Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-01-27
oREooN.s sENAroR1AL ELECTION


 The people of Oregon may be con graduated upon the failure of attempts to break the force of legislative pledges that insured the choice of George E. Chamberlain as United States senator. More important than any partisan ad- vantage is the vindication of the Ore gon method of electing senator by direct vote of the whole people. Mir. Chamberlain, though democrat, is the voluntary choice of majority of the people of Oregon, state which gave Taft plurality of 24,Ooo and elected a legislature republican in both branch es. Under the terms of the Oregon pri- mary law the legislature may be de- prived wholly of the power of choice in a senatorial election, just as the elector- al college has been deprived of the pow CT to choose a president. In each case the popular mandate is merely regis tered by body originally intended to exercise it's independent judgment. The Oregon law accomplishes this result by requiring that each candidate for the legislature shall stand upon either one of the subjoined statements of purpose:
 ''No. 1. further state to the
 people of Oregon as well as to the
 people of my legislative district
 that during my term of office will
 always vote for that candidate for
 United States senator in congress
 who has received the highest num-
 Der of the peoples votes for that
 position at the general election
 next preceding the election of sen
 ator in congress, without regard to
 my individual preference.
 'No. 2. During my term of of
 flee shall consider the vote of the people for United States senator in
 congress as nothing more than a recommendation, which shall be at liberty to wholly disregard if the reason for doing so seems to me to be sufficient"
 Popular sentiment compelled ma jority of the legislators to elect the fa- nous Statement No. l." by which they pledged themselves to support the senatorial nominee receiving the highest vote at the state election. Fifty-three members thus pledged were elected out of ninty, and all of them cast their votes for Chamberlain, who in June of last year gained popular majority over H. M. Cake, the republican nominee Senator Fulton, the present incumbent attempted not only to defeat the repub lican nominee, but to induce the pledged members to break faith with their con stituents. His efforts happily failed, SC far as legislative pledges were concerned although he obtained nineteen votes tc Cakes seventeen. Had he succeeded he would have overthrown both the par ty mandate as to the republican nomi nee and the popular mandate as to tn, senatorial election-a double treachery that would have disgusted all decent citizens. The legislature has wisel, kept faith with the people.
 1 Oregon's precedent in this election il likely to be of far-reaching influence It points the way to non-partisan popu lar choice of United States senator and shows how the people may effect ually gain control over Legislative body now widely believed to be undei the thumb of partisan or financial in terests inimical to the public welfare The senior Oregon senator, MT. Bourne is also product of the primary, ant although republican, has stood firml! for the principle involved in the election of Governor Chamberlain. The Oregon people have elected to be represented in the senate by republican and a dem ocrat. Why not, in these days of ob scure party differences, if their represen tatives be honest and capable men?"