Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-02-26
Special to the Register.

Special to the Register
WASHINGTON, D. c., February Is
Senator Blackburn is doing active
missionary work in behalf of the Nc
Graw end of the Scott contest case,
and will be Joined by Mr.. McGraw
himself early next week 1t develops
that the minority report of the Com
mittee on Privileges and Eelections
in favor of McGraw Will be signed
by but one Democratic Senator, the
other Democrats on the committee
adhering to the doctrines of the ma
jority that the Senate cannot inquire
into any Of the PROCEEDINGS of State
Legislature if the election of United
States Senator appears valid on its
face. The attitude of the committee
being distinctly hostile, therefore,
Mr.. McGraw's efforts and those of
Senator Blackburn now directed to
securing hearing on the floor of the
Senate.
The arguments in this case before
the Senate committee have been print
ed in pamphlet of sizty-nine pages.
The printed arguments show a strong
presentation of the case against Scott,
one of the best statements being made
by J. w. st. Clair, who put the whole
case in a nutshell when he said, in re-
ferring 10 the unseating of Kidd:
II take it while you would not go
into an investigation of the election,
returns and qualifications of members
Of the State Legislature, it is within
the power of the Senate to investigate
the validity of an election to this body
where that election is based or con-
summated by the performance of
fraud.
Nov, I ask what greater fraud
could be committed by Legislature,
without any reason in the world,
without any excuse in the world, than
by simply exercising arbitrary power
to suspend man with legal title to
Office, who had been admitted to par
ticipate in the Office, so as to get rid
of his VOTE 1t is not only a fraud
upon the Legislature and fraud up
on the Senate of the United States, but
it was the greatest fraud nthe people
of that Senatorial district"
To this Senator Hoar replied that
in much worse case, that. of Senator
Turpie, where members Of the Legis-
lature had been ousted to make room
for partisans who would vote for Tur-
pie, the Senate had held unanimously
that it could not inquire into such
legislative proceedings. The extent
to which this doctrine may be carried
is illustrated by the following ex-
tract from the hearing before the
committee:
Senator Caffery-"How is this COM
mittee bound by statement of facts?
Suppose the Legislature of West Vir-
ginia decided that two of its mem
bers who were under q years of age
were qualified by reason of majority,
would this committee be bound by
that statement of facts?"
Mr.. Faulkner-"To be frank with
the Senator, 1 would say yes"
THAT is an extreme case" said Mr..
Faulkner, "but it is a correct princi-
Pile; 1t is principal that must be
maintained by this Senate or else if
you do not maintain it you open the
door to go into the popular election
of every member of a legislative
body" Mr.. Faulkner then quoted
former decision of the committee that
"it is not competent for the Senate
to inquire as to the right of individual
members to sit in a Legislature which
is conceded to have a quorum in both
houses of legally elected members"
This is the doctrine which will de-
termine the nature of the report of
the majority of the committee. 1t
covers up, as everybody admits, all
the frauds which partisan majority
may commit in order to effect the
election OF United States Senator.