The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-08-10
AND THE CONSTITU-
TON.

Roosevelt administration alone in the
attitude of stretching the constitution
to meet the conditions of the time, are
not only overlooking obvious historical
incidents, but are unobservant of
popular movement that for the past
few years has been rapidly extending
from state to state. Reference is had
to the tendency to remove the election
| of United States senators from the
state legislatures and to place it di-
rectly in the hands of the people.
Section of article l of the national
constitution explicitly says: THE SEN
ate of the United States shall be com
| posed of two senators from each state
| chosen by the legislature thereof, for
six years." and no language could
make it palmer that it was the intent
of the trainers that the Legislators
should be free and untrammeled in
| their selection-that is, as free and un-
| trammeled as representatives of the
| people ever can be in the face Of any
general expression of opinion by their
constituents. Yet We find that with
out any action pro or con on the part
| of congress or of the executive or of
the judiciary, one state after another
is quietly depriving it's legislators of
any option whatever in the matter. In
some cases state conventions of Inc
parties and in others direct primaries
are making choice of senatorial can
didates and state senators and repre-
sentatives are being pledged to regis
ter the popular verdict in almost the
same manner as the presidential cleo
executive. Oregon perhaps, in one re-
spect, has gone farthest in the move
ment but other commonwealth are
at her heels. Their United States
governor and the legislators are
pledged to record the verdict even
though the candidate receiving the
most votes shall be of opposite party
from the majority in the legislature
But the election binds only the leg
islators; the governor has still his
right to make ad interim appoint
mentS to fill vacancies. Alabama,
ton from the states chief executive
also, and owing to the fact that the
legislature meets regularly only once
in four years a unique provision ex-
lists. For example, the present term
of Senator Pettus expires not until
March 8, 1909, but he has already been
reelected to succeed himself for the
term ending March 8, 1915. Yet the
state had looked still farther ahead,
so that when Senator Morgan died last
month ex-Representative John H.
Bankhead stood chosen by the last pri-
he was appointed by Governor Conner
to serve ad interim. But "a compiled
| ton then arose, for Conner himself ar
gued that While he felt himself bound
by the primaries, the Legislature on
reconvening this month, after a recess
is not so bound as the primaries NAM
ed Mr.. Bankhead for appointment only
to avoid the necessity of calling a spe-
cial session of the Legislature.
| A 10 hoy
timately work out, our point is, that
spontaneously in different parts of the
country popular opinion is working out
| a practical evasion of an explicit pro-
vision of the constitution, to opvlate
| two generally recognized evilS-the
corruption and deadlocking of state
| legislatures and the stuffing of the
United States senate with plutocrats
and in some cases with senile old men.
In the very nature of things it was
not to be expected that this reform
could be readily brought about in the
manner prescribed by the constitution
itself for its amendment, inasmuch
as too many of the senators them
SELVES were selfishly interested in pre-
venting a change in the elective ma
| chinery; but no such circumstances as
this could logically justify the existing
| movement in the eyes of a strict con-
| structionist' Nevertheless the fact
is that under the letter of the consti-
tuition We are violating its spirit; and
the work-it is good.
How unobserving are those who
look upon the constitution as made
| of iron, ineXfiible, is nowhere more
| clearly demonstrated than by the
present ambassador from England to
this country, Mr.. James Bryce. in his
American Commonwealth" Nor did
the learned gentleman there omit to
point out that in it's very fexity and