New Britain herald., 1928-11-05

ucW 1iSSiocHt arc Ahouo uhtb ehs
new President. finally enters the
White House year will have
elapsed. The following is the cleo
ton time table:
February to June. 192S-Election
of delegates to the national conven-
tons.
June-National conventions.
August-Notifying candidates.
September-Campaign opens.
Novemb Der Collectors elected.
December Solicitors vote.
February 10. 1929 Congress
counts vote.
March 4-lnauguratlon.
This is decidedly long -winded
method of getting new President.
The public is fed on politics for an
entire year; long before the election
really takes place the public is fed
up on politics. One would think the
public had plenty OF time under the
system to make itself thoroughly ac-
1uainted with the issues. Yet the con-
trary is more likely to be true. The
public. through this long and tedi-
Gus sojourn in the realm OF election
eering, is more likely to be thor
oughly befuddled than thoroughly
acquainted with what it is all about.
We Americans boast of our swift
ness. our speed, our efficiency. Yet in
the most important business of the
choosing of a new ad-
ministration-we are the slowest on
earth. How antiquated the system Is
can be Judged from the fact that
after Herbert Hoover was nominated
IS days elapsed before he was Off
cia1y notified of the nomination,
when he delivered his speech Of ac-
ceptance. Governor Smith was mott
fed" Sc days after his nomination.
Comparing our amazing slowness
in election matters with the swift
ness of various other nations not en-
numbered by constitutional election
and precedent. James
Morgan, one of Americas keenest
political observers, made the follow
ing apt comparison:
"The British start and finish a
general election in two or three
weeks. If the choice of a new
House of Commons is not a fair
comparison with our Presiden-
tlal election, then take for conf
parison the new German re-
public. where President Hin
denburg, in 1925. was nominat-
ed on April s. elected on April
q, and inaugurated on May IL
all within five weeks
Well We simply cannot conceive
of such thing. We are accustomed
to dawdling along. giving to the poll
ticlans an immense advantage to be-
fuddle and fool the voters before the
final choice is made. 1t is the poll
ticians, and not the public, who
profit by the long winded system.
Then, to cap the climax, we have
the out NODDED electoral system to
cope with, system which has been
criticized by almost every man of
prominence in public life but which
is allowed to continue because of the
trouble that would be confronted in
the Constitution to elimi-
nate it. We presume nothing will
ever be done about it until some
time in the future, when an election
is thrown into the House of Repre-
sentatives and there is a general DO
litical upheaval when the President
the people didn't give majority for
gets into the White House. Even
without such dire contingency the
electoral system always hangs over
the heads of the people the posi-
bility that the candidate without the
largest popular vote may be elected
President. This may be democracy,
but we are not quite convinced about
it.
One of the most remarkab BILE
however. is the de-
lay between the time new Presi-
dent is elected and the date of his
Inauguration. This is a period of four
months; and during that time Con-
members who have been defeated in
the November election-hold SEES
sion beginning in December. Lame
ducks at this Observation-Disclosures who
will return to private life on March
4-therefore have the privilege of
assisting to make laws for the
country. In view of their early de-
parture from public life these lame
ducks IRE politically irresponsible.
Even after March 4, when the new
administration is in power" it can
not carry out any of its promises un-
til the next following session of
Congress. which begins December .,
1929-nine months after the in
auguration. 10 months safter the
election, and year and three
quarters after the opening of the
Presidential primaries. The only