The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-25

ORIGIN UNKNOWN.
Why This Country Elects
Its Presidents Through
Electors.
MODE OF REPRESENTATION
New jerseys Electors Meet in
Trenton on the Second Mon
day in January.

The question of the why and the where
fore this county elects It's President
through electors is paramount to n
| others Just now. The system is not COM
pretended by many of the voters, and It
has been befogged by many more because
of the complications that are peculiar to
this campaign. This confusion comes
from discussing the scheme of the Popu-
lists of New Jersey to capture the two
Democratic electors-at-large and the
threat of the gold Democrats to refuse to
vote for the silver Democratic electors
and the probability of there being W
sets of Democratic electors.
The origin of the Electoral College is
not known for a certainty. Some think
they see its prototype in the colony of
Maryland. where the Constitution pro-
yided for the election of State Senators
Maryland, being a Catholic colony, had
borrowed the idea from the College Of
Cardinals when electing a Pope.
1t was not adopted as the process of
election except after a very general dis
cussion. In the Constitutional Conven-
ton, Wilson, of Pennsylvania, stood for
an election by the people to choose sthe
electors of the Executive Magistracy."
Roger Sherman wanted the election by
Congress. Mr.. Gerry, of gerrymander
fame, was for the selection by the Cover
nors of States or by electors selected by
them. The question perplexed the Con-
stitutional Convention for several days,
and they finally decided tina electors
should meet and elect the President and
Vice President. 1t was left to each State
to say how the electors should be elected,
and the basis was fixed as equal to the
representation of the States In Congress.
These electors were supposed to act from
patriotic motives and select the best man
for the office.
In the Electora, College the vote is
separately given for President and the
Vice President. The electors selected
in New Jersey win meet in Trenton on
the second Monday of January. The
~Jerseymen who receive the highest num-
Der Of votes given by the people viii vote
for the President. The people vote for
the electors, and although the ticket bears
the name of the candidates for President
and Vice President they do not vote for
them.
Should New Jersey go Republican this
fall the electoral vote of this State Will
be cast for the Republican candidates
for the first time since 1872, when Grant
swept New Jersey out of the Democratic
column into the Republican ranks.
In 1856 the Republican ticket first ap-
peared in this State, with Fremont as
its candidate for President and Will;an |
Il Dayton OF New Jersey. as the Vice
IIesiden6al nominee. Fremont re- |
celved 2S.38S votes to Buchanan,s 46. 943. |
and the electoral vote of seven went to |
the Democratic candidate.
N the nineteenth Presidential election \
votes and Stephen A. DOUGLASS cot three |
The four electors who voted for Lincoln
We're Joseph e. Hornblower, George Fl
BroWn, Edward w. iyans and Charles |
cast by William Cook, Joel Parker and |
Ineodore Runyon. The popular vote was. |
Lincoln, 1924; Douglass, 60. S01.
Nhen Lincoln ran the second time he |
was beaten in New Jersey by George b. |
Mcclellan. who received 6S,024 votes TO |
Lincoln's 60,72S. The seven electoral votes
Tor Mcclellan were cast by William Pat
terson, Eurman L: Mulford, Thomas Me-
Keen, r s. Lathrop, William p. Nc |
Michael, John McGregor and Charles r.
Cornwall.
Ulysses s. Grant was elected the twen-
ty-first President of the United States ia
- IA " 2tdlc by |
Horatio Seymour, who polled Sc 1000 votes
to Grants 80,131. The electoral votes
cast by Peter D. Froon1. Adolph /
Schalk, Albert H. Shape. William A.. Love,
James a. Swayze. Ralph S. Demarest and
Joseph #. Randolph.
When Grant ran the second time New
Jersey repudiated Greeley, the Demo-
cratic candidate, and gave Grant 1855
votes to Greeley's Il ,456. Greeley died,
however, before the Electoral College
met, so that eve if New Jersey had gone
Democratic her electors would have been
obliged to cast their votes for some one
else.
The nine electoral votes for Grant were
east by Charles S. O1den, Seldom T. Scran-
Samuel II. Grey, Alfred s. Living
Amos Clark, Jr., Hugh NJ. Castor,
A. Walton. Fredolin III and Anna
dee Spadone. Three of these are still liy-
ing, Grey, Wilson and Clark. Since their
votes were polled not a single Republic
electoral vote has been cast in this
State. which has been successfully car
ried by Tilden in 1876, by u.s. 62 votes to
l03,517 for Hayes; by Hancock in 1880, who
received 122,565 votes, while Garfield. was
only 2.010 votes behind; by Cleveland in
1854, who had 127, 784 votes to BIaine's 1913
for Cleveland again in 1883, whose
vote rose to 151. 493, while Harrison climb
ed TO AZ .344. for Cleveland n third fiuna l