Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-04-12
CLOSE ELECTIONS.
Many Great Events Decided by a
Marrow Margin.
HISTORY MADE BY ONE VOTE.

Nation, Notably in The .Hayes-Tilden
Presidential Contest, a Single 5aIlct
Turned tho Scales.
There have been many close elections
In the cities, counties and states Of this
great nation, as well as in the nation
Tilden-Hayes contest was the most
sensational. In that memorable cleo
ton the result turned upon the single
vote Of the fifteenth member of the
electoral commission, who was chosen
by four judges of the supreme court.
Our history abounds with instances
In which the course of events has turn
ed upon single votes, and some of
them may be conveniently selected
from the compilation made by Speaker
Clark for one Of his Chautauqua lee
lures.
General Jackson was elected major
general Of Tennessee militia by one
majority. Without that mi vote he
could not have fought the battle of
New Orleans, and politics would have
been different for u quarter of a CEN
fury.
Martin Van Buren, won the presi-
dency through his defeat by n vote
on the confirmation of his nomination
as minister to England.
John G. Calhoun, as vice president,
cast the deciding vote which gave to
Van Buren, what Calhoun never got
for himself, although his claims were
not inferior.
Edward Everett lost the governor
ship Of Massachusetts by n vote, and
that took him out of the list Of avail
ables for the presidency.
Thomas 81. Benton was elected to
the senate by a single vote. The loss
Of that one vote not only would have
cost him his career of thirty years,
but would have meant the loss to the
senate Of one of it's strongest and most
famous members In a most trying era.
One OF the great characters of Ameri
can history might never have emerget
from obscurity.
Henry Clay cast the deciding vote i'll
the constitutional convention which
admitted Kentucky to the Union as 8
slave state. If Kentucky had entered
the Union as a free state it is hardly
doubtful that Missouri would havt
done the same, and it is conceivable
that there might have been no Mis-
souri, compromise, and perhaps even nc
war between the states.
The Walker tariff passed the senate
by q single vote. Taft lost the vote OF
Idaho through a tie in the precinct OF
Boise. II n more man had voted fol
Taft Roosevelt would have lost con
troll Of the state.
There Is at least one case in which 9
single vote was the entire election. Al
the primaries for the Prohibition nomi
nation for Judge in %Schuylkill county
Pa, n vote was cast. There bein.
no other candidate or voter, Richard
III. Koch was unanimously chosen. A
miss is said to be as good as a mile
and under some conditions n vote is
as good as q million.
On the other hand, a majority O
100000 may be worthless, as was &C
tualy the case in Indiana. At the gen
eral election in November, 1900, a pro
posed amendment that "the general as
sembly shall by law prescribe wha
qualifications shall be necessary 70,
admission to practice law to all court.
of Justice" was submitted to the cleo
tors.
Nearly 100000 more votes were cas-
for the amendment than against 1t
But 1t did not receive q majority O
the votes cast for presidential electors
and governor. The supreme court hell
that 1t had not been carried by the con
stituttonal majority required for tn,
ratification Of a proposed amendment
That was q case where an actual ma
jority at the polls lost in the courts.
There would be no end to the prece
dents regarding the value Of q few
votes II the search were extended tt
foreign history. One example will SUI
fee to show that the count of the vote
is as important as the casting Of them
In 1911 the Monis ministry fell II
France because It was thought to be II
a minority Of fourteen, when In fact /
had q majority Of five. According t
the contemporary cablegram:
The crisis arose over an Interpolation
regarding the attitude Of the government
AZ to the chief command of the army Ii
the event Of war. and the oflcial lis
showed 23s votes against the governmsn
and ~ In favor.
u. Monis was still on a sick bed - tn
result Of an accident Ind his colleague
decidedly on resignation.
The curious fac has now been brough
to light, however. that at the moment o
the fateful division there was consider
able confusion In regard to the votes 20
and against.
a number Of deputies announced tina
their names had appeared on the wronl
division list. An official r~ectiication wa
made, with the result tina SO far iron
having been defeated the government
had the narrow majority mentioned above
Though this discovery may Be tn
source Of much personal satisfaction :
the ex-premier, II Is. of course, too lat
to a4fect the fate OF his ministry.
These are use merely of misadveu
ture IN the working of the machiner.
OF voting. The cases Of malicious falsl