Evening star., 1922-12-05
PLAN TO ABOLISH
ELECTORS S0.K,DBy
SENATE COMMITTEE
Resolution, Part of Progress
sive Bloc Platform, Report
ed by Agricultural Body.
STATE VOTING STRENGTH
WOULD BE PRESERVED
Ashurst Proposal to Inaugurate
President and Congress in Jan
uary Also Considered.

|
| A resolution proposing 10 amend
the Constitution so as to abolish the
electoral college and to provide for
The direct election of President and
| VICE President and to bring about the
meeting of the new Congress in Jan
uary following its election and the
! inauguration Of the newly elected
! President and Vice President the third
Monday of January after their cleo
ton was favorably reported to tha
Senate today by Senator Norris Of
Nebraska, chairman. from the commit
| tee on agriculture
This resolution is in line with the
proposal advanced at a conference ot
progressives held here Saturday. and
the action of the agricultural COM
mittee is considered victory for the
: newly formed progressive bloc"
Ashurst Proposal Considered.
{ While the committee on agriculture
was taking action on the resolution
reported by Senator Norris a subcom-
mittee of the judiciary committee was
! i'oAN'Ai6 icoi mss oi d icSolullOu ol-
! fered by Senator Ashurst Of Arizona
proposing that the newly elected Con-
crosses should take office in January
! following their election. and that the
President and Vice President should
be inaugurated in January instead OF
! in March.
The resolution reported from the
committee on agriculture would keep
election day as II present in Novem
! Der. While il does away with the
i electoral college and permits the
voters TO vote directly for President
and Vice President. it returns the pro-
| portionate voting strength Of Ih.
! states, SO that a state would have
many electoral votes for President q.
| Vice President as at present
The Norris resolution is now on the
Senate calendar.
Attorneys Present Arguments.
Arguments an favor of the constitu-
, iional amendment providing that new
iy elected Congresses and newly elect
ed Presidents and Vice Presidents
| shall take office in January follow
ing their election instead Of waiting
j until March were presented before
the subcommittee of the Senate judi
ciary committee by William Lowell
. OtHdii oi 49oStoI, Shoiih VI q
! committee of the American Bar Asso-
ciation: Levi Cook. a member of the
! same committee; Senator Pepper OF
i Pennsylvania and Edgar Wallace.
| representing The American Federation
/ of Labor.
! Senator CumminS, chairman o. the
: committee and Senator Brandegee. by
= their questions to the witnesses. ap-
! parently favored the proposed change.
h.
democratic member OF the subcommi'-
lee Was not present. but sent word
that he was opposed 10 the consuiu-
tional amendment
Quicker Action ON Sentiment.
Mr. Putnam told the Senate com
! mittee that it was desirable TO have
the will of the American people as
expressed al the polls translated into
action through the newly elected Con-
sress and President as quickly as pos
sibIe. He said that if the proposed
! constitutional amendment had been
! operative in 1861. probably the civil
! war could have been avoided. With
President Lincoln taking Office soon
after his election. he SAID. the ce
ceSsion of The southern states mieht
have been prevented
Senator Brandegee OF Connecticut
, suggested that if there had been no
/ civil war part of the country might
have slavery today. but WIN .nis
suggestion Mr.. Putnam would mol
agree Mr. putnam pointed out tnat
! under the existing constitutional pro-
visions Congress might pass law
! proyiding that the election could be
held in January instead of November,
and that the new Congress should
/ meet March 4. after its election. Inc
, newly elected President takes office
March 4. he pointed out.
, In this way, he SAID. the oesireo re-
sult might be obtained without
constitutional amendment. He add
ed. however that the bar association
ton had been in favor OF the atneho
ment to the Constitution as the bet-
ter way of obtaining the result oe'
sired.
| Favors Direct Election.
Senator Cummins called attention 10
the fact that there are pending oeiof"
his committee proposals to amend the
constitution so as to do away with the
electoral college. He suggested that
is might be better to consider those res
olutions along with the Ashurst fcsoiu-
tion and he asked Senator Ashurst II
~. .n,royed of the proposal 20 abolish
the electoral cole % =,
''1 Two ARIZONA senator replied that he
was inclined to favor the direct .iee
.;an Mao nf president and Vice President
.d .,o that the electoral college does not
nnw accomplish any good purpose. he
LTD however. that he believed thr
s,atss should retain their present voting
Sower as expressed by electoral votes
in any change that is made
short Session Not Understood.
/ Mr. Cook told the committee that
,ho neople do not understand the
present short session of Congress. At
the short sessions. he said. little Is
.ccomplished beyond the passage of
the appropriation bills. He said that
Congress would be far more efficient
| with two regular long sessions be-
| ginning each January. In the days
when the Constitution was drafted
travel was difficult and II took
long time to canvass the vote and to
! forward the results to Washington
| The conditions have completely
! changed, he said, due to the railroad
train and the adding machine. He
said that the argument that there
should be a "cooling-off period" be-
| tween the election and the time when
the newly elected Congress and ad-
ministration take office. in his opin-
ion. was idle. 1t might as we'll be
said. he argued. that jury, after
| trying a man, should wait for several
months or a year before deciding