The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-03
OTHER PLANS REVIEWED.
NOT CONSIDERED TO BE
FEASIBLE
DIVISION OF ELECTORAL VOTE
On the Basis of the Vote Cast in
Each State Recommended for
Adoption.
WASHING TON BUREAUST. PAUL GLOBE, J
C0RCORAH Bull DING.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2.-The appear
ance in the Forum Of the first Of what
is evidently intended to be series Of
papers from the pen of ex-Secretary
Carlisle on the Dangerous Defects Of
Our Electoral System" shows him to be
a man Of courage; for the only logical
conclusion from the one of his papers
already published Is that the consti-
tuition should be amended, and the gen.
eral public have come to regard any
body who makes such a proposal as
visionary. Except as war measures,
there have been no amendments of the
constitution for ninety-four years, and
the difficulties attending any change
in the fundamental law are such as to
discourage the most enthusiastic Of re-
formers.
Of all the methods which might be
devised in free republic for choosing
president, the United States have
gradually developed through the opera
rtion Of the electoral college mast pecu-
liar one, which might we'll be designat-
ed the doubtful state" system. The
alternative most commonly proposed.
that of a direct popular vote, would un-
NO0pISO4y We WOTSS. buC Lner6 Is no
need Of turning to it aus a remedy when
all the essential features Of voting by
states might be preserved, and at the
same time the omnipotence Of few
close states done away with. Although
Secretary Carlisle did not say SO in
his first paper, it looks aus If before he
got through he would recommend the
system of dividing the electoral vote
np -tn+o
proportion to the share Of the popular
vote which they respectively received.
For instance, New York state cast in
1896, 1,423,876 votes. This would mean
that there were 1852 Individual votes
cast for each electoral vote. The total
Mckinley vote might have been divid-
ed by 1852 and the quotient declared
to be the number Of Mckinley electors.
BY applying the same divisor to the
Bryan vote and also to that cast for
Palmer and Buckner an apportioning
Of the thirty-siX electoral votes would
have resulted. OF course, popular vote
figures would not divide evenly, but
the odd electoral vote could be given to
the candidate having the largest frac-
ton to carry over. Thus, in New York
state in 1896, by this arrangement Nc
Kinley would have received $685. di-
vided by 1852, or 20 and the fraction
2S,796. Bryan's 1863 votes would
have contained the unit of division 10
times, with the fraction 81, 1873 Thirty
three electoral votes would thus have
been disposed of, and for the remain
ing three the competing fractions
would have been as follows:
Bryan ......... 81, 193Matchett . II 667
Mckinney rs, 796LeYer.ng :. $500. 16 052
Palmer ....... IS $50
Therefore, one more electoral vote
would have been added to the McKin-
ley column, one to the Bryan column.
and one to the Palmer column, leaving
the electoral vote of New York 81 for
Mckinley, IA for Bryan, and / for
Palmer.
In Nebraska in the same year. in
stead Of all the electoral votes going
to Bryan, McKinley's 102, 292, divided by
27,Se9, would have given him three cleo
toral votes, and Bryan's 115, 1852, divided
by 27,S69, would have given him four.
The remaining vote of the eight, to
which the state Is entitled, would have
fallen to the Republicans, leaving the
states place in the final footing four
to four.
Under this system each state would
continue to be possessed of a power in
the electoral college proportionate to
sentatives, as at present. The defects
of the popular vote plan, by which a
Democratic majority in Texas might
outweigh the Republican majority in a
dozen close Northern states, would be
avoided. And at the same time, under
this division of the electoral vote, the
individual Republican or Individual
Democrat would be worth just as much
to his party in Vermont or Arkansas as
in Indiana or New Jersey. The Repub-
licanS of MaSSa chusetts in 1896 drum
med out a great Mckinley sound money
vote for nothing in the world but it's
moral effect" which could not appear
as an effect until after the election
was over. In q certain sense, Massa-
chusetts took no more part in the con-
test of 1896 than did New Mexico or
Arizona Her fifteen Republican cleo
toral votes were discounted in advance,
and her voters were mere spectators Of
the great contest going on in Nebraska,
Kansas and Illinois. The same was
true to greater or less degree in New
York and all the Eastern states. On
the other hand, sound money voters in
Utah and Nevada were so few that
they became merely spectators of the
contests in other places. 1t is, in short,
the doubtful states that really choose
the presidents, and this concentration
Of the national battle upon small units
political decentralization as we'll as per
Verting the true intent of the trainers
Of the constitution. A student of his
tory need not inquire what were the
doubtful states at any period of our
country's history. He may read that
in the states from which candidates for
the presidency and vice presidency
we're selected. Take for an example
the period from the close of Grants
administration to the rise of a formid-
able free silver movement IN 1895: Can
didates were chosen In 1876 from Ohio
and New York, New York and Indiana;
in 1880 from Ohio and New York, New
York actually, though nominally
Pennsylvania and Indiana: in 1884
from Maine and Illinois, New York and
Indiana; in 1883 from Indiana and New
York, New York and Ohio; in 1892 from
Indiana and New York, New York and
Illinois. 1t would hardly be claimed
country for these twenty years re-
sided in a group of three Ohio valley
states and New York. While the scenes
have shifted somewhat through the
rise Of the silver movement, the I'M
DERIVING principle is the same; and if
the presidential battles should continue
upon that line. both parties would
doubtless go to seek their candidates
from the disputed territory. Mr.. Bryan
in 1896 certainly came from a state
doubtful on the silver issue. Mr.. Nc
Kinley represented the middle West,
" hich was regarded as somewhat I'M
certain, and thus his nomination, more
than that of Mr.. Reed or any of his
possible rivals except Mr.. Allison, car
ried out the doubtful state idea.
Ats ~ ,%,, 6