The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-09-18

ton of the Veto Power; the Elec-
t1on OF Senators by the Peo.
pie, and the Suppression
OF the Presidential
Patronage.
tJudge Walter Clark in Arena for SeptemberO
At the date of the formation of the
Federal Constitution in 1887, the Gov
ernor in all but one or two of the States
was elected by the Legislature. In de-
termining, therefore, the manner of
selecting the two Senators who were
to represent each of the several S S:ates
In the Federal Senate, the utmost the
popular element could obtain was their
election by the legislatures of the sew
eral States. Some of the members of
the convention, like Alexander Hamil
ton, Insisted on their being chosen for
life, others on their election by the
lower house of Congress, and some on
their appointment for each State by
the Governor thereof George Mason,
of Virginia, and Mr.. Wilson, of Penn
sylvania, afterwards on the United
States Supreme Court Bencb) alone ad
vocated their election by the people A
measure so far in advance of the times
received the vote of one State only
Pennsylvania. The election was, as a
compromise, devolved on the State
Legislatures in analogy to the mode
then in vogue of electing Governors.
One by one the several State Consti
tutions were amended to place the cleo
tion of Governor in the hands of the
people. The very same reasons which
caused this change should long since
have made a similar change in the
mode of electing Senators. Doubtless
the greater difficulty of amending the
Federal Constitution, and the opposi
ton of the Senate itself and of the
strong element which finds it's benefit
in the present mode of election, have
prevented an amendment which each
State has shown to be desired and de-
sirable by amending it's own Constitu-
tion as to the manner Of electing it's
Governor The facility with which the
present mode of election lends itself to
the control of the choice of Senators by
the money power, the selection of a
large proportion, probably a majority
of the Senators, at the dictation of the
accumulated wealth of the country,
and the consequent indifference with
which the average Senator is tempted
to regard the peoples interests, or the
peoples will, are reasons enough why
the mode of election should be changed.
These reasons are patent to all and re
quire no argument.
But there are many other reasons
which do not lie so apparent and on
the very surface of things, but which
nevertheless should be sufficient if
fairly considered, to justify the change
to an election by the people. Among
them are these:
The present mode of election virtually
disfranchises all the counties In which
the party. which is dominant in the
Legislature, does not control. Take a
State in which either party has only a
small majority in the Legislature on
Joint ballot. In such State half the
counties, containing possibly one half
the votes of the dominant party, are
completely disfranchised. Nay, more
as the choice is usually by caucus, one,
half of the dominant majority, coming
from one fourth of the counties, select
the Senators. The parties being usual
Iy nearly equal at the polls, the mem
bers of the Legislature who cast the
votes of their counties may thus repre-
sent less than one eighth of the voters
of the State. Such a system is not
democratic. That it readily lends itself
to manipulation and to the influence
of corporate and plutocratic influences
would be apparent, even if the world
was not advised of the fact by that
unanswerable neutrality-suspicious..
But it is argued that thesLegisla ure
represents the State But so do the
Governor and the judiciary, and even
more fully, since they must be chosen
by majority of the voters of the whole
State while not unfrequently the ma
iority of the Legislature is chosen by 6
minority of the voters of the State. Yet
who would be content to have the Sen
ators appointed by the Governor OF
elected by the judges of the Statei
Why should they be chosen by the
legislative department, when the peo
pie themselves are competent to ex
press their own wishes at first hand,
and not leave their CHOICE to be deter