The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-15
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1874-19O1
No. 35-Administratin of Governor Houston.
Hayes Decla red President

The scheme of an elective federal exc
cutive, as prepared by the constitution,
excluded the executive department and
the legislative department from all par
ticipation in the processes of elections
The participants prescribed and named
were: First, the states and their people
and finally the states in congress as
sembled. The state electors for Pres
ident and vice president must be the
same in number as the senators and rep
resentatives combined. The separate
state must determine in what manner
the electors were to be chosen. In prac-
tice, they were chosen by some states
by congress districts Nnd by the legis-
lators in others. a4Hs
In no event under the constitution did
the President or the supreme court enter
The vote of the electors was sent by
the electors themselves direct to the pre-
siding officer of the senate of states.
On day certain he must open the votes
of all the state colleges as presiding
officer, of the joint convention of the
two houses. No proceeding of the joint
convention was to be referred to the
executive approval
The joint session of the houses met
February l. The states were called in
alphabetical order Alabama came first
and her 10 votes were announced for, Til
den and Hendricks without objection.
The seventh state in order. Florida, was
called Objection was made. The cleo
toral commission no wentered upon its
part The contesting returns from Flor
ida were sent to the commission then
sitting In the chamber of the supreme
court, Justice Clifford presiding.
The returns sent to the commission
from. Florida consisted, of: l. Returns
of Hayes electors certified to by Gov
ernor Stearris, carpetbagger. 3 Returns
of Tilden electors. certified to by the state
Attorney General Cooke, the minority
member of the Senate returning board.
3. Returns of Tilden electors certified to
by Governor Drew, democrat Drew had
been declared elected governor by the
courts of Florida and coming into pos
session of the office had ordered q re-
count of the whole precinct returnA> of
the November election. This court gave
Tilden electors So majority, hence his
certificates.
When the three lots of returns from
Florida were submitted to the commits
sion the universal public understanding
was that the commission was a national
returning board, whose duty it was to
determine contests on evidence 1t was
prescribed by the enabling act that the
commission should report its finding on
each case sent to it by the joint conven-
tion to the presiding officer of the con-
vention, who was the presiding officer of
the Senate. In the case of Florida for
example, the finding thus sent forward
must be submitted to the joint conyen-
tion and be accepted by each house in
order that the vote of Florida might be
counted.
Not only was it the impression of the
public that the electoral commission was
in effect a national returning board to
take evidence and determine facts in
dispute between rival partisan electors
but President Grant so understood. When
the enabling act was submitted to his
approval he returned the bill signed and
accompanied by a special message of
congratulation to congress- The Pres
ident wrote: ut is understood that upon
the disposition of disputes, touching the
electoral votes cast at the late election
by one or more states depends the ques-
ton whether one or the other of the
candidates for the presidency is to be the
lawful chief magistrate
The commission at once took up the