RAILROADS. 



661 



manner following: each State shall be divided, by 

 the Legislatures thereof, in districts equal in number 

 to the whole number of Senators and Representa- 

 tives to which such State may be entitled in the 

 Congress of the United States ; the said districts to 

 be composed of contiguous territory, and to contain, 

 as nearly as may be, an equal number of persons, 

 entitled to be represented under the Constitution, and 

 to be laid off, for the first time, immediately after 

 the ratification of this amendment ; that, on the first 

 Thursday in August, in the year 18 , and on the 

 same day every sixth year thereafter ? the citizens of 

 each State, who possess the qualifications requisite for 

 electors of the most numerous branch of the State 

 Legislatures, shall meet within their respective dis- 

 tricts and vote for a President and Vice-President of 

 the United States ; and the person receiving the 

 greatest number of votes for President, and the one 

 receiving the greatest number of votes for Vice-Presi- 

 dent in each district, shall be h olden to have received 

 one vote ; which fact shall be immediately certified 

 by the Governor of the State to each of the Senators 

 in Congress from such State, and to the President of 

 the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Represent- 

 atives. The Congress of the United States shall be in 

 session on the second Monday in October in the year 

 18 , and on the same day on every sixth year there- 

 after; and the President of the Senate, in the pres- 

 ence of Senate and House of Representatives, shall 

 open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 

 counted. The person having the greatest number of 

 votes for President shall be President, if such num- 

 ber be equal to a majority of the whole number of 

 votes given; but if no person have such a ma- 

 jority, then a second election shall be held on the first 

 Thursday in the month of December then next ensu- 

 ing, between the persons having the two highest 

 numbers for the office of President, which second 

 election shall be conducted, the result certified, and 

 the votes counted, in the same manner as in the first, 

 and the person having the greatest number of votes 

 for President shall be President. But if two or more 

 persons shall have received the greatest ; and an equal 

 number of votes, at the second election, then the 

 person who shall have received the greatest number 

 of votes in the greatest number of States shall be 

 President. The person having the greatest number 

 of votes for Vice-President, at the first election, shall 

 be Vice-President, if such number be equal to a ma- 

 jority of the whole number of votes given ; and if 

 no person have such majority, then a second election 

 shall take place between the persons having the two 

 highest numbers, on the same day that the second 

 election is held for President ; and the person having 

 the highest number of votes for Vice-President shall 

 be Vice-President. But if there should happen to 

 be an equality of votes between the persons so voted 

 for at the second election, then the person having the 

 greatest number of States shall be Vice-President. 

 But when a second election shall be necessary in the 

 case of Vice-President, and not necessary in the case 

 of President, then the Senate shall choose a Vice- 



President from the persons having the two highest 

 numbers in the first election, as is now prescribed in 

 the Constitution : Provided, That, after the ratification 

 of this amendment to the Constitution, the President 

 and Vice-President shall hold their offices, respec- 

 tively, for the term of six years, and that no Presi- 

 dent or Vice-President shall be eligible for reelection 

 to a second term. 



And be it further resolved, That article two, sec- 

 tion one, paragraph six, of the Constitution of the 

 United States shall be amended so as to read as fol- 

 lows : " Incase of the removal of the President from 

 office, or of his death or resignation, or inability to 

 discharge the powers and duties of said office, the 

 same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and in case 

 of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both 

 of the President and Vice-President, the powers and 

 duties of said office shall devolve upon the Secretary 

 of State for the time being, and after this officer, in 

 case of vacancy in that or in other Departments, and 

 in the order in which they are named, on the Secre- 

 tary of the Treasury, on the Secretary of War, on 

 the Secretary of the Navy, on the Secretary of the 

 Interior, on the Postmaster-General, and on the At- 

 torney-Gneral ; and such officer on whom the powers 

 and duties of President shall devolve, in accordance 

 with the foregoing provisions, shall then act as Presi- 

 dent, until the disability shall be removed or a Presi- 

 dent shall be elected, as is or may be provided for 

 by law." 



SEC. 3. And be it further resolved, That article one, 

 section three, be amended to read as follows : " The 

 Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 

 Senators from each State, chosen by the persons quali- 

 fied to vote for the members of the most numerous 

 branch of the Legislature thereof, for six years, and 

 each Senator shall have one vote." 



SEC. 4. And be it further resolved, That article three, 

 section one, be amended to read as follows : 



ARTICLE III. 



SECTION 1. The judicial power of the United States 

 shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such 

 inferior courts as Congress from time to time may 

 ordain and establish. The judges of the Supreme and 

 inferior courts shall hold their offices during the term 

 of twelve years, and shall, at stated times, receive 

 for their services a compensation which shall not be 

 diminished during their continuance in office. And 

 it shall be the duty of the President of the United 

 States, within twelve months after the ratification of 

 this amendment by three-fourths of all the States, as 

 provided by the Constitution of the United States, to 

 divide the whole number of judges, as near as may 

 be practicable, into three classes. The seats of the 

 judges of the first class shall be vacated at the expi- 

 ration of the fourth year from such classification, of 

 the second class at the expiration of the sixth year, 

 and of the third class at the expiration of the twelfth 

 year, so that one-third may be chosen every fourth 

 year thereafter. 



RAILROADS. The construction of rail- 

 roads in the United States has received quite 

 an impulse since the close of the war. Their 

 importance to the development and to the 

 economy of domestic commerce is so fully 

 demonstrated that every State in the Union is 

 now urging the opening of new routes. There 

 are 36,992 miles of railroad in operation. The 

 cost of their construction is stated at $1,517,- 

 500,000. The population of the country through 



which these roads pass is estimated at 31,775,- 

 990. The extent of railroads in other coun- 

 tries of North America is 4,170 miles. The 

 cost of these roads has been $312,876,000. In 

 Europe the number of miles of railroads in 

 operation is 53,381, and the .cost of their con- 

 struction $6,660,470,000. The population 

 along these lines is 506,256,947. The following 

 is a statement of the present railroad enterprise 

 of the country, in a brief and summary form : 



