The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-10-22
ELECTION OF SENATOR'S
AND STATES RIGHTS
Senator Dillingham; Speaks on Two
Topics Of The Day in Accepting
Reelection to Senate.

Reelection to Senate.
State House, Oct. 20.
Senator Dillingham's speech was lis
tened TO with great interest on We'd
nesday afternoon as II took up sub
jeet OF great interest the election Of
Senators by direct vote of the people
and the tendency Of the times toward
Capitalization in the federal govern
ment.
After thanking the people Of the
state for the renewed expression Of
their confidence, he said that no one
could appreciate the honor of represent
ing Vermont in the United States SEN
ate except one who had seen service.
He paid the nation the compliment OF
lis Increasing greatness and noted that
its constitution had remained practi-
cally unchanged for 100 years.
He referred in detail to the work Of
the Senate. Where Congressman are
chosen every two years in order TO
keep them in direct touch with their
districts, the Senate represents the SOW
ereign states. Senator Hoar once said
that the Senate today is practically
the Senate of George Washington. 1t
is always in existence and yet one
third Of its members 90 out every two
years TO be reelected or succeeded
All appointments to the supreme
court and the consular service must be
confirmed by the Senate and as leg
islative body it is peculiar from the
fact that there is no limit 10 debate or
comment, every senator having a right
TO say all he desires on every measure
that comes before IT, The Hepburn
bill, for instance, contains 100 amend
ments from the Senate, after having
been rushed through the House under
special rule, with debate strictly
limited.
The Senate gives equal representa-.
ton to all the states, said the senator,
which was evidently considered by the
makers Of the constitution as more i'm
portant than any other provision Of
that document. He thought the time
was coming when Vermont would have
but one representative in the House,
owing to the increase Of population in
the west, but in the Senate we are rep
resented by the same number Of votes
rs New York or Pennsylvania.
AS a result Of the movement which
Is working itself out in the South and
certain portions OF the West a resolu
ton was recently introduced providing
for the election Of senators by direct
vote of the people, but Mr.. Penrose has
added an amendment providing that
when the senator's shall be elected by
the people that they shall be apportion-
ed among the people according TO their
population and when that time comes
Pennsylvania would have 80 senators
and New York more than 90. II seems
TO me that there is more danger to the
rights of the states than there has
been during the past.
There is always a wave Of feeling
in favor of centralizing power in Con-
gress. in which states seem to be in
cined to throw away the rights for
which our fathers fought. There il
hardly ono of the reforms they are
talking about that cannot be accom-
plished by the states themselves. Yer
mont's child labor law, for instance, !
regulates child labor as the needs of |
the state demands il il were left to
Congress through the operation of the
interstate commerce law, Congress
might say that Vermont maple sugar
should not be sold in New Hampshire
II boy under 16 gathers the sap, or
butter II child drove up the cows to
be MIXED.
He stated in closing that so long as
the state stood out for its constitution.
all rights and sent abt men to Congress
TO insist upon those rights Vermont
be all right He would represent
y ermont in the Senate as he believed
was for the interest Of the preservation
Of its rights