Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-10-19

Of Wisconsin was going on. that thre
was clearly a case of the right Of the
house to consider that the electoral
colleges had made no choice. and there
fore to proceed to the choice Of a pres
ident. In 1875 it was again claimed
that since the situation seemed to war;
rant the conclusion that there was no
actual means provided for determining
whether any candidate had really Sc
cured a majority of the electoral vote
in that mixed election, it was time for
the house to proceed.
Faults Of the System.
So far as a real or fancied inhibition
against it might go. there is nothing in
the constitution or the law which
would prevent the house holding that
the returns showed that no choice was
made, when there were doubtful re-
turns, and that 1t could therefore re-
fuse to have anything more to do with
the senate and proceed to the election
of a president. OF course such an ar
bitrary course az this, in the trying
times of an uncertain presidential cleo
ton, might precipitate the most seri-
Gus trouble. The choice by the house
will always fall upon a membership
just retiring from office, and upon II
body which frequently represents SEN
timents opposed to the candidate
strongest before the people. b
Another question that may arise at
some time when there is contested
election, is whether or not a state leg
islature has right to change the man
ner Of appointing eelctors without the
assent of the governor. Suppose, for
instance, that state should have a
Democratic governor and a Republican
legislature. and the prospects of the
election were that 1t would be too close
for party health. The legislature. If
the state were normally Democratic,
might decide to appoint Republican
electors. This happened in the early
days, one time without the assent of
the governor as to the manner of
croice Should that question arise
now, congress probably would have to
acquiesce. or else break the precedent
established in 1900.
Again, how are states TO be prevent
ed from casting votes inhibited by the
constitution? That instrument re-
quires that no elector shall hold po-
sition of profit or trust under the fed
eral government. Yet the repeated ig-
noring of this provision has made il
practically dead letter. Congress
seems to hold that it is up to the
states to determine the qualifications
of the electors, and that ii they do not
keep out electors who have no consti-
tutional right to vote, there is no 9TH
err tribunal to do so. And yet this po-
sition is answered by the statement
that by the same token 1t might be as
serted that IL the states vote for u
president who Is a foreigner and ineli-
igible to the presidential office under
the constitution, there is no tribunal
to prevent his accession. II one cleo
tor who held a position of profit and
trust under the government had had
his vote rejected in 1875 there would
after all have been tie, and the cleo
ton would have taken place in the
house.
Settled by Law Of 1857.
The constitutional convention seems
never to have thought that any COM
plications could arise in the counting Of
electoral votes. 1t simply says that the
senate and house shall be in session,
provides for the opening of the GER
tificates, and then says and the votes
shall then be counted" The law OF
1887 practically settled the issue as to
how the vote shall be counted, and yet
there seems to be no remedy IL
states vote is deemed irregular. and 1t
may be disfranchised. Suppose, for In
stance in the forthcoming election
there should arise a dispute in the
state of Pennsylvania over the election
OF the electors, and Governor Tener
should refuse to sign the credentials
Of the electors claiming election.
Tire problem OF succession in the
event of the death of the president
elect might have arisen in 1892 had
Blaine been nominated over Harrison
and elected over Cleveland. He died on
January 81. 1898, after the electoral
colleges had met. but before the count
Ing of the vote in congress. Some au-
thorities go SO far as to contend that
under those circumstances his running
mate would not have been eligible to
succeed him under the constitution.
That and the death OF Greedy are the
only two instances where either Of the
leading candidates for election to the
presidency have died between the pop
ular election in November and the in
auguration in, March.
1t is a singular fact that the only
ever made to the constitu-
ton outside Of the war amendments
and those which were agreed on be.
fore the states would ratify 1t, IL the
one dealing with the electoral system.
That 1t got through was because Of one
OF the hardest fights and the worst
MISUNDERSTANDING in American politics.