Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-04-13

votes shall be counted. and the subse-
auent proceedings by the house, not
the congress. II the electors fall to
elect 1 president, and by the senate.
not the congress, II the electors fail
to elect vice president. 1t will be
noted, says Senator Pomerene, that
under these constitutional provisions
each state appoints the electors IN
such manner az the legislature there
OF may direct" not as congress may d.
rect. The only power given to congress
Is to fix the time Of choosing the cleo
tors and the day on which they shall
give their votes. which must be the
same day thruout the United States.
The gist Of the senator's conclusion
is that as congress has no power over
the officials who elect q president OF
time Of their choosing. it necessarily is
devoid Of power to establish system
Of nominations. Thus he argues d.
rectly upon this point:
Congress possesses only limited
delegated powers. Any power it may
seek to exercise must find its source
In the constitution, The manifest
purpose Of the trainers Of the consti-
tuition was to leave the selection Of the
electors wholly with the states. They
delegated no power on this subject to
the congress save only to FIX the time
Of choosing the electors and the day
on which they should cast their votes:
Clearly, the congress Is given no con-
troll over presidential elections by ex-
press words, except rs above indicated,
nor can it necessarily ne implied from
the language quoted. And If such
power is not conferred upon the con-
gress with respect to the presidential
elections, 1t can hardly be inferred to
exist insofar as 1t relates to the mere
choosing Of party candidates for the
presidency"
Quotes Supreme Court.
The senator quotes the supreme
court of the United States to show
that the electors are officers or agents
of the several states and not Of the
federal government, a point again rec
ognizing the fundamental character Of
the source from which they derive their
authority, source exactly opposite from
that contemplated in the proposed pres
idential primary legislation. The court
here holds that altho the electors are
appointed and act under and pursuant
to the constitution of the United States
they are no more officers or agents of
the United States than are the mem
bers of the state legislature when act
ing as electors Of federal senators, or
the people of the states when acting
as electors of representatives in con-
gresS.
From this basis grounded upon fund
amental law Senator Pomerene pro-
ceeds to argue that If there is no con-
stitutional authority for legislation Of
this character, 1T would seem unWise
to attempt to pass it." At most 1t could
only be persuasive. he says To carry
I out such legislation we must define the
qualifications of voters, appropriate
the funds with which to pay the ex-
pense, provide the necessary machin-
cry, fix the time, place and manner of
conducting the primary, and prescribe
suita BILE penalty in order to enable the
people to register their will and have it
recorded. Says Senator Pomerene
! bluntly: I'm view Of the bitter fights
which have -waged in past convention
and pre-convention n contests. it is
hardly necessary to add that legal
complications would Sensuef and the
plan fail"
Left to States.
Inc senator taxes note OF the 1aCL
that congress in the past has enacted
laws controlling the elections of sena-
tors and representatives and Of the
| possible contention that having done
this it should have the power to- legis-
late concerning the election Of presi-
! Dental electors: but he disposes Of this
| thought with the laconic comment that
| there Is a vast difference between
powers the congress has and what it
ought to have"
The senator refers also to the provis-
ion in section Nv of article Of the
constitution that "the times, places and
! manner of holding elections for sena-
tors and representatives shall be pre-
| scribed in such state by the legislature
| thereof; but the congress may at any
| time by law make or alter such regula-
/ lions, except as to the places of choos-
| ing senator's" Here again he fails to
find encouragement of the presidential
primary plan, for he says that the
| power is here given directly and ex-
! pressly to the congress to legislate
concerning the election Of it's members,
| but nowhere is such power given con-
| corning the election Of presidential
electors.
I'm my Judgment" concludes Sena-
| tor Pomerene, "the subject Of presi-
| Dental primaries must be left wholly
| to the states or the federal constitution
| must be amended before congress can
! act.''