The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-03-17

ways EIect-OppositIOn to Speak
er Reed is Believed to Be Dead
Tactics of Quay's Henchmen in
Pennsylvania Other Washington
Gossip.
Utah and Delaware, will have but one
United States Senator in the Fifty sixth
Congress, their Legislatures having ad-
iourned sine die without electing
successors to Cannon and Gray, whose
terms expired with the close of the
Fifty fifth Congress.
There is even a aprospect that Delaware
may not have any Senator during the
whole or part of the fifty-sixth Con-
gress Senator Kenney is still under
indictment for criminal conduct in con-
nection with bank failure If con-
victed and sentenced his State would be
without representation in the Senate.
This really appears as remote possibil-
ity. AS the term for which he was
chosen expires with the Fifty-sixth Con-
gress, the next Delaware Legislature
will have two United States Senators to
elect, one for four years as Gray's
successor, the other for six years as
Kenney's successor.
-
The failure to elect Senators in Utah
and Delaware and the deadlocks that
exist in California and Pennsylvania
have brought out the usual arguments
in favor of the direct election of United
States Senators by the people instead of
kl.N 7 tl..fY oeA H.
States Various arguments are put
forward in favor of this method.
There is only one, however, that seems
to have sufficient force to render it
worthy of consideration. That is that
the election of Senators directly by the
people would always insure an election.
The Senators chosen by this method
would be the products of State nominal
ing conventions, the same as Governors
are now. The State Conventions of the
different political parties would nominate
their candidates for Senator and the
peoples choice would of necessity be
limited to these candidates. Whether
this method would improve the quality of
the membership of the United States
Senate is at least an open question. Money
could be used by rich and ambitious
men, INSCRIPTIONS as to the means
employed to satisfy their ambition,
quite as well with the delegates of
convention, if not better, than it can be
with the members of State Legislature.
The electors are not apt to send better
men to State Conventions than they are
to State Legislatures. In fine. the one
argument worth considering in favor of
the proposed change is that it would
always insure the election of a Senator.
But, after all. there does not appear to
be any good reason for forcing a rep
resentation in the Senate upon d State
that does not want it.
*x*
There appears to be no doubt but
Great Britain is acting with Italy in the
latter's demands upon China. Utterances
in the British House of Commons ap-
parently confirms this view Of course
Great Britain would expect to reap as
much advantage from Italy's sphere of
influence as would that country ITSELF
Besides, in the event of war in Chinese
waters, the Italian navy would be very
welcome reinforcement to the British
forces. The territory that would be
comprised in Italy's sphere of influence,
if her demands are granted or if she
seiZes it by force, as she is preparing to
do if the Pekin government persists in
its refusal to grant her demands peace
fully, is the southern two thirds of the
province of Che e-Kiang. With Italy
established here there would be but
little Of the coast of China left free
from foreign domination.
~
The movement to defeat Thomas
Bracket Reed of Maine for Speaker in
the Fifty-sixth Congress is already dead.
This has been the most complete
political fiasco that Washington has
witnessed in recent years. President
Mckinley was said to be involved in the
effort to beat Reed. He promptly denied
it, assuring Congressional caller that
the report connecting him with the
movement was absurd" and ''ridicu-
lous." Representative Sherman of New
York, who was to be the man to down
Reed, promptly denied that he was or
would be a candidate for the speaker
ship. He was one of the group Of New
York Representatives, all personal and
political friends and admirers If Reed.
who presented him with a loving cup
and had halcyon and hilarious time
doing it. The talk about the President
trying to defeat Reed was idle. Even
if he preferred someone else for the
position he is too good a politician to
stir up factional strife in the House next
session with its narrow Republican
majority of thirteen, and on the eve of
the Presidential campaign, at that.
X
The abitrary action of Speaker Farr
of the Pennsylvania Legislature, es-
pecially his appointing all Quay men on
committee to investigate charges of
alleged bribery preferred against Quay
and his managers, has stirred up the
Republican opposition to Quay and the
Democrats to a point where they are
about ready to oust Farr and elect
new speaker, provided they have the
power. Unless there is something in
the constitution of the laws of Pennsyl- |
vania specifically to prevent it, the
House of the Pennsylvania Legislature
can change its speaker every day and
every hour in the day, if it wants to do