The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-10-06

of cases the election of post master
would be decided by considerations Of
fitness and the personal preference Of
the patrons Of the Office and not upod
party lines. It would modify the cen
tralization tendencies of the post Office
and would thereby remove the strong
est objection to undermining the post
office by adding the telegraph and
telephone services which are properly
part Of an efficient postal service and
which as such have been adopted in al
other countries than ours. The election
of post masters for a fixed term is pre-
ferabla to the civil service life tenure.
The clerks and all other subordinatee
in the postal service should be appoint
ed under civil service rules. The post
masters would still give bond and
would be subject to regulations and
removal for cause as they are now.
J. Presidential Term For reasons
which are too we'll known to require
fuller discussion the President should
be ineligible for re election and for this
purpose his single tt rm should be fixed
at six years, so as to minimiee as far
as safe to do so the shocks incident to
a Presidential election. As half our
Presidents have served two terms and
half of them one term, six years each
has been the average service in the past
counting the Vice-Presidents succeed
ipg by casualty as simply q continU-
ance of the Presidency of their CHIEF.
Mr.. Cleveland when elected the first
time, and Mr.. Bryan recently, are
among those who have declared in
favor of the one term principle.
3. The Veto POaUer. The veto power
is an anachronism and has TO proper
place in our system in which each Of
the three great departments Of govern
ment should be separate and distinct.
In England no monarch has dared to
use the veto since the revolution Of
1858, more than two centuries. 1t is a
powerful lever in the hands Of a party
President to nulify any change in, or
expression Of, the will of the people,
however plainly expressed by the cleo
ton of members Of Congress in the
middle of his term. 1t is unrepubli
can and it's retention is a bar upon
the power of the people to change
their public policy, unless in the cleo
ton year Of a President.
6. The Mode of ELecting the Pre8i
dent. There has been one change al
ready made by the 18th amendment in
the mode of electing the President and
there have been distinct pronounce
ments at times in favor Of electing the
President by a direct vote Of the peo-
pie. The suppression, placement in
fact, OF the minority IN each State un
der the present g system, is an evil I'm
President by a direct vote of the PEG
pie will scarcely be adopted for two rea
sons. In the first place, so do SO would
be to destroy the advantage now given
all the smaller States by the addition
Of two votes in the electoral college to
each State irrespective Of size, in recOg-
milton Of the fact that the President is
chosen by the people and the States.
The smaller States would vote against
a change which would reduce their i'm
p~ortance and thus a~ggrandise the
weight Of the larger States and the re
Quired three fourths would not ratify.
frauds are most easily perpe
trated in States having large mejorities
but now the evil is minimieed, for !
Georgia or Mississippi or Iowa
or Minnesota give 40, coo or 100, 900 ma !
lority for q candidate makes no diff
since the candidate, in either !!
event, merely gets the electoral vote !
Of the State. But in gu election by the |
people Of the Union, voting as one |
district, afraud at any L Of the thou /
sands of precincts ia the Union which |
become a matter of interest to everV
other precinct. This would give ground
TO contest every Presidential election
and for the appointment OF poll holders
and the investigation of and canvassing
result at each poll by Federal au
Contested Presidential cleo.
would become the rule and civil
war owe the result inevitable. a mod.
fed plan has been suggested which re-
5ains the benefits of each Of the above
Iystems. IL is suggested that the pres
mt system of apportioning the number
If votes to each State in accordance
the number of members of Con
yress and Senator's be retained. but