From a photograph by G. V. Buck. From Underwood & Underwood

PRESIDENT WILSON DELIVERING HIS WAR MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, APRIL 2, 1917

by States. Each State has as many votes in the electoral college as it has representatives and senators in Congress. Now if one candidate carries a few States by very large majorities, and his opponent carries many States by very small majorities, the latter may easily win a majority in the electoral college, and yet not have half of all the votes cast. Lincoln was a minority, President in 1860. So have been eight other Presidents. This seems queer and unjust, but it is our historic method, and it has never been considered worth while to change it.

Election by the House. The electors of each State meet at the State capitol on the second Monday in January following the election and vote. Their ballot is sent to the president of the United States Senate and on the second Wednesday in February the president of the Senate, before a joint session of Congress, opens the ballots and they are counted.

A majority of the electoral vote is required, and therefore if there is a tie or the votes are split among a number of candidates the election fails. In this event the election is thrown into the House of Representatives, which chooses a President from among the three candidates standing highest in the vote of the electoral college. In this balloting each State has one vote. The Senate elects a Vice-President under similar conditions. Twice the election has been thus thrown into the House, in 1800, when Jefferson and Burr were tied, and in 1824, when the electoral votes were divided among four candidates and John Quincy Adams was elected by the House.

Inauguration Day.-The President is elected early in November (the Tuesday following the first Monday), every four years, 1916, 1920, etc. But he does not take office until the March 4 following (in 1917, 1921, etc.), that date being known as Inauguration Day. He then takes the oath of office set forth in the Constitution (Art. II, Sec. 1, Par. 7): "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The oath is administered by the Chief Justice of the United States. This ceremony is preceded by a great parade and followed by a speech from the new President outlining his policies, delivered from the Capitol steps before a vast crowd. He is then driven to his new home, the White House. The President receives a salary of $75,000.

The President's Death. If the President dies or becomes disabled the Vice-President, elected at the same time with him, becomes President. Until that time the Vice-President has nothing to do except to preside over the Senate. His salary is $12,000. If the VicePresident dies before the President, the succession then goes down through the Cabinet in the following order: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, the Attorney-General, the Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Interior. (Art. II, Sec. 1, Par. 5.)

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

SECTION 1

1. What are the Constitutional qualifications for the Presidency?

2.

What are the three branches of the American government?

3. How long is the President's term?

5.

Can the President rule the country as he wishes?

6. How does the Constitution provide for a unified command of

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

the army and navy?

Who alone has the right to declare war?

Can the President raise money by taxation?

Why does the Constitution carefully divide powers between President and Congress and what illustrations of this division can you give?

SECTION 2

How many members are there in the cabinet?

Describe a cabinet meeting.

12. How many departments can you name?

13. How many were created in 1789?

14. What are the matters of which the secretary of state has charge?

16.

17.

18.

19.

What are treaties and who negotiates them?

By whom must a treaty be ratified and by what vote before it is binding on the United States?

What has the secretary of the treasury charge of?

In what two ways can he raise government funds?

20. What is the Revenue Cutter Service?

21. What criminals does the Secret Service pursue?

22. What has the secretary of war charge of?

23. What important work do our army engineers do in time of peace? 24. What does the attorney-general do?

25. What has the secretary of the navy charge of?

26. What has the postmaster-general charge of?

27.

What matters in charge of the secretary of the interior can you name?