Evening star., 1912-08-31
MEAN HARD TIMES
Washington Attorney Shows Com
plexity Of the Electoral System.
SEVEN NOW HAVE CHANCE
Taft, Wilson, Roosevelt, Sherman,
Marshall, johnson or Knox May
Be Executive, He Says.

0ldESO8u, johnson ana Knox. each mas g
chance Of being the next President Of the
United States as q result Of the compli-
Gated political situation caused by the
formation Of the progressive party. in the
opinion OF Attorney Paca Oberlin Of this
city. Mr.. Oberlin says that 1t not only is
possible but probable that no choice will
be made at the polls in November. He
then points out that the House Of Repre-
sentatives Is so divided as to make It al
most impossible for that body to choose a
President Next in order, the Senate has
the opportunity OF choosing a, Vice Presi-
dent to act as chief executive, and Mr..
Oberlin maintains that this body would
have difficulty in throwing enough votes
to any one candidate to get results. The
Secretary of State then is automatically
made President or a second election is
necessary.
Reviews Situation.
Mr.. Oberlin discusses the situation -dn
detail as follows:
While it is generally supposed that
the answer to the query Who will be
our next President? will be given next
November. yet it is not true that the
answer will at all events be given then.
me WorIng of our electoral system in
choosing the President and Vice President
Is difncult to understand. Neither of
these officers is elected by the people.
When 1t is announced that a candidate
mas received majority of several hun
areu .. thousand people for the presidency
1t means nothing; If he receives a ma
Jorlty or the electoral votes ne is elected,
even though his opponent should have re :
ceaveo more popular votes than he. There
IS, therefore, properly speaking, no popu-
Iov,t
the people vote for electors. and those
CHOSEN in each state meet therein and
vote Tor the candidates for President and
vice PRESIDENT. The record Of any popu-
lar vote Tor electors prior to 1894 is
meager and imperfect. In most OF the
states, for more than a quarter of q cen-
tury following the establishment of the
government. the state legislatures AN
pointed the presidential electors, and the
people voted only Indirectly for them
their choice being expressed bv thair
votes Tor members Of the legislature.
Harrison Election.
In the presidential election Of 1898
Cleveland received 5,538.233 popular
votes. and 168 electoral votes: while
Harrison. the successful candidate. re-
ceved 5,440.216 popular votes. and 2as
electoral votes, a majority OF 65. which
had received 98.017 less popular votes
than Cleveland In 1892 Cleveland
was elected by majority of 1872 cleo
torai votes. In this election Cleve-
land had> received 3sO,s1O more popu-
lar votes than Harrison, but other
candidates received an aggregate of
more than million and a quarter
popular votes. leaving Cleveland with
popular vote. So
The electors who will be appointed
by qualified voters of the several states
next November will meet in their re-
spectfve states on the first Monday in
January at such place in the state as
the legislature has directed and vote
by ballot for President and Vice Presi-
dent, and name in their ballots the
person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for
as Vice President. and make distinct
lists of all persons voted for as Presi-
dent, and all persons voted for as Vice
President of the Senate. Like lists are
and certify and transmit sealed to the
president of the Senate. Like lists are
to be sent to the Secretary of State at
Washington and to the United States
district judge for the district in which
the electors meet. The lists sent to
the President of the Senate are opened
in the presence of the Senate and
hall of the House of Representatives.
and the votes are then counted and the
result announced.
Majority Is Necessary.
"The votes of a majority of the
whole number Of electors appointed is
necessary for an election. In the pres
ent complicated political situation
with three strong candidates in the
field, it may be that no person will re-
ceive the necessary number of cleo
toral votes to elect in which event
the election Of the President would de-
volve upon the present House of Rep
resentatives. In discharging this duty
their right of choice would be re-
stricted to the three candidates re-
ceiving the highest number of electoral
votes. who would in all probability be
Wilson, Taft and Roosevelt.
"On all other questions members orIne
House Of Representatives vote Individual
ly, but in choosing the President the vote
must be taken by states, the delegation
from each state having one vote. A quo
rum for this purpose consists OF a MEM
ber or members from two-thirds Of the
states The vote OF a maJorlty OF the
Enumerated individually. the demo-
Gratis are heavily in the majority in the
House of Representatives.; but when the
computation is made by states, they do
not have a majority. There are forty
eight states. The vote Of twenty-five is
necessary for the election OF the Presi-
dent. A study of the complexion of the
delegations from each state shows that in
twenty-five the democrats control; the
republicans also control twenty-five state
delegations. assuming there would be no
detection to the progressive party.
Divided Delegations.
'The delegations Of four states are
evenly divided between the democrats
and republicans; Maine is represented by
two democrats and two republicans; Ne
braska by three democrats and three re-
publicans; New Mexico by one democrat
and one republican, and Rhode Island by
q democrat and a republican. The posi-
bility Of a deadlock in the House Of Rep
resentatives In choosing the President is
at once apparent. But through personal
or political preference. Wilson. Taft or
Roosevelt might receive the election at
their hands.
IF the House Of Representatives should
deadlock. what then would be the situa-
ton? The Constitution Of the United
States provides that IL the House of
Representatives shall not choose a Presi-
dent whenever the right Of choice shall
devolve upon them before the 4th day
fn1l