The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-13

John /. Davenport, the noted New York
politician, is quoted as claiming that in
the case Of failure by the electoral col
.ege to choose President next year,
the choice will devolve upon the House of
Representatives of the Fifty-third Con-
gress. He is quoted as saying that the
matter was fully discussed at Washington
City last winter, pending the passage of
the new apportionment bill, and that it
was decided '.by the highest legal author
ity Of the Republican party that under the
law as it stood the House of Representa-
tiyes elected conformity with the presiden-
tial electors should have the deciding who
was elected in case Of no choice by the
electoral college"
The statement is either draft on repor-
torial imagination Or Mr.. Davenport must
have been misquoted. Either that or he
has seriously Inexperienced the conclu-
sions Of those to whom he referred. 1t is
impossible s'thc highest legal authority
Of any party could have taken any such
ground. The matter is clearly settled by
unambiguous language in the federal con-
stitution, which is not open TO two con-
structions nor TO controversy. Article MI.
of that instrument provides that ''the
electors shall meet in their respective
states and vote by ballot for President and
Vice President 1.-THE statutes fix the time
for such meetings as the first Wednesday
in December succeeding the elecfionl,"
and they are to transmit their certificate
of the result to the President of the Senate
The same article goes on to provide how
the President of the Senate shall open the
certificates in the presence Of the two
branches Of Congress. and that s'the vote
shall then be counted" The statute fixes
the second Wednesday in February as the
time for such counting. Then, if it be
found that no person has clear majority,
s.thc House of Representatives shall choose
Immediately. by ballot, the President
And further along in the same article is
this provision: And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose Presi-
dent, whenever the right of choice shall
devolve upon them, before the fourth day
of March next following, then the Vice
President shall act as President" The
same article goes on to provide that in
case of failure of the electoral college to
elect Vice President the choice of one
shall devolve upon the Senate.
This makes it clear that If President is
TO be elected by the House Of Representa-
tives it must be prior to the fourth of
March, 1893, and there can be no question
that not until after that date does .'the
House elected conformity with the presi-
Dental electors" take Office. 1t is quite
certain that the House elected last fall.
when it meets next December, can at its
discretion remain in session until the 4th
of March, 1898.
These points are so clearly and I'M
equivocally settled by the constitution
and statutes at large that it is ont of the
question that highest legal authority" of
any kind could even have raised oues-
ton about it. The true and only policy
for the Republican party is to face the
facts as they exist, and address them
selves to the necessity for electing their
President by carrying majority of the
electoral votes. This they must and will
do. Otherwise-but there is no otherwise !