The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-01-13
THE AMERICAN SENATE. r
w NAAHm1o~6 wv

Few student of politics in its larger
sense can doubt That the United
States Senate, sometimes callel the
"upper house." is the weak point IN
our political system. One reason fol-
this is that for the pc wer it Yields 1t
is farthest removed form the people,
The senatorial term is too long to
give that feeling of i'm mediate respon'
ability to popular will which in theory
at least is the basis OF popular govern
ment. The choice of senators by
State Legislatures, rather than by
popular vote, enhances the breach
between senators and the people, and
however individually many of them
seem to gain by this, it is necessarily
at the expense of the body of which
they constitute a part. The people
are and will be supreme in this
country. In just the proportion that
any department of government ignores
the popular will it may reasonably
expect to have its influence curtalled.
There have naturally of late been
more proposals for change in the
Senate than in any other department
of Government. In one respect, how
ever, change is constitutionally impossl-
bic. The equal representation of each
State in the Senate was one OF the
compromises of the Constitution with
out which it could not have been
adopted, and this alone of all the
constitutional provisions cannot be
changed. On the whole, this provision,
though apparently unjust, has not
worked the evil that might have beer
expected from it. The worst evil in
the constitution of the Senate is its
lack of responsibility to the people,
caused by long terms and election by
legislatures, rather than by direct
popular vote. This has made III
upper house a sort of rich mans club,
whore good fellowship was more than
politics, and where any change, how
ever strongly demanded by the a
of the people, was likely to be resented
as an interference on senatorial pre-
negatives. This was sure not in the
long run to be a good thing for
senators, however much they might
personally like it.
In various States during the late
elections the result was considerably
Influenced by a popular des re, irres
pective of party lines, to break up
what were regarded as senatorial
rings. AS a resultant it is signif-
can't of a changed public feeling.
there will be more new men in the
incoming Senate than has been the
cas- in many years before. This
change at least is likely to continue.
But against it the Senate has itself
set up a bar, which is what has
aroused a large proportion of the
popular feeling against that body. In
effect the Senators Rave made their
rule that no matter how able, distin.
guished or eloquent a Senator may be,
he must not be heard until he has
been some years in that body, and
thus removed from contamination OF
recent popular approval, even in
directly. A more sdroit way to
maintain the Senatorial privilege in an
Hnbroken line could hardly be devised.
In effect it says, either continue the
same Senator term after term, or we,
the old Seniors, will ostracise him
and entirely destroy his influence,
Thus while the Constitution guaran-
tees equal political representation to
each State, the provisions Of that
sacred instrument, lik the Mosaic law
in olden time, are made of no effect,
through traditions of the elders.
When this happens now, as it
plainly did nearly 1900 years ago, it
shows the need of a change, including
a whip to drive out the money
changers who have made the upper
house of our legislative body something
that it is not polite nor discreet to
name. A body given constitutional
power to make laws, yet in which
political influence is not won by
craftsmanship or ability, but rather
by experience and proficiency in cater
ing to the epicurean taste of m~illionires,
is an anomaly in American institutions
that must be- reformed ere it entirely
destroy them. The platform of the
National Farmers Alliance, emphasiz,
ing measures for bringing the election
Of United States Senators nearer to
the people is the reform that needs to
be made if we would have necessary
reforms in other respects. 1t is we'll
enough to elect Senators by a popular
vote, but more important to reduce
their tenure to four years, so that one
half will or may go out with every
Congress.
There will still by this method be
enought old members to continue
perhaps term after term, but it will
nc longer be possible for new Sena-
tors own making. The fact that a
constitutions nroui sinn has haan modo