The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-04-21
DIRECT ELECTION
BILL IS PASSED

Washington, d. c., April 14.-The
house of representatives by vote of
200 to 16, passed late Thursday the
Rucker resolution proposing consti-
tutional amendment for the direct cleo
tion of United States senators.
This is the first of the democratic
program measures passed by the
house. It went through without modi-
fication and with a speed that brought
protest from the republicans.
The resolution, as the house ap-
proved it, is in the form of the Borah
resolution reported out of the closing
judiciary committee in the closing days
of the last congress. Republican op-
position to the Rucker resolution in
the house was based on the fact that
it did not contain the changes after
wards made in the senate, which as
surred to congress continued control
over elections in the several states.
After six hours of debate, in which
many demands were made for this
change in the resolution, all but fif-
teen of the republicans voted for the
passage of the resolution. The ma
jority of them had stated during the
debate that they would support the
resolution because they are convinced
the public want such a constitutional
amendment submitted to the country
as quickly as possible. Those who op-
posed the resolution on the final vote,
We're: Republicans-Mann, Illinois;
Danforth, Dwight, Malby, New York;
Dodds, Fordney, McMorran, Michigan;
Harris, Lawrence, Mccall, Wilder,
Massachusetts; Kinds, Maine; Sullo-
way, New Hampshire; Utter, Rhode
Island.
Democrats -McDermott, Illinois.
Former Speaker Cannon, Republican
Leader Mann, and others of the re-
publcans who voted against the meas
ure. declared that its form was such
as to threaten the federal government
with the loss of the control over sena.
torial elections in the states, given to
safeguard the integrity of these elec.
tions They insisted, as did other re-
publicans who ultimately voted for the
resolution, that the direct election
amendment should be offered without
any language attached that might be
dangerous to the future congressional
supervision of senatorial elections.
Democratic leaders declare the
Nucker resolution was open to no such
construction and that it offered the
most nearly perfect constitutional
amendment that could be devised. An
amendment offered by Representative
Young of Michigan. adding language
that resembled that Of the Sutherland
amendment adopted in the senate two
months ago, was defeated by a party
vote, 121 to 1870.
The republican insurgents. led bv
Representatives Lenrott and Cooper
OF Wisconsin, forced record vote on
the final passage of the resolution.
The house voted overwhelmingly in
favor of the measure when Speaker
Clark called for the viva voce vote:
but the insurgents demanded a roll
call, in order to put the house on rec
ord on the subject. The democrats
quickly seconded this demand.
1t was day of lively debate. Prae-
tically every man who spoke favored
the direct election amendment. The
differences arose mainly over the form
of the resolution and the constitutional
argument of whether the operators of
the federal government were in any
way threatened.
New members jumped into the fray
with enthusiasm. Representative Laf-
ferty of Oregon. was a prominent fig
ure among these, and told the house
at the beginning that he was an in
surgent republican and proposed to
support any good measure without re-
gard to politics. He sided with the
republican forces in urging a modiffca,
tion of the amendment
Representative o'Shaughnessey. a.