Fergus County Democrat., 1910-10-11


course, he must have meant Carter
among those whose silence he thus
comm ended for the Montana legisla-
| inclusive passed joint resolution
asking congress to submit an amend
ment. Owen demanded a vote on his
resolution. But Hale interposed with
side-tracking motion to refer it to
the committee on privileges and cleo
tons, OF which Burrows is chairman.
Owen demanded an aye and no vote.
It was referred by vote of 80 to 20,
Carter and Aldrich voting aye. And
so the resolution was referred to the
committee wher it lies buried, OF
course, even unto this day.
Carter Opposition.
"The people of the state of Oregon,
getting tired Of the mastery inactivity
of the senate with reference to this
subject, devised plan to accomplish
the same result without the necessity
OF an amendment to the federal con-
stitution The democratic party OF
this state demanded, in its platform,
two years ago. the enactment OF
similar law Just before the con-
vening of the legislature, Senator
Carter published letter in which he
inveighed against the Oregon law and
under his direction the republican
upper house Of Our legislature defeat
ed bill framed after it. and which
the democrats put through the lower
house by strict party vote.
"In the letter referred to Senator
Carter said: My information is that
the republicans Of Oregon intend to
repeal that law. and they may go so
far as to ignore it in the senatorial
election
Ellis information in that regard
was as unreliable as that he impart-
ed to Teddy concerning the de-
cadence Of insurgency. and his pre-
diction as baseless as that he made
in his late letter to the republican
state central committee that the
movement would die forthwith.
Feared the People.
"Now, how can a man honestly as
sert that he is in favor of the cleo
ton of United States senators by di-
rect vote Of the people, and yet be
opposed to a simple plan the only
one devised to accomplish that end?
How can he assert that he is in favor
OF an amendment to the constitution
Of the United States providing for
the election Of senator's by direct vote,
and yet oppose law which accom-
plishes that result without the neces-
sty of an amendment?
as Senator Carter in favor Of the
election OF senators by direct vote?
II SO, why did he not join in procur-
ing primary election law at the last
session modelled upon the Oregon
system? He did not because he did
not care to take chances on the peo-
pie Of this state voting directly for
or against him this fall. Mr.. Carter
is pretty wise politician. He never
showed more wisdom, considering his
own ambitions, than he did in op-
posing that law.
The Railway Act.
81 want to canvass with you the
railroad act passed at the last session
to still further enforce the argument
I am making of the harmony between
the system senators in their official
acts and the interests. The bill was
drawn, you know, by Attorney Gen
eral Wickersham at the direction OF
the president, after comforting with
many of the leading railroad men of
the country, was approved by him and
endorsed by the system senator's.
Senator La Toilette said Of it, in the
course OF debate This bill, Mr..
President, is the boldest raid upon
public rights, in the form of legisla-
ton, on this great subject, that the
system has ever succeeded in forcing
upon the serious consideration Of con-
gress.' 1t was condemned in terms
no less severe by Senator Cummins,
OF Iowa, and another critic denounced
it as an act of perfdy to the Ameri-
can people scarcely paralleled since
the days Of Aaron Burr. Every in
surgent senator, every near insurgent,
allied himself with the democrats in
opposition to the measure. They
robbed it of more of its evils and
amended it so that its own father
would not know it, and when it finally
passed it was in such shape that it
marks at least step in advance in
the struggle to get reasonable regu-
lation of interstate carriers, a splen-
did feature being the long and short
haul clause, whcih prevents the Nor
thern Pacific Railway company from
charging more for hauling freight
from St. Paul to Missoula than to
Seattle. Your distinguished fellow
citizen, Senator Dixon, led the fight
for this amendment and forced AID
rich and the system senator's to CON
eed it. | have ceased to see any
longer all the friends OF the people in
one party and all their enemies in the
other, and I should feel that l was
recreant to my duty as a citizen of
this great state did l not publicly
acknowledge the great value of the
service he rendered in this connection
to his constituents and the country at
large.
Long and Short Haul.
"What did his colleague do to as
sist him, Not thing He was mute
| until the floht wac won and then he