Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-07-25
ELECTION MAY
! BE STRANGE ONE
Three Cornered Presidential
Fight Has Many Possible
ReSuItS-Here Are Some

WASHINGTON. July 25.-Sup-
pose, at the polls. neither Calvin
Coolidge. John w. Davis nor Robert
NJ. La Toilette gets enough votes to
give him majority in the electoral
college.
One of the three will get plu-
rality. but none may get ma
--uftsrs~c.-er ap.r which is necessary
10 elect.
Indeed. Mis- is what the Progress
sives really are fighting for. or
course they HOPE La Toilette will
s get a majority. Some even say they
THINK he will do SO. But what
they honestly do believe to be
among the reasonable possibilities
is that he will prevent anybody from
getting a majority. that maybe he
will get a plurality.
In such an event. as frequently
has been mentioned. 1t will be up to
the House to choose a president
from among the three highest candi-
dates.
But the House. too. may easily be
deadlocked. The Progressives hold
the balance of power there. They
can prevent the election of the Re-
publican candidate or the Demo-
cratic but they can't elect the Pro-
gressive. and there Is no probability
that either the Republicans or the
Democrats will help them.
II. by the next inauguration day.
the House has made no presidential
selection. the winning vice preslden-
tial candidate will become president.
Now. If no presidential candidate
has a majority in the electoral col
lege. it is most improbable that any
vice presidential candidate will have
one. and THAT choice will be made
by the senate. But the senate does
not vote on the three highest candi-
dates. 1t votes on only two.
Ordinarily. then. the senate can't
deadlock, for If there is tie. then
the presiding officer. that Is to say
the vice president. casts the decid-
Ing vote.
In, the Senate, as In the House.
the balance of power Is the Progress
sives'. II the two leading Vice presi-
Dental candidates happen to be the
Progressive and the Republican. It's
conceivable that the Democrats
would prefer Progressive to a Re-
publican and so elect the former.
Or. since there are a good many
conservative Democrats as wen as
Republicans. these two groups
might combine and elect the Repub-
lican.
If the two leaders should be
Progressive and a Democrat. 1t isn't
30 certain that the conservative Re
rublicans would join the conserva-
tive Democrats. for Charles w.
Bryan has something OF reputation
hts,,SaIf
This might slightly increase the
Progressive candidates chances-on
the theory that the Republicans
would prefer a progressive Progress
.sive to a progressive Democrat. But
the probabilities are they wouldn't
that they'd prefer almost anything
to a Progressive.
Finally. In case the two leaders
should be a Republican and a Demo-
crat, the assumption is that the
Progressives would prefer the more
or less progressive Charles W. Bryan
to the avowedly conservative Charles
power Is the Progressives,' that
you'd mean Brya.'s election.
On the whole. should there be q
deadlock in the electoral college and
the House of representatives. politi-
clans are generally of the opinion
that Bryan would have q little edge
on his rival candidate.
There is. in this instance, a bare
possibility OF tie in the Senate, for
the reason that there's no vice presi-
dent to cast the deciding vote, CAL
vim Coolidge having been elevated to
the presidency by Warren G. Har-
dlng's death.
Authorities differ as to whom the
president would be If the senate
should deadlock. Some say he would
be Albert B. Cummins. president
( pro-tempore of the senate. Some
say he would be Secretary of State
Hughes.
But the senate probably won't