The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-14
RATIFYING THE VERDICT
The Electoral Votes Formally
Counted by Congress.
Joint Convention of the senate and
House of Representatives to ES-
anime the Certificates From the
Several STATES and Announce the
Outcome of the Late Election.

on the part of the Senate and House o
Representatives formally announced ant
declared in the hall of the House yester.
day, pursuant to the requirement OF tn,
Constitution, the result of the late Presi.
Dental election. The count of the votes o.
the electors chosen by the several States
and the announcement of the result makes
william Mckinley President-elect and
Theodore Roosevelt Vice President elect
There was the loud hum of many voices
In the Hall at an early hour, and this in
creased in intensity until noon when the
House met. The east half of the main
public gallery. which had not been re-
served. filled within a few minutes after
having been opened at. g O'Clock FULLY a
hundred persons waiting in the corridor
Until the doors of this particular gallery
should be swung back. There were not
seats for all who would enter. and at noon
| the corridor at the rear of the north gal
lery- was congested Two-th thirds of those
! occupying seats in the gallery indicated
were women.
All seats in the Members gallery
were occupied. Not more than a dozen
men sat there, the spectators being nearly
all wtmen. The west half of the north
gallery tilled more slowly than the others.
but nevertheless it was crowded when the
count of the electoral votes was begun.
| All Other galleries of the Hall Of the
| House. with the exception of the execa-
| tive and diplomatic galleries. were full
| at 1880 O'Clock
| Accommodation In the hall was provided
for the two houses Of Congress by the re-
moval Of number of the large revolving
| seats OF members and the substitution of
| smaller ch2:Ts. During the consideration
OF the Sundry Civil bill in Committee OF
| the Whole between II and 1850 o'clock
| thcre was great disorder on the floor and
IN the galleries. which Mr.. Hopkins in the
| chair. founi himself impotent to suppress
Speaker Henderson at 1880 O'Clock re-
! quested those members on the east side of
| the hall occupying seats in the first three
rows to vacate their chairs for the use of
the Senate. and called upon the tellers on
| the part of the House to take their places
at the clerks desk. Mr.. Rich
| ardson. of Tennessee, and Mr.. Gros-
| venor, the House tellers, accom-
| panied by Alexander Mcdowell, Clerk of
| tho House. came forward and took seats
on the left Of the reading clerk hJr.
Richardson sat at Mr.. Grosvenor's right
and Mr.. Mcdowell on the left OF the
Ohioan. The Senate entered the north
door OF the Hall of Representatives at one
! minute to ] o'clock. Sergeant-at-Ar1n
Ransdell led the double file OF Senators.
| escorted by Bert Kennedy, Assistant Ser
geant-at-Arms of the House, who an
nounced:
"Mf. Speaker, the Senate of the United
States"
Two pages carried. Immediately behind
q
mahogany boxes containing the votes,
which were placed in their old vehicle
serving the same purpose, which IL was
for many years the pride and Joy of the
late venerable Capt. Isaac Bassett to him
self carry on these quadrennial occasions
from the Senate to the House. Senator
Frye took his seat with Speaker Hender-
son as presiding officer. while 7Messrs.
Chandler and Caffery. tellers on the part
of the Senate. took their splaces at the
right of the Reading Clerks desk The
concurrent resolution providing for the
counting of the vote recites the law upon
the subject, which was enacted shortly
after the critical period following the
election of 1876 when the power of the
Vice President to declare the result of
the vote was subject of violent debate.
Subsequently the count was made pur-
suant to the terms of the old form of con-
current resolution and no question was
made. But this year. when the Senate
again followed precedent, the House. I'M
der the lead of the Committee on Rules,
substituted for the old Fepudiated form
a resolution following the phraseology of
the law.
The Speakers gavel fell once and the
House stood while the Senate entered. ,
taking seats on the right. The Speakers
gavel fell again and the House and Sem
ate sat
l.
for order, and announced the reason for |
the joint convention of the House of Rep |
resentatives and Senate. He said:
THE two houses of Congress are in |
joint conver'io: pursuant to the require |
ments of the Constitution and laws of the |
United States to open tine credentials and !
count the votes of the several States for |
President and Vice President. Follow |
ing the precedeBts well established on |
former occasions. unless there shall be a I
demand for ii in any case, the mere form
al papers Will not be read by the tellers |
On ascertaining that the credentials are |
authentic and in correct form. they will |
simply give the lists of the votes of the |
several States.
ing of the electoral vote of the State of 1
Alabama. the tellers viii receive the ere
dentials and make a list of the vote"
The clerk to the Speaker handed to
Mr. Chandler the certificate of the EIec- |
tors for the State of Alabama casting
eleven votes for William j. Bryan and
Adiai Z. Stevenson. MIR. Cafiery proceed
ed to read the certificate from Arkansas,
when Mr.. Cockrell arose and asked that
the reading OF the certificates be dis
pensed with, and that only the results be
announced Mr.. Cockren said amid
laughter:
Il think We can trust the teIlers"
Sanction" said Mr. Frye, has been
given for dispensing with the reading of
the formal parts of the credentials, but
Hooking at the Tocumentl it may be nee
essary for the telIers to read the docu-
ment brought by the messenger from that
States" Mr. Frye then added The tel
ler will read It." And it was done.
The tellers after this announced only
the result in each State.
Mr.. Richardson. with the certificate of
California in his hand announced the
vote Of that State.
Mr.. Grosyenor read the result of the |
vote OF Colorado as follows: COLORADO
President, and four votes for Theodore
Roosevelt as Vice President"
This error provoked laughter and ar
plause and Mr.. Frye found great difficulty
elling the merriment When order
estored Mr.. Grosvenor corrected his
2.
tes Of the several States in alpha
der were announced with few de-
results as given in the certi6.
read aloud by the four tellers
each teller in his turn exam
tificate.