Bloom

The country as a whole cares very little who was elected Representative of the 19th Congressional District of New York (in Manhattan). But if the election should happen to decide who will be the next President of the U. S., the matter takes on a different complexion.

If Senator La Follette or some radical friend of his--such as Senator Shipstead, Farmer-Laborite of Minnesota, or Senator Wheeler, insurgent Republican of Montana--should decide to run on a third party ticket, he might very well carry Wisconsin and some of the Northwestern "radical" states. If election was then close, it would follow that no candidate would have a majority vote in the Electoral College. In such a case, according to the Constitution, the election would then be decided by the House of Representatives,* the delegation of each state casting one vote, i.e., if there were 16 Republican Representatives for one state and 15 Democratic Representatives, the one vote of that state would be cast for the Republican Presidential candidate.

Now it happens that, according to the present representation in the House, 21 states would vote Republican, 20 would vote Democratic. The 'delegations of five states--Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey--are evenly tied, and it cannot be said how they would vote. Two other states, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are doubtful because their delegations include Farmer-Labor and radical members. The outcome would be most uncertain.

At present New York is rated as a Democratic state, with 22 Democratic Representatives and 21 Republicans. A change of one seat would shift the state into the Republican ranks. Hence the concern over the 19th District of New York.

Walter M. Chandler was elected in that 'district to the 67th (last) Congress, with a majority of 18,650 votes over his Democratic opponent, Major Kennelly. But when it came to election to the 68th (present) Congress, he faced one Sol Bloom. Mr. Bloom is a gentleman of career: "at an early age" he went into the newspaper business, then he went into the theatrical business, and before his 21st birthday had "built a theatre." Next he became a music publisher, with 80 branch stores, and gained the title of "the music man." He "later became identified with the Victor Talking Machine*" (the words are those of his autobiography in the Congressional Directory ). Still later he turned to real estate and construction; finally to politics. He is a 32DEG Mason and Shriner, and (also according to his own statement) "has one daughter, Vera Bloom, a well-known writer."

The result of this contest for the place in the 68th Congress was that Mr. Bloom was declared elected, 17,909 votes to Mr. Chandler's 17,718. Mr Chandler called for a recount, and the majority against him was reduced from 191 to 126. Mr. Chandler then took the contest to the House of Representatives, charging fraud and irregularities.

Last week Elections Committee No. 3, of the House, by a strict party vote upheld Mr. Chandler's claims. It declared that the returns of three election districts (in the Congressional District) should be thrown out because "so badly tainted with fraud that the truth is not deducible therefrom."

The majority report of the Committee charged that there was "intimidation, drunkenness and boisterous conduct" on the part of a Democratic Chairman of the Board of Inspection, mutilation of the ballots by the inspectors, "electioneering within the polling place" and other irregularities. It was recommended that Mr. Chandler be declared elected by a majority of 224 votes.

It is not at all unlikely that this report may be reversed by the House with the radicals voting with the Democrats. At any rate there will be a struggle.

Congressman John F. Carew, senior Democratic member of the New York delegation, complained:

"Congressman Bloom, on the honest sentiment of this district, was elected by over 1,000 votes. There was found in the ballot boxes on the night of the special election at which he defeated Mr. Chandler nearly 700 ballots cast in sections of the district inhabited largely by Hebrews and marked for Mr. Bloom, but unfortunately marked at the end of his name--to the right hand of the voting square instead of the left, and outside of the voting square, marked by men and women accustomed to read the Hebrew language--a literature which reads from right to left, and who assumed, when they were told to place an X mark in front of Congressman Bloom's name, that they were to place it at the right hand thereof, in accordance with the language with which they are familiar."

* Article II and the 12th Amendment. The election has been thrown into the House twice. In 1800 Jefferson was elected in a tie with Burr; in 1824 John Quincy Adams was elected over Andrew Jackson, Crawford and Clay. When Hayes was elected over Tilden, there was not a case of no majority in the Electoral College. But there was a contest over the validity of 22 electoral votes. A commission of five Representatives, five Senators and five Supreme Court Justices (eight Republicans and seven Democrats) gave the 22 votes to Hayes. Hayes was elected with 185 electoral votes to 184 for Tilden. * Sol. Bloom is generally credited with authorship of the advertising slogan "His Master's Voice."