Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-10-02
Coolidge or Chaos Is Sole
Choice Of Cillxens as
Deadloclr RIssnece
Thseasesas.
LITTLE DOUBT WHO
SENATE WOULD NAME
Analysis of Situation Shows
Danger of Nebraskan Co.
ing to White House.
Coolidge or chaos.

- - - NVtS lVF bfAtlh. IL is gen
eraill believed thar Davis cannot pos
sibly muster the necessary majority
If tie electoral votes to be named
President A vote for LaFoIlette is
a vote Tor Bryan. Ii is not claimed by
the most enthusiastic supporter Of La
Toilette that he could by any remote
chance be elected What he could do,
however, Is throw the election into
the congress, with the chances favor.
ing the naming Of Bryan as vice pres
ident. The house being unable to give
majority to any one Of the candi-
dates for President, as it is at pres
ent organized, the senate, under the
Constitution, would elect a vice pres
ident and the vice president elected
by the senate would become President
ON March 4. That is why a vote for
Davis or LaFollette is a vote for
Bryan, and vote for Coolidge is
vote for Coolidge.
The official counting of the electoral
votes Is not done until February. The
Twelfth amendment to the Constitu-
ton provides as follows for the con-
duct of the congress In case the cleo
toral college makes no choice:
Constitutional Provision.
And ii no person have such ma
jority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding
three on the list of those voted for
as President, the house of representa-
tives Shall choose Immediately, by bal
lot, the President. But In choosing
the President, the votes shall be taken
by states, the representation from each
state having one vote; quorum for
this purpose shall consist of mem
Der or members from two-thirds of
the states, and majority of all the
states shall be necessary to q choice.
! And If the house of representatives
shall not choose a President when
ever the right of choice shall devolve
upon them, before the fourth day of
March next following, then the vice
president shall act as President, as
in the case of the death or any consti-
tutional disability of the President
1.-THE person having the greatest
number of votes as vice president,
shall be the vice president, If such a
number be majority of the whole
number of electors appointed, and If
no person have a majority, then from
the two highest numbers on the list,
the senate shall choose the vice pres
ident quorum for the purpose Shall
consists of two-thirds of the whole
nf
of the whole number shall be neces-
sary to choice"
Meets in February.
Complying with this provision of the
Constitution, when the time comes in
February for the Presidential electors
to report, and it is discovered that
there is no majority choice for Pres
ident, then the house and senate will
begin to ballot. But this official re-
port of the electors does not occur
until a month before 1t is time for
the next administration to take office.
From election day, November 4, I'M
til some solution of the tangle is found
and the untangling of the knot can
NOT come before February-the coun-
try will be facing the possibility Of
deadlock, or the putting of man into
the highest Office of the land who was
not voted for as President, who was
not even selected by his party for
President.
If LaFollette could secure enough
votes to keep Coolidge formulating
or;t ..f he al yptn
ing the election of the President into
the house, the house and senate would
act independently of each other in
their votes. That is, the senate does
not await the result of the effort of
the house to elect President before
proceeding to the selection of the vice
president.
Vote Is by States.
y AS each state, no matter how large
its population and its representation
in the house, has only one vote, 1t Is
obvious that those states having
majority of representatives of one pc
litical faith will east the vote of that
state for their party nominee. AS
there are As states and a majority
of all of them is necessary to the
selection of President, a successful
aspirant must hsve the votes Of 81
least % states.
Ii should be emphasized that 1t is
the present house Of representatives
and the present senate that vote for
President and vice president in the
event of the election being thrown into
the congress. New congressman and
senators elected this fall will have
nothing whatever to do With it.
The present house of representa-
lives is so made NJ that there is little
likelihood it can make !. rhoice. Dem
ocrats make al u majority of the