The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-07

be chosen and yet do not think complaint
has been made that rnillionaires have improp-
eriy taken possession OF the governoTships; aud
81 they have go taken possession Of the Cover
rorships, they Just as likely and just as sure
70 take possession OF senatorships under sys-
TEN OF popular elections as they are under
system where the legislatures choose the sena-
tors.
Senator Chandler is quite right. Cali
fornia made Stanford governor; Connecti-
cut elected James Z. English and Marshall
Jewell: Massachusetts, elected Bullock,
Rice, Talbot, Butler and Oliver Ames 10
the governors chair; Michigan made
General Alger governor; New Hampshire
has repeatedly elected rich men to the
governors chair; New York included
Hamilton Fish, E. d. Morgan. John A.
Dix, Samuel J. Tilden, A. b. Cornell
among her ''rich" governors. Ohio elected
Foster and Bishop, both millionaires.
Few Of these men were elected solely be-
cause of the weight of their wealth, and yet
the number OF rich men elected by the
popular vote to governorships shows how
feeble is the argument that the election of
United States senators by the popular vote
would secure the United States Senate
against the presence of mi.lionaires.
In the spirit of satire Senator Chandler
said that if therefs any real danger to the
country in election of miIlionaires to
the Senate he would prefer TO meet it by
the following amendment 'for the preven-
ton of the excessive accumulation of
wealth by individuals and corporations:
article XVL-The excessive accumulation
Of wealth by individuals and corporations shall
not be allowed. Congress may enforce this ar
tcle by appropriate legislation, and shall pro-
hibit the issue By corporations of stock certid-
Gates or bonds or other evidence of indebtedness
unless the sums expressed therein have been
paid into the treasures of the corporations; and
shall prohibit the payment of excessive divi'
dends."
Senator Chandler did not believe that
this proposed substitute for Senator
Mitchell s sixteenth amendment would be
easily adopted, because he had once given
it 10 a congressman from farming dis
trict who wished to introduce some meas
ure that would popularize him with his
constituents. This congressman, how
ever, did not introduce it, and in explana-
ton said:
Every zine run for reelection there is mil
ionaire in my district who always gives me
couple OF thousand dollars to help my canvass,
and au afraid il would hurt his feelings If l
should Introduce it.
The proposition to elect United States
senators by popular vote Is pure bun
combe, for nobody knows better than
Senator Mitchell that such an amendment
has not the slightest hope of ratification,
as the refusal of twelve states to accept it
would kill it. Nothing short of national
convulsiop, like our civil war, would be
sufficient to adopt a constitutional amend
ment making fundamental change in the
framework of the federal government.
The propositions for constitutional fed
eral prohibition. federal marriage and di-
vorce law, election of United States sem
ato.s and president by the popular vote,
woman suffrage, ETC., are earnestly es-
poused and advocated only by po-
litical grumblers and pessimistc
cranks; the fellows with a chron-
ic political grievance; and the
fellows with political bees in their bonnets
These are the kind of folk that I'LL the
rank and file of the Farmers Alliance, the
Peoples, the Prohibition and Woman
Suffrage parties. Some of them are in
sane or ignorant enough to be sincere,
and some of them are as fond of "sensa-
tional politics as peacock is of spread
ing its brilliant feathers. and every cheap
political demagogue gives these hooting
owls and screaming mecaws of politics an
effusivaly friendly reception.
There is no danger of the adoption of
this Fools Own Book" as part of the
constitution, but the demagogue knows
that he cannot afford to offend or be indif-
ferent to the fool party" because while
sometimes wise men omit to vote, the fool
with his fad is sure to be at the polls.