The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-24

office for two years, but holding 1t for six years and who are assumed to rep resent the States in ftheit sovefeign ca pacity. who are to have one great House separately. but both in reality what the DC pular branch of the Congress Is today. ''What do you invite by such change hou invite immediately the suggestion on the part of the larger States that if nl,meration according to the people Is to be adopted it shall apply In the Senate as we'll as in the House, More than this, you invite contested elections as we see them now at the other end of the Capi- tol. You will find every Senator's place here. if that place becomes important for political success. dependent upon con- test in any or every township Ing and the basis upon which the Constftu- tion was adopted is given up under the claim that if the people were permitted to elect directly the election would be more pure than under the present plan. Now. MT. Prsident. will simply say that all this issue is a plan adopted bv adroit politicians, in my opinion. who desire to make the impression upon the people that they are better and purer and more competent to choose Senators | than the men whom they may elect | through a general assembly or legislature | of the State.
 'I should like for some Senator to tell | me how the people of a County or an | election district can know better the | qualifications for the high office of a 1 United States Senator orN a multi-million- | aire whom they have never seen. and | whose name is nut before them by con | vention they never attended. than they
 can pass upon the qualifications of a | member of the Legislature.
 How can they better know as to the 1 qualification of such a candidate than
 one of their own neighbors, with whom
 they have lived for wears. with whose | antecedents they are familiar. and whom | they know to be honest intelligent and | acquainted with their interests? But we | are told that the question of the election 1 of he multi-millionaire with his millions l of dollars utterly unknown to the people 1 is to be passed upon them in preference | to his neighbor, whom they have known | for half a century.
 1 'I repeat, Mir. President, if the foun- l tain is impure the stream will be impure l You cannot evade this issue by the form l of the election
 "I could go into many more arguments
 against this terrible innovation. l be- long, possibly, to a past school in public life. I believe the Constitution should bs l approached anxiously, carefully. and ev' | cry aspect ot every change should DC
 duly and fairly considered. l believe tht | men who made the Constitution-fn which
 supreme power exists nowhere except
 with the people-prescribed the form tt
 be adopted when that great instrument | was to be amended. Tn 0rder 10 aVolu tns
 desire on the part of the demagogues tt
 achieve their own purposes by flatterint
 the people.
 ''I ask the Secretary to read some ex | tracts I have made from the debates 1T
 the Convention of i1S7, giving the reason.
 for this clause in the Constitution.
 have here the opinion of James Madison
 who represented one school and of Alex
 ander Hamilton. who represented the
 other.
 Tt has been said by leading members
 of the Democratic party. to which be
 long, that MT. Jefferson favored the cleo
 ton of Senators by the people. l clain
 to be familiar with his writings, and ht
 seldom spoke There are expressions fl
 some of his letters to his intimate friends
 wherein he desired an extreme popular
 or democratic government but MT; Jef
 ferson nowhere at any tune declared ,ha
 s<nat3rs of the United States should bt
 elected bv the people. and not by th'
 Legislatures"