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Show A New Pre j1 Idlest is Elected a i i ' N i S 7 V i' :' :. - J-iv ice President ' A Joint Session, of Congress IJjice President ' is Charles Cuytis SpeaKer, John N. G arner Jliiiiiiilx -t TheMarchof the Elect ors 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ON FEBRUARY S, 1933, a new President Presi-dent and Vice President of the United States will be elected, f "What!" you exclaim, as you '4 read that statement, "Why, I (Xi r-: thought we attended to that two Hill fl fir W montas aSO on November 8, 1032, J lf t0 he exact' ""llen the American jUyyU people voted Franklin D. Roosevelt Roose-velt of New York into office as 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 a 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 February Feb-ruary 8 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 Democratic Demo-cratic candidates in the 1032 election had the largest number of electoral votes and therefore there-fore will be inducted into office on March 4. Like so many other official ceremonies in government, gov-ernment, the February S "election" Is nothing noth-ing but a make-believe and, under its 145-year-old load of tradition and custom, Vice President Presi-dent Charles Curtis and Speaker John N. Garner (he's speaker one minute and the next minute he's Vice President!) become companions in a hollow, but official, preterse. Side by side and in the presence of several hundred people, the two leading candidates for Vice President will act for 30 minutes as though the result of their contest had not already been known for four months and everybody else will help lend a solemn dignity to the empty ceremony. The only new tiling about the whole business will be two new boxes which a carpenter, an employee of the United States senate, has begun be-gun preparing soon after the November election. They are made of the finest mahogany and have brass handles. As soon as they are finished fin-ished they are sent to the office of Vice President Presi-dent Curtis, where they will rest until it is time to receive 48 huge envelopes which have arrived ar-rived in Washington somt time during January. These envelopes contain the votes of members of the electoral college chosen on November 8 by citizens in the states from which the envelopes 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 Wednesday 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 am! 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 tiie letter of the rules would call for the Vice 'resident to carry the two ballot boxes at the head of the parade, with the secretary of the senate and the sergeant-at-arms of the senate a step or 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, however, how-ever, the vote-laden boxes are carried by two boys chosen from among the senate pages who inarch at the head of the double line of senators. Four years ago the procession began to move at 51 minutes past noon, with arrival at the house chamber by 1 o'clock Imperative. Since the affair has many years of guidance and experience ex-perience behind It, the six-mimilo Interval between be-tween the first shuffling of feet and arrival at the destination may be regarded as an eslab lished order. The voles and their very consequential escort es-cort cause an Initial stir at the entrance to the house chamber when a doorkeeper announces to the speaker that the senate awaits. The legislative leg-islative equivalent of "Tell them to come In" brings the visiting contingent to occupancy of seals which are assigned under precisely-worded rules. This stage of the proceedings will find Mr. Curtis mounting the dais at 1 o'clock on Feb ruarv 8. there to take his place nt the right of the speaker. Thirty feet above, eyes of the press and the galleried public will gaze lit the pair of men who went Into November as opposing op-posing political candidates and came out of that tnonlh as vh-ior and vanquished. Election of the President and Vice President for the next term of four years should be completed com-pleted within half an hour. In 1020, the Job was completed and the nenate was back In Kb ficate of such ascertainment of the electors appointed, ap-pointed, setting forth the names of such electors and the canvass or other ascertainment under the laws of such state of the number of votes given or cast for each person for whose appointment ap-pointment any and all votes have been given or cast; and it shall also thereupon be the duty of the executive of each state to deliver to the electors of such state, on or before the day on which they are required by section 1 of this act to meet, six duplicates original of the same certificate under the seal of the state; and If there shall have been any final determination In a state in the manner provided for by law of a controversy or contest concerning the appointment appoint-ment of all or any of the electors of such state, it shall be the duty of the executive of such state, as soon as practicable after such determination, determin-ation, to communicate under the seal of the state to the secretary of state of the United States a certificate of such determination In form and manner as the same shall have been made; and the certificate or certificates so received re-ceived by the secretary of state shall be preserved pre-served by him for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection; and the secretary of state of the United States at the first meeting of congress thereafter shall transmit to the two houses of congress copies In full of each, and every such certificate so received at the State department. "The electors shall make and sign six certificates cer-tificates of all the votes given by them, each of which certificates shall contain two distinct lists, one of the votes for President and the oilier of the votes for Vice President, and shall annex to each of the certificates one of the lists of the electors which shall have been furnished to them by direction of the executive of the stale. "The electors shall dispose of the certificates so made by them and the