The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-03-21
AN IMPC SSIBLE ISSUE.

How much of party capital is there In
Mr.. Bryan's new issue-election of Sena-
| tors by popular vote? Supposing it to
| be true, as he believes, that large ma
jority of the people of the United States
are in favor of that proposition; how is he
| going to make it a campaign issue -? There
must be division of parties, one for and
| the other against any question, theory,
| or policy in order to give it the status of
an issue. If it be an old, familiar ques.
ton, as this is, the records of parties are
| relied upon for campaign thunder.
If Mr.. Bryan will take time amid his
| many engagements to investige the
| action of State legislatures and
the National House of Repre-
senatives on this proposed amendment
| he will discover that it has quite as many
| friends on the Republican as on the
| Democratic side of the line. Republi-
can legislatures have declared for it, and,
in Congress, Republican Houses of Rep
resentatives have repeatedly adopted it
with great hilarity. In the Senate the
division on this question is not now and
never has been on party lines.
Let it be understood that the Democrats
in 1904 intend to declare in their national
| platform for election of Senators by direct
vote Of the electorate, and, the Republi-
can State conventions, assembled to
| choose delegates to that party's quadren-
| NAL gathering, would shout for the pro-
posed amendment And when the con-
| vention assembled it would put into its
| declaration of policies ringing demand
| for that which Mr.. Bryan is smuggling up
| to as Democratic issue. Such an indor-
sement by both parties would, of course,
neutralizc the alleged issue, but we do not
believe it would bring the so-calle reform
any nearer to accomplished fact than it is
| to day. Party conventions do not amend
the Constitution. 1t is to the last degree
improbable that any political amendment
| will ever be adopted. There would be
| nothing unusual in declaring for en-
amendment through party platform aid
following that declaration by taking good
care to defeat it in State legislatures.
The party leaders in some of the strong
est Democratic States, such as South
Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas, would
| assure Mr.. Bryan that there is not the
| least need of changing a letter of the
| Constitution in order to base the election
of Senators on the popular vote, just as
| is the election of President The leading
Democrats in other States are as strongly
| opposed as Senator Hoar to any consti-
tional change in this regard or any
scheme for getting around the Constitu-
| ton as the poole have circumvented that
instrument by making Presidential cleo
tors their instructed servants instead of
their independent agents.
1t happens to lie an unfortunate time
for exploiting this theory, The contrast
presented in Congress between the work
of the House and the Senate-the body
| elected by tue people and the one elected
by the Statcs-ought to be extremely dis
coura ging to the crusaders for the amend
ment. While the House is steadily dump
ing the crudest of matter into the Senate
and depending on the Senate to digest it
there is more of the ludicrous than the
serious in the spectacle of the House
sending to the Senate proposition to
make Senators like Repre- sentatives di-
rectly responsible to the people.
On the whole, Mr.. Bryan's discovery
Of an issue is scarcely more creditable to
helping 10 get the Philippines into the
sovereignty Of the United States in order
that he might raise an issue over the ques-
ton of getting them out Washington
Pos.