Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-01-04
CARRYING THE VOTES.
Men Who Bring the Presidential
Results to the National
CAPITOL.

take q trip across the country for $500!
That is what the electoral messengers
from those states Will receive for bring
ing the votes for William Mckinney to
Washington, says the Washington Post.
The electors chosen in the different
states meet on the first "Wednesday in
December, according to the law, in the
place provided by the Legislature of
each state. In every case this Is the
state capitol. At this meeting the
electors will give their votes for Nc
Kinley or Bryan-no other of the candi-
dates having received enough votes IN
any state to entitle them to considera-
ton The result of the vote will then
be made out in triplicare. One copy will
be sent to the president of the Senate by
MALL one copy will be sent to him by
messenger, and one copy will be delv-
cred to the judge Of the district in which
the electors assemble. 10 these copies
viii be annexed lists of the electors pre-
pared by the executive of each state, ac-
cording to the official returns.
The reason for taking three copies of
the vote Of the electors is the possibility
that one or two may go astray, and the
precaution has been found wise III more
than one instance. At the time of Mr..
Harrison's election it was necessary to
send to the district judge to obtain the
vote of one of the states, the messen-
ger having gone astray somewhere and
the vote by mail having been lost in
transit
The messengers have one month in
which to reach the capitol. II they have
not arrived by the first Wednesday in
January, and if the postal return has not
been received by that time, the president
| of the Senate sends a special messenger
to get the returns from the district judge.
Twenty-Five Cents Per Mile.
For performing the service Of carrying
the returns safely to Washington, the
messengers are allowed by law 25 cents
for each mile ''of the estimated distance
by the most usual road" The distance
from Annapolis is short and the mes
senger from Maryland viii not be over
from San Francisco by way of
Omaha and Chicago is 1927 miles,
and the California messenger will
therefore receive more than $500
for his journey The distance from
Portland, Ore, is 1910 miles, and the
messenger from Oregon will receive
about 500 more than the messenger from
sofa Will receive pay for only 1854 miles,
| or about $500. He can perform the serv-
ice in three OF four days at the most, so
you will see he is not i'll paid.
The messenger from Illinois will re-
ceive more than 5000.
When these messengers reach Wash
ington they will call on the president of
the Senate and deliver the returns to him
in nerson. II one of these arrives on a
day when the vice-president is not at the
capitol he will have to wait. If the vice
president is presiding over the Senate
when the messenger arrives he will be
called out. The vice-president will re-
ceive each Of the returns sealed, and will
give a receipt for it. Then he will place
tho oOxo1OnQ still coolod in 1;ff1, ;,,op
safe which stands in one corner IF the
vice-president's room. 1t has stood there
for a great many years and iS not 4 very
modern safe. but there is no inducement
for anyone to break into it. If the orig
inal returns should be stolen. it would be
easy enough to obtain the duplicates.
Forfeit for Failure.
There is a reverse side to the joyful
occupation Of electoral messenger. The
messenger who fails to perform the duty
for which he has been chosen, and does
not deliver the vote entrusted to him,
"shall forfeit the sum of $1O0O,' accord
ing to the statute. He is not to pay a
fine in a sum mot to exceed $1O0O;" out
it is imperative that he be fined the whole
| amount.
| There is a provision to protect the mes
sengers in case the vice-president should
| be absent from Washington. In that
event the messenger may deliver the vote
| to the secretary Of state, who Will give
| a receipt for it.
| A great many persons no doubt are
puzzled to know what would happen if
| Maj. Mckinley should die before the
| electoral vote was cast, on the first
| Wednesday in December. That hap
pened in the case of Horace Greeley in
| 1872. He died before the electors met
and all of those who had been chosen on
his ticket, with the exception of three
| from Georgia. voted for whomsoeyer
| they pleased. The three cast their votes
were canyassed by Congress it was de-
termined not to count the three votes for
Mr.. Greeley. If Maj. Mckinley should
die, it is quite likely the votes Of the
electors would be cast for Mr. Hobart
but it is possible that they would be
scattered, and i'll that way the election
would be thrown into the House of Rep
resentatives. In such a case there is no
knowledge who would be President.
Senate Receives the Vote.
The House and Senate will canvass
the votes of the electors on the first
| Wednesday in February. The Senate
will go over to the hall of the House of
Representatives in body, headed by
| Vice-President Stevenson and Secretary
Cox, followed by Chief Page Stewart
over whose shoulders will be hung by a
precious votes. The members of the
House will rise as the senators enter
two and two. The vice-president will
mount the rostrum and take a seat at the
right of Speaker Reed.
The two tellers for the Senate (NIr
Hale and Mr.. Blackburn oficiated four
year ago. will sit at the desk below:
and below them will sit the two House
tellers. The vice-president will then
take the envelopes handed to him by
Stewart in their alphabetical order. In
the first count the states were taken ac-
cording to geographical location. begin
ming with Maine; but since 1876 they
have been taken alpha Each
certificate as it is taken from it's Ell.
velope he will hand to the tellers and
they will read them in turn, the Senate
tellers reading the first two and the
House tellcrs the next two. The vote
of Alabama will be read in full and then
unanimous consent will be asked and
granted that the remaining certificates
be summarized. A double tally of the
votes will be kept. That will be COM
paratively simple matter this time, be-
+ SC lyr3oJ ,1oo% 10 -