The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-21
HEALING HURTS IN OHIO.
PATRONAGE TO BE APPLIED BY
MKINLEY AS A
SALVE.
DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATOR'S.
The fractional Fights of This Year
Expected to Have ar Impor-
tnnt Bearing.
WASHINGTON BUREAUSL PAUL GLOBE
C0RC0RAH Bull DING.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON. Jan. 2O.-The adj
ministration has evidently transferred
It's energies from Ohio to Maryland.
MT hanna has at last been elected.
and now 1t will be possible to go ahead
ana I'LL up the vacant federal offices in
ONO, and in other ways to try to heal
the wounds which the prolonged sem
atorial contest left gaping. But in
Maryland the fight is only Just begin
ming. The president is now serving
notice upon visiting delegations from
that state that he will make no ap-
pointments to Office until the senatorial
nght Is over; this will be a very con-
siderable inducement to the hungry
politicians to get together.
The next stage in the Ohio fight will
be the Investigation of charges" all
Of which will doubtless be accepted as
true by the Democrats and rejected in
toto by the Republicans.
The several senatorial elections this
year, when completed, will add some
testimony Of a practical sort to the
long standing question whether our
constitutional method of choosing
United States senators is a wise one.
VI the states this year called upon to
choose new senator's in Virginia the
Democrats possessed almost the entire
legislature, and there had been no ser
ious opposition from the start to Sem
ator Daniels reelection. In those cir
cumstances, with no contest as to cam
didates within the party, and no con-
test in the legislature between the par
n in
and Mr.. Daniel was reelected after
the manner which the founders Of the
constitution had in mind But in Ohio
and Maryland. the situation has been
far different. The struggle in Ohio
VIII cont1oute very largely to giving
the free silverites control Of the next
house Of representatives. If Mr.. Han
ma could have been elected on the same
day with Gov. Bushnell the controversy
would have ended; he would have been
able to come to Washington to attend
10 business; Republican politicians in
congressional and departmental service
could have passed the winter in Wash
1ngton instead Of havi. g to put in a
month at Columbus, and the charges
Of bribery and corruption, which must
now be YEARLY dragged through, would
have been avoided
Mr.. Hanna was just as much the
convention nominee of his party, by
the present arrangement as if the cleo
ton had been contaminated on the I'd
Of November. But the added machin-
cry of legislative election has engen-
dered an amount of factional warfare
which will seriously interfere with Re
publican prospects in the state.
Doubtless the popular vote system
would have its objections, but it can no
longer be denied that the system Of
choosing senator's by the state legisla-
lures is fruitful of much that is bad
Those persons who argue in favor of a
change are certainly able to point to
the fact that the constitutional method
of choosing president of the United
States as everybody knows, has be-
come the worst kind of a dead letter.
The presidential electors have degener-
ated into mere dummies for registering
the popular verdict and only the empty
shell Of the plan devised by the found
ers Of the republic remains.