The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-06-20
rnoncLrDED FROM PAGE 8

bined. Members OF Congress are uOS
constituted electors for President. Yet
they might be with as much appro'
p~riatenese.
The present mode of electing Sena'
tors does not give any approximate
security of selecting the choice OF the
State as its representative to the hall
of Federal ambassadors, each OF whom
should be able to speak for the State,
and not as the agent Of the corpora
tions doing business therein, or a small
m ~anipulated fraction Of its voters.
The change to election by the people
would greatly lessen the chance Tor
corruption. The members OF the party
convention of the State, brought to
gether directly from the people n go
soon dispersed again among them, are
not so subject to the subtle arts OF
the corporation lobbyists and wire
pullers which are brought to bear on
the members of the legislature as soon
"a his nomination is probable Gt, In
deed, they do not procure his nomlna'
El00l. anu COLbAL 2 0HeAA
election of Senator is over, when, ike
q squeezed lemon, he Is thrown asloe.
Besides, the party convention IS &C
cessible to public opinion, being con
scious that it's choice, il not wisely
made, is liable to rejection at the polls.
No such responsibility attaches to the
deliberations Of a legislative caucus.
A mistake there made, or a defiant dis
regard of public sentiment, is subJ9c
to no ratification by the people and Is
without remedy for six years. There
can be a further check upon delegates
to State party conventions, IN that the
popular choice for Senator can be IN
dictated by g primary election.
Z ON ANOTHER ''PRERoGATIVE
A Senator in office may be tempted
to disregard the will Of his State II ne
knows ne can, by use Of public patron
age or other means, secure, as shown
above. the control Of one, sixteenth OF
the voters who compose a meJorlty IN
the nominating conventions or those
counties which send a majority OF the
legislators of the dominant party. But
he will pause when he knows that his
denomination must command the ap
provaI Of a majority Of his party con
vention. and thai its action IN turn
must be ratified by a majority, or at
least a plurality (t there are more than
two partiee) of the voters Of the entire
State at the ballot box,
The two Senators are intended to
represent the State. They cannot
truly do 80 unless chosen by the whole
State. at present, as already pointed
out, larger sections Of each State are
absolutely distranchised and have no
weight whatever in the choice OF lts
Senators, because not sending to the
legislature members belonging to the
dominant party.
The bill to modernize the choice OF
Senators by transferring it from the
legislature to the people of each safe
has passed the lower house Of Congress
several times, and once at least by a
unanimous vote and once with only
two dissenting votes, but the measure
has heretofore found it's grave IN the
Senate itself, which does not wish to
20 on record on the question, The
legislatures in at least twenty four
States have instructed in favor OF the
measure, among them Oregon, Cali
forni4, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kan.
sas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York,
louisiana, North Carolina, West Var
ginia and Illinois, and there may be
others. The Constitution Of Nebraska
REQUIRES that the choice Of Senator
shall be submitted to the people at the
ballot box the same day members OF
the legislature are chosen, but this
necessarily has only a moral force,
which would certainly be disregarded
whenever las ia not unusuaD the ma
jority in the State on the popular vote
should be for n party, while the ma
jority elected to the legislature should
belong to the opposite party.
A TEMPORARY ExPEDIENT.
In many States the United States
Senator is nominated by the State
party conventions, and the nominees
of that party for the Legislature are
deemed pledged to vote for him, &C
cording to the similar custom nov OBJ
tanning as to electors for President.
There are also many States whose
statutes provide for primary elections
for United States Senator. This expe
dent is the best possible under the cir
cumstances, perhaps, n should be
Iesorted till We can amend the Consti
tuition by frankly giving the people of