lists attached thereto in the following manner: "First. They shall forthwith forward by registered regis-tered mail one of the same to the President of the senate at the seat of government. "Second. Two of Ihe same shall lie delivered deliv-ered to the secretary of state of Ihe state, one of which shall he held subject lo the order of the president of the senate, the other to lie preserved pre-served by him for one year and shall be a part, of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection. "Third. On Ihe day thereafter they shall forward for-ward by registered mail I wo of such certificales and lists to the secretary of stale at Ihe seat of government, one of which shall be held subject sub-ject to the order of the president of the senate. The other shall be preserved by the secretary of state for one year anil shall he a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection. "Fourth. They shall forthwith cause the other of the certificates and lists to be delivered to the Judge of the district In which the electors shall have assembled. "When no certificate of vole and list mentioned men-tioned In this acl from any .slate shall have been received by the president of the senate or by Ihe secrelary of stale by the third Wednesday Wednes-day In the mouth of January alter h meeting of Ihe electors shall have been held, the president presi-dent of the senate or, If he be absent from the seal of government.' the secretary of stale shall request, by the most expeditious melhod available, avail-able, Ihe secretary of stale of the stale lo send up Ihe certificate and list lodged with him by Ihe electors of such slate; and It shall ho his duly upon receipt of such request Immediately to transmit same by registered mail lo Ihe president presi-dent of the senate at Ihe seat of government. "When no cerllllcales of voles from any stale shall have been received nl Ihe scat of government govern-ment on the fourth Wednesday of the month of January, afler the meeting of the electors shall have been held, the president of the sen-ale, sen-ale, or, If be be absent from the seat of government, gov-ernment, the secretary of slate shall send a special spe-cial messenger lo the district Judge In whose custody a certificate of voles from that stale IniH been lodged, and such Judge shall forthwith transmit that list by Ihe hand of such messenger to the seat of government." ( liy WpNtcin Nownpupor I'nlon.) President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt own hall 38 minutes after the joint session opened. At the rate less than one minute will be devoted de-voted to consideration of the votes cast by the electors chosen In each state. Within that minute 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 President, Presi-dent, as well as the seconds which will pass while tlie presiding officer opens tiie envelopes and while official tellers scan 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. Tiie names of those men are then announced by the president of the senate. Only when no candidate candi-date receives a majority of the votes cast does this procedure go awry. But to return to the "official pretense" of electing elect-ing a President February 8: Connected with its early history are two significant "ifs." If the roads between Georgia and Philadelphia hack In 17S7 hadn't been so rough and If a certain delegate to the constitutional convention from Georgia named William Houston hadn't suffered so much discomfort from the condition of the roads, the whole system might have been different. dif-ferent. The convention had almost decided to have electors chosen by the people of each state journey jour-ney once every four years to the National Capital to meet for the purpose of voting among themselves them-selves to decide who should hold the two high positions. But Mr. Houston rose to his feet during a session on a hot July afternoon and. with memories memo-ries of the road still fresh In his mind, told the assembled delegates what he thought about the Idea. He directed the convention's attention to the "expense and extreme Inconvenience of drawing together men from all stales for the single purpose of electing the chief executive." lie said also It seemed Improbable to him that capable men would undertake the service under un-der the penalty of having to travel far from home, oiily to turn right nround and go hack to the journey's starling point. A suggesllon was made that called for electors of each state to travel only to their slate capital to cast their votes. Mr. Houston approved of tlnil. Development of the plan then progressed, producing the proposal that each stale appoint a messenger to bring the voles of Ifs electors to the seat of the national government. The dele gates, worn out after many weeks of debate, wel corned the compromise. These periodical trips were continued for more than 130 years. The messengers, usually relatives rela-tives of the leading campaign contributors; slate-house slate-house employees, political newswrlters and such, received 25 cents a mile for their travels to Washl ngt on. About four years ago, It was found that this quadrennial sending of messengers was costing tin? national government more I ban $11. 000. Economy Econ-omy demanded a change so a law was passed providing that Ihe electoral voles, or "certificales" "certifi-cales" as they are formally called, be sent by mall Instead of by messenger. This act, approved May 20, 1028, reads as follows : "The electors of President and Vice President Presi-dent of each stale shall meet, and give their voles on Ihe first Wednesday In January next following their appointment at such place In each state as the legislature of such slale shall direct. "II shall be the duly of the executives of each slale, as soon as practicable afler the conclusion of the appointment of the electors In Hindi slale by the final ascertainment, under and In pursuance of the laws of such slale providing for such ascertainment, to cominunlcale by registered reg-istered mull under the seal of the stale to the secretary of slate of the United States a cerll |