Show CALLING OP SPECIAL ELECTION the att pleasant pyramid suggests unit in alie event of the ousting of B II 11 roberts it would bs wise to allow the office to remain vacant until general election next fall the suggestion Is not without some merll A special election would entail a havy expense and the probabilities are that the session would be so far advanced that the new congressman could do little more than draw his salary the above is from the san pete acm which tails into the same error committed by the pyramid the ceiling of a special election to fill a congressional vacancy is mandatory and not the governor had he the authority ito refrain from callias a special election would have a power almost equivalent to disfranchising franchising dis the voters of the state in the matter of representation in the lower house of congress in the event of a vacancy to provide against this governors are instructed to cause a special election to be held not later than sixty days after a state or district has been deprived by death or other cause ct a congressman had the governor the right to avoid calling an election then a democratic executive in a ican state or having authority over a republican district might avail himself of the opportunity to prevent an election and with conditions reversed a republican governor might allow his partisan bias or party demands to deprive the state or district of a congressman during the congressional election ot the democrats confidently expected to overthrow the republican majority in the house or make a very close vote had the two forces been oe equal strength and the breaking bie aking of the tie depended on the of a governor to call an election the perverting of what might otherwise ba a good provision allowing governors the option of calling an election in order to sae the expense of a contest would offer a great opportunity fur partisan trickery and the disfranchisement of the voters in a lu astion of national importance |