The daily gazette., 1880-11-23
SECOND EDITION
sENAToRs-AT-LARGE FOR LIFE.
AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW WITH
MR.. BLAINE-HIS OBJECTIONS TO
THE PROPOSED INNOVATION.

Mr.. Blaine Sald:-
81 think that those who are urging
this innovation have not carefully ex-
amined the Constitution of the United
States IN Its lie ter and spirit. If you
will look at the clause defining the mode
of amending that instrument, you will
find very remarkable exception made
to the power of amendment. 1t is
specially provided that mo State with.
out Its consent shall ever be deprived of
its equal suffrage In the Senate.' This,
you remember, was the guarantee Of
equality required by the smaller States
as condition precedent to entering the
Union. On every other subject three
fourths of the States can amend the
Constitution, but equality in the Senate
cannot be changed except by unanimous
that ex-Presidents as Senators-at-L Large
would be held to represent one State as
much as another, and therefore there
would be no interference with 'equal
suffrage in the Senate but that would
be mere theory. In practice and in
fact the ex- President would be a third
Senator from his own State. A man is
not freed from the ordinary influences
that govern human nature by being
made President. John Quincy Adams
was as much a Massachusetts, Repre-
sentative during all the years he served
in the House from 1881 to 1849 as any
other man from the State. Aud John
Tyler, when he came to the National
Peace Congress in 1861, was as inten-
sely Virginian in his sentiments as any
delegate present. Andrew johnson re-
entered the Senate in 1875, after he was
President, just as thorough partisan
as he was before he was President"
At this point the correspondent sug-
gested that at any one time there would
be few ex-Presidents, and from advanced
years each one would remain in the
Senate probably only brief period.
"But you forget" said the Senator,
''the plain facts of history. Virginia had
three ex-Presidents living at one time.
She would not have had under the pro-
vision suggested less THAI three Senators
at any time between Jefferson's retire.
mert in March, 1909, and Madisor's
death in June, 1886. During fifteen years
of that period she would have had four
Senators, and for nearly year, and a
halt five Senator's"
"But," suggested the correspondent,
"the old Virginia rule of Presidents pre-
sented an exception not likely to be re-
peated."
"Look at New York." said Mr.. Blaine
at a much later period. Mr.. Van Buren
left the Presidency in March, 1s41. He
died in July, 1862. Meanwhile Mr..
Fillmore's term closed in 1858, and he
lived till March, 1874. Thus under the
proposed change New York would had
three Senators continuously for thirty
three years and for more than nine years
OF that period she would have had four
Senator'S"
"TheD you think, Senator, that the
proposed amendment would violate the
provso in the Constitution guaranteeing
equal suffrage to all the States in the
Senator"
"Most assuredly / do" replied Mr..
Blaine. "That guarantee is perpetu-
al in its terms, and it is not to be tam
pered with or meddled with in any
way whatever. You might just as
well change any other part Of the Con-
stitution by vote of less than three
fourths of the States, as to change this
part without the consent of every
State. Equal suffrage in the Senate
may be destroyed without reducing
the existing number Senators to each
State, and just as effectually. Take
two States, Virginia and Pennsylvania
for instance, each with two Senators.
Their equality is as completely de-
stroyed by adding third Senator to
Virginia as by taking one from Penn
sylvania. In the one case it would be
three against two. In the other two
against. Equality is destroyed in eth
er case. The difference Is only in de-
gree"
"Well, could this amendment be
made by every State consentingP"was
asked.
"Oh, of course. AS we used to say
in the House of Representatives. unan-
imous consent can do anything. And
the Constitution itself implies that it
may be done with every State con-
senting."
"Do you think it possible to get the
assent of every Slater"
"By no MEANS" replied the Sena-
tor 81 should be surprised If the as
sent of even one State could be Sc
cured, because, although immediate
advantage might accrue to a particu-
lar State, no one could tell where it
might hit in twenty or twenty-five
years. If the amendment were adopt
cd this winter, Illinois and Ohio would
each have three Senators at the OPEN
ing of President Garfield's s administra-
tion. General Grant and President
Hayes are both under sixty, and have
many years of life before them, as we
all hope. At the end of Garfield's
term of service, whether it be four
years or eight years, Ohio would have
four Senators on the floor, and per-
haps the two at large would be as
young as the two elected directly by
the State, and vigorous enough for fif-
teen or twenty years of active service.
Three or four ex-Presidents might be
added to the Senate before any one of
the three named should pass away"
sis it likely that there will ever be
so many ex-Presidents at one time :"
was asked.
ave can only infer the future from
the past, )" replied the Senator. "When
the war broke out in 1851 there were
five ex"Presidents living. Not one of
them had voted for Mr.. Lincoln, and
not one of them was in harmony with
the determination to preserve the
Union by force farms. Pennsylvania
would not at that time have rslished
the sight of Mr.. Buchanan in the Sem
ate, and New Hampshire would have
fclt autraoad If Franklin p iarcA had