The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-04-26

The dficulty involved IN The requirement Of
a majority TO elect Is that IL places the con.
troll Of the legislature in the hands Of one two,
three, or more persons, who, by holding out, are
frequently enabled TO dictate their own tcrIns
or to prevent the election of a senator.
REQUIREMENT OF MAJORITY.
I believe that there is hill now pending be.
fore congress, introduced by the distinguished
senior senator from Massachusetts, which, among
other provisions, docs away with the require.
ment Of a majority. While it is TO be ad.
mitted that certain abuses arise under the
requirement Of a mere plurality, such as the pos
sibility that the minority In legislature might
elect senator where the majority might he
divided into two factions, which were unable
TO agree, yet upon the whole, IL would seem as
II some method which would permit an election
Of some kind would tend in the end TO the co.
herence OF whatever party might be in the ma
jority in the legislature, ard in any event would
permit the election Of senator, which is now
frequently really impossible where three or more
separate parties or factions exist in a legislature
each widely, and at the same time often sincere.
ly, disagreeing with each other and utterly un.
able to come together.
There are two other cases in the constitution
in which vacancies are referred TO, and the in.
depreciation which has been placed upon the
word in these two instances is full Of instruction
for the construction Of the word ''vacances" IN
connection with the filing of vacancies in the
United States senate. Clause Of section OF
article 2 Of the federal constitution provides:
"Thc president shall have power to hll up
vacancies that may happen during the recess
Of the senate by granting commissions which
shall expire at the end Of their next session."
At very early date the question was raised
whether or not, under this provision Of the con-
stitution, the president had the right to fill up
a vacancy that had occurred by expiration Of the
full term or in any other manner while the sen.
ate was in session, which vacancy, not having
been filled, continued to exist during the recess
Of the senate. The construction placed upon
this provision by numerous attorneys'general OF
the United States and by the courts very largely
aids in arriving at proper construction OF this
constitutional provision authorizing the governor
to make temporary appointments. On the ex
piraton Of General Swartwouts commission as
navy agent at New York, while the senate was in
session, the president nominated another person
to fill the vacancy and sent the name to the
senate for confirmation, which was not made
before the senate adjourned. The vacancy con.
tinued to exist during the recess, and the prosi
dent asked the attorney. ger eral whether he had
the right to fill the vacancy by temporary APP
pointment until the end of the next session oi
the senate Attorney General Wit, in a we'll
considered opinion, held that it was a vacancy
within the nearing of the constitution, and that
It could be temporarily filled by an appointment
by the president. In this connection he dis
cusscs the use of the word ''happen," and says
among other things:
"The doubt arises from the circumstances o
its having first occurred during the session Of the
senate. But the expression used by the consti
tuition is 'happen--al vacancies that may hap
pen during the recess Of the senate The mos
natural sense OF this tern is 'to chance; to fall