Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-09-25

brought to light; defects not yet adequatel,
repaired and still menacing in 1882.
The jefferson Burr contest filled dangerous
moment in the life of the young republic Al
tentative to the danger of thrusting into the
presidency SO unfit and unforeseen canoidate
as Burr, there was the graver peril Of the con-
tinuing deadlock, which provoked open threats
Of civil war.
Although the subsequent adoption of the
twelfth amendment to the Constitution has
made impossible another tie between the preSi-
Dental and vice presidential candidates Of the
same party, it has not made even improbable
the occurrence of a deadlock between rival
party candidates.
Today there seems to be no provision, In
either the Constitution or the statutes, which
clearly prescribes what should be done If. in
1888, after a third party candidacy had grown
formidable through acute public distress and
had polled enough electoral votes to throw the
election in the House. there should result such
manipulation of the voting in that body as to
prevent the election Of q President before
March T. and If an almost equally probable
deadlock should be managed In the Senates
efforts to choose Vice President.
IN the campaign of 1900, the opposing parties
purposes. were commonly supposed to
be- today, let US say, the Hoover Re
publicans and the Foster Communists. Be-
cause the struggle seemed to be one OF life and
death, between the better elements OF the Ma
ton and the worse, between conservatism and
radicalism it was q desperate and a dangerous
fight
Moreover victory for the Je1ersonian
radicals was judged to be all too probable, yet 1t
was fully believed by the party Of Washington
and Adams that such a victory meant
reign of chaos and rule of lunatics.
%1,o rio1 yyOfo cnnuy
q Federalist defeat: 70 votes for Jefferson; 70
for Burr; IS for Adams: "a for Adams running
mate, Gen. Charles Pinckney. There was still
a desperate chance that the FederaliSt con-
troll of the House of Representatives In which
the tie between the two Democratic candi-
dates must be voted of, might even yet rescue
the country from destruction
Two possibilities were offered by this tie:
One to prevent an election, by continuing the
deadlock past March f. In the present tenn
per Of the Nation, this probably meant civil
war.
The other possibility was that of making
Burr, instead Of Jefferson, President, at the
price Of pledges extracted from him to con-
tinue in the main the Federalist policies.
THE Federalists in Congress-" Jefferson
wrote to q friend, mean to take advantage Of
this (the tie), and either prevent election
altogether, or reverse what has been under
stood to have been the wishes Of the people as
to President and Vice President; wishes which
the Constitution did not permit them specially
to designate. The latter alternative still gives
Republican d- Denocratic) admin
istration; the former suspension Of the Fed
eral Government for want Of head. This
opens to abyss at which every sincere
patriot must shudder.'
THE Federalists, however, seemed not much
] more afraid of this "abyss" Of no Govern
ment and imminent of civil strife than they
were Of the radical administration which an
election would establish. At any rate, they
danced hopefully along the edge of the former
for some days, before they finally decided to
plunge into the latter
"The Federalists appear determined to pre-
vent an election" wrote Jefferson, land to
pass a bill giving the Government to Mr..
Jay appointed Chief Justice, to Marshall
as Secretary Of State"
This and other Federal6t proposals looked
all right to the Federalist President Adams
though he doubtless viewing them with
his partisan spectacles on.
Il know no more danger Of political con-
vulsion," he writes. "n President, pro tenn
PORE Of the Senate. or Secretary Of State.
President by Congress, than II Mr.. Jefferson