Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-18
SENATE'S FIGHT FOR LIFE
Plan for Election Of Members by Direct Vote
Widely Supported.
CONVENTION TO AMEND CONSTITUTION
Majority Vote of Thirty-Four states
acknowledgements of the Square
Deal Disgusted by the stormy
POrtents.

Opponents of the presidents square
! deal" policy In the United States senate
are not as complacently Indifferent to pub
lie sentiment as they have been in former
years. Political signs of the times are
dlsquieting, and the reasons therefor are
clearly pointed out by an observant CORE
spondent Of the Boston Transcript, q
veteran Of the Washington corps. In part.
he writes:
NO one can disguise the wave of re-
| form or of 'radicalism,' according to the
| individuals point of view, which is now
sweeping over the country. What does 1t
all mean? Where is 1t going to stopY j.
Frank Hanly, the alert young governor Of
Indiana, who is in line with this western
movement with the republican party, is
oday in Washington for the purpose OF
onferring with the congressman from that
| state in reference to a special session Of
| the legislature ostensibly to make it pos
Ible to remove a faithless state official;
yut when the lawmakers get to indianapolis
he governor will propose the passage Of
/ 1 law fixing steam railroad passenger fares
II cents a mile, like that which has just
! passed the Ohio lower house with only a
| single dissenting voice and is scheduled to
| go through the Ohio senate. To the thickly
peopled east, with its mileage books sold
| on liberal terms, this does not seem a
radical innovation: but it means a great
| change in passenger fares in the west.
And the governor has other proposals of
| the same sort to make to the legislature Of
| Indiana.
But the most radical cry of all comes out
! of Iowa where Governor Cummins' recog-
nized lieutenant in the legislature Senator
| Lewis, has introduced resolutions, which
| will probably pass, inviting other states to
| send delegates to a convention to be held at
Des Moines next summer, for the purpose
| Of setting into motion the necessary ma
| chinery for amending the constitution Of
the United States, through a convention.
This method, provided by the constitution,
has never yet been utilized All amend
ments thus far have been put into force by
securing the .two-thirds majority in both
houses of congress, followed by the ratih-
| cation in the legislatures Of three fourths
! of the states. But the constitution also
| provides, IL will be recalled, that on appl-
! cation of the legislatures OF two-thirds of
the states, congress shall call a convention
| for proposing amendments. These shall
| go into force when ratified by the legts-
latures Of three fourths Of the states.
Mandatory Call.
This system, it will be observed. cuts
the senate out in the process of amend
ment. A majority vote in thirty legisla-
lures would call the convention. Congress
would have no alternative in the matter
but to issue the call The amendment
would then need the support Of the ma
| jority vote in thirty-four legislatures. Only
one amendment is now proposed. The Des
Moines convention will be called for a
single purpose, and that is to change the
| constitutional method Of electing United
States senators. Six or eight years ago
Senator Chandler-like most New England
ers a vigorous opponent OF the popular cleo
ton of senators-discovered that twenty
two states had through their legislatures
! expressed their desire for this change.
Somewhat alarmed, he called in his news
paper friends, asking them to bring TO pub
lie attention the proportions which this
movement was taking and the liability that,
through the convention method of amend
ment, the trick would be turned much
quicker than people had been led to sup
pose
THE subject gains new Importance now
from the relation of the proposed change
20 the railroad controversy. To the extent
that the senate plays a conservative part
| g win lend support 10 the view that IL Is
out of touch with the public demand, and
responsive chiefly TO the great moneyeo
interests which are supposedly potent in
the average western Legislature. The two
issues dovetail into each other like slavery
and secession The advocates of railroad
rate regulation, OF antitrust legislation,
and in general OF that class Of measures
which the senate habitually prefers 10 stife
are always out after the senate They
think that body takes the view II does on
public questions because it is constituted
as il is, and they want 10 amend the con-
stitution so that Il will be a differently
constituted body. The senate thus has q
fight on its hands today for its own life as