The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-05-28
IN ALL COUNTIES WHERE IT
CANNOT ELECT A REPRE-
SENTATIVE
LEGISLATURES ONCE ELECTED GOVERNORS
But the Method has Been Abandoned and There
is no Reason Why il Should be Retained
in the Election Of United
States Senators
IVA shington Post. ]

State elected its Governor ana higher
officials by popular vote. Now there
is no State in the forty-five which
elects its Governor by the Legislature.
Why should each of those States con
tinue to elect it's two Senator's by a
method it has condemned as to the
election OF its Governor The inter
est of consolidated wealth in the eiec-
ton of Senators is far greaEer than
it is in the choice of Governors, and
the corrective of popular choice is,
therefore, more needed.
A little consideration viii show that
under the present system it rs possi-
BILE for skillful combination (and
money combinations are always skill
full to secure the United States Sena-
tor i'm each of the close States it it
can obtain control of one-sixteenth OF
the voters or even less Let us see.
Take close State which casts 100000
votes. A majority of the Legislature
is elected from counties having 200,-
600 votes, or less when (as is often
the case) there is a gerrymandcr. A
ma.iority of the caucus, which con.
trolls the partys choice, is therefore
chosen from counties having 190,09e
votes. But nearly half of these were
of the opposite political party. leay-
ing the ma jority of the caucus chosen
by $4,000 voters. These members
were nominated in the conventions in
their respective counties by a major
ity only of their party, i. e., by dele
gates representing. say, $4,000 voters
or less, which is one-siXteenth OF the
400. 900 voters of the State. The money
combinations, to whom the choice of
Senators is all-important, have money
and slillful manipulators. They pick
their counties. With free passes to the
conventions over the~railroads and by
other methods, it is easy to secure the
requisite delegates in the county par
ty conventions, who represent these
$4,000 voters. and thus name the nom
inees who shall, when elected consti-
tute majority of the caucus which
shall name the Senator. The coun-
ties belonging to the minority party
are neglected by the manipulators as
also are the counties belonging to the
majority party, which are difficult to
handle. The money combinations
waste no money.
MINORITY SENATOR'S.
will be recalled by many instances in
divers States in which the caucus
nominee of the money power has re-
ceived one or two majority in the eau
Gus. 1t is true this great disparity
could happen only in close States, but
it demonstrates that in any State the
election of Senator can be controlled
by small but skillful minority under
the present system.
There is another objection to the
election of the United States Senators
by the Legislature, in that the voters
of the dominant party residing in
counties in which the party is in .
minority are utterly without influence
or voice in the election of Senator.
whereas ia the election of Senator by
popular vote every voter, irrespective
of the county of his residence, would
have an opportunity to express his
wishes. In such an election the
United States Senator must be the eX-
pressed choice at the ballot-boX of
more voters than shall cast their bal
lots for any other man, and his nomi-
nation must be made by the majority
in the nominating convention of the
successful party representing, there
fore, say, one-fourth of the voters.
subject to approval by a majority of
the whole people at the ballot box.
BY this method of selection a United
States Senator must be the choice of
the State he represents as fully as the
Governor is. In the present mode of
legislative election the voice of his
own party is stified and unrepresented
in all those counties in which, being in
the minority, it shall fail to elect the
| member to the Legislature. Then,
again. the voters of the counties elect
ing members of the Legislature be-
longing to the dominant party are al
SO disfranchised if those members Go
not belong to the majority faction of
the caucus.
COSTLY AND OFTEN SCANDALOUS
| Another very serious objection TO
the legislative mode of choosing Sena-
tors is the frequent dead locks or
protracted contests, which take up d
large part of the time which should
be devoted to the Legitimate duty OF
legislation. The expense TO the pno-
| lie is no small item, and the frequent
attendant scandals are not edify'ng.
, and all this could be avoided ly
choosing United States senators the
| same day and by the same method the