Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-06
LODGE SEES DANGER
Popular Election of Senators a
Menace, He Declares.
UPPER HAND FOR STATES
Would Place Federal Government at
Their Mercy, Massachusetts
...,. Senator Says.

ITO cali such scheme as this pro-
and reaction of an extreme kind"
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Mas
sachusetts today hurled this comment
back at the progressive senators who are
supporting the Borah amendment for the
direct election of senator's; and he was
commenting on that part Of the proposed
constitutional amendment which would
take out OF the hands OF Congress and
put solely in the hands of the states the
control of senatorial elections.
"It is now proposed to put the United
States. so far as the election of senators
is concerned. at the mercy Of the states,' .
he remarked, in attacking that feature
of the plan. 1T is proposed to take from
the United States any power to protect
it's own citizens in the exercise Of their
rights. no matter how great the need
might be for such protection.
Always Serious Matter.
"If this amendment should become a
law twenty-three states. including per-
haps only minority of the population,
could at any moment arrest the move
ment of the government and stop all it's
operations. To change the mechanism of
choosing senators. or Presidents, or rep
resentatives, is a serious matter. requir-
ing careful consideration, but this new
proposition strikes at the very root of the
national government.
Senator Lodge devoted much time to
showing how carefully the trainers OF
the Constitution had worked to establish
representative government, with the
prevent radical changes without due de-
liberation.
''They had no doubt they were estab-
fishing popular representative system,
government of the people. for the
continued, land when Lincoln saved the
Union. which they had founded, he
thought so, too. We are now told that
popular government has been lost in the
half century which has elapsed since
taken possession Of Congress and courts
and executives, and that the only escape
Is to be found in radically changing our
organic law.
Robbed of Their Power.
THAT the great combinations of capi-
tai which have grown up in the last forty
years-the moneyed interests of the coun-
try-rose to great political power at one
time and exercised such power to a dan
gerous degree is. think. beyond the ques-
ton. The people became alarmed and
aroused and intelligent persons were not
lacking to take full advantage of this
state of the public mind. In any event,
the outsome was what was to have been
expected.
The government which, under the Con-
stitution, had been able to face eleven
powerful states in arms to maintain the
Union and to abolish slavery has proved
a.bundantly able to check the influence of
money. which is as dangerous as it is
inSidiOuS, and to put an end to unwhOle-
some political power in great combina-
tions of capital, whether in transporta-
ton, industry or finance. ANY danger of
the moneyed interests getting even par
tial control of the government or ac-
quiring undue political influence has
been brought to an end in the last ten
years
While Senator Lodge mainly attacked
the feature of the proposed constitutional
amendment giving to the states the con-
troll over senatorial elections, he never
the,ess opposed the general proposition
for the election OF senator's by direct
vote. Reduced tn its simplest terms. he
said, it is merely proposition to reduce
the Senate to 4 second House of Repre-
sentatives. with two congreSsmen-at-
large from each state. who are to be
called senators and who are 10 hold
office for six years.
Efficiency Not Assured.
I'VE have had at different times and
AL