The Washington times., 1912-07-11
TEST Of FEALTY
TO PARTY DIFFERS
WIDELY IN STATES
Republican Situation Is Be-
J coming Daily More
Complicated.
Continued from First Page.)

= CONTINUED from First Page.)
with brief statement in which he
points out that the progressives are 60
ing to nominate q candidate of their
own for governors man who repudi-
ates the fraudulent nomination of Taft,
who supports Roosevelt, and who will
support the Roosevelt candidates for
electors.
Will Stay On Ticket.
In Kansas get a different situation is
presented. All the electoral nominees
except In one Congressional district
have declared themselves for Roose"
welt. They are regular Republican nom
inees. The progressives insist that they
have been regularly nominated, that
they represent the Republican party of
Kansas, and are going to stay on The
ticket. The Taftites are getting ready
to start a lawsuit, If they can figure out
a way Uf organizing one that will not
and some other states, with the purpose
of putting these electoral nominees Oft
the Republican ticket.
The truth about this electoral situation
Is that nobody knows much about it,
Something like 100 men already NOM
mated for electors have declared that
IL elected they will support Roosevelt.
They don't admit that Taft Is the party
nominee. They are not trying to fool
the people; they are frankly announcing
where they stand; nobody will vote for
one of them under misapprehenston.
No Legal Obligation.
The electoral system of choosing a
President is as old as the Government,
but 1t has never been subjected to such
a strain as is being imposed this year.
Everybody has known from the begin
..l- IL
ment. utterly indirect and undemo-
cratic. But when it was adopted 1t
was intended to be undemocratic. 1t
was put into the Constitution by men
who didn't want the people, directly, to
elect the President. Those men didn't
their President. They wanted group
of able, conservative citizens to be In
trusted with the business of finally
choosing the President. So no elector
IS under any legal obligation to vote
Yet In all the history of Presiden-
tial elections, only one elector has
ever failed to vote for the Prestden-
tial candidate of his party. When
the Electoral College was found to be
unanimous for Monroe at his second
election, one man refused to abide by
his instructions, and supported John
Quincy Adams. Instead of proving
political ruin to the man who did 1t,
liable advertisement that helped max e
him Monroes successor in the Presi-
deneyl
Start Endless Discussion.
There has been endless academic
discussion of the possible complica-
tions of the electoral system, for
three generations. But all the aca-
demicians put together. never figured
out one-half the complications and
difficulties that have suddenly sprung
into the foreground of public atten-
tion, as a result of the theft of the
Chicago nomination and the country S
determination to repudiate 1t.
Chairman Hilles, or the Taft commit
tee, is devoting most of his present at
tention to this very problem. SO, for
that matter, are some of the acutest
Roosevelt and the Taft organizations.
Nobody claims to know much about
the tremendous possibilities of the situ-
alton; they are all anxious, willing stu
dents of the possibilities that daily
loom more complicating and difficult.
One thing has already impressed it.
self on the minds of serious students
of public question. That is, that the
Electoral College plan of eleCting Presi-
dents, Is doomed. Just as the political
convention must go because 1t has in
terposed a needless, senseless intermedi-
ary between the people and their will
30 the Electoral College must go because
at best 1t is useless mechanism. But II
can't be abolished in time to save the
situation this year.