The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-24
A GREAT SPEECH
BY SENATOR VEST ON PROPOSED CHANGE OF CHOOSING
 SENATORS.
Reasons Advanced by the Great Missourian Why There Should Be No Catering to clamor for
 a Change in Constitution.

Jos. Ohl's Washington Letter to Atlanta |
 Constitution,
 T am d poor man and thousand dol l lars is a great big sum to me- said Sem ator Burton of Kansas, a few days ago; but l would give a thousand dollars if l the speech of Senator Vest delivered on l the question of elections of Senators by direct vote of the people could be placed | to my credit I might have to go and borroy the thousand, but I'd gladly do it.r
 The frankness of that speech. the hon. esty of it. the rebuke to what he consid- CTS political clap-trap--these were the things that showed the greatness of the speech to the Senator from Kansas. It was a short pesch, upoq which the Sen ator from Missouri differed from many of is colleagues, but it is in a sense notable contributor to the discussion Of a subject which has had much agitation. The scene in the Senate chamber during it's delivery was one to remember Sen ator Vest is very feeble in body these days, but his magnificent intellect is i,n- impaired. and there is some of the oli fire in his voice. mottcn was pending to discharge the Committee on Elections from further consideration of the House bill for the amendment of the Constitu- ton providing for elections by the people
 when Senator Vest rose Instantly the.e | was quiet in the chamber. The fact that Vest was speaking became known throughout the Capitol, and the galleries as well as the Senate floor became crowd ed. Every word uttered was eagerly listened to. There was no demonstra- ton, but more than one man in public life echoed in his heart the sentiment Senator Burton expressed to me.
 Cold type nav not give any adequate idea of the speech as a speech. but it will show his argument. Senator Vest spoke as follows:
 'I have been a member of the Demo- ts1 as4xF | I.ar tad tf make a personal remark. for nearly fifty years. If I have ever refused to vote for | a candidate of that party, from the | highest to the lowest office, I do not now | remember it. The last convention of the | Democratic party declared in favor of
 the election of United States Senators by
 the people
 | II am so unfortunate as to be unable | to agree with that convention upon that | question. I deny the right of any con- | vention, State or National, to control my | action as a Senator of the pnited States. | do not believe that evils of which com plaint is now made will be remedied or | removed by a change in the form of | electing Senators to this body. do not I believe you can purify tho fountain by 1 changing the form of tEe stream that comes from 1t. When the time comes in l this country that the people must be pro | tected from their own corruption. their own ignorance, their own imbeciuty, 1t Is | a publication to the entire world that the l theory of our government IS 9. failure and 1 that the people are not capable or sell | government.
 We are told that the object of the | joint resolution is to femove the facility | with which corruption nay be used in | the election of Senators. MT. President, | my observation and experience teach me l that where corruption can be used cor | rupt men will always find way to use | it. What will be the result if the joint II resolution is ado pted as 1t comes rem the House? Every intelligent man in this II country knows that the candidates Tor II United States Senators in the respective II States win be nominated by conventions Il and every int elligent may knows how easily conventions will be influenced by improper means to make, nominations which the party represented in the col-
 vention will deem it their duty to sup pert.
 we are told that today multi-million-
 aires can buy Legislatures. Who pre- tands to say that they cannot, especially il: the large cities, buy the votes, by hundreds and thousands, of the men who will by direct vote elect United states
 Senators? Who pretends to say that this body of United States Senators. ninety in
 number Is not equal in integrity. in in- telligence. in all the great qualities Of q representative capacity to the GoVerno's g of the respectives States? Who does not
 know that the Governors consider it' a Il promotion to come from their executive
 office to this body? Are the Governors
 more honest. more intelligent more fit
 
 as assembled here? Who says 1t?
 MT. President. those Governors are
 elected by direct vote of the people Ana vet we are told that if we change the form of election we get rid of the impu- rity at the very source of all legislative | power, Sir it reminds mel am Wes-
 tern man and use Western Illustrations
 of the countryman who, on not day, | was carrying himself and a bag of corn to the country mill. He saw that his ] horse was laboring under the heat and | burden imposed upon him, and in order | to relieve the animal he got off. took the bag of corn upon his own shoulder, got | back upon the horse and congratulated | himself that he had found a remedy. | U4aughter) Who believes. that if you | change the form of election you get rid | of the great motive power, the people | who if corrupt themselves. will surely
 make that fact manifest in the result of any election?
 | But. Mir President. above all this. I | am opposed. irrevocably opposed. to this 1 change in our constitutional law because
 it destroys what 1 consider one of the
 most valuable features of the Federal | Constitution, adopted in hSa.
 l "A compromise was made in the Con- l stitutional Convention upon this. as upon | every other question. The smaller States | insisted upon the election of two Senators
 by every State without regard to numer-
 ical population. The larger States in-
 sisted that the power to inaugurate rev.
 enue bills should be in the House of Rep
 resentatives. A compromise was effected
 by which the smaller States received two
 Senators. and the Senate represents the
 State rights feature of the Constitution
 The House of Representatives represents
 the popular feature. Cpon this compro-
 mise that great instrument the Consti-
 tuition of the United States. was made ] What do you propose to do now? In- 1 stead of two legislative b0lics, one rep
 resenting the people at large, the other l representing the conservative and delib-
 crate judgment of Senators not holding