes
and Tilden, is too we'll known to need
mention. 1t is enough to say that our whole
electoral system is OF such rature that it
needs reformation. Congress han been pro-
posing legislation in regard to it ever since
1850, and we have periodical discussions in
regard to il. These will probably continue
until some radical wrong is dune by its pres
ent action, and then the trouble will be
! Temedied.