The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-17
GOVERNORS AS SENATORIAL
CANDIDATES.

The New York Evening Post says it
begins to look as if the next constitu-
tional amendment needed would be
one disqualifying a governor from
being a candidate for the senate or the
presidency. The Post proceeds to say
that more than one state has been
cursed in the past few years by ex-
ecutives who We're not content to be
governors, but who were determined to
be governors in such a way that they
might be senators or president If
Governor Morton had simply had an
eye to the best possible administration
of the state. we should not now have
had Plat bestriding us and threaten
ing US in city and state with all kinds
of misgovernment and pillaging. Gov
'ernor Griggs has apparently begun in
New jersey the descent of Avernus
that leads to the United States senate,
and his good name and the welfare
of the state are suffering accordingly.
The old rule of service in one position
being a good title to advancement to a
higher no longer holds. The rea-
son is that the service now has to be,
rot of the public, but of the boss"
1t is only two or three years since
New York had a constitutional con-
vention. and it was within her power
then to remedy the evils complained
of by the Post. at least so far as she
was concerned. Out here in Utah, here
in one Of these undesirable states"
that are the adherence of Mr.. Cleve-
land, the people made provision for
this very thing. In their fundamental
law they provided that the governor
shall not be eligible for election to the
senate of the United States during the
term for which he was elected gov
ernor" Why didn't New York adopt
some such constitutional provision as
that? The reason may be, it doubt
less is, that the state was too boss
ridden 70 allow of its adoption.
Bossism IS one of the great evils of
American politics. 1t exists in all par
ties and the mischief it works is iden-
teal everywhere. 1t has reached its
greatest perfection in the first state in
the Union. In New York state the boss
is a Republican; in New York City he
is a Democrat. The methods and aims
of either are the same. The Republican
boss has Just been elected to the United
States senate. The Posts fling at Gov
ernor Morton refers to his presidential
aspirations, and it may be that they
indirectly aided Platt in his schemes
to capture the legislature. That Gov
eTnor Morton was under the influence
of Boss Piatt to a very considerable
extent there is no doubt; that he was
willing % have Plat aid him as a
presidential candidate there is no ques-
ton. This aid he got but nothing
more, while Platt got his man in as
governor and himself in as senator.
We are inclined to think the Post is
right in saying that it begins to look
as though a constitutional amendment
would be needed disqualifying a gov
ernor from being candidate for the
senate or the presidency. We would
go further than this. if we went at
al, and have bosses disqualified as
candidates for the senate or presidency.
Were this done, the evil the Post COM
plains of would be suppressed. As New
York must have senators and the coun-
try frequently looks to that state for
a presidential candidate, the state
might do much to help the good work
along by .adopting a rule to send only
its best citizens to the senate Such
rule would do much to raise the states
reputation and relieve the senate and
people generally.