The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-02-11
FIGHT IN THE HOUSE
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county, and was a model of political
smoothness. 1t provided for the tying
up of candidates for the legislature on
the election of United States senators
so that it would allow. it was charged
and to the correspondents ideas, COM
| pletely proven-if enacted into law
the democrats of the state with their
improved methods of machine politics,
to elect the next enator. The bill has
been published in the Evening Times
and the pledges which the candidates
for public positions were required TO
sign are probably familiar to ALL The
fight was started by Mr.. Stevens who
declared that in addition to being il
republican he was in favor of that
party clecting its officials for public
positions where it had the majority
at least. He stated that the bill in
its present form was unconstitutional
in as much as it sought to do Indirect
ly that which the federal constitu-
ton prohibited from being done direct
ly. He then turned his attention to
the merits OF the bill as party meas
ure and showed that under its work
inss the minority party would often
be able to control the election of a
United States senator because 1t would
only have one candidate while the ma
jority party would have several, and
under the provisions of the bill the
fha 10
of votes would receive the votes of
all the members of the legislature.
Major Butte offered an amendment
which made the bill read that the can
didate for the legislature would sup
port the candidate for United States
senator who had received the majority
of the votes of his political party. This
took the merit from the bill as
means of selecting candidate wlo
represents minority party, and the
fight became political one. Repre-
sentative Casey found out that he was
in the position of the fellow who had
butted into family quarrel and came
out licked by both participants. If he
counted on the help of either faction
of the republican party to support the
bill ne was much mistaken. The
Buttz motion was seconded by Repre-
sentative Twichell who made one OF
the ablest speeches of the day in sup
port of the same. The motion went to
the very core of the bill and around
it the battle ragged. Mr.. Twichell call
ed attention to the fact that there were
certain things in the government
which were of political character
and that the selection of United
States senator was one of them. He
made the point that man elected to
that position never worked as an in
dividual but as member of the po-
Mtical party to which he belonged. He
would stand for what a democratic
caucus wanted and desired, regardless
of his own opinions or the wishes OF
his constituents.
He advocated the preservation Of
party and said it was the foundation
of our political system of government.
Ke drove the author of the bill into
a hole and then plugged the hole by
showing that it was matter of ex-
pediency for the minority party to
hang together, while in the majority
party it was often desired to have
the choice made among the members
before entering the contest against the
common enemy. AS an illustration,
under the bill as drawn it was pro-
vided that candidates for the legis-
lature should pledge themselves dur
ing their term of Office to always vote
for that candidate for United States
senator who received the highest num-
Der of the peoples votes at the cleo
ton held for that purpose Now if
the minority had one third the entire
votes and because of its helplessness
stood together for one man, while the I
majority party with two third the
votes desired to select one of four or
five men, the two thirds vote would
be so divided that the candidate ct
that party would not be selected be-
cause the majority party would scatter
its votes while the minority voted SOL
Idly. The BUTTE amendment proposed
that after the fight among the men,
bers of the party the Legislative men,
bers would be bound only to support
the candidate receiving the highest
number of that party's vote.
Major BUTTE made a speech in which
he recited some political history of
North Dakota and it was recited with
considerable effect. He went into the
details of the election OF Senator
Roach and showed that because of the
party treachery of certain members
at that time-the election OF a repub-
lican was defeated and a democrat not
only secured the prize but that one
member of the United States senate
gave the democrats the majority in
that body and enabled that party to
pass the infamous Wilson-Gorman free
trade bill which shut the factories of
the country, turned honest laboring
men into tramps and beggars, and gave
the world the miserable spectacle Of
Coxey's armies marching on the ma
tional capital and demanding bread.
Mr.. Casey attempted to stem the
current that had set in but struggle
as he would, and it must be admitted
that he made an admirable defense
of democratic measure which he
was attempting to get through a re-
publican house, he was beaten at every
turn and finding himself deserted by
all save his twelve disciples he gave
up the ghost. The only thing for
which he finally contended was that
the bill was constitutional.