Newspapers / The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, … / Dec. 10, 1936, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
It THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1936 THE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER ThA klprfnfal C U. (Maggie Club Enjoys v,uiicgc, IW Monthly Meeting History And Functions Electors Now Only Figureheads by popular vote cime about as a To Register Popular Vote I ft" hn Pess ... uwt uuui io.i IJ1UL UI1 was made to comDile the For Presidents The United States News About 44 million voters went to the polls on Nov. 3 to elect a President and Vice President. But they didn't elect either. They elected a group of 531 electors. Not until "the (first Monday after the sec ond Wednesday in December" as the law has it which will be Dec. 14 this year will the Presidential election actually De consummated. And not until Jan. 6 will the results be offi cially known. On Dec. 14 the 531 electors will meet and cast their votes. But they won't meet together rather in 48 separate meetings in the capitals of the 48 different States. For though they are referred to ag the "electoral college" an unofficial term that first came into use in 1821 they form a body that never has gotten together na tionally. The separate State elector groups 6'mPly communicate their de cision by register mail to the central Government. Six certified sets of their votes are made. One goes to the Vice President and that's the set that really is counted while two sets are sent to the State Department in Washington and three gets are retained in the respec tive States where they originate. NEWS IN FUTURE TENSE On Jan. 6, Congress will meet in joint session to open and count the electoral returns from the States and break the news to the nation that Messrs. Roosevelt and Garner have been elected. Presumably the count will be 52:1 for Messrs. Roosevelt and Garner and eight for Messrs. Landon and Knox. But not necessarily that way. Con siderations of honor and custom bind the electors to vote as their States have directed them to. Technically, however, they are still free agents. Twice in our history but only twice have independent spirits brok en over the traces and disregarded the electoral instructions. Thus one elector, chosen in Pennsylvania in 1796 for John Adams bolted Adams to vote for Thomas Jefferson instead. Hi defection was almost ruinous to Adams' chances, too, for ns it turned out Adams got only 71 electoral votes and he needed to win the election! In the other instance, in 1820, the victory was so overwhelm in? for James Monroe that one elec tor's broken pledge was of negligible importance. EVOLUTION OF ELECTORS In becoming mere "yes men" to register the expressed popular will the elector have traveled a long way down the road of political evolution since the founding fathers in Independence Hall drafted the Constitution. It was their idea that the electors would really be leading men of their States who would have some discretionary leeway in making their choices. It wasn't conceived at that time that parties, in the modern sense, would arise, to focus 'choices on pre determined presidential candidates. Nor was it contemplated at a time when ideas of pure' democracy were distrusted, that all cast ballots bind ing the electors. The Constitution does, not-specify how the State shall "ehune" their electors, electing them it attempt popular vote for President and even in that yea.- the electors were chosen by popular vote in only 18 States, while in the remaining six States they were appointed by the legisla tures. One State, South Carolina, clung to the method of letting the State legislature choose the Presi dential electors down to and including the election of 18t0. The original method of operating the electoral system proved clumsy. In their faith that the ele.tors would pick the outstanding man for the Presidency, without party machinery controlling the decision, the Constitu tional framers gave each elector two votes, which he was expected to cast for two different men for President. The candidate receiving the most votes then was to be declared elected President and the one getting the next highest number of votes would be the Vice President. SYSTEM BREAKS DOWN This worken well enough in two elections as long as George Wash ington was the choice for the Presi dency. But rival political parties de veloped before the Father of His Country had retired. Consequently in liVi John Adams, a Federalist came to the Presidency with Thomas Jeffer son, a Democrat, who had received the second highest number of votes, as his Vice President. By the time the next Presidential year came 'round in 1800, there was more party solidarity. Thomas Jef- ferson and Aaron Burr had beet) de- cided upon as the Democratic candi dates for President and Vice Presi dent, respectively. Hut all the Dem ocratic electors divided their votes equally between Jefferson and Burr, with the result that both had the same number 73. With neither having a majority to nut him into the White House, the House of Representatives had to decide the election. They, of course, chose Jefferson but not until Burr had made a threatenintr bid for the main prize against his running mate. Jefferson's hated Federalist rival, Hamilton (for in those days "Democracy" and "federalism" were not synonymous) chiefly helped de feat the machinations of Burr, who Hamilton thought would make a worse chief magistrate than the great Vir ginia. This experience demonstrated