RECORD VOTE FOR WILSON

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2928, 14 November 1916, Page 7

RECORD VOTE FOR WILSON

WILL THE ELECTION BE ■■■■■. CONTESTED? GRATIFICATION IN JAPAN linstralian-New.Zealand Cj,ble.,Aeßociallon. New York, November 12.President Wilson's present vote is a recordy being over 8,500,000, an increase of 2,250,000 over that cast at the .previous election. Although the Republicans are anxious to contest the election in the Courts, Judge Hughes ■ does not agree unless serious discrepancies are revealed by the official counts. The indications aro that five Independents will hold tho, balance of power in the House of Representatives. THE ELECTION—AND JAPAN, Toklo, November 12. The newspapers state that President [Wilson's coiitinuanoe in office means tte furtherance of American and Japi anese friendship.. The Press is pleased that there will be no changes in the ■tariff. . HOW AMERICA EITHER PRESIDENT In view of the extraordinary conflict . of statements over the result, of. .the ,United States Presidential election, it may be instructive to describe tho voting system. How is the President of the United States of America elected? Punctually on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November ;in evory fourth year, whether there-happens to be a political crisis or not, the voting -population of the United Stated decides the.claims of the rival candidates for the Presidency. There arc in the : United States at least five political parties, each of which is entitled to put forward its chosen representative for, the Roughly speaking, these parties classed ; as Democratic, Republican, Populist, Prohibitionist, and Labourist. But to, all intents and purposes the three lastnamed are ultimately discounted as entities, and many of their numbers go to swell the Tanks of the. two great parties—the Democrats,and theßepublicans—between whom the final battle . is fought.

The Electoral College,

/ Tho American electoral system puzzles the Britisher as much as the British electoral system puzzles the American.! What the American people do is to choose an: "electoral college,'' which chooses the President, who will not take office till March of next year. Citizens will go to tbe polls and vote for a.number or gentlemen .whose names most of them have never heard before, and who probably will never be heard of again. Neither the name of the Republican nor the Democratic candidate will appear on any official ballot paper, and as far as the lajv is concerned they will have no more interest in the election than any other citizen., In law the nominations have no more force than the soughing of the wind through the trees. They are simply an unofficial record of the choice for the President of the two great political parties, but neither of the men go named will-come before the,people for •flection. The people of each State choose. .a number of "Presidential electors'," •itlie number varying with the population :«f_the State. New York, for instance, being the most State, has 39 electors. Pennsylvania comes next with 34; while there are several States that' have only three. electors each. The. policital parties in each State nominate, their candidates for the office of Presidential-elector, and it is the.names of these men which appear at the head of the ballot papers. The members of the electoral colleges are chosen in a body in each State and the success of one party in a State, no matter how small its majority may be, means that the whole electoral that State will'.be cast for the party's candidate for President. Thus the Republican candidate might win" the New York State by a majority of, say, the negro votes, but he would receive tho whole of the State's 39 votes in the electoral college, while the Democrat might carry a dozen of the smaller States by overwhelming majorities and yet receive less electoral votes. . '

President's Privileges. Whether Dr. Woodiw 'Wilson or Mr. Hughes is elected he will have to obey .certain regulations just as much as he wll have certain privileges. ; i Great a 6 is the power of King George, if he chooses to exercise that power, that of the President of the United States is even greater. ' King George, for example, has the right of vetoing any Bill passed by both Houses of Parliament. He has never exercised that right, nor did King Edward; but : the President of the United States does rot hesitate to veto any Bill of which he disapproves, though a majority of two-thirds ,of the Senate can overTide -.the President's refusal. Again, it is; an unwritten law that the ruler of the United States must not leave the country. He is the head of the 'American army and navy, and in case of war would have direct control. During -the Civil War, for instance, Lincoln, who was the President, directed operations. Then, ■ the President has an enormous amount of influence as regards the filling of appointments. Although..these appointments are supposed in theory to be made with the advice and consent -of the"Senate, yet. in practice the Senate is rarely consulted at all. He has the right to pardon offenders, • without doing it through the Home Secretary, as in the cas3 of England, .and in many other respects has privileges that are not possessed by any other ruler. . Past Presidents. Since the inauguration of George Washington in 1789, several have served two-terms. In throe cases, those of Lincoln, Garfield, and M'Kinley, the Presidents were assassinated, and their Vice-Presidents took up the post, in accordance 'with 1 the Constitution. Previous Presidents have been:— ' 1769—Ge0. Washing- 1865—Andrew Johnson ton 1869-Ulysses S. Grant 1797-Jobn Adams 1877— R. B. Hayes 180L-Thos. Jeffarson '1881-. T. A.. Garfield 1809-Jas. Madison 1881—OhcBterA.Ar- . 1817—Jas, Monroe -. - tlrur j 1325-J. (J. Adams 1885-Grovor. Olove-'-1829—Andrew Jackson land 1857— 51. Tan Buren 1889-B. Harrison •1341—V. H. Harrison' 1395—Grover Clove-, 1841-John Tyler land ' « " 1845-J. K. Polk 1897-W. M'Kinley 1849-Z. Taylor 1901-T. noosovelt 1350—J1. Fillmore 1909— W. H. Taf t 1853—Franklin Pierce 1913-Woodrow Wil1857—Jas. Buchanan son 1851—Abraham Lincoln incompleted terms-