Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-03-02
forget how narrowly the popular favor
lite escaped defeat.


cent miscarriageS in the states of Della
ware, Montana, Washington, Wyoming
and Oregon, and the consequent non
representation of those states in the
senate for long periods, are sufficient
to condemn the existing method. In
these instances the state legisla-
lures not only failed to discharge
their constitutional duty, but
transferred to the United States a
lot of ugly contests which, when they
had been determined, really settled
nothing beyond temporary partisan
with the first change of party as
cendancy. The celebrated Du Pont
case which came up from the state of
Delaware is in point There was no
dispute about the facts in this case,
but the contest occupied the attention
of the senate for months to the great
detriment of other business. And
what was the result? Without any
dispute as to the facts, and with sem
ators sitting as judges and under the
solemnity of their oaths, the final
vote showed that every republican
happened to vote in favor of seating the
contestant, and quite as remarkable
still. every democrat and populist
just happened to vote in the negative,
and so the farce closed by solmen
judicial denial of Mr., Du Points right
to a seat. Such partisan decisions
naturally and inevitably breed dis
trust and contempt of the senate.
Under the constitution the senate is
made the judge of the elections, re-
turns and qualifications of its mem
bers," but the exercise of this judicial
function ought never to be invoked If
it can be avoided because of the usu
ally unfair and partisan character of
its judgments. Under the present
method there is always danger when
the membership of the legislature is
nearly evenly divided between parties,
and there is especial danger when the
balance of power is held by members
of a third party. In any event, when
the vote is close, the temptation to in
trigue and corruption is always alarm
ing. Recently in the state of Oregon,
whose constitution requires the par
ticipaton of two-thirds of its quail
fed members in each house to effect
an organization, barely more than one
third of the members of the house
prevented organization and defeated
the election of a senator by absenting
themselves and refusing to take the
required oath. I he refractory mem
bers, it is known, acted at the instance
of cabal, headed by a millionaire
candidate who had the promise of the
senatorial appointment from a plant
governor in the event of a failure of
the legislature to organize and elect a
senator. lhe Oregon part of the
scheme was worked effectually, but
the senate refused to seat the gen
tlemen appointed by the accommodate
ing governor in Pursuance of the in
trigue, thus defeating the full con
summation of the inequity, though it
was sufficiently successful to defeat
the clear and unmistakable choice of
the people and cheated the state out
of half her representation in the
senate for two years.
Fifth. The reform proposed would
eliminate from the election of mem
bers of the legislature the distract
ing subject of the senatorship-a mat
ter necessarily detrimental to the real
business in hand. Commit the elec-
ton of senators to the people direct
and thereafter the voter will not be
compelled to sacrifice his own self
respect on the plea that party ex
igency demands the choice of any
scallawag nominated for the legisla-
ture in order to maintain party as
cendancy in the federal senate.
Sixth. Popular elections of senator's
would render infinitely more difficult
the corrupt use of money in senatorial
elections. The use of doodle" usually
begins the moment legislative cand-
dates appear in the field. Even be-
fore this money is often corruptly
used to control the caucuses and nomi-
mating conventions. But the real
business begins when the candidates
are in the field. Generally they are
early approached by the agents OF
the senatorial candidates If the
legislative district is close, hard
fight is on and the candidate is poor
and not too scrupulous, the seductive
offer of liberal campaign contribu
ton will hardly be declined. This is
the refined method of vote-buying
now most in vogue. 1t is the modern
way. and has the merit of costing less
than to wait till after election and is
quite as effective. In such cam
pagn and against such methods what
chance Of p:eferment has the poor
man of brains and integrity?
Seventh. The change would sound
the death knell to party bossism ana
would consign the infamous ma
chine in politics to the limbo Of for
gotten things
Eighth. Ii would enlarge the polit-
cal rights and powers of the voters
and bring United States senators into
closer touch and sympathy with the
people. We can scarcely do better