| Show r DR W EA ON Washington D. D C. C ELE ELECTORAL TORAL COLLEGE SQUABBLE Those who have carefully dug into the history of the electoral college admit privately that Jim Farleys Farley's legal counsellors who hatched the idea of electors disregarding the popular vote did some smart thinking thinking thinking think think- ing not from the viewpoint of a fair election but in regard to historic precedent Most famous case in which the electors flouted the majority of 01 voters was in the election of 1876 between Hayes and Tilden But there have been other interesting and more recent cases though they didn't upset a national election or attract much attention For Instance instance instance in in- stance In the Teddy Roosevelt-Alton Roosevelt B. B Parker election of 1904 Maryland cast seven electoral votes for Parker Park Park- er and only one for Roosevelt though Roosevelt had the majority of the popular vote by the very slight margin of to In the Taft-Bryan Taft contest of 1908 Maryland electors again ignored ignored ignored ig ig- nored the will of the people by voting 6 to 2 for Bryan though Taft got a slight edge of the popular vote by to Cal California ornia electors split their vote in the 1912 Wilson Taft fight by a 2 to 11 vote in the electoral college for forno forno forno no particular reason Wilson ran second in the popular vote with Roosevelt first but two electors disregarded disregarded disregarded dis dis- regarded this and voted for Wilson anyway History is dotted with isolated cases where a few electors bolted the wishes of the people of their state and voted as they pleased This it must be admitted was what the Constitution specified though general custom has ruled otherwise In the McKinley-Bryan McKinley contest of 1896 one California elector plumped I io for Bryan though the people of the state voted for McKinley One Kentuckian Kentuckian Kentuckian Ken- Ken did the same thing in the I same election Michigan in 1892 saw only 9 of its electors vote for Benjamin Harrison and 5 for Grover Cleveland though Harrison got the popular vote Ohio cast one electoral vote for Cleveland in the same election ejection though Harrison carried carried carried car car- ried th the state by a slender margin All of this background indicates indicates indi indi- cates bates why though not admitting it publicly are scrutinizing credentials carefully and are not at all happy about the electoral college college college col col- lege threat in the South RED TIRE TAPE Strange as it seems American motorists soon will have a chance to buy German and Japanese tires Behind this is a story of inexcusable government red tape and Inside fact is that immediately after Pearl Harbor U. U S. S officials began buying up all aU sorts of tires in South America accumulating tires imported to Latin America from every part of the world some of them five to twenty years old Several hundred old Japanese and German tires were found among Brazilian stocks When these tires were originally imported into the United States they were allocated largely for military military military mili mili- tary use some for lend-lease lend some som for government agencies Last November however synthetic synthetic synthetic syn syn- tire manufacture was increasing increasing increasing ing and it was decided to sell a large number of these imported tires to civilians Here came the first tape red-tape hitch The tires had been purchased by the Rubber Development Development De corporation an FEA agency But Rubber Development did not want to sell the tires to Defense Defense Defense De De- Supplies corporation a Jesse Jones agency except at the price which it had originally paid in Bra Bra- zil This price in order to get the tires away from Brazilians had been high But Jesse Jones and his Defense Supplies s corporation being shrewd bargainers didn't want to buy at that high price More Red Tape Finally Rubber Director Col Bradley Dewey stepped in to help cut the red tape Rubber Developments Development's Developments Development's Develop Develop- ments ment's high price was met But then more delays developed Finally on February 28 1944 Colonel Dewey signed a strongly worded directive demanding once again that the tires be turned over overto overto overto to civilian use However it was not until June four months later that the transfer to Defense Supplies corporation was finally completed Thus seven whole months were wasted while the tires gathered dust POLITICAL CHAFF C. C l It wasn't what the governor of North Carolina said to the governor governor gov of South Carolina but rather what several governors of North Carolina said to each other en route to Chicago On the North Carolina Special were favorite son Governor Broughton ex O. O Max Gardner Gardner Gard ner and ex John Ehringhaus All AU came to the convention together together together to to- gether in addition to North Carolinas Carolinas Carolina's Carolinas Carolina's Caro Caro- linas lina's Gov R. R L. L Harris ex ex- Speaker Will Smith and ex Con gre gressman Frank Hancock I |
