OCR Text |
Show THE DEMOCRATIC PKITfCIt'LE MUST BE KKSTOKEU. Technically t'io legal succession to the presidency ia assured lor the uext four years; morally tho fa'.sj verdict reached will not be considered worth a rush by about half the American people, and tuauy will hold that the ' constitutional government has lapsed J by the failuro of the will ot the ma- ; jority ol tho voting population to be 1 carried out. All know that Mr. Til- ' do a received a majority of over a l quarter of. a million votes for the ' presidency, and although this wculd L not give him a constitutiotial title to the otUce, thii fact should bo recog c nizeti as of importance in (he settle a ment of tho question of a disputed dis-puted -election. The theory o. o the government is that majorities n rule, a-,d i:::s theory was carried tc :i extreme n (he Oreg n ".'.?e when the commission decided that a ma- :i jority ot about 1,000 o:;s in tha state could override a provision of tin national constitution. It was a terrible terri-ble outrage that Mr. T:idn sboJiId attempt to secure his rigius through a constitutional technicalily -n Oregon, Ore-gon, where a majority had 0tcJ againt hiui, but ill teohnicalities in Florida and Louisiana wore availed of to prerout the fact (ror.i being brcu.t before the commission that democratic demo-cratic ca::ci:!aie received a clear majority of the votes of those state?. The ma:ori:y principle, liio everv other question before the can:mis:ou w.is recvignized or neglected acccr.lii-.; 1 aa its ctet would be upon the partisan parti-san result sought for, and the conse- j qtieneehasUea a reversal of the actual verdict, which will lead to the inauguration of a president who did ' net receive either a marity of the electoral or pjpular vcios. " ! Theetlcct this fraudulent result will I have upon the govemnient m nt be j . . l''t lo th': d'.-tiirmiiiatluu it tiii.e. hat results iuvo bfn:u prv.lueed by f p.uvi .u.-i attujfjta to reverse the will ! t't.f, ua'.ijii :ta declared by the ; ULijurily ol m votern id nhown by that .loble democrat and b:j!d advocate ot I i,.u!ur itovf-reinty, Ti:',ni.i3 Ji-;iit jfi, : ii Ion "T'.irty Ve.ir' Viw." Mr. 'ieiiton claimed ti, a tie contitu-..Onul contitu-..Onul tij(;jry of urcsidential electors i:ad faiJtrd hy the lact that the elec-t elec-t m had ni.'ve-r liictii-j'jlvfa chosen th f.r-s:Jnt, but h.vl electej tho nun who wad tho choiee. a', tho pro;du who slc.ted Iheiu. Mr. Kenton bho'.v.i tiiat in liie ejection of Ji.hu tiincy Adams hy the house of ropresenta tivf-H in tiio hon-.o defeated the will of the p'jfiple in reieuting fjeneral d.u;l.oij, who had received tho great-1 c.;t number of voles. The eicaion of -Mr. Adarn was perfectly constitutional, constitu-tional, but it wna a violation of the democratic: principle, which wat ignally rebuked. "Afl the reprcjcii-tttttee.i reprcjcii-tttttee.i icio iA.;l i:uuil will n tneir roLiHtiiaiti, but their jkvor, ami 'liftparcd from public life. The representation in tho house, of repreafmUtives waa largely changed it tho first general election, elec-tion, and presented a full oppo-.tion oppo-.tion tu tlio new president. Mr. Vdanis himaelt waa injured by it, and at tho eniuhig presidential electi m wan beaten by Uuiieral Jackson more than two to one 178 to Sd." Mr. Adams "was himtislt crippled in the ell'jrt, lost his place in tho democratic party, jcincd the whigs, and has ainco presented tho disheartening ifpcctaclo of a former groat leader figuring1 at tho bead of his ancient foea in all their defeats, and lingering linger-ing on their rear in their victories. Tho democratic principle was again victor over the theory of tho constitution, consti-tution, and great and good were the results that ensued." Mr. Beulou favored an amendment of tho constitution allowing tho peo-plo peo-plo to voto directly for president and vice- president, and thia plan has been prominently brought to tho attention of the public by tho recent nignal failure of tlio electoral system, which all parties should at once unite in auieiidiug by some method which shall prevail t tho occurrence of such grave- dangers to tho government govern-ment as wo havo now temporarily oaeaped. Perhaps a safer method , and ono that might bo more readily adapted to our system would be to require re-quire the concurrence of a majority , of tho people with a nnjority of the states to elect the president and vice 1 president. That the republican party by its action in taking advantage of its control con-trol of tho house and (ho executive baa placed itself in tho position of thwarting and reversing Lho will of a majority of tho people ia as certain as it is that the friends of John Quiucy Adams nnd of Mr. Clay, in 1S21, conspired to defeat tho will of the majority in order to make Adams president of tho United Stales. If the principlo of the representation of popular sovereignty in the government govern-ment is tho true one, it is almost equally certain that the Hayea administration ad-ministration will bo from the beginning begin-ning condemned and disgraced; that it will not bo sustained by the people, and will early find itself iu a minority in both bouses of congress. |