New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-06
STILL TANGLED.

The Baltimore Sun" is of the opinion
that we did not represent its position
fairly when we recently criticised it for
demanding that the election Of Sena-
"tors by direct vote should not be com
"plicated by any other question" and at
the same time attacking those who have
been trying to make the issue as sim
pie as possible. We cited the suggestion
that the problem Of substituting popular
election for election by the legislatures
could be reduced to It's lowest terms by
changing q single word in Article 1,
Section 8, Of the Constitution. so that
the first two lines would read: The
Senate OF the United States shall be
composed of two Senators from each
state, chosen by the people thereof for
six years, the word people" sup
planting the word legislatures We
pointed ont that such q change ought to
be preferred by those who want to
present the issue in its simplest form TO
complicated scheme like that recently
approved by the House of Representa-
liN'Ss " iiith SNths nut OILY W lhuhN
elections Of Senators direct but TO take
from the national government. so far as
the Senate is concerned, the power
which it has always possessed to super
wise the processes by which members Of
the national legislature are chosen.
But "The Baltimore Sun" is evidently
not as much in favor Of simplification as
il thought it was. It now objects that
a one-word amendment would fail to fix
the qualifications of the voters In each
state entitled to elect a Senator, al
though the qualifications of voters for
Representatives are described in Article
l. Section . as those requisite for elect
"ors of the most numerous branch of
"the state legislature" We were not
defending the single word form Of
amendment as ideal, except for the pur-
poses OF those who wanted to strip the
issue to its bones, as The Sun" said
it wanted to do. We think that It would
be better to add the line making the
qualifications Of electors for Senators
the same as those of electors for Repre-
sentatiyes, and il might possibly be adj
yisable TO say that each Senator should
have one vote. These details were in
corporated into the amendment which
failed TO pass the Senate at the last ses-
sion of Congress by n vote Of "a yeas to
SO nays. But THE sun" bitterly as
sailed the amendment in that form as
"loaded down" by enemies Of the
popular system Of election
Our Baltimore contemporary still in
sists that the power vested IN Congress
to. make or alter regulations governing
the election Of Senators must be sur
rendered merely because the method OF
electing Senators is TO be made to con
form to the method Of electing Repre-
sentatives. II thinks thar the mere in
cident that Senators have hitherto been
chosen one way and Representatives an
other way establishes a permanent dis
tinction between the two houses 50 far
as the right Of federal supervision IS in
v0lved. II wants 10 make the wipin2
out Of the difference in the methods Of
election an excuse for putting each
house in an entirely different category,
and denying the right Of federal super
vision in one case. though cOnceding IL
I'm the other. That contention Is fan
tastic. Mr.. Sutherland. OF Utah, I'm a
speech in the Senate on May %. put the