Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1916 — ELECTIONS OF OTHER YEARS NERVE WRACKING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ELECTIONS OF OTHER YEARS NERVE WRACKING

The closeness of the present Presidential election calls to mind other historic campaigns when the result was in doubt for some time and in at least two instances was determined by factors other than the voters themselves. In 1824 John Quincy Adams was finally elected by the house of representative after the returns had failed to give a plurality to either Andrew Jackson, who received ninety-nine electoral votes, Adams eighty-four, W. H. Crawford fortyone and Henry Clay thirty-seven. In 1876 the Presidential election almost caused a civil war when a commission gave the Presidency to R. B. Hayes over the claims of Samuel j. Tilden, who had apparently been' elected, and only a dignified statement of withdrawal on the part of Tilden averted serious trouble. The Democrats always felt that tljey were robbed of the 1 residency and the facts seem to bear out their contention. The matter was finally referred to a joint commission of fifteen, composed of (five congressmen, five United States senators and five associate justices of the supreme court, and they sustained the contentions of Hayes on every point by a vote of eight to seven. The selection was confirmed by a joint session of congress, but the house next day repudiated the resolution and declared for Tilden and Hendricks. The withdrawal of Tilden followed and trouble was •waWnil * avenea. t In 1884 the Democrats evened up for the Hayes-Tilden affair by etealisg the election for Grover CleveSoM when he was opposed by James Blli». The result, which was flna,l y narrowed down 1

to I> T ew York state, and the electoral vote of that commonwealth went to Cleveland, who was declared «4> have received 575 more popular votes than Blaine. Years later John Y. Cain, a Democratic ward heeler in 1884, confessed to having destroyed 1,200 Blaine ballots in his precinct in New York, thus throwing the Presidency to Cleveland.—Lafayette Journal (Republican).