the clumsiness of the electoral method as originally planned and brought about the first reform in procedure, through adoption of the twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. Since then each elector has cast not two votes for President, but one vote for President and one for Vice President. REFORM BY AMENDMENT Seventy-two years later the elec coral system got another wracking test that led to minor legislative re pairs. When the closely contested election of Tilden and Mayes, devel oped rival sets of electoral returns from four States, the Fleet )ral Com jured . into being to unscramble the missmn, an extraordinary 'agency, un known t the Constitution, was con dllemma. It consisted (if M) members' of Congress and 5 Supreme Court, justices. The two .major parties had equal representation en the commis sion, so far as the member from Con gress were concerned. lint to Dem ocrats' dismay, one of . t he'-. scheduled The Home Demonstration Club of Maggie met December third for its monthly meeting with Mrs. Kenneth Lowe. Those present at the meeting were: Mrs. Herbert Plott, Mrs. C. D. Ketner, Mrs. J. R. Plott, Mrs. Cor dell Evans, Mrs. W. H. Setzer, Mrs. J. P. Cutshaw, Mrs. Berl McGaha, Mrs. Kenneth Lowe, and the agent, Mise Mary M. Smith. After the minutes were read and the ft I Favorable Impressions follow the use of J De Soto Paints The result of over 30 years' experience bjg Master Chemist in Quality Paint making. Made in Memphis K Paints & Varnishes j tor ooumern wiunaic Junaluska Supply Go. PHONE 263-J JERRY LINER, Owner LAKE JUNALUSKA, N. C. Democratic members from the Su preme Court in the midst of the mud ale got elected to the Senate from Illinois, and so, couldn't serve. Thus the Court's contingent on the commis sion consisted of three Republicans and only two Demooiats. The com mission decided Hayes had been elect ed President by the ciose margin ot one electoral vote. Great was con sternation and loud the outcries in the camp of the discomfited l'lldenites -LAST MINUTE PRESIDENT" The problem in the Hayes-Tilden content had la.gely arisen over lack of sharpness of definition as to who should decide which set of electoral returns from a State was valid, when contesting sets of returns were filed. Legislation was passed in 1887 to clar ify this point and lay down better rules for the State to decide such contests well in advance of the date on which Congress counts the ballots. ine election of Hayes was not finally decided until 4 o'clock in the morning of March 2, 1877. That wh the clos est the nation ever came to not hav ing a duly elected President ready to take up his task on Inauguration Day. As a nieans of measuring relative popular strength of rival Presidential tickets, the electoral system is, of course, an exceedingly inaccurate gage. Thu,, this year while Mr. Roose velt has about 00 per cent of the popular vote, he will get 1S per cent of . the electoral vote. Probably the strangest case of distortion of a na tional popular verdict was in 1KNS when Crover Cleveland (Dem.), though he had 9S.017 more popular votes than Benjamin Harrison (Hep.), had them distributed so badly among the States that he received (V fewer electoral votes than Harrison, with the consequence that the latter was elected. Koighty years earlier, James A. Carlield (Rep.), had onlv 7.018 more votes than Wintield S. JIaneo.k Dem.), yet Hancock trailed by 50 votes, in the electoral college. R A R K KX A M PI, KS ) F I N I I V Only three times in history has the electoral college been more thorough ly united on an election than it is cer tain to be on Dec. 1-1. Both in 178X and in 1702, Oeorire .. Washington bad a vote from every elector. In 1821), during the "era of good feeling," when partisanship was at low ebb ami President Monroe, up for re-election, wa s, v i rt ua lly speak i ng, t he onl v ca n -dictate in the field, he, came near be ing, like Washington, the unanimous choice. One elector, however, said he thought thai wiv an honor that should !)i- reserved exclusively for the Father of His Country. . "onseoiicntlv like the Pennsylvania elm tor who had bolt e the John Adams candidacy in 1790, he broke, his instruction to' vote for John Adams' son, John Quincy Adams. ."mi it one Adams was victim, nnot her was beneficiary of a broken electoral pledge in the only two instances of the sort in our history. Realizing that, voters nowadays, whatever the .technical implication of the system, mean to vole for ac tual candidates in November rather than for ati interinediacy set 'of elec tors, a number of States have .'real istically passed laws to take the name of the electors off the ..ballots,' substi tuting, therefore only the names of the Presidential and Vi e Presidential candidites of the various parties. At last report; 12 States had adopted Uns practice, : VARIETY Ol' METHODS The greiit majority of States, how ever, still present the lists of all elec tors' o.f the various parties. Most of these States permit the electors to be Voted for either individually .or as a group.. Twelve State, though, while printing the lists of electors on the ballots, require that the Voter must cast his ballot for the. electors of a political party as a group. From .such States, as well as the States that print only the names of Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and chance of a divided State vote being cast in the electoral college. The question is often asked how on a number of occasions some States have divided their electoral votes be tween rival