The Sentinel=record., 1916-11-26

United States Senator James Hamil- ton Lewis, of Illinois, who is recuper- ating in this city from the effects of a severe cold contracted while cam palgning for Wilson, IS opposed to any change in the Electoral College on the ground that such procedure would work great injustice to the soGth. He also declared in an interview that the opposition of the railroads to the new eight hour law has brought the gov ernment ownership so near that 1t al- ready provides big issue n the next presidential campaign, and that this opposition has created a slogan, which in all likelihood will be;
 Better the government own Che railroads than the railroads own the government"
 Senator Lewis is the democratic whip" in the senate. To aim is given the credit by President Wilson and the cabinet of saving the Pacific coast states to the democracy, particularly California Discussing the ccntemplat- ed change in the Electoral College, Senator Lewis said
 "I watched closely the trend of po- litical opinion in all the western and Pacific east states" said the sena- tOf. "Ii was to these states I was gent by the management of tue. demo cratic campaign following and reply ing to Hughes The people of the states are not ready 10 abandon tae protection provided them in the Elec. toral college. Tie Electoral College is a convention of chosen delegates named by the popular vote of each state. This is to assure each state voice in the selection of the president. As matters now stand. the abolish ment of this convention and the sub stitution O. the direct vote of the peo- nle. would destroy the voice of states deciding an issue by small majorities and would defeat the victory of mi nority parties Cf reform measures. To illustrate. now should Minnesota, Ne braska. Kansas, Colorado, Oregon and California, of the Pacific, and Maine New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts on the Atlantic, each go democratic by ten thousand each, we would have the electoral vote of all these states. These added to the dem ocratic south gives the democracy Inc president, or 10 any reform party car rying these states by a small maIor- ity Yet by popular vote Pen1syl- vania or Illinois, by their three hun dred thousand republican majority would wipe ont the ten states of ten thousand majority each, and by that one state of biz majority elect the president without any consideration to the lesser states or their voice O! vote
 "The abolishment would be % the great injury of the south. To illus trate-the electoral vote is no" o1 basis of population, s2 many votes to each certain number of people. lu yhe South. as in the Pacific coast etates. there is population which does not vote, yet the states wnereh these people are, have to maintain these people and be responsible tr them. and should have electoral rep -esentation in Electoral College n pro portion to their responsibility. Sup nose the principle of popular vote prevailed--we would have in certain southern states one-third who do not vote then two-thirds only are count ed In ene final sum one large north era or eastern state where all th' votes arc white. overcome by It's larSe ,ota ,he southern vcte of many states and defeats the democracy and stays inc effect of the south's voice Ill gov ernment. The same parallel applies to five Pacific coast states where ll- dfans Jaranese and Chinese cannot vote vet are of population upon which Electoral College representation Is ac- corded. So it must be seen that hau .ha. nopular vote prevailed in 1912, and majority been required, Wilson ,vould have been beat. The electoral vote p,urality saved the democracy.
 oThe same parallel prevailed as to inc republicans in 1888. when Harrison was elected. and in 1896, when Mchin- lev and 1900 when Taft were chosen
 "We are not yet ready to surrenlef to inc biz states the right to kill the votes of all the lesser states, as do