Evening star., 1925-01-15
YOU AND UNCLE SAM
Series o Educational articles Telling Ho,o Federal Copern.
nieHt Is Organized and Hoo 1t Functions-W riten
Expressly for School Children.
No. 28-Our Electoral College.
BY WILL p KENNEDY.
No. 28-Our Electoral College.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

On November we knew who had
been elected President and Vice
President but 1t was not until last
Monday, the second Monday in Janu-
airy, that votes were cast directly
for the election of the next President
and Vice President, and it will not
be until February is that these votes
Will be officially counted at Il joint
session of the Senate and House, in
Congress assembled.
Way back in November the SOW
ereign voters cast their ballots for
presidential electors, who met in
their respective State capitols last
Monday. canvassed the popular vote
of their State and in accordance with
the Constitution cast their ballots for
President and Vice President This
vote of the electors, certified by the
President of the Senate of each State,
IS now being brought to Washington
in sealed packet by special mes
senger from each State. These sealed
returns from the States will be open
ed at joint session of House and
Senate on February IS.
In an appropriation bill just pass
ed by Congress is an item of $4,000
for paying these messengers for
bringing the electoral vote at the
rate of 20 cents mile. Representa-
tive John L. Cable of Ohio called at
tention of the House to the fact that
this was merely carrying out a GUS
tom instituted in 1892, when the Post
Office Department had just been
created and when the certificates of
the electors had to be brought by
stagecoach or horseback. He argued
that today the United States mails
are just as safe as messengers, and
that this money might well be saved.
Framers' Original Plan.
The electoral plan decided upon by
the trainers of the Constitution is an
exact counterpart of the joint con-
Tention of the two houses of Con-
Gress, except that the electors meet
in their State capitols instead of the
National Capital. This was oden be-
cause it was feared that such large
number of men would not travel to
the seat of the Federal Government
for the single purpose of casting their
vote.
The Constitution provides in Arti-
Gle. 2. Section 1, Paragraph 2, that:
Each State shall appoint in such
manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct a number OF electors equal to
tho whole number of Senators and
Representative to which the State
may be entitled in Congress; but no
Senator or Representative or person
holding an office of trust or profit un-
der the United States may be appoint
cd an elector."
Thus the manner OF appointing
electors was vested in the Legislature
of each State. In the very first cleo
tion New York Legislature could not
agree how it should be done and so
New York lost its electoral vote in
that election. Rhode Island and
North Carolina also took no part in
that election because they had failed
to ratify the Constitution.
The electors as candidates are
pledged to vote for certain person
for President and another person for
Vice President, and to violate such
pledges would constitute political
treason. So that the electoral vote
has even been cast for a dead man.
When Horace Greeley was candi-
date Of the Democratic party in
1872, having died before the college
met to vote, the electors in the
Georgia college actually cast their
votes for him, though they were en-
tirely aware that they were voting
for a dead man for President.
This electoral, system failed as
early as 1900 when there was a tie
between jefferson and Burr. each re-
ceiving 73 votes, while Adams re-
ceived 65. Jefferson was finally elect
ed in the House on the thirty