St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-04-12

ton the contemporary has lost sight
of the very essential of our republic
can form of government that now,
after long years of persistent worri-
ment of the peoples mind, takes its
issue in the form of the direct pop
ular election of United States Sena-
tors. Notice that The Caledonian
says that, in contrast with the House
of Representatives, ''the Senate gets
its authority from another source and
is justified in acting entirely indie
pendent of the House."
Is that actually the fact? Is it true
today that the old time notion that
the states of this Union are simply a
federation of Independent sovereign
ties holding ambassadorial relations
to a general government at Washing
ton, prevails in governmental policy
and is enforcible at law?
Is it not rather true that the Sen
ate and the House derive their pow
ers from identically the same source
and authority? Has not the fact, that
impressive fact, been established by
the most dreadful civil war that
human beings ever resorted to since
the days of recorded history? Is it
not the fact that the Declaration of
Independence from which we Amer
leans rather proudly take the general
I1nClp1OS IHdL OuA--pASSSAI
scheme of government specifically
tells us that "to secure these rights
governments are instituted among
men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed? 2" And
it is not true that subsequent docu-
ment dear to Americans that more
certainly defined the legal applica-
ton of these general principles in so
many words begins: 1--WE the people
of the United States, in order to
form more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence, pro-
mote the general welfare, and secure
the blessings ofliberty to ourselves and
our POsterity, do ordain and estab-
lish this Constitution for the United
States of America"
The awful arbitrament of civil war
established forever the political as
we'll as the general Interpretation >of
these words to mean that all the
power reposed in the federal govern
ment at Washington today comes
from the people and from no other
source, and that the old idea of Cal
houn and his disciples that there was
another entity in the composition,
! kind of legal fiction known as a state
with rights and appurtenances en-
tirely separate and distinct from the
people of the nation as a whole, was
a dream of Missionaries and theorists
and had no reality in the everyday
government of everyday men. The
authority from another source"
than the House, because the power
that created the one created the
other and gave each it's separate and
distinct attributes.
Let The Messenger suggest to it's
! friend that the election of the mem
bers of the United States Senate by
vote of the legislature of the several
states is a mere detail of the machin-
cry of the government, not a general
principle upon which it is based. The
simple fact is that 1--WE the people
of the United States from whom all
the power of every jot and little of
law and authority in the country
come, formally decreed in writing
that, for the present, at least, we
would choose men to elect our United
States senators for us, and not
choose them ourselves direct. We
cannot today fall back upon the
Hamilitonian and Federalist distrust
of the people or circumstances of
duality of state and federal gov
eminent. The times have changed.
Those ideas were exploded long ago.
If the people can, as they did, or
dain that somebody else should do
the detailed work of an election for
them, they also can, as they will or
dain that they will dismiss those SER
wants from that task and do it them
selves.
And, when they do, the United
States Senate will derive it's just
powers from the consent of the gov
erned" just the same. It will not
get it's authority from any other
source than 1--WE the people Of the
United States.''
There may be some good argu-
ments against the popular election of
United States senators. But Estates
Rights is not one of them.