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Show AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. CONSTITU-TION. Senator Morton recently delivered at Indianapolis bis new leciuro in advocacy of tho abjlition of the electoral elec-toral college- and the clsction of the president of tho United States by a ..... f Urn. nminviiv nf thn nennle. Ho admitted that he had not much hope in rt'Krtid to the passage of uuch an amendment to the constitution o( the United States, but thought it was his duty to urge it upon tho American Ameri-can people. In this doubt tho senator sena-tor probably expresses the facta of the case. While our present constitutional constitu-tional system of stato governments exists it will bo very difficult -to secure a favorable- vote on such au amendment amend-ment from three-fourths of tho states. Tho small states would opposo it in a body for the reason that it would rob them of their senatorial representation representa-tion in the electoi al collego and thereby largely dacreaso their power in an election, while .relatively increasing in-creasing that of tho largo states. At least one-half of the states would probably voto down such, an am end -msnt for this excellent practical reason. An amendment might bi framed, however, which would answer the purposes required, without with-out being liable to the objection noted. It is this. Amend the con-atitution con-atitution so as to provide that both an electoral majority and a majority or plurality of all the votes cast for president shall bo necessary to elect, rind in case of a failure ot election let the house of representatives chose the president. Under such a system the last election must have gone to the house of representative, for Mr. Tildcn had a clear popular majority of the entire vote and the olectoral commission would have been useless. This amendment would cover the result iu almost every possiblo case, and while carrying out tho will of the majority, according to tho American theory, would entirely obviate the tendency to revolution which came so noar becoming a reality in the late election. Tho only two American Ameri-can presidents who failed to receive a I plurality of the popular and a majority ma-jority of tho electoral vote were John Quiucy Adams ami Kulherford B. Hayes. The former was elected by the bouse of representatives and tho latter by a so-called electoral commission. com-mission. While it is not likely that the amendment proposed by Senator Morton could become a law, tho one proposed by the Herald is consistent with our duplex sy.teni of govern ir.cn t, and probably would not meet with any serious resistance. Senator McDonald s plan for electing elect-ing a president ditlers from that ol Morton's. McDonald states his plan to bs for each stat3 to have tho number num-ber o votes that correspond to the number ef its congressional representatives. represen-tatives. The proportion of these votes shall be made- iu accordance with tho proportions ol the entire vote cast. Tor instance, if 55 per cent, of the voto cast be for tho republican re-publican candidate, then the republican repub-lican candidate should be given 55 pir cent, of tho voto of tho state. Counting by ils congressional representation repre-sentation in this way, the democrats would gAiu vo;w in tho New England Eng-land states, and llio republicans Wfuld secure votes in the most extreme ex-treme states of the south. This sys tern, Senator McDonald says, would Jd away with ti:o greatest possible incentives of fraud, and at the szmo time would negative the eilect of fraud. Where a fraud now secures the majority in a stato, it secures the entiie vote. Under this system, even if a majority were obtained, majority representation wou'.J partly counterbalance counter-balance the etVeet. Senator McDonald thinks tbatj eo.nethins must be done before our: next presidential election; for, to use his own language, "utir country canj never stand another such a wrench as ithas ha.l in this put election." ' |