Evening star., 1951-09-02
Irked

Editors Note. Miss Fleeson was mis-
led by some ambiguous constitutional
language which has befuddled many
older. though less attractive, political
heads for nearly a century and half.
Her authority for the statement that
those two jovial Kentuckians, Chief
Justice Vinson and Vice President Bark
ley, could not share the Democratic
ticket was Section II of the Constitution
and more particularly the XII Amend
mcnt.
At first glance, the XII Amendment
seems quite clear when it starts off,
"The electors shall meet in their re-
spective States. and vote by ballot for
President and Vice President one of
whom at least shall not be an inhabitant
of the same State with themselves. :. :"
Nobody ever gets down to cases that
fast, and that's what is misleading about
the amendment: 1t seems to come to
the point all too quickly. Actually the
amendment has another intent, and
there appears to be nothing in the
amendment or elsewhere in the Con-
Stitution to prevent the Nation from
having President and Vice President
from the same State. This, of course,
major party has ever tried it.
For that reason, there is no high
court Interpretation of this phase Of
the XII Amendment. There are those
who contend that the amendment
probably would be interpreted to pre-
clude two favorite sons from one State.
But veteran political writer's. the House
parliamentarian, the Solicitor Generals
Office-all agree that there is q loop
hole there now big enough to accom-
modate those two well-fed Kentuckians
should they ever try it.
alphabetically. it could work this way:
The XII Amendment might stop Ken
tucky's electors from putting Vinson
and Barkley on the same ticket But
there is nothing to stop the electors of
the remaining 47 States from shower
ing this pair with votes should they
ever be so Smitten.
Minor parties have backed two men
from the same State. In 1924 the
Workers Party, now the Communist
Party. got behind William z. (for moth
ing) Foster for President and Ben Git
low for Vice President-both New
Workers. They got nowhere, naturally.
The same year the even smaller Com
monwealth Land Party backed two can
didateS from New Jersey-William j.
Wallace for President and j. c. Lincoln
for Vice President They merely ran
for the exercise.
It seems unfair to stand Miss FleeSon
in a corner for something that could
better be traced to the trainers Of the
Constitution and to the quill of Senator
Dewitt Clinton of New York, who intro
duced the XII Amendment in 1903. The
amendment was kicked around some.
but became effective before the presi-
Dental election Of 1904.
The amendment was inspired by what
took place in the elections of 1895 and
again in 1900. Most of the trainers OF
the Constitution regarded political par
ties as factious and undesirable and as
suned that operation of the Federal
Government would be entrusted to non-
partisan representatives of the upper
classes Therefore. they made no provi-
sion in the Constitution for political
parties. It was expected that in most
~ elections no candidate would receive
majority of votes and final choice would
devolve upon the House. The rise of
political parties made this mode of elec-
tions impracticable.
And despite the party system, man
chosen President and one chosen Vice
President might well be members of two
different political parties-an undesir-
able situation for executive unity and
for continuity of administration should
the President die in Office. Today this
would be like having a Democratic Presi~
dent and Republican Vice President.
In the 1896 election the Republicans
as the Democrats were then known, ran
Clinton for Vice President against Fed
eralist vice presidential candidate John
Ad AS. When the score was added,
Adams had the full electoral vote of
eight States. He became President. JEFF
ferson got the electoral vote Of four
States-and became Vice President.
Thus we had Federalist President and
a Republican Vice President. Clinton