Omaha daily bee., 1902-06-01
Vas THEEE ANT PalNcIPLE INVOLVED,

WAS TBERE AM PRINcIPLE lNvOLVEDi
Intelligent men who listened to the re-
publican debate that took place at the
Creighton orpheum Thursday night could
not have failed to be impressed with the
fact that during all that waste Of words
not one public question was discussed, not
one principle was considered. = II is
indeed a regrettable reflection that a mag
nihcent audience would assemble to listen
TO this debate where not one-tenth OF the
number OF people could be persuaded to at
tend a serious discussion OF questions af-
fecting the life and welfare Of the people.
Sometimes one is tempted to suspect that
there is something wrong with the peo-
pie" and that they would prefer a quarrel
to a principle.-world-H Herald.
In the discussion Of the candidacy Of
David H. Mercer there may have been
a waste Of words, but no intelligent man
or woman who heard the debate, or who
will take the trouble to read 1t and pom
der II, will fail to be impressed with the
fact that a great principle, a principle
vital to the perpetuation Of free govern
ment, was involved. The discussion
over MERGERS candidacy involved the
basic principle OF a government by the
people, Of the people and for the people.
In the last contribution Of BENJAMIN
Harrison to the political history Of our
country that patriotic statesman made
this declaration:
In every representative government such
as ours the people either directly or indi-
rectly at popular elections choose the per-
sons who make the laws. Our dependence
must always be chiefly upon the educa-
tional conscience Of the people. The leg
islators under our state make the laws
and II they are unwise In the opinion Of
the majority OF the people they can be
changed. This is the basis Of our civil
system. In the election Of a member Of
the house each voter in his proper district
puts his own ballot into the ballot box for
the person he desires to have chosen,
while in the choice OF senator his vote is
given through members Of the state legis-
lAture with more or less information as
to whom the member, II elected. will sup
port for senator.
The logic Of this declaration is, that
the whole fabric of representative gov
eminent rests upon the conscientious
~ sc VI OOilsdNlOhb dbhuIuCu ny lCk-
islators to their constituents. The most
sacred obligation of the legislator is
faithfulness in redeeming the pledges
made directly by himself, or made for
him indirectly by his party in its plat
form. The greatest menace to rep
r~esentative government such as ours is
a failure of representatives to represent
the people whether it is in the making
Of laws or in the election Of United
States senators.
In fact, a betrayal Of trust in the cleo
ton of United States senators is a thou
sand times more reprehensible thar
would be the failure to enact good laws,
or the failure to repeal bad laws. Bad
laws and unwise laws enacted by one
legislature can be readily repealed by
the following legislature, but the sub
version Of the popular will Of the people
cannot be rectified within twenty-four
months.
The failure to enact state laws de-
manded by the people, or the enact
ment Of mischievous laws, affect the
people Of but a single state, but def
ance Of the popular will in the election
of United States senators affects the
whole nation, and inasmuch as the
United States senate is the treaty-mak-
ing power Of the United States, it may
even AFFECT international relations be-
tween this country and foreign nations
In time Of peace or war.
We cannot hope to perpetuate the free
institutions of this republic under a rep
resentative form OF government unless
the principle Of responsibility of the peo-
pies representatives to carry out the
known and expressed wishes of the cleo
tors and the pledges made before cleo
ton is faithfully lived up to. If it is
political infamy for representatives to
sell out the people, 1t is equally infamous
for men to seek TO incite them to a be-
trayal Of their most sacred trust. To
reward men known to be guilty of either
offense is to put a premium upon polit-
ical treason In its most odious form.
y10 49,