Presidential slates. Thi can happen in two ways. Two par ties may make a fusion agreement and put un the same ticket of elec tors in a State, with the advance un derstanding that if the fusion ticket of electors is elected, they will split their Presidential votes between the presidential candidates of the two parties according to a predetermined ratio. Or, without fusion, a sufficient number of voters in a State may "scratch the ticket," that is to say, vote for electoral candidates on two or more different lists in a way to pre vent any party from having all its elector in a State elected, as hap pened in Maryland in 1008 and Cali fornia in 1912. Such instances, how ever, are rare. , I The electors will meet and do their part of the job earlier than usual in this election. Formerly, when Inau guration Day was March 4, they met at the State . capitals and cast the electoral votes in January. But now that the 20th or ''lame duck" Amend ment has pushed the inauguration ahead to Jan 20, the other phases of the procedure have had to be ad vanced, too. So this time, and al ways hereafter, the 531 e!ecbnrfi will have to take "time out" from their Christmas shopping to repair to their respective State Houses for the per formance of their solemn, if super fluous, public duty. 4-H Council Met On Last Saturday The 4-H County Council met at the court house Saturday, Dec. 5, at 2 p. m. The meeting was called to order by the president. The minutes were read and approved. Mr. Michiner again urged the com pletion of project books. The time for the meeting was set for the second Saturday in each month. The program consisted of a report by the presidents of the various clubs on the work done during the year 1936 and a two-minute talk by eavh local leader on suggestions and improve ments for the year 1937. Mis Mary M. Smith presented a meda! to Miss Tommie Davis for coun ty honors in canning. Vivadean Swayngim won the $2 for having the 8 prize cans in the club. We played two Christmas games, sang a Christmas carol and adjourned. Reporter, RUTH HOOKER. Shares Rail Control new and unfinished business was at tended to, the club members enjoyed a long story of "1 he Story of the Other Wise Men," which was given by Miss Smith. The agent demonstrated on meat canning with the pressure cook er, leaflets on "Christmas Sugges tions" were given out by Miss Smith. The club enjoyed two prize games af ter which the meeting was adjourned. The club will meet the third Thurs day, in January at 1:00 P. M. with Mrs. C. D. Ketner. It cl I toV 1 Charles L. Bradley As one of those figuring impor tantly in industrial empire built up by the Van Sweringen brothers of Cleveland. Charles L. Bradley chairman of the board of the Erie railroad and the Cleveland Rail way Co.. is expected to share in control of the vast interests left without a director by the sudden death of O. P. Van Sweringen Read The Ads Summer Resident Wins In National Esso Title Contest Rev. Richard Close of Lake Juna luska and Coral Gables, Fla., was no tified yesterday that he wa one ot the winners in the Esso Picture Title Contest which closed on September 30th. Mr. W. T. Huff, general sales man, of the S canard Oil Company of New Jersey, told Rev. Clost that the titles he had submitted were chosen from amoung thousands of entries to win a $25.00 prize. "We are particularly glad to see this prize go to Lake Junaluska," Mr. Huff said when he announced the local win ner. "In view of the fact that thous ands of persons submitted titles to the four cartoons in the Esso Picture Title Content, R"v. Close is certainly to be congratulated." His titles were passed upon by the nationally known judges. :m w. n. c. men enlist in army in november During November, 34 from Western North Carolina enlisted at the army recruiting station in Asheville, ac cording to H. E. Radar, recruiting officer in charge. Men wishing to enlist, must be be tween the ages of 18 and 35 yeans, be single, in good health, and have a good character. The office is open daily except Sunday, from 8 to 4:30. Cold and Platinum Gold (g alloyed with baser metals, but plilllnliiiu Is usually alloyed with more precloos tnetsl Iridium. IT Die mn We have thousands of dollars .worth of merchandise that I & must o by the first of the year. See us for prices. See us g K for your Christmas needs vve are orenared with conmlete ffi l stocks. n LADIES' SOLID Leather Oxfords A $2.00 Value $1.49 Indies' Full Fashion Hose A 7)c Value 49c . MEN'S Dress Sox A Real Value Pair 25c MEN'S AND LADIES' Bath Rohes Extra Values $2.50 - $3.50 For Sweaters See I s Every Sweater In This Store . Re d u c e d : MEN'S Union Suits 89c Value Sale c - Ladies Coats Reduced! 2 libs. Flour ..70c g Coffee, lb ....10c 10 lb. Sugar . .50c g 8 lb. ctn. Lard 1.03 g 17c I ROUND STEAK . SIRLOIN STEAK T-HONE STEAK . a i 69c MEN'S . Work Shirts Blue Chambrev 39c LADIES' Pajamas and Gowns Extra Values 98c CHILDREN'S Hath Robes Larjje Assortment 98c Quilt Cotton 39c .5 lb. Wool Batts 75c Overalls 79c A Big Lot Of Toys WAGONS, DOLLS, PISTOLS, , CANDIES, NUTS And FLYING TRAPEESE Sausage ... 12c Roast Beef 12c Pork Chops . .25c Pork Roast . .23c MEN'S GOOD HEAVY Work Shoes Nailed and Sewed With Composition Sole JL.lt C . rot t, i. - .7 ' ' .V HOY'S Corduroy Pants $1.49 Prints FAST COLORS 8c CHILDREN'S Oxfords 98c Value 79c A LARGE ASSORTMENT Men's Ties 25c, 50c, 75c, $1.00 II O) u A iin DEPT. STORE
The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 10, 1936, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75