The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-26
THE AMENDMENT KILLED.


The proposed amendment TO the con.
stitution providing for the election of
T. :. Senators by popular vote is, OF
course. killed by the adoption Of the
Sutherland amendment But since the
Senate was minded TO trim the proposed
amendment i'm this fashion, it was in,
evitable that such proposal rs Suth
crland s would come, and he is no more
TO blame for il than others who voted
his way, The adoption by the States
Of tho proposed amendment in its pres.
ent shape is hopeless, as it contemplatcs
force bill, utterly obnoxious TO many
States. a good many States, notably
those OF the South, who already choose
their Senators by primary elections,
would refuse to ratify this amendment
as changed; and. in fact, they have
nothing to gain by such ratification.
They have the popular choice of Sen
ators now, and that is all that the
amendment, in any form, would give
them; their legislatures merely ratify
the popular choice and make it Off.
cjal.
AS we have said heretofore, we do
not attach much Importance to the
amendment in any form, since the
States are at perfect liberty to pro.
coed in exactly the way that this
amendment proposes, whether it is rati.
fled or not. 1t is case, as we have
explained frequently, precisely similar
to that of the electoral college, which
was created to be the real electing
body of the President and Vice Prcsi-
dent Of the United States; but the elcc-
toral college is now simply the official
recorder of the popular verdict rem,
dcred at the November election previ-
Gus. And so any State may provide for
the popular election Of Senators in
number of ways and make the legisla-
ture simply the recorder of the people s
will on the Senatorship, just as the
electoral college is the recorder OF the
people IS will in the election of Presi
dent and Vice President.
There is, however, failure in many
cases, of definite popular choice. This
was the case in Illinois when Hopkins
was beaten, it was the case in Wiscou.
sin when Stevenson narrowly succeeded,
State that has a primary law or that
does not provide means for placing the
Senatorial candidate on the regular
party ticket, 4 means of guiding the
primary to a real party choice would
be through holding State conventions
ahead of the primaries, so as TO fix
party candidate. Another means might
be after the primary is held, provided
no such preliminary convention has
acted and in case no candidate has
majority in the primary, for the party
committee TO select the leading candi-
date at the primary and put his name
on the party ticket We consider the
carrying of the name of the Senatorial
candidate on the party ticket at the
general election, through some form Of
party action, to be the only way TO Sc
cure absolute party fealty and ensure
the election by the legislature of the
party candidate. With the name car
ried on the party ticket, there would
be no question Of the party's choice, or
that the Legislature would ratify the
party vote. The nero primary in itself,
however. without any guiding work, is
insufficient. The primary is also OBJ
iectionable, in that voters of the op-
poste party can take part on a mere
declaration that they intend 10 vote
with the party, in the nominating of
whose candidate they take part. The
primary election, unguided, uure-
strained, and subject 20 invasion by
voters of the opposite party, is uusat-
isfactory and inconclusivc.
But on the main question every State
has n perfect right to adopt such means
for the selection Of its Senators as it
secs fit, save only that it must conform
to the law in having the Legislature per
form the official act Of election. The
means of attaining this result with Ger
tainty is the real problem, and that is
a problem not difficult to solve, always
provided that means for obtaining a
party candidate arc surely provided
And we consider that, to this end, the
carrying of the party candidate on the
regular ticket at the general election
is the final and conclusive method
whereby certainty of result is TO be mt.
tained