Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-01-09
Congressional Control of Elections.

The Constitution of the United States
provides that the times, places and
| manner of holding elections for sena-
| tors and representatives shall be pre-
scr bed in each state by the legislature
| thereof; but the Congress may at any
time by law make or alter such regula-
tioDs, except as to the places of choos-
ing senators. In respect to the cleo
ton of representatives Congress has
| never exercised this power, and did
not exercise it for many years as to the
elections of senators. Chosen as the
| Representatives are, by direct vote
of the people in each district; there has
never been the least necessity for the
interference of Congress. But the man
ner of choosing the senators varied SO
greatly, and the legislatures of the
states proved to be such fields for polit-
ical intrigue that in 1866 Congress pre-
scribe d the manner in which senators
| should be chosen.
Prior to that time each state pursued
| its own course and set it's own time.
| The result was that oftentimes n min
oriiy party defeated an election alto-
gether by leaving a joint convention
at all. In 1856 in the State of Indiana
the senate had two Republican major
ity, and the house twenty eight DEM
ocratic majority. The senate by its
| Republican majority refused to go into
joint convention. following the exam
| pie of Democratic senate in a similar
case two years before. Nevertheless,
| the house and a minority of the senate
met in joint convention and elected
senators, who, after memorable con-
test in the United States Senate, were
finally seated.
Similar cases occurred in other states
and caused much scandal. In 1925 the
law in Nsw York was that each house
should ballot separately for a senator,
and if they chose different persons the
two houses should then meet in Joint
convention and make the choice. The
contest that year was between the AL
bany regency and the followers Of De
Witt Clinton. The ClintoDians had
majority in the house and the regency
in the senate, and the former would
have bad majority in joint conven-
ton: The reg ncy, by each voting for
"A different person, succeeded in pre-
venting choice by the senate, and
thus prevented joint convention.
After three-quarters of century of
that kind of experience it was natural
ana proper that Congress should pro-
vide adeterminate and uniform method
by which senators should he elected.
Since 1866, whatever other scandals
have arisen out of senatorial elections.
there has been no such unprincipled
conduct as had ch aracteriZed them Of
ten before.
II is now proposed by the Republi-
can majority in Congress to endeavor
to control the election of represen ta-
tives. aud Senator Sherman has intro
duced bill which provides the most
stupendous system of political machine
work that has yet emanated from the
brain of "a party trickster. 1t takes the
control of the election OF congressman
entirely away from the people and
turns it over to caHvassing and elector-
al boards appointed for life by the Pres
ident of the United States. Feeling,
however, that the North will never
consent to any such measure, which,
as all men know, is aimed exclusively
at the South, Senator Chandler has in
troduced his little bill which IS a con-
tiugent one and only provides for fed
eral election machinery when q certain
numb of voters in q congressional
district petition for it. Of course neith-
er measure will ever be adopted, but
they are proposed simply as texts on
which certain statesmen will make
bloody-shirt speeches and seek to fire
the Northern heart against the South.
This will probably fail, too, in the end,
aud may prove to be boomerang.
The people of the North are growing
exceedingly suspicious of politicians
who have no OTHER stock in trade than
that of stirring up enemity between the
sections.
The time is not far distant when the
Chambers and Shermans will find their
vocation gone and themselves relegat-
ed to the Obscurity of private life
Chicago Herald.