Evening star., 1922-12-17
BY WILL y. KENNEDY.


IT HE chance that the next Con-
gress may have to decide the
question of who shall be
/ President, with the possibility
! that the House may be deadlocked
and that the man whom the Senate
| may elect to be Vice President may
automatically become President. is
! being considered by political leaders.
| not only in Washington, but also in
strategic states.
Reapportionment of representation
| in the House enters as an important
| factor into these considerations, and
so action on any reapportionment
! measure is delayed while the political
strategists figure out what can best
be done for party interests.
Studying Politics Of House.
Far-sighted and sagacious political
leaders feel that it is none too soon
| to study the political complexion of
the next House. should the presiden-
| tial election be thrown into that body.
In the close election of 1916 there was
| considerable talk of calling upon the
House to decide, due to the close vote
| Of Hughes and Wilson. Predictions
are already being made that the 1924
election will be decidedly close
between the republican and demo-
cratic candidates for the presidency.
With all this talk of a third party the
possibility of republican-democrat
| tie is strengthened.
| The political strategists, who are
| taking extreme care to safeguard
every chance. have already figured
out that the republicans would COM
mand the votes of twenty-three states
! twenty. with five states-Maryland
Montana. Nebraska, New Hampshire
and New Jersey-having tied dele
cation, so they would not participate
in the election.
How New Congress Divides.
! The new Congress which comes in
March 4. next. will still be in session
when the time comes, in February,
1925, to decide the presidential cleo
! tion. AS the incoming-the Sixty
Eighth-Congress stands today the
| political majorities in the state dele
in the event that the presidential
| election is thrown into the House,
appears as follows:
| Republican-Californi to .; COL
orado, 4: Connecticut, to l; Idaho.
2: Illinois. 20 to z: Indiana, 8 to s.;
Iowa, IL; Kansas, z to 1: Maine, 4;
Massachusetts,. Is to 3: Michigan. -
| kota, 3: Ohio, 16 to 6; Oregon. 2 to !;
! Pennsylvania, 80 to 6; Rhode Island.
2 to 1; South Dakota. 3: Utah. 2; Ver-
mont, 2: Washington. 5: Wisconsin.
| 10 to /. and Wyoming. 1.
/ emocratic-Alabama. 10: Arizona.
; 1; Arkansas, Z: Delaware. 1; Florida,
| 4; Georgia, IL; Kentucky, to 3:
Louisiana, s: Mississippi. s: Missouri.
II to 5; Nevada. 1; New Mexico. 1:
New York, % to 20; North Carolina,
10; Oklahoma. to 1: South Caro-
lima, Z: Tennessee, to .: Texas, II
| to 1: Virginia, 10. and Washington,
to 2.
! Equally divided-Maryland. to 3;
Montant. to /: Nebraska, to 3:
J New Hampshire, l to 1. and New
Jersey, 6 to 6.
/ Subject to Change.
| This situation which now exists is
| likely to be disturbed by changes in
| the politics of personnel in any or
/ all Of these five states. The Consti-
tuition requires that there must be
a majority to elect a President. II
| three candidates are to be voted for
the one elected must have q majority
! over all. AS the House is now con-
| stituted that would be impossible.
! Then that very condition furnishes
| another possibility of the House not
| being able to elect a President.
| Still another consideration is the
| complexion of the New York state
| delegation at that time. Remember.