The Bismarck tribune., 1924-09-09
SCHALL AND COOLIDGE
(St. Paul DisDatch)

No>' SuI A'cpSASS"y
The Republican candidate for
the United States Senate from
Minnesota has declared the plat
form and announced the key of his
campaign. Mr.. Schall has made a
fortnight declaration of support
to President Coolidge and Mr..
Dawes. He has announced that if
the election is thrown into the
House of Representatives, in
which he at present sits, he will
vote for Mr.. Coolidge.
On such a. platform Mr.. Schall
commands and deserves the whole
hearted support of every Republi
can in Minnesota. More than that.
with President Coolidge, he should
get the support of every one who
disbelieves in tampering with
American prosperity. The issue,
as Mr.. Schall said before the Lin
coin Republican club Of Hennepin
county Thursday evening is clear
ly drawn. 1t is between Schall
and Coolidge, on the one side, and
Johnson and LaFollette on the
other.
There is another side to the is
sue. An unusual and unWelcOme
situation may develop in national
politics this year. This has been
gone into before, but it is worth
while to follow Mr.. Schall in his
review of the circumstances which
may take the election of Pres
ident this year out of the hands OF
the people and possibly cause a
most regrettable Illustration Of the
public will
A, majority Of votes in the cleo
toral College is required to elect a
President. If Senator LaFollette
gets as many electoral votes as his
campaign managers say he will,
he will have seventy. This is not
an impressive number. but it might
be enough to make impossible the
election OF either President Cool
idge or Mr.. Davis.
The election would then be
thrown into the House. and, more
over, not the new House elected
in November, but the present
House, representing the state of
public opinion two years ago. The
voting in the House is by states.
and a majority is twenty-five. In
the present House there are
twenty-three Republican, twenty
Democratic and three tied delega-
tions. Assuming that the Repre-
sentatives make no switches, it is
evident that there must be dead
lock in the House.
The Vice President, chosen by
the Senate from the two highest
candidates, would in that case be.
come President. There are ninety
six votes in the Senate, but owine
to the recent death of Senator Colt
of Rhode Island, the lineup is
fifty Republican, forty-three Dem.
ocratic and two Farmer-Labol
Senators. If a Republican sue
ceeds Senator Colt, Mr.. Dawes o,
| the face of it would have fifty-One
| votes, two more than a majority
But among these fifty-one are
three. those Of LaFollette, Frazier
and Ladd. which, along with those
of the forty-three Democrats, Mag
nus Johnson and Senator Ship
stead, would go to Mr.. Bryan
That would make a tie of forty
eight to forty-eight.
If a single vote, say that o.
Senator Norris of Nebraska, shoulC
desert Mr.. Dawes, then Mr.. Bryan
would become President. If the
lines held. then the United States
would be without a President until
some means could be found fol
holding a special election, the best
opinion of authorities on constitu'
tional law being that Mr.. Cool
idge's term would expire on March
3 of 1925 and that Secretary
Hughes would not, according tc
the rule of succession under ordi.
nary circumstances, become Pres
ident. 1t is even doubtful whether
the new Congress could be called
in special session on March 4
since there would be no Presiden,
to issue the call, and the result
would be that the country would
be without chief executive until
December of 1925, when means
could be found for calling new
election or otherwise solving the
constitutional puzzle.
Senator Magnus Johnson is for
LaFollette and Bryan; Mr.. Schall
for Coolidge and Dawes. The is
sue, then, is Mr.. Schall and Pres.
ident Coolidge against Mr.. John
son and LaFOllette.