Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-02-14
SENATOR LODGES FAvoRITE
 BUGABOO


 BUGABoo
 Senator Lodges eulogy of the late William B. Allison was marked by scme characteristic observations on present tendencies toward the popular election of United States senators. MT. Lodge, as is well known, is a strong adherent of the legislative system of election, and to that system he attributed Iowa's good fortune in being represented in the senate for thirty-six years by a statesman of Allison s caliber. In send ing MT. Allison to the senate for six terms, the legislature, said MT. Lodge, truly represented the will of the people It would be sorry day when the coun- try suffered the loss of such continuity of service, such directing and guiding force, as was gained by MT. Allison's long public career. "It is such careers as his which has made the senate what it has been in our history" said MT. Lodge, "and If, under the pretense of making it more popular, we are sub jected to schemes which open the door wide to those who would commit fraud, and to those who would spend money without stint, we shall not only see the popular will distorted, travestied and defeated, but the country will be de- prived of the long continued services of such men as MT. Allison, which have been and are of inestimable value to the United States.''
 If the present members of the senate had all been elected by popular vote, and the proposal were to substitute for that mode of election the legislative system now prevailing, every word of ] MT. Lodges invcctive would be as app licable to the legislative method as to the popular method. For what evils MT. Lodge foresees in the popular cleo tion have already been glaringly mani fest in the legislative election, wherein the popular will has often been traves- | spent without stint, and fraud commit ted. The return of Allison to the senate, term after term, was an example of the legislative system at it's best; Senator Lodge looks about him in the senate chamber day after day and sees beneficiaries of that system at it's worst. What ground has Senator Lodge for assuming that the people of Iowa, if they had had the opportunity for voting on the senatorship, would have refused to honor Allison with six elections? Or that the popular choice of senators, now adopted in Iowa, will turn out statesmen of distinctly lower quality?
 Turning to the house of representa- tives we find many examples of long and uninterrupted public service found. ed on popular confidence in men who have to go before the people every two years. And in tho senate we may find numerous illustrations of Legislative fckleness, for not every senator of abil. ity can command legislative election until the end of his days. So we con. fess MT. Lodges objections to the popu lar election of senators-that it will en. courage the use of money, and deprive the senate of the continuous service of . it's best men-do not strike us as al all conclusive, since they apply with , equal force to the legislative mode of election. Iowa's legislature kept All ison in the senate because the people of Iowa wanted him there, and when they had chance to vote for him at the polls the result was the same. MT. Allison < career gives poor support to Senator Lodges thesis.