The record-union., 1899-03-20
UNITED STATES SENATORS.
The "Mercury's" Plan for Electing
Them.


(From the San jose Mercury
| The neglect of four or five State Leg
islatures among them the Legislature
of California, to obey the mandates of
| the Constitution and to carry out the
| VIII of the people in the important
| matter of electing United States Sena-
| tors emphasizes the necessity, long
| since apparent, of altering the method
OF choosing representatives to the up
per house of Congress. The demand for
! a change in the Constitution that will
permit the election of Senators by di-
| rect popular vote is becoming more ur-
| gent as Legislatures more and more
| Detray a disposition to make of Senato-
rial elections nothing more than dis
graceful contests for Individual ad-
vancement and political spoils. But so
| long as the United States Senate is
hlled with millionaires and machine
| politicians. who are unable to rise to
the higher levels Of craftsmanship and
| patriotism, the desired change cannot
| De erected. The election of Senators
| py popular vote can never become a
realty until the complexion, personnel
and character of thesUnited States SEN
ATE snail have been radically changed.
what remedy, then, have the people
Ior an evil which is becoming greater
every year, and which threatens to un-
deTmlne the very foundations Of the
Republic? Must California, for exam
PIE, two years hence again suffer the
shame and humiliation to which she
mas been subjected this year through
the selfish squabbling of irresponsible
pontlclans at Sacramento, and again be
de1rauded out of representative in the
Senate at Washington? 1t should not
be SO, and it need not be so. 1t is
possible to elect Senators by the vote of
the people, and it can be done without
| a single alteration of the Constitution
OF the United States. When the Faith
ers of the Republic instituted the Elec-
toraI College they did not anticipate
that in time the original function Of
the college would pass to the people and
that institution become a super1uous
| llngerer on the stage of action, made
| useless and powerless by the evolution
| IN popular government. 1t is the peo-
pie, not the Presidential electors, who
elect the President of the United States
So far as the electoral function is con-
cerned, every State Legislature stands
| to-oay where the Electoral College
stood in the early days of the Republic
The people have delegated to the Legis-
| Iatures the power to elect United States
Senator'S and that authority the Legis-
| latureS may use as they WILL either
| honestly and wisely, or dishonesty and
| lnJudlciously. Just as the Elector al
college has become outgrown, although
IN form it still remains, so is popular
| government outgrowing this uncertain
| and irresponsible method of electing
| United States Senator'S The Federal
Constitution has not been amended for
the purpose of abolishing the lifeless
Electoral College, nor need it neces-
sarily be changed to enable the people
themselves to control the election Of
| Senator'S
| There is way for the election Of
| Senators that would be as practicable,
as certain in it's results, and as safe in
its operation, as is the method of elect
ing President. Let every political or
ganization at its regular State conven-
ton nominate the party candidate for
Senator. This would obviate all un-
certainty or guesswork. The people
would know long before the Legislature
| should meet exactly who the respective
party candidates were Assemblymen
and State Senators would be nominated
! under pledge to vote if elected, for
their respective party nominees. Elect
| ors, called upon to support this set of
| legislative nominees, or that would be
no longer in the dark They would
know that if the Republican legislative
nominees were elected it would mean so
many votes in the Legislature for
Brown, or Smith, or whoever the Re-
publican nominees for United States
| Senator might be. Similarly with the
Democratic or Peoples party legislative
nominees; a vote for the one or the
| other would be a vote for the duly
| nominated Senatorial candidate of the
former party or Of the latter. The SEN
| atorial candidates of the several parties
would participate in the campaign.
| Each party would be forced to put for
ward its best man. They would discuss
the issues before the people and define
| their respective attitudes toward pub
| lie questions and policies. Legislative
| nominees, in addition to their conven-
ton pledges, would be compelled while
canvassng their districts to declare
publicly their support Of their party
| Senatorial candidate. The lines would
| be sharply and Enthusiastically drawn.
The legislative campaign would then
| be in fact Senatorial contest and for
the electors it would be a simple matter
Of choosing between the Republican
| nominee Smith, or the Democratic nom
inee Brown, or the Populist nominee
Jones, and the party that should elect
a majority of the Legislature would
know as soon as the ballots were count
ed just who the next Senator would be-
There would be no doubts, no subse-
quent wire pulling. no deadlocks, no
Senatorial scandals. The Senatorial
| candidate whose party controlled the
Legislature would be elected on the first
| ballot, and the Legislature would be
| free to proceed with the business of
| legislation, and perhaps do some good
| for the people of the State.
| The arguments that could be pre-
sented in favor of this plan of electing
| Senators are numerous and weighty.
The Mercury will take them up from
| time to time and in the meanwhile we
| should be pleased to hear what the
electors Of this county think of it.
What Happened at the Creek.
| Now, see here, friend, if you really
want something to do why don't you dig
can of worms, and catch decent
mess of yellow catfish for supper? ia
saws the creeks alive with EN-. Think
you be right tired dom nothlng ou.
readin' the hull day
This suggestion of the old lady where
/ I was visiting exactly suited my IN
clination. and soon I had my tackle III