Evening star., 1928-10-16

The election of 1876 will go down in
history as one of the most remarkable
political episodes in the history of re-
publics. It marked the first and only
failure of the election machinery pro-
vided by the American Constitution to
perform its functions. The extractor
stitutional method resorted to in order
to decide the election demonstrated
how partisan considerations will infiu-
ence the Judgment of men. This was
so pronounced as to cause Senator
Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, to
remark that If any situation like that
of 1876 should arise again neither party
would accept the methods employed in
that contest, and the Government
might be wrecked over succession.
Not one of the Is men who conSti-
tuted the Electoral Commission voted
otherwise than according to the desires
of his party, and the outcome, as re-
marked by one Senator was the result
of the blind chance in the selection of
the fifteenth member of the commits
sion" 1t was thought, when the bill
creating the commission was passed,
that the fifteenth member would be
David Davis of Illinois. Davis had
been Lincoln's campaign manager in
1860 and in 1872 he was considered
for the liberal Republican nomination
for President. Now he was one OF those
who had gone into the Democratic fold.
Some charged that his election to the
United States Senate by the Demo-
Gratis, with the aid of Republican votes,
was scheme to get him off the bench
and prevent his becoming the fifteenth
member Of the commission. AT any
rate, it is generally agreed that If he
had remained on the bench he would
have been the fifteenth member and
hoJ 6ro
making it eight in favor of the Tslden
contention and seven for Hayes, instead
of eight for Hayes and seven for Tilden.
Oppose Third Term.
The events leading up to the final
issue before the Electoral Commission
are full of interest. Grant, toward the
end of his second term, was urged by
some of his friends to stand for a
third term, just as all the other two
term Presidents had been-Washingto
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and jack
son. But, unlike them, he did not
spurn the suggestion. On the contrary,
he welcomed it. A little later the House
of Representatives took a hand in his
ambitions and passed a resolution
which 10 out of the 88 voting Repub-
licans favored. This resolution declared
that it would be "unwise, unpatriotic
and fraught with perils to our free in
stitutions" for the third term precedent
to be ignored. The total vote was 234
for the resolution to 18 against it. This
IeffecGually ended the Grant third sue
cessive term boom.
The support of the administration
then went to Roscoe Conkling and Oil
yer P. Morton. Blaine was the anti-ad-
ministration candidate. When the con-
vention met he had more votes than
any other two candidates and it be-
came case of the field against him
Although an investigation into some of
his financial transactions was then
being made, he nevertheless was the
favorite up to the seventh ballot, when
the convention swung to Rutherford B.
Hayes, who was dark horse UP to the
fifth ballot. Even then Blaine was but
little behind Hayes, who had the NOM
ination on the seventh ballot, with only
six votes to spare.
Unit Rule Broken.
The Republicans broke the unit rule
in this convention. Four PENNSYLVANIA
delegates wanted to vote their own SEN
timents and the chair sustained them
It's decision was appealed from, but sus-
tanned. Four years later an attempt
was made to enforce 1t again, but it
failed, and ever since the Republicans
have refused to recognize this rule. The
Democrats held their convention in ST..
Louis, to which the Tilden supporters
went with majority conceded to them.
Tilden was nominated, with his leading
opponent, Thomas A. Hendricks, as his
running mate.
Hayes was colorless candidate and
no one foresaw anything but smooth
finish to the campaign. The night the
returns came in every one conceded the
election to Tilden, and but for a
chance inquiry 1t might have gone that
way. But this inquiry, coming from
the Democratic headquarters to a Re-
publican newspaper, indicated doubt,
and Chairman Chandler of the Repub-
iican national committee promptly cap
italized that doubt with orders to his
aides to claim everything. And they
did.
Tilden received the greatest popular
majority ever received by a defeated
presidential candidate, having more
than quarter of million more votes
than Hayes. But by claiming the votes
OF several Southern States-South Caro-
lima, Louisiana and Florida-the Re-
publican candidate could count 1876 elec-
toral votes to 184 for the Democratic
candidate. The Democrats insisted that
the votes belonged to them, and with
Democratic House and a Republican
Senate there was no possibility of either
! accepting the view of the other. The
outlook for the settlement of the con-
troversy was dark. There was danger
of civil war.
: The electoral commission idea was
: the outgrowth Of the grand cemuaittes