The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-01-20

1921 NJ read that statement "Why I
oeSn ny thought we attended to that two
111nl1lW months ago-on November 8, 1882,
QiEllIlIUSR, to be exact, when the American
SSgp' people voted Franklin D. Roose-
welt Of New York into Office President and
John N. Garner of Texas as Vice President"
AS a matter of fact, they did nothing of the
sort. They only voted for group of men called
Presidential electors and these men presumably
have already voted for Roosevelt and Garner
for those offices. But the actual election does
not become official until the afternoon of Feb
ruary when the two houses of congress meet
in joint session and go through the ceremony
of counting the electoral votes and the Vice
President prOclaimS the fact that the Demo-
cratic candidates in the 1882 election had the
largest number of electoral votes and there
fore will be indicted into Office on March f.
Like so many other official ceremonies in gov
eminent, the February election" is moth
ing but make-believe and, under its 145-year-
old load of tradition and custom, Vice Presi-
dent Charles Curtis and Speaker John N Garner
thes speaker one minute and the next minute
he's Vice PRESIDENT become companions in a
hollow, but official, pretense. Side by side and
in the presence Of several hundred people, the
two leading candidates for Vice President will
act for 80 minutes though the result of their
contest had not already been known for four
months and everybody else will help lend q
The only new thing about the whole business
will be two new boxes which a carpenter, an
employee of the United States senate has be-
gun preparing soon after the November election.
They are made Of the finest mahogany and
have brass handles. AS soon as they are fin
ished they sent to the Office of Vice Presi-
dent Curtis, where they will rest until it is time
to receive 4S huge envelopes which have ar
rived in Washington some time during January.
These ha 0f
of the electoral college chosen on November 8
by citizens in the states from which the en-
velopes came.
The only person in the United States who has
the authority to open those envelopes is the
president of the senate (the Vice President of
the United States) and even he is not allowed
TO learn their secret" until the second Wednes-
day in February and then only in the presence
of the members Of the two houses of congress.
But the legislative mill must grind out a
certain piece of legislation before even this can
be accomplished. So the first step necessary
to the election is taken when a minor senate
committee labors and brings forth a resolution
which provides for the joint session at which
the ballots are to be counted Then the senate
adopts the resolution.
Soon thereafter, members of the senate line
up, two abreast and In the order of seniority.
Then, with dignity setting the pace they start
the march from their chamber to that Of the
house of representatives, located 500 feet In
the distance
Grim adherence to the letter of the rules
would call for the Vice President to carry the
two ballot boxes at the head Of the parade,
with the secretary of the senate and the sergeant
alarms of the senate step so behind him.
The theory is that the ballots must be in the
custody of the Vice President as president of
the senate, and in his custody only, from the
time they arrive at the Capitol In practice, how
ever, the vote-laden boxes are carried by two
boys-chosen from among the senate pages-who
march at the head of the double line of senator's.
Four years ago the procession began to move
at "a minutes past noon, with arrival at the
house chamber by o'clock imperative. Since
the affair has many years of guidance and ex-
perlence behind ii, the six-minute interval be-
tween the first shuffling of feet and arrival at
the destination may be regarded as an estab-
hshed order.
The votes and their very consequential es-
cort cause an initial stir at the entrance to the
house chamber when doorkeeper announces
TO the speaker that the senate awaits. The leg
isatiye equivalent of Tell them to come i'm
brings the visiting contingent to occupancy of
seats which are assigned under precisely-worded
rules
This stage of the proceedings will find Mr.
Curtis mounting the dais at l o'clock on Feb
ruary s, there to take his place at the right
VI the speaker. Inlrly rect ABOVE eyes or the
press and the galeried public will gaze at the
pair of men who went into November as op-
posing political candidates and came out of that
month as victor and vanquished
Election of the President and Vice President
for the next term of four years should be COM
pleted within half an hour In 1929 the Job
was completed and the senate was back In its
own hall 50 minutes after the joint session
opened
AT the rate less than one minute will be de-
voted to consideration of the votes cast by the
electors chosen in each state. Within that min
ute is to be included the time required to move
the envelopes from the mahogany boxes and
TO place them in the hands of the Vice Presi-
dent, as well as the seconds which will pass
while the presiding officer opens the envelopes
and while official tellers sean the contents and
tell what they see.
Under the venerable plan the tellers finally
discover" the identities of the men who next
are to be President and Vice President. The
mon tho,o