The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-27
THE ELECTION OF 1901.

Leigh Hunt.
TIE ELECTION OF 1901.
Voting for President in the House-Ludi-
crous Scenes-Anxiety of the Public.
McMaster's History of the United States.
The time being prescribed by law for the
counting of the electoral vote was Wednesday,
Feb. IL. The House then proceeded to the
chamber of the Senate and witnessed the open
ing and counting of the ballots. The tellers
reported that slight irregularity had been
found In the vote of Georgia but, believing it to
be true VOTE they had counted it. Jefferson
then announced that no election had taken
place, and that it now remained with the House
OF Representatives to decide whether the next
President should lie Thomas jefferson or Aaron
Burr. The two Houses then separated, and the
Representatives following the Speaker, went
back to their hall. A call by States
showed that all the members save two were in
their places. Sumter, of South Carolina, was
sick. Jones, Of Georgia, was dead Nicholson,
OF Maryland, was also i'll, but they
, brought him on bed, which they
hard by. The gallery was cleared, the doors
closed the delegates from the same State took
seats together, chose a teller if they saw fit and
began to vote. AS the ballots were written
members deposited them in that box which had
been assigned their particular State. When the
will of the State had been determined, dupE-
cate statement of the vote was made. Ii a
majority was for either candidate, his name was
put down the two slips. If the State were
divided, then the divided was used instead.
All being ready, the Sergeant-atarms came
round to the representatives of the sixteen
States i'll turn. In his hands were two ballot
boxes, and in each ballot-oox each of the bits of
paper was dropped. But the House had ordered
that if more than one representative from a
State was on the floor the two slips should not be
cast by the same hand Having collected ALL
the Sergeant at arms placed one box on a table at
the right of the Speaker and one on a table at
his left Each State then chose teller, and
while eight were examining the contents of
one box, eight busy with the
other. The reports from the two parties
agreeing, the result declared the
true vote of the House. On the first ballot eight
States supported Jefferson, and six Burr. Yer
mont and Maryland were divided. Six more bal
lots were then taken in rapid succession, but no
change occurred. The House having ordered
that no business should be transacted and no
adjournment made till an election was had, it
was moved to take the eighth ballot at the end
of one hour. This was passed. and when the
time expired eight more were taken without in
terl'uptlon. A member then moved that the
sixteenth ballot be held at 10 o'clock in the even
ing This was lost and o'clock chosen. The
seventeenth was az 10 O'clock and the eighteenth
at IL o'clock, after which the House was asked
not to vote again till ii o'clock the next day, but
it refused, and babe the Sergeant alarms to go
round with his boxes for the nineteenth time at
midnight.
The scene was now ludierous. Many had sent
home for night-caps and pillows, and, wrapped
In shawls and great-coats, lay about the floor of
the cOmmitteerooms, or sat sleeping on their
seats AT l, and 2, and at 2:30 the tellers reused
the members from their slumbers, and took the
same ballot as before. The sleepers were then
suffered to rest undisturbed till in the morn
ing At that hour the post-rider set off with the
news that no President had yet been chosen. He
had been detained long after the usual time of
departure, at the request of the Speaker. When
he was gone five ballots were taken at intervals
OF an hour EACH AS the House was about to 60
to breakfast order was passed that the
twenty eighth should be counted at noon. and
not before. This over, IL o'clock on Friday, the
18th of February, was agreed upon as the time
for The twenty ninth ballot The thirtieth was
at noon, and the thirty first at o'clock on the
l4th. An hour later, while the members were
preparing their slips for the next, member
from North Carolina arose, addressed the Chair,
and said this nonsense ought to stop, and that
In the future his vote would be cast for Thomas
Jefferson. The delegation from North Carolina
was thus made unanimous, but the result was
not affected in the least. When the thirty third
ballot WAS announced the House determined no
more voting should be done till noon on Mon
day, the 10TH
now apparent. The crowd of strangers that
filed the city and were excluded from the House
resorted to all manner of ways to influence and
persuade the members. Some spread report
public arms. and would not lay them down till
Jefferson was chosen over Burr. Others circu-
lated a memorial and then presented it with a
roll of signatures to the Maryland member who
represented the district in which Washington
lay The paper told him that at least two
thirds of his constituents preferred jefferson to
Burr, and begged him to change his vote. Had
he done So Jefferson would Immediately have
been chosen. On Monday score of men, in a
huge sled drawn by ten horses, driven by five
H. IL
the streets, bearing with them banner in
scribed, Jefferson the Friend of the People"
and again, Jefferson and Burr"
Such demonstrations however, were vain On
the thirty fourth and thirtyf fifth ballots the
voting was still the same But, as the Speaker
rose to announce the thirty-sixth, his face
plainly showed that the contest was at an end.
The Federaiists had at last given way.
James Bayard, of Delaware, was the Federal
chief. At the opening of the contest he first
made sure of the doubtful votes, and, holding
the result of the election in his hand began to
consider the fitness of giving it to Burr It was
expected that Burr would pledge himself to
Federal measures in return for Federal support
He would not and Bayard, aided by Hamilton,
spent all his energies in persuading the Federal
lists to make Jefferson their choice The task
was hard one. Caucus after caucus was held.
only to break up in discord and confusion. The
final arrangement was In consequence of assur-
ance from jefferson that the wishes of the Fed
eralists correspondent with their own that they
might conhde in him to the fullest extent; that he
would maintain the public credit; that he would
not any of the host of petty Office
holders merely because they had, in the late
campaign, been faithful to the Federal cause
The price settled, the Federal members from
Maryland, Delaware, and Vermont cast blank
ballots, and the Republicans secured ten States.
How to Keep Cigars Fresh.
Washington Correspondence Cleveland Leader
Ex-Congressman Paige of Ohio is a great
smoker, and he uses the best brand of cigars. He
has an pacialy cood wav of kaar;pe, he o;ro,,