The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-11-13
CONGRESS MAKES A CANVASS
THREE MONTHS HENCE.
REAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The Actual ELECTION" Of a President
is an Affair Of Much Ceremony,
Though 8rief-constitutio ional
Points Sometimes Afise


though the noise and the shouting
died away and popular interest
wanes with the recent balloting foi
president and vice president of the
United States, II will be more than
three months before the real. though
purely formal. election Of those two
highly important officials takes place.
Tuesdays presidential election Is
not a presidential election at all ia
the strict meaning OF the consttu-
tion. The real presidential election
will be held I'm the hail of the house
of representatives at Washington on
the afternoon OF the second Wednes-
day OF next February. II VIII he a.
very formal and strict affair. inter
spersed with occasional cheering
from the galleries. II Is such n cut
and dried affair and is pulled Off
with such precision and punctilious-
ness quadrennially that one can
tell beforehand what Is going to hap
pen.
For instance 1T Is entisely safe TO
| say that on the second Wednesday
afternoon OF next February, at 12 so
o'clock. the senate will take re-
cess and a grave procession will
| form and march along the main cor
ridor OF the capitol II will he headed
by Vice President Fairbanks Secre-
tary Bennett and Sergeant.at-Arms
Ransdell There will be an entry
in the Congressional Record OF the
next morning as TO how they 'pre.
ceded and proceeded TO the house,
and also an entry to this effect:
"The senate returned TO It's cham
bers at o'clock and 50 minutes
p. m. and the vice president re-
sumed the chair"
For In recent years Il has taken
just fifty-five minutes to hold tho
real presidential election. Perhaps
the existence OF an additional state.
Oklahoma. whose vote must be coun,
ed and proclaimed will take an
extra minute or two. In any event
the senate. I'm joint session with
the house. and presided over b,
the senate's presiding officer, took
fifty five minutes to elect william
Mckinley president and Garret A.
Hobart vice president; also fifty
five minutes to elect Roosevelt and
Fairbanks.
The greatest caution is observed
in the count Of the votes. which
are always trundled over to the
house. along with the senatorial pro
cession. in two elaborate boxes
made on the vice presidents order
The votes OF the electors, as de
cided upon at Tuesdays election
will be cast at the respective state
capitals during January, and then
forwarded to Washington. Tie sec
retary of state and vice president
both have to do with the collection
and guarding OF these votes. First
and last, there is considerable for
| mality about It. The two boxes In
! which the votes are transmitted tC
| the house become the perquisites o
the vice president.
There are probably at least a score
| OF families In this country that treas
| ure couple OF these boxes as heir
| looms. A man. who never was vice
president, but performed the du
ties OF that oifice-Senator william
u. Frye OF Maine-has had four o
these ballot boxes. which are said Il
be more than any other man eve
had. That is because he was pre-
siding officer OF the senate durinI
periods that covered two presiden
tial elctions.
The ritual for the election Is quit