The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-06-22
MINER LAW is VALID.
IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE
SUPREME COURT.
Opinion Written by Justice Montgomery
Synopsis of the Provisions of the Law
The Result VIII BE to Divide the States
Electoral Vote.
To Choose Electors by Districts.

At Lansing the State Supreme Court
filed an opinion Friday morning sustain
ing the Miner electoral law. The opin-
ion was written by Judge Montgomery
and was concurred in by all the other
justices. The opinion says it is evident
that the question of greatest Importance
is that relating to the true interpreta-
ton Of section l of article of the Fed
eral Constitution, which provides that
each State shall appoint, in such man.
ncr as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a number of electors equal to the
whole number of Senators and Repre-
sentatives TO which the State may be
entitled in Congress-" In the judg-
ment OF the court these words
arc clearly susceptible Of construction
which confers upon the Legislature q
power TO say how the State action shall
be voiced. 1t furthermore concludes
that it would be "a strained construction
which would give to either the four
teenth or fifteenth amendment the effect
to annul the power expressly delegated
in section l of article 2 OF the constitu-
tpn. 1t is clear that the fifteenth amend
ment was intended to preclude the State
from making any discrimination against
citizens on account Of color. By neither
amendment was there any attempt to
place limitations upon the authority OF
the State as to the choice Of officers
thereto, for Presidential electors arc
still regarded as State officers.
The Miner law was passed by, the
Legislature at its last session, and pro-
MD nI Co.. h. .lx I J., II
electors by what is known as the dis
trict method. Under this act tho State
of Michigan is divided into two electoral
districts, East and West, and it Is pro-
vided that the people In each of those
districts shall vote for one elector- at
large, and that the people of the vari-
Gus Congressional districts shall vote
for electors in their respective districts
instead of voting for a full ticket Of
electors for the entire State, as hereto
fore. The Republican State Conven-
ton named electors, as heretofore,
and William Mcpherson, Jr, one of
them, the relator In this case, obtained
an order against the Secretary Of State
to show cause why he should not be COM
PEELED by mandamus TO give notice under
Section LAT of Howell's Statutes Of the
election of Presidential Electors. The
bill was Democratic measure and was
bitterly fought by the Republicans, who
claimed that it's real purpose was to
permit ger1ymander OF the State in
the Democratic interest. The support
eps Of tho measure asserted that the
change was made in the belief that the
district system would enable the people
OF the State TO give more definite and
satisfactory expression OF their choice
for the Presidency and denied the
charge that 1t was made for partisan
purposes. In an article on the subjec!
in q recent number Of the North Ameri-
can Review Governor WiDans gave as
his chief objection to the method of
choosing electors by general ticket that
through it the people cannot fairly ex-
press their choice. in any State, said
he, "thcre may be large section,
Congressional district or several
of them, in which a heavy ma
iority of the voters are strongly
opposed to the election of particular
candidate, yet, against their will, their
influence is practically cast in favor OF
that candidate because OF different
sentiment prevailing In the remainder
OF she State. Thus the entire electoral
vote of a State may be cast for can
didate who is opposed by 40 per cent. Of
the voters. Objection had been made
TO the district system on the ground
that it will divide the electoral vote of q
State and thus lessen her influence in
the selection of President / answer
that if popular sentiment In a State is
divided her electoral vote ought to be
divided, be the pesult whA It may"
The advocates Of the district plan
laid especial emphasis ON the advant
ages to be gained by destroying the
great Importance of pivotal States. II,
say they, electors were chosen by dis
tricts, the present concentration OF
forces with the attendant corruption in
these pivotal States would cease. The
contest would be confined TO the indi-
vithlal districts, and so many of these
would be in doubt that political man
ayers could not ascertain, as they now
can, just what must be done TO carry the
day. In rcfutation of the charge that,
IN the new congressional apportionment
which followed the adoption by Michi-
gan OF the district system, the State was
gerrymsndered, figures are presented to
show that the difference between Che
most populous and the least populous
districts OF Michigan was in 1880, Ga, 951;
in 1884, so ,607; in 1890, 103, 559, anC un-
der the new apportionment Of 1891, A.
253. 1t is further said that only three
of the new districts can be considered
safely Democratic.
Although presenting number OF
what may be called technical objec-
tions TO the act, the applicants for the
mandamus rested their case mainly on
the broad principle that the language
of the constitution requires that the
State shall act as a unit IN appointing
presidential electors; that the process
of constitutional development, by con-
struction and usage, has been such that
it rs not now competent for a State to
break and destroy the homogeneous
ness of the electoral college, by divid-
ing itself into separate and independ.
emit districts for the election of Presi',
Dental electors, to voice the will OF
such districts in the choice OF the Chief
Magistrate as distinguished from the
will OF the State as political unit, and
that the fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments of the Constitution con-
template and require the continued ex-
istence in all OF the States of the gen.
eral ticket for the election of officers