The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-12-10
NOT YET ELECTED.
Roosevelt Electors May Choose
Cleveland or Debs for Presi-
dent, If They See Fit.

Many persons, If asked, would VI
hesitatipgly declare that the peopl
of the United States at the recen
election elected Theodore Roosevelt
to be president for four years follow
ing March 4th next. As matter G
fact nothing of the kind was done
The next president will not be electe,
until the second Monday OF mex
January.
| What was done at the polls was I,
choose in each state number O
men, equivalent in number to th
senator's and representatives from
the respective commonwealths, AM
these men, known as electors, ar,
to elect the president. On January
9th, these electors will meet in theil
respective states and cast their bal
lots, first for president and then fol
vice-president. These ballots viii
be sent to Washington, and on the
second Wednesday in February the
president OF the senate, in the pres
ence of both chambers of congress,
will count them and declare the re.
suit. The person having the major.
ity OF all the electoral votes cast will
be declared president.
Ii it should have happened that
Mr.. Swallow, Mr.. Watson, Mr.. Debs
or some other presidential candidate e
received enough electoral votes so
that no candidate had majority
over all, then the three having the
greatest number would be presented
to congress and that body would
choose. As congress is Republican,
Roosevelt would be selected.
This year there were 476 electors.
Suppose Mr.. Swallow had carried
enough states to give him 25 electo-
raj votes, Mr.. Debs enough to give
him 22, and MIR. Watson enough to
give him 38. This would make a
total OF 85 votes, which, taken from
the 476 would leave 391. Now, again,
suppose of these 391 electoral votes
$50 were cast for Mr.. Parker and 161
for Mr.. Roosevelt. Mr.. Parker
would clearly have handsome plu-
rality over all--239. In spite OF the
fact that he had SO more votes than
Mr.. Roosevelt, congress would have
the right to select Mr.. Roosevelt,
and, being Republican, would do so.
In voting for Roosevelt electors"
or Parker electors, the people are
not even positively certain that the
electors selected will cast their bal
lots as they are expected to do. OF
course, honor binds an elector to
cast his ballot for the nominee OF the
party for which he stands, but there
is no legal compulsion about it.
When the electors for Maine meet on
the second Monday OF next January,
for example, they may, if they see
fit, cast their ballots for Mr.. Parker,
or for Grover Cleveland, or for any
other American citizen eligible to
the Office.
The electors could make the choice
OF Mr.. Roosevelt unanimous, or they
could defy the will OF the people and
select Mr.. Watson. They could make
Mr.. Parker president and Mr.. Roose.
velt yice-president, or vice versa.
The presidential electors are
merely q number of well-known and
responsible citizens whom the people
elect to pick out president and
vice-president for them, on the theory
that q body OF men thus selected
will be apt to make q better choice
than the people as whole.
In case Of the death OF Mr.. Roose-
velt before the second Monday OF
next January, there will be no new
election. The Republican leaders OF
the country, acting for their party,
would select new candidate, and
the Republican electors would vote
for him.
After guessing how many beans in