Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-09
IDAHo's DISGRACE

F any further argument were needed
to convince the people of the ad-
- visibility of changing the present
method OF choosing United States SEN
ators and providing for the election by
popular vote of these supposed repre-
sentatives of the people it would be
found in the choosing by state legis-
lature for a place in the United States
senate of such men as Hepburn OF
Idaho. II anything too bad for this
mans support has ever come before
the body that his presence disgraces
since he was member Of it our atten-
tion has not been called to 1t.
He has recently achieved some no
toriety of an infamous sort by its hav-
ing been shown that he appeared upon
the account books of certain of the
promoters of Alaskan coal land steals
as an intended beneficiary of the at
tempted looting of the property of the
public. And the fact that after he had
reason to believe that his connection
with the matter had been discovered
he wrote a letter dlsavowing any in
tention of receiving for services that he
rendered the looters the quarter sec
tion OF coal lands which had been
set aside for him, only tends, to more
clearly establish his guilt. This land,
be it understood, If received by Senator
Hepburn, would have been a payment
for services rendered while a member
of the United States senate, concerning
q matter that came before that body
for action and the rendering Of which
for a consideration would have sub
jected him to the same fate that over
took Senator Burton of Kansas some
years ago for violating the laws Of the
United States in very much the same
way. It is rather pity that the prog
ress of the matter was checked before
his guilt had become so fixed and GER
tain as to have admitted of prosecu-
tion and conviction, for in that event
the state of Idaho would have been
relieved of the continuing disgrace of
being represented in the upper house
Of congress by such a man. and the
senate Of the United States would have
been. relieved of the continual disgrace
of owning such a member.
AS was to have been expected of
man with this kind Of a record, he has
promptly aligned himself against all
measures proposed by President TAFT
for the purpose of carrying out the
pledges of the Republican party con-
cerning the conservation of the ma
tural resources of the nation; just as
he has with equal promptness aligned
himself against about every other de-
cent piece of legislation that has been
attempted by which the interests OF
the predatory corporations that are
constantly seeking to invade the rights
of the people, were in any way threat
ened. This brilliant example Of the
kind of men who appear as friends and
defenders of the predatory interests IN
the national legislature day or two
ago put the cap sheaf upon the monu-
ment of dishonor that he has so in
dustriously constructed for himself by
objecting to the loaning of government
tents for the use of the Confederate
veterans at their annual encampment
at Mobile, Ala, and by criticising the
presence in the Hall of Fame of the
capitol building of the statue of Gen.
Robert Z. Lee, one of the purest men
and most elevated characters that any
country ever produced To the honor
of Senator Heyburn's senatorial col
leagues be 1t said that when his objec-
tion was put to a vote not one of them
voted with him, and he remained the
sole occupant of the pinnacle of IN
fanny that he had erected in his ef-
forts to keep alive that feeling OF sec
tional strife which cost this country
at one time so dearly and which every
patriot since Grant said Let us have
peace" has, as a part of his patriotic
duty, endeavored to destroy.
The state of Idaho is to be COM
miserated for being misrepresented and
disgraced by the presence Of such
man in the councils of the nation.