The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1911-03-23
Thursday, March 90, 1911.
A QUESTIONABLE ATTITUDE

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The Boise Statesman stands as
one of the stunch advocates OF
the election of United States SEN
ators by direct vote of the people
and is capable of making a
strong plea for the same, and it
does so. The Globe is pleased to
see this, and takes pleasure in
republishing many of it's editorial
utterance on this most interesting
topic, because it believes in it it
self, and further believes that
such law is for the very best in
terests of the people as whole.
But just how that desirable leg
islation is to be forwarded by en-
gaging in innnendoes and covert
insinuations and obscure intima-
tions and reflections upon the
men who are making the fight to
have this new amendment submit
ted to the people, as that paper
seems disposed to do, is an unsol-
vable problem to the Globe, as it
no doubt is to many of the Stat
esman's readers. In a lengthy
editorial in defense of the above
mentioned amendment, the states
man says:
There are a variety of rea-
sons assigned for the defeat of
this resolution, including the
Joker" said to have been ill-ad-
visedly inserted by Senator Bor-
all, and which, it is charged, took
away from the federal govern
ment by state legislatures the con
troll of elections. Then quoting
from the N. Y. Tribune, it says !:
"This socalled joker raised false
hopes in the minds of those who
were disposed to reassert the doe
trine Of state rights, and who alb
andoned the resolution after SEN
ator Borah had been compelled
to eliminate that feature"
With due Difference to the sup
erior knowledge and standing of
the Statesman and Tribune, the
Globe wishes to state that SEN
ator Borah never did eliminate
that feature for it never was
there. Senator Sutherland of
Utah, under the pretext that the
resolution contained such a feat
ure, introduced an amendment to
the original resolution for the
apparent purpose of antagoniz-
ing the southern senators who
were favorable to the direct ele-
ction of senator's, making it so
obnoxious as to cause them to
vote down the direct election re-
solution in order to defeat the
Sutherland amendment. This they
did, and that is what defeated
the resolution.
Whether Senator Borah is re-
sponsiDle for any portion of the
resolution the Globe does not
know, but in following up the
matter in the Congressional Rec
ord, it was led to the conclusion
that Senator Wesley L. Jones, of
Washington, stood godfather to
it, while Senator Borah, on ac-
count of his eminent qualification
both as a debater and lawyer, was
selected to champion the measure
on the floor of the senate, and
it is admitted, even by his oppon-
ents, that no man in the senate
could have done it better. In
fact he accomplished far more
than any other senator ever has
accomplished with this measure
which has been constantly fought
in the senate for the past eigh.
teen years, and heretofore has
beer suppressed in committee
and pigeon-holed for good. I'm
der the championship of Mr.. Bor
all, the pigeon-hole policy wa'
smashed this time, the resolution
was freely discussed, its merits
debated so that the whole world
had a chance to read about it
and see where the different sen
ators stood on the question, ant
finally was brought to a vote
and only lacked four votes o.