The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-02-10
House and Senate to Gather To.
gether and Count Elector-
al Ballots
CUSTOM IS LONG IN VOGUE

! row Wilson of New Jersey aud Thorn
/ as Il, Marshall of Indiana, will be duly
and officially declared elected presi-
| den; and vice president respectively,
of the United States next "Wednesday
| in the hall of the House of Rcprescn-
/ tativcs. The Senate ana the House
/ will convene at / O'Clock that after
noon in Jomt session and tcllcrs rep
rcsenting each body will count the
| electoral votes of the states. which
will he delivered to- them by the pres
| ident pro TEN of the Senate.
The event will be marked through
out by digniIicd simplicity, ana it will
/ be, as usual one of the most ccre-
monial in the political life of this
! country. The galleries of the House
! VIII be occupied by members of the
| diplomatic corps, prominent govern
mont officials and their wives aud
members of the families of the sena e
! tors ana representatives
Both Houses TO Meet.
The senate and the House will as
| somble at noon as usual After be-
! ing called to order by their respective
| presiding officers and listening TO the
! usual prayers by their chaplains. tbs
Senate will proceed 10 the hall of the
! House. Shortly before I o'clock the
president pro tempore of the Senate
"A i'll l9uNHs ,sI In ip
! To- the east door, preparatory to lead
ing the procession of senators to the
south wing of the capitol. He will be
| accompanied by the secretary of the
senate and a squad of capitol police
Will be in waiting as an escort.
The procession will he formed with
the president pro tcmpore of the SEN
| ate at the head and closely followed
! by the assistant doorkccpers of the
| Senate, carry ing two boxes containing
! the electoral votes. previously received
| bN the presiding officers from the spe-
cia messengers of the different states.
The members of the Senate will bring
up in the rear.
BY Pre.arranged Program.
The procession will move slowly
through the capitol building. past the
old Seuatc chamber. nov occupied by
the Supreme Court of the United
States; across the rotunda, with it's
towering expanse of dome, and
through Statuary Hall where marble
clllgics of men the several states have
hunorcd stand rs sentincls for all time.
Speaker Clark will he informed of
the coming of the senators, ana rep
rcsentatives occupying seats on his
right hand will vacatc them In order
to make room for the four score or
more senators. The president pro
tcmporc of the Senate, upon his ar
rival in the House of Representatives,
will take a seat at the right of the
Speaker and will he presented with
the gaveI. He will then unlock the
wooden boxes, and, announcing tho
purpose of the gathering. will open
the packages in Alphabetical order.
Landing tho certificates to the four
tcllcrS.
Chance to File Protest.
When the counting has been con-
Cludcd showing that Wilson and Mar
shall have received i35 votes, Roose-
Welt and Johnson SS votes and Wil-
liam II. TAFT : votes. the presiding Of
nccr will inquire whether any one
desires To file a protest against the
result as announced aud In the abb
seucc of such protest hc VIII declare
the successful candidates duly elected.
As soon as this simple function has
been performed the Senate will return
10 It's chamber ana both bodies will
resume the ordinary work of lcgisla-
ton.
Adopted after long and bitter dis
putc in the famous constitutional con-
vcntion of 1887 i'm Philadelphia, the
electoral college system has become
n sort of fifth votehousesccSddvman
a sort of fifth wheel, useless appen-
dix, In fact. owing to a radical change
IN the theory of government I'm the
United States. At the same time u
is likely To be permitted to survive for
many years to come unless IL should
again become the center Of momen-
tous disagrecments such as the TIL
dem Hayes controversy OF 1876.
Tho electoral college this year is
going To bc IS members bigger than
the college which elected Mr. Tart
president in 1908. The increase Is the
result of the rcapportionment made
by congressional action In 1871. which
brings a total of As more electoral
votes to the college than formerly
r.unnnSnd this body.