Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-03-16
CHOOSING A PRESIDENT.
The Electoral System, and Why
it Should he Changed.


EDITOR CITIZEN:-The taking of the
oath on the 4th of March was the last
act required to induct a new President
into his Office. The fact that we do not
vote direct for President and Vice Pres
ident of the United States is one that
that causes both inquiry and wonder.
When, on November last. the people
voted they thought, or many of them at
least, that they were voting direct for
those offices. But as matter of law
and fact they were not sovoting. They
simply voted for Presidential Electors.
These electors are the sole bodies au-
thorized under the Constitution of the
United States to choose a President
And they did so choose on the second
Monday of January last by meeting in
the respective states in which they
had been elected and declaring their
choice That was the first legal act
making known who were chosen. True
they carried out the willard wishes OF
the party that elected them. But they
were not bound in law to do So Only
in honor and in fidelity TO the political
party and friends that elected them did
they act. and not to have so acted would
have justly been deemed betrayal OF
party and party usages. Theee usaSes
arise now from party conventions nomi-
mating candidates. National conven-
tions now designate candidates, thing
unknown in the early days of the Re
public, and which has in effect render
ed useless the Electoral system. defeat
ing its very object, as will be seen by
the very words Of the Constitution it
self.
The Constitution of the United States
makes the following provision for
choosing President and Vice Presl-
dent: art. 2, Sec. 2. Each State shall
appoint, in such manner as the Legisla-.
ture thereof may direct, a number of
Electors, equal to the whole number OF
Senators ard Representatives to which
the State may be entitled in the Con-
gress."
Sec. 3. NOW amendment 12) provides
as to the mode and manner these cleo
tors shall act when chosen, as follows:
"The Electors shall meet in their re-
spective states and vote by ballot for
President and Vice President, one or
whom at least shall not be an inhabit-
ant of the same State with themselves;
| they shall name in their ballots the per
son voted for as President and in dis
| tinct ballots the person voted for as Vice
President, and they shall make distinct
! lists of all persons voted for as President
and of all persons voted for as Vice
President, and of the number of votes
| for each, which lists they shall sign and
certify and transmit sealed to the seat
| of government of the United States, di-
rected to the President of the Senate.
The President of the Senate shall, in
the presence of the Senate and House OF
Representatives open all the certificates
and the votes shall then be counted.
The person having the greatest number
of votes for President shall be the Pres
ident, if such number be a majority of
| the whole number of Electors appoint
ed; and If no person have such majori-
| ty, then from the persons having the
| highest numbers, not exceeding three
on the list of those voted for as Presi-
dent, the House of Representatives shall
choose Immediately by ballot the Pres
ident. But in choosing the President
the votes shall be taken by States, the
representation from each State having
| one vote. quorum for this purpose
shall consist of member or members
from two-thirds of the States, and q ma
jority of all the States shall be necessa-
ry to choice.
| 1t will be observed there is nothing
in the above mode as to popular vote,
nothing as to National Conventions or
parties. Had our foTefathers, the FRAN
ers of the U. s. Constitution, ever
dreamed that political parties would
arise and conventions be held by them
to designate in advance the persons to
be voted for by the Electors it is doubt
| full if they would have adopted the mode
Il . al IF
was the only officer they seemed to be
afraid to submit to a direct vote of the
people. And when we consider their
labors and sufferings in the Revolution.
and that they then were about to give
to the world young Republic, the first
ever known of it's kind, and great ex-
pertinent we perhaps should not think
it strange that they feared submitting
the choice of its chief officer to direct
vote. Alexander Hamilton, who was
one of the principal trainers of THE con
stitution, defended this system of the
election Of President by Electors in a
very able manner. in letters published
| in book now known as the Federalist
He argues that they. the Electors, would
be chosen body of men, who would
not be influenced improperly, who
would look around, deliberate and make
choice OF the best man for President
But all of Mr.. Hamilton's reasons have
faded away, not one of them being of
practical use or now needed. Parties or
National Conventions now name the
persons who become Presidents, and
nothing but the form of the Electoral
system remains Why should it be CON
tinued? 1t worked well enough before
parties arose. All our first Presidents
Washington. the elder Adams. Jeffer-
son. Madison and Monroe, were chosen
under the Electoral system, pure and
simple. But they were not nominated
by any party or any National Conven-
ton. There was but one trouble dur
ing all those years. That was in the
year 1900 when Jefferson and Burr had
an equal number Of the Electoral votes
for President. That election was the
first to go into the House of Congress
| and Jefferson was chosen by one vote
or by one State rather, under the sys-
tenn. But after Monroe. in the election
/ Of 1924, for President. came the trouble
| that led to National Conventions. OF
| the Electors chosen then Andrew Jack
son had the greater number cast for
him. John Quincy Adams had next
highest. Henry Clay had quite a num-
bClg DuI hO OLc ~ VI tbt
Electors. The consequence was that
under the Electoral system as seen in
above article of the Constitution, that
election had to be thrown into the
House of Congress 1t was 80 thrown
into Congress with the result that
Adams became the President. This
was done through the aid Of Mr.. Clay
As the vote in the House had to be by
States. and as BOTH Adams and Clay
were then in Congress, or public Office
it was charged at the time that they
combined their friends and secures
enough States to elect Adams over
jackson. This was characterized as
bargain and sale" as il appeared to
look. Adams afterwards made Clay
his Secretary of State. Jackson had
not only the leading vote OF the Electors
but he had large leading vote of the
people, as counted by the vote on the
Electors, as the same is yet counted
Great complaint and indignation arose
as mt the manner in which jackson had
been used, with the result that he oe-
came the head and founder Of new
party, called from that time the Demo
cratic party. At the next elections,
1923 and 1882. he was chosen President
by large majorities Of both people and
Electors. And from about that time
National Conventions began to come in
vogue, to settle upon party candidates,
although the Electoral system remains
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