The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-31
THE REPUBLICAN POSITION.


Representative 0. G. Kimball the
Republican member. refuses to say
whether he would under any circum-
stances vote for Thatcher. He was
interviewed by George NJ. Cannon just
before the afternoon session was called
to order and at the close of the inter-
view Mr.. Cannon remarked to an ac-
quaintance that the Republicans could
not afford to put themselves in a
hole" by helping TO elect Thatcher.
HOW IT IS VIEWED.
While it is not by any means GER
tain that Thatcher could have secured
the three necessary votes yesterday,
his supporters were quite willing to
run the risk of further balloting, while
his opponents were not. The fact that
an adjournment was forced on the
assembly by a vote of 81 to 30 is c/e-
strued by many to indicate that the
majority was against Thatcher and he
could not have been elected, but this
does not follow. Ray would have
voted for Thatcher, and voted for the
adjournment; and Speaker Perkins,
another Thatcher voter did not vote
on the motion. Mrs. Cannon, o. G.
Kimball and Murdock voted against
adjournment, but Mr.. Murdoch de-
clared afterward that his action should
not be construed to mean. that he
would have voted for Thatcher.
TOMORROW'S DEVELOPMENTS.
1t is probable that Thatcher will go
into the contest tomorrow with the
same strength shown yesterday, but as
the two absenteeS are expected to re-
turn, it will then require one more vote
to elect than would have been neces-
sary yesterday. He must gain four,
and this the -Rawlins man
a he
Both of the absent members-Senator
Wright and Representative Sorensen-
were voting for Rawlins when they
left.
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
The number of votes necessary to
elect was a question of much import
tance yesterday, for had Thatcher re-
ceiVed 81 votes he would have been
declared elected, although this is less
than a majority of all the members.
The federal statutes say that the can
didate must receive "a majority of all
the votes of the joint assembly" and
this language seems capable of two
constructions. The United States GEM
ate, said one of the leading members
of the bar yesterday, has held both
ways on the question. In the Call,
Kellogg and Dupont cases it ruled that
a majority of all the members was
necessary TO elect, regardless OF the
number voting. In the Dupont case,
which is the most recent, it appeared
that one member of the legislature
had died and that Dupont had received
the votes of a majority of the remain
ing members. The senate decided that
he should have received the votes of
majority of all the members elected,
and refused him his seat on those
grounds. Senator Shoup of Idaho was
elected by less than a majority, but
his seat was not contested.
The decisions in these cases depend
largely upon the political complexion
of the senate and the politics of the
senatOr-elect. Should an anti-silver
majority be in control of the senate
next March it would probably not hes
itate to unseat a silver senator on
technical grounds.
The legislature probably escaped
serious complications yesterday by the
failure to elect Thatcher. In addi-
ton to the question of majority, the
regularity and legality of the after
noon session was questioned. 1t was
claimed that during the recess it was
definitely decided by some of Thatch-
er's opponents, in and out of the legis-
lature, that in the event of his cleo
tion at that session the election would
be contested.