The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-11-02
5s1 IN ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Successful Candidate Must Get
Total Of at Least 2es to
Be Elected

New York, Ncv. with the close
of the last week before election, the
last week of one of the most remark
able political campaigns the country
has ever known, little Is left TO he
done but to indulge In forecasts and
wait the returns. AS the saying Is,
IT'S all over but the Shooting. Nobody
knows as yet who will do the shout
ing but the minds of the people are
made up. the campaign is at an ead.
and the election of Tuesday will orly
he To secure an official record of a de-
cision already made.
This year of 1912 has beer such a
cundering of political Ties AZ does not
often occur in America. but 1t is all
referabie to 80 called "progressivism,
inst as slavery was responsible for
the diverse tickets In 1860 and the mo-
notary question for the splitup Of the
Democratic party in 1906
Democrats More United.
The Democrats this year present n
more united front than FOR many years
PAST. Though the campaign that pre-
eeded the Baltimore convention was
an exceedingly spirited one. It appar
emily left no bitterness, for the restora-
tion of harmony was almost instanta-
neous. Within a wetk after the dele
yates adjourned AT Bahimorr the sew
pral factions had come together with
the single purpose OF electinG the ma
tional ticket. The unsuccessful oppo-
nents of Wilson at Baltimore took 70
the stump IN his behalf and Bryan'tes
and anti Bryanites Of the olden days
have repeatedly spoken from the same
platform during the campaign that has
lust closed.
The Republican party. on the othei
hand. has found itself divided for the
first time since the civil war. The "in.
surgents" who bolted the Republican
national convention at Chicago aftei
the denomination of President Taft
met in the same city few weeks later
and formed the Progressive party
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who hac
fought vainly to secure the regular
Republican nomination., was named foi
California was selected as his runnine
mate.
Some Electoral Mix ups.
The situation on the Republican, side
then became complicated by the fact
that the political affiliations of tht
Electors in many of the States were
an doubt being claimed by both the
raft and Ro, sevelt factions. The elec.
toral controversies were finally settled
in n manner more or less satisfactory
10 both sides though new and more
serious perplexities may result from
the same source in case the ballot
ing is close next Tuesday.
a court decision has left Taft with
cut representation on the electoral tic
ket in California where the Roosevelt
electors appear as Republicans. II
Oklahoma the two Roosevelt electors
appearing on the Republican ticket
have agreed to vote for Taft IL he car.
ries the State. A similar agreement
has been reached In Oregon. In South
Dakota and Nebraska the Taft electors
appear on the ballot petition. In the
other States where controversies ex-
listed the original Roosevelt electors
have been replaced on the Republican
ballot by Taft supporters
Congress May Decide.
The next electoral college will be
composed Of SCI members, and the
successful candida.es for president and
Vice president must secure n total OF
at least 265 to lie elected. With three
leading tickets In the field, instead OF
two as In former presidential cam
paigns Of late years, II IL easily with
n the range of possibilities that none
OF the three might secure q sufficient
electoral vote and that the election OF
the next president and vice president
would devolve upon the national house
If representatives.
Besides the presidential succession
there will also he decided on TUESDAY
The question Of the control Of the house
OF representatives. There will be 435
representatives In the next Congress,
all OF whom will be elected on Tuesday
except the few In Maine and Vermont
which States hold early elections.
The terms of one-t third of the men,
bers of the United States senate ex-
pre- next March. In a few states their
seats have already been filed, but In
many others the complexion OF the leg