The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-11-24
GROVER NOT YET ELECTED.
The Election will Be Incomplete Until
tho Sth Of February, 1893.
a LOG OT Rsd Tape Mast Ne Gen,
Through win FiFSt-An Ae-
count 81 the Electoral
College 81 1854.

Although the election was held on No.
Vember 8, Il will not be complete until
February 8, 1893, when the president oI
the United States senate, In the presence
Of the house and senate, 10 joint session
will make q declaration Of the votes cast
by the electors Of the several states, and
until that declaration shall have been
made the presidential election will not be
over; indeed. such things may happen
that nobody may predict in advance oil
the canvass Of the votes Of the electoral
college by congress who will be inGugura.
ted president on the 4th Of next March,
says the New York nimes.
The Law under which presidential cleo
tons are held Is threerold. These are
The provisions Of the constitution, the en-.
actments Of congress, and the statutes oI
the several states. The constitution as It
now stands provides that each state shall,
Gin such manner as the legislature there
Of may direct" choose electors, and that
the electors Of each state, uniting by
themselves, shall vote for president and
vice president, and make returns to the
president Of the United States senate, and
that a count Of the electoral votes shall
be made 10 o joint session Of the two
houses Of congress. It further provides
what shall he done in case no candidate
has q majority Of the votes Of the electo-
raj college. 1t is left to congress to deter
mine the time for choosing electors, the
time for the casting Of their votes, and
the time for the counting OF the votes in
congress. 1t is left for each Of the states
TO determine how its electors shall be
chosen.
The electors chosen, they must meet
and vote. Congress determines the time
for the meeting, the only provision in the
constitution upon this point being thGI
the day Of meeting shall be the ''samI
throughout the United States"
The law now directs that the electors o.
each state shall meet aRd give their votel
on the Second Monday in January neKI
following their appointment, at such
place in each state as the legislature may
direct. Formerly the electors did theil
work on the first Wednesday 10 Decem,
Der. It was under the old law that the
electoral vote was cast for Mr.. Cleveland
in 1884. The new Law was passed by tho
FOrty.ninth congress and was signed BY
President Cleveland in February, 1887,
In New York state the place Of meeting
fixed by state statute, enacted January,
1889, is Albany.
i What transpires at . meeting Of STATE
electors can easily be inferred; at the
same time brief statemsnt Of the pro
ceedings at such q meeting can hardly
fail TO be Of interest. The meeting ol
1884 in New York is taken as . sample,
in spite Of the fact that 1t occurred under
the old law, for the reason that what
happened there will probably be repeated
to some extent on the 9th day Of next
January in this and other states.
The electors met on Tuesday, Decem.
her 2, to organize. At 4 O'Clock p. M,
in accordance with the law Of the state
they were called 10 order. Gen. Carr
then secretary Of state, raped upon the
lieutenant-goverRor desk In the senate
chamber, and when there was quiet he
said:
The hour having arrived fixed by the
law Of this state for the electors chosen at
the last general election to assemble and
organize, preparatory to voting for preSi.
dent and vice president Of the United
States, l therefore, in compliance with
the custom which makes it the duty Of
the secretary Of the state to preside over
your preliminary organization, request
the electors to be in order"
The electors were seated in semi-circle
about the presiding officers desk. Upon
each electors desk was his name and the
name Of the district from which be hailed.
There were many spectators present, Of
whom large percentage were women.
The electors 10 order, the Rev. Joseph
A. MulfoFd offered q prayer. He prayed
that the college might be organized in
"peace and Ahity," which was all right,
Of course, but he also prayed that those
assembled might realise the sanctity in
vesting constitutional modes Of proceed.
ure and appreciate the privilege Of living
In land where the will Of the people eE-
pressed through these modes is 90 sa-
eFedly guarded and obeyed," ETC., which
was all wrong, for the reason that Il is
not true.
It IL by no means fact that the will Of
the people Is sacredly guarded in presi-
DENTAL elections. Had the good clergy
man known that there was nothing what
ever In law to keep these thirty-six elect
ors from voting for smother man than Mr..
Cleveland, be wouldn't have prayed -
he did. Instead, he might, perhaps,
have thanked the good Lord that, not
Nithstanding all the Wickedness 10 the
world, II was virtually safe 10 trust to the
honor Of the thirty-six men there assem-
bled to obey the Instructions given them
at the polls BY the people Of the state.
As matter Of fact an elector may vote
for whoever he likes. The law does not
lsay that an elscloF chosen on q demo