Year: 1875

been Justice OF the supreme court shall
be eligible to the Office of president or
vice president" adopted, that court
would be as completely free of any of
the motives or influences which would
weaken the 2force of its final adjudica-
tlons on the questions submitted to it,
in the judgment of the country, as that
or any other tribunal could be made.
And, after all, the sanction of an indorse-
ment by the people of the United States,
are their acquiesence in measures affect
ing the country, is the most important
consideration connected with legislation.
The supreme court has always enioved
the confidence OF the people OF the
United States, and their faith in It's Wis
dom and integrity is well founded. We
do not mean to intimate a doubt that 1t
will continue to deserve the fullest con-
fidence of the whole country, by report
ing proposition to make it's members
ineligible to the Office OF president and
vice president; but it viii release the
court, besides being fitting, that as the
court is under the proposed amendments
to decide questions which may in some
cases be decisive of the results of pres
idential election, it's members should be
relieved of the possible imputation of
having personal interest in the action of
the court.


THE PLURALITY RULE.


The amendments now proposed pro-
vide that the persons having the high
est number of presidential votes in the
United States shall be president, and SO
of the vice president This substitutes
what is known as the plurality rule for
the majority rule. Under the present
provision of the constitution there can
be no election except by a majority of all
the electoral votes, and If no candidate
receive such majority, the election is
thrown into the house of representatives
where the choice is made between the
three highest candidates. By the amend
ment proposed, the candidate receiving
the highest number of votes cast in the
United States will be elected, although
he may not have a majority Of all the
presidential votes, so that the election
III every case is final. This finality of
the election is the feature which chiefly
recommends the plurality plan; as,
being final, it does away with the un-
| fairness and the danger Of an election by
he house of representatives. Under
the !" resent system of electing presi-
dent anu vice president, unless there is
a candidate who has received a majority
of the electoral votes, the election is
thrown into the house, where, to say
nothing of the oth,ar element OF unfair
ness in such an election not by the peo-
pie but by the house of representatives,
the voting in the house is c67dlned to a
selection between the candidates, not
exceeding three, having the higl est
number of votes, and in this case the
majority vote is the result of compulsion
"a choice between what the representa-
tives may regard as evils. If the plu-
rality system is adopted, and the people
vote directly for president and vice pres
ident, every voter casts his vote with
the full knowledge that the candidates
receiving the highest number Of votes
will be declared elected, and this takes
away the inducement to scatter the vote
and throw the election into the house, as
in the present system. The electoral
colleges, under the present system, in
all the states may be chosen by a plur-
aity vote, as there is no provision OF
law in any of them that the electors
shall have a majority of all the votes
cast in the state.