Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1906-12-27
Senatorial Convention.

fi.-fstatc Senatorial Convention.
;S-e Interstate senatorial amend
Eleat conference which met in Des
s.9:nas Oh the 5th and 9th, upon invi-
tdt.an OF Governor Cummins, under
authority given by the legislature, in
a,li;sstrated a movement to force con-
E,eeas TO call constitutional conven-
ton
A permanent organization was af-
fsa.ed to take up the work of securing
cooperation of the thirty-seTen state
legislatures which meet this winter.
Senator Thomas A. Cheshire CT Iowa
heads the executive committee.
Il the congress shall, in the mean
time, submit the amendment provid-
Ing for popular election of senators,
the movement for constitutional con-
veation will not be continued further.
the amendment affecting election of
United States senators.
Following is the resolution which
the conference adopted by unanimous
vote, defining it's demand for consti-
tutional conventions:
Whereas 1t is the Judgment Of
this convention that the legislative
branch of the national government
should be placed more directly under
the control of the people of the sew
eTal states, and
Whereas, There exists, and has
long existed, a strong popular demand
for the election of United States SEN
ators by the direct vote of the people,
and said demand is. in the opinion or
this convention, well founded, and
Whereas, The constitution of the
United States provides only two
methods whereby the provision re-
specting the election of United States
senators may be changed, and
Whereas, The method ordinarily
adopted of congress on its own initia-
tive submitting to the several states
a proposed amendment has heretofore
been ineffective, owing to the refusal
of the United States senate to sub
init such proposed amendment to the
several states; and
Whereas, There is no alternative
for accomplishing the desired reform
save by an appeal by at least two
thirds of the states to congress asking
that constitutional convention be
Cdileu. BE IL therefore
Resolved, That while this conven-
ton would much prefer that congress
should submit to the several states
q proposed amendment to the consti.
tuition for the election of senators by
direct vote of the people, so that the
states might pass upon it as single
question, yet, inasmuch as the senate
persistently refuses to submit such
amendment it therefore earnestly rec
ommends that the legislatures of the
several states do, in pursuance of ar
ticle V of the constitution of the
United States, make application to the
congress to call conversion for the
purpose of proposing amendments to
the constitution of the United States.
Be it further
Resolved, That the president and
secretary of this convention be, and
the same are hereby, instructed to
transmit duly certified copies of these
resolutions to the chairman of the ma
tional committee and of the several
state committees of the two leading
political parties, also to the govern
ors of the respective states, to each
member of congress, and to the presi-
dent. That in transmitting the copies
to the governors of the states, the
president and secretary of this con-
vention shall enclose a letter, urging
each Of them to lay these resolutions
before the legislature of his state"
I. The permanent organization was