New Ulm review., 1908-11-04

shown in the latter day mode Of elect
ing the vice president. In the first
national elections held the man re-
ceiving the largest number of votes in
the electoral college became president,
while the man who got the second lar
gest number of votes became vice pres
ident regardless of party. Thus in the
early days of our country we had a
president from one party and vice
president from another. That system
was terminated, however, at the open
ing of the last century, and today
there is but the remotest possibility
that the vice president will be Of a
different party than the president
There is one phase of the electoral
system that has been attracting con-
siderable attention of late. That is the
inequitable degree of representation
had by various states in the electoral
college. Some states have far greater
proportionate representation than 9TH
ers in respect to population. Thus the
citizens of those states so favored have
a larger voice in the choosing of a
president and vice president than the
voters of less fortunate states. For in
stance, seventeen states can be group
ed having a total popular vote of prac-
tically the same as that of New York,
yet the electoral votes of these seven
| teen states are almost twice those Of
New York in number. Nevada, with a
popular vote Of 10000 in 1904, has
three electoral votes, or one to about
every 1000 voters. Indiana, with q
popular vote of 6S2,000 in 1904, has
only fifteen electoral votes. or one to
every 45,40O voters. New York is an
other unfortunate state in this respect,
having one electoral vote to every
Al 400 voters
Adopted after a prolonged and i'm
bittered dispute in the famous consti-
tutional convention of 1871 in Philadel-
phia, the electoral college system has
since it's inception been the center of
various momentous disagreements.
When Washington was first elected to
the presidency the legislatures of New
York and New Hampshire were torn
by dissensions which reached SO far
that no electors were chosen, and
Washington consequently did not re-
ceive any votes from either Of these
states. At the second election, how
ever, Washington received the unani-
nous vote of all the electors.
Notable Historical Episode.
At the second election Jefferson and
Burr appeared as candidates, Ken
tucky giving the former four votes and
South Carolina giving the latter one.
At the third election they appeared
again and this time much more promi-
nently, Jefferson receiving 69 votes
and Burr 80. John Adams, with vote
of Il, just one over the requisite ma
1ority. carried off the presidency, and
Jefferson became vice president. North
Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia
each gave Adams one vote, giving JEFF
ferson the rest, and these three scat
tering votes made Adams president.
At the fourth election Jefferson and
Burr appeared again, and the vote In
the electoral colleges was tie, 73
each. which led to the famous election
by the house, an episode occupying
prominent place In American history.
In 1925 there was another election
by the house. For president Andrew
Jackson had 80 electoral votes, John
Quincy Adams 81, William II. Craw
ford Al and Henry Clay 81, and, nei-
ther candidate having majority, it
devolved upon the house to choose
president from the three highest. The
election came off on Feb. 9, 1926, and
on the first ballot Adams was elected
for Adams, 13 states; for Jackson, Z;
| for Crawford, f. In this election Clay
threw his vote to Adams, who in turn
made him secretary Of state, and the
resultant cry Of bargain and sale ruin
ed the great Kentuckian's presiden-
tial prospects.
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