The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-09-20

the tariff issue and carry on the campaign on
an issue of their own raising. This is the
plan now pursued In Ohio; aud It is evident
that will also be adopted in Massachusetts,.
->-.~
LEADING New England Congressman of
long service, who from sentiments of personal
magnanimity surrendered his advantage in
contest fora United States Senatorship from
Massachusetts, and is now a prospective Gov
ernor of the Old Bay State, once said to the
writer of this paragraph: "The time will
come, and we may both live to see it, when
the States rights men of pronounced views
VIII not only be from the South, but espe-
cially from New England. A country that
believes in representation by population, will
not always put up with the anomaly Of twelve
Senators for New England, and two for New
York, the latter having double the population
OF the former. AS the great States of the
West grow in population and wealth they will
come more and more to feel the injustice of
the present system and when some test ques-
tion arises, where small majority threatens
to nullify the will of great majority the
the battle royal on States rights will occur"
The inequality to which the New England
Congressman referred has become more OBJ
servable year by year. AS fact, during the
last quarter of century the Senate OF the
United States has steadily declined In popular
estimation This is largely owing to certain
deterioration in the character of It's member
ship, for 1t has long since ceased to be recog-
nized as an arena where partizanship held
secondary place, and where truth, justice, and
patriotism received the foremost considera-
tlon. Year by year it becomes more and
more like the superfuous House of Lords in
England. 1t in no true sense represents the
people of the United States, and they do not
control it. 1t is possible for the representa-
tives of less than one-fifth of the people of
the United States to dominate the action of
the Senate, and in that way to affect the legis-
lation OF the whole country. OF lightweight
Senators but twenty belong to States that con-
tain more than half the population of the
whole country.
The States of New York, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Massachusetts,
Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa have In
the aggregate population of over 32, ,000, 900,
and they have exactly twenty Senators repre-
senting the power and prestige of these
millions in the United States Senate The
States Of Rhode Island, Vermont, the two
Dakotas, Oregon, Delaware, Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming, and Nevada have in the aggregate
population Of little less than 1000, 600,
and yet these States likewise are represented
in the Senate by twenty members. Thus less
than 100000 of people have an equal In
fuence with over $4,000, 900 in the practical
work of legislation and governmental con-
troll. Michigan, for example, with a larger
population than that of the ten States
1ac cf b,,+f f.,o
have twenty; and, through the Senate, citi-
zen of the worn-out State of Nevada has just
one hundred times the political influence pos
sessed by citizen of New York.
curious thing about 1t all is that the party
which profits by these anomalous ineoualI-
ties is the same party that has always made
light Of the doctrine of States rights. There
are forty-seven Republican Senators VINO
represent nearly 27,000,000 of people; while
there are thlrty-nine Democratic Senators
who sit for more than 100000 The two
remaining members-Peffer, of Kansas, and
Kyle, of Dakota-represent considerably less
than 100000. At the last election for mem
bers of the House of Representatives, the peo-
pie elected on overwhelming Democratic ma
jority. The popular will at that election was
expressed mainly on the tariff issue. The
people declared themselves as being distinctly
opposed to the burdensome impositions of
the Mckinley law, and made it the duty of the
new Congress to reduce tariff taxation. Re-
publcans, and the monopolists whom they
serve, now exultingly proclaim that the Nc
Kinley tarih has come 30 stay. When their
attention is called to the popular disfayor chat
has been manifested toward it, and when they
are reminded that, under our system the will
Of the people is in such matters the supreme
arbiter, they laugh in their sleeves and inso-
lently point to the Senate in which they have
majority, which is in no wise responsible to
the popular will. A temporary advantage
may result from such a majority, but the
moral of the situation is day by day becoming
moIe apprehensible to the intelligence of the
American people.
or Bicycle Tour.
Ii. X. Willard, E. B. Olds, b. f. Wilkins,
NITsIl