The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-11-15
gnteIEsgsmaesE.
Changing Political Complexion or the
United States Senate,

Dntteu Otute9 S6uDtes
Accidental events as we'll as the pro.
gress Of public sentiment favor the Dem.
ooratic party. The death of Senator
Morton diminishes the slender and wan
ing Republican majority In the Senate,
and his Democratic successor will be an
addition to the strength of the other aide.
Senator Patterson, Of South Carolina.
who is under indictment for felony, Is
likely to lose his seat by expulsion, and
his successor will be q Democrat. Sem
ator Davis, of Illinois, who attended the
Senatorial CAUCUS of neither party, will
probably act with the Democrats in ques-
t.oas where they have right and justice
clearly on their side. If the Democratic
claimants from Louisiana and South Car
olina are admitted to seats, tho long "a,
publican asceudancy in the Senate in
gone, and the Democratic party will
have n majority in both branches of Con-
gress. 1t is certain enough that the
Democrats will control the Senate during
the last two years Of President Hayes
term, and there seems almost an even
chance tha. they may gain this advantage
in the Forty-fifth Congress. This posi-.
BILE change in the party composition of
the. Senate is of 80 much interest that it
may be worth while TO look into 1t. The
following classified list contains the
names Of all Senators entitled to seats on
the day of Mr.. MortOn's death, with the
: single omission Of Senator Davis, of ILL.,
nos, whose independent position ii0es
not permit him 70 be arrayed on either
side:
Republicans. llison, Iowa; Anthony,
II. L.; Blaine, Me-; Booth, Cal. Bruce,
Miss; Burnside, r. l.; Cameron, Pa. /;
Cameron. Wis; Chafite, Col; Chris
tiancy. Mich. Cnnkling, N. Y; Como
yer, Fla; Dawes, Mass. Dorsey, Ark. !;
Edmunds, VT; Ferry, Mich. lIamlin,
Me-; Hoar, Mass Howe, Wis; In
gals, Kansas Jones, New; Kirkwood,
Iowa; Matthews, Ohio; Mcmillan,
MINI. Mitchell. Oregon Morrill,, VT. !;
Morton. Ind; Oglesby, ILL.,; Paddock,
Neb. Patterson, S. c.: Plumb Kansas !;
Rollins, n. H.; Sargent, CAL. Saunders,
Ncb.; Sharon, New; Spencer, Ala. |;
Teller, Col; Wndlsigh, N. H.; Win
dom, Minn.-39.
Democrdts.-Armntrong, Mo-. Bailey,
Tenn; Barnum, Conn; Baynrd, Del. !;
Beck, Ky; Cockrell, Mo-; Coke, Texas !;
Davis, w. Va; Dennis, Nd; Eaton,
Conn; Garland. Ark; Gordon, Ga. /;
Grover. Oregon; Harris, Tenn. Here
ford, w. Va, Hill, Ga. i; Johnston, Va. !;
Jones, Fla; Herman, n. Y; Lamar,
Miss; McCreeTy, KY; Mcdonald, Ind. ;
McPherson. N. j.; Maxey, Texas Mcr-
y. j.; Ransom, N. c.. Salisbury. Del I:
Thurman, Ohio; Wallace, PA. Whyte,
Md; Withers, Va.-33.
BY the death of Senator Morton and
the certainty that the Governor Of In
diana will appoint n Democratic Sue
ccssor, this slender Republican majority
OF six is reduced to four, and to three as
often rs Judge Davis votes on the Demo-
cratic side. If Patterson, Of South Car
olina, should he expelled, the Republi-
cans will have only o majority of two on
critical occasions and OF 0a!y one after
PMttcrson's Democratic successor is scat.
ed. With Sharon, OF Nevada, absent, ,s
he feels at liberty to be great part of
the time, the Republican majority would
be annihilated as soon as Patterson Ii re-
placed by C Democrat, and the Senate
would be brought to a tie on political
questions. Hiit tie would not destroy
Republican control, since the Vice Pres.
ident, who is e E2.oif:;::h5!!:cs: bee casting
vote whenever the Senate is equally di.
yided. But 1t must be remembered that
there are three vacant seats, and that the
filling of these may reduce the Republi-
cans to an absolute minority, when the
casting vote of the Vice President cannot
help them. Louisiana IL not represented
IN the Senate ut all, and South Carolina
s,as but one Senator. These three seata
belong, of right, to the Democrats, and if
the Democratic claimants are admitted
the Republican majority in the Senate is
hopelessiy gone ios the whole of Hayes
term.
If the Republican Senators are uilscr1.
pulous enough they may perhaps main
tain their ascendancy during the Forty
iifth CoDgress by admitting Kellogg from
Louisiana and keeping Ito other unfillt 4
seats vacant. But this would be haze
ardous experiment. Judge Davis would
certainly vote against them in any ut
tempt to perpetrate manifest injustice,
aud perhaps also two or three Republi-
can Senators who strongly approve OF
President Hayes Southern policy. II
the President was right in recognizing
the Democratic State governments in
Louisiana and South Carolina, the Dem
ocratic Senators from those States ought
to be admitted. It is only necessary that
two Republican Sanntors-aay ~. Chris
tiancy and Stanley, Matthews--shculd
vote with Judge Davis aud the Demo
Gratis in filling the contested seats to es-
tablish clear Democratic ascendancy in
the Senate. The foregone certainty that
the Democrats are to control the Senate
during the last half of Mr. Hayes term
tends to discourage unscrupulous party
zeal, and it is quite possible that the fill.
ing Of the vacant seats may reduce the
Republicans to minority in the present
Senate. When their very slender ma.
jority can be maintained only by reck-
less partisanship which overrides justice,
ndsmay be lost In any event by the re-
fusal of barely two Republican Senators
togo all lengths, the party is practically
bankrupt in the Senate of the United
States. If a merchant were reduced to
such an extremity his credit would be
rnined. $3.50 AisS 1S5.
This narrow and vanishing Republican
majority in the Senate Is q great political
fact which President Hayes cannot pru-
den.ly ignore. The usefulness of his ad-
ministtation depends upon o reasonable
support by Congress-. He is In o very
different position from that in which
General Grant stood during the first six
years of his administration, when he had
strong Republican majorities In both
houses. Beyond the mere routine of OK
eoutive duties President Hayea can do
little for the advantage of the country
without the Se>mission of his political
opponents. During the last half of his
term certainly. and for the first half pos
tihlv ha voiil-hayn IN f.,nord ~, Toa,,o.