The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-28
John w. Daniel, Southerner

the successor of William Malone and has thrice been re elected John S. Barbour. Randall Democrat. contested the first cleo 1 ton; but since 1887 Daniel has had no ser ious opposition for the Senate. Without the | record before me 1 venture to say that he l has already served In the United States Sen 1 ate longer than any other Senator from Virginia And speaking of Barbour. had l he and Henry w. Grady. of Georgia. lived 1t | is quite likely that MT. Cleveland would 1 have been defeated for the Democratic nom-
 ination for President in 1892.
 1 The Senate of the United States is the 1 check and balance of our Constitution On l May TO- 1879. Benjamin H Hill of Geor- gia, made speech in the Senate wherein he analysed the American system. As an exposition of the Constitution of the United States no utterance of any other man sur passes it. It was the ablest speech even Hill ever made. and for that character of
 debate the Senate never heard a stronger l argument. His design was to show where in government is national and wherein 1 antiquated now. new evangel is heard Tn
 the land. It would forfeit the political life of a Democrat of this epoch to echo Ben Hills greatest argument We have fallen on times when nothing is so popular as an as
 sault on the federal feature of this govern
 ment. The attack Is insidious and comes | in the guise of "the rule of the people"
 Here is what Thomas Jefferson said about
 that:
 "The equal rights of man and the happi- ness of every individual are now acknowi- | edged to be the only legitimate objects of governments. Modern times have the signal | advantage. too of having discovered the on- | 1y device by which these rights can be se-
 cured. to wit: Government by the people. acting not in person, but by representatives 1 chosen by themselves"
 That was the idea of Jefferson. but that | is now improved upon The representatives l of the people only to busy themselves initiating laws which are to be referred 10
 the people for approval and enactment Un- | der our system of checks and balances Del | aware Is equal to New York in the United l States Senate; but under the initiative and | referendum one New York is equal to one 1 hundred Delawares. As Ben Hill expounded
 1t. Mississippi Is the equal of Illinois in the 1 Senate Under the initiative and referen- | dunn Illinois is equal to nineteen Mississip- l pis. computed the popular votes of the l two states fin 1so4. You might set to work
 all the cunning and all the knavery of the
 most fertile and the most intellectual minds
 of all the world and they could not con
 ceive or concoct a scheme that would put | the South more completely at the mercy of | the North than the initiative and referen-
 dunn. It lodges power with the strong and l leaves the weak absolutely defenseless. It | was to protect the weak from the strong. | that the United States Senate was creat-
 ed and the check is further rooted in our
 system by the provision that Senators shall | be chosen not by the people direct. but by l the representatives of, the people.
 l It has worked admirably. Where do you | find the cream of American Statesmanship' In the Senates of 11s years. Take any State. | North or South, East or West get down | the list of it's Senators in Congress that
 were chosen by the legislatures. and show I me wherein they are inferior to the govern | ors of that State chosen by the people di-
 rect. Take the present Senate and where | in are its members inferior to the present l governors of the States? Take the House | of Representatives. chosen directly by the 1 people-wherein are its members superior l to the Senators? Take down Ben Hilfs | magnificent speech of May 10. 1879. read 1t | and see how he dispels all this bosh of l which the country Is now so full from ocean | to ocean.
 l In the Senate John w. Daniel has been
 a studious thinker. He has delivered some
 great speeches in the body that caused his
 collea gues to reflect. His speech the
 rate bill of the last Congress. delivered all | too late in the session ranks with Baileys
 and Soooners and Foraker's. It is such men
 as Daniel that make of the Senate what
 the Constitution intended-an advisory coun-