The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-05-01

stream can rise higher than its source;
and II the people are ignorant and
debased, the men elected to govern
them will be Of like character. There
Is nothing truer in government than
that "the representative represents"
and only patriotic and intelligent
citizenship ever watchful of public
affairs, can insure purity in state
legislatures and thus compel the cleo
ton of none but pure men to the
senate.
Those persons who are expanding
their energies and exhausting the vo-
cabulary of abuse, trying to. destroy
the respect of the people for the SEN
ate, could much better devote their
time and attention to breaking down
the barriers of partnership and teach
ing the people the obligations of citi-
zenship. The senate is what the peo-
pie have made it, except that being
once removed from the people it has
yielded to the debauching and .demor-
alizing tendency of the age much less
rapidly and markedly than the house
has. The house has time and again
shown its lack of equipoise and self
control. 1t impeached Andrew John
son, and lacked only one vote of sue
cessfully carrying out the program of
that band \of conspirators headed by
Thaddeus Stevens which had marked
the south for destruction. The patriot
ism and wisdom of the senate saved
&, us from that greatest danger which
the country has ever passed through,
just as this same senate refused to
enact the Force bill after it had been
driven through the house under the
whip and spur of bitter partizanship.
Call the roll of great Americans,
great in every sense of the word, and
leave off the list those who have been
members of the American senate, and
See how the nations greatness will
shrink, see how its history will lose
in brightness and glory. Let me name
some of these as reminder to the
shallow thinkers and babblers who are
now going up and down the land abus-
ing and nlaligning this great body of
American statesmen. Let us call the
roll and see the shades of the dead
who have honored the senate and been
honored by it march in procession:
Clay Webster, Calhoun, Hayne, Ben
Sumner. Blaine, Ben Hill, Zeb Vance,
Hoar, Lamar, Hunter, Mason. Chase,
Breckenridge, Bayard, Benjamin, Hen
bricks, Toombs. Conkling, Matthews,
Voorhees,, Sherman.
The Question of Precedence.
But why add to the long and illus
trious list? 1t would be easy to double
and treble it with names illustrious
in our history, and these have been
recalled from memory. Should it ever
come into the mind of anyone to try
to write a history of this great re-
public without mentioning the name
of a United States senator. the inevi-
table result would be most pitiabe
caricature, a most lame and impotent
conclusion.
There are several men who are still
in the senate whose names will in
evitably be added to this list of our
great dead when they themselves
'cross over the river" For obvious
reasons none of these living senators
can be mentioned in this connection.
Their records are made and are max
ing, and their countrymen will in due
time render verdict on their worthi-
ness.
The senate will remain as it was
intended to be, the balance wheel of
our governmental machinery. Those
who criticize and abuse it will find
their labors vain in their effort to
undermine and destroy its usefulness
or in any serious degree lessen the
respect and admiration which the
American people feel for this great
and grand department of our govern
ment The swarm of detractors will
vanish by and by like the gnats of
summertime, and just in proportion
as the people shall realize their re-
sponsibilities and rise to their duty in
participating In and controlling pub
lie affairs, just SO far will the senate
continue to make history of which the
nation will be proud. THE shadows
murmur.{ but the deems are dumb"