Omaha daily bee., 1911-06-25
Nebraska and Direct Choice Of United
States Senator.

Nebraska and Direct Cho1ce OF united
States Senator.
Although not the final step. the as
sent by the senate to the submission
Of a constitutional amendment for
election OF United States senators by
direct vote OF the people is the first
recognition by that body OF the pop
ular demand which The Bee along
with others has voiced in season and
out OF season from the very inception
OF its career as a newspaper Although
II is hard to say what part any single
factor may have had in carrying this
movement forward, the influence OF
Nebraska, spurred on by this ceaseless
agitation. has unquestionably made It.
self felt. Nebraska lost little time in
memorfalizing congress for an amend
ment to the constitution to conform
to this demand, the first expression
coming from the legislature OF 1875
in joint resolution, addressed by the
senate and house, couched in the fol-
lowing language:
Your menorialists, the legislature OF
the State OF Nebraska, would respectfully
represent that they express the will OF
the people Of this state in asking for an
amendment TO the constitution OF the
/ United States. which shall provide for the
election Of United States senators by the
whole people. and not by delegated au-
thority.
Therefore, Your memorialists would
respectfully ask your honorable body to
propose an amendment to section 3. article
l. OF the constitution Of the United States
by which this election by the people Of
their qualified representatives shall be ar
ranged more in accordance with the de-
mand Of the popular voice.
Subsequent legislatures in Me-
braska have gone on record repeatedly
In one form or another for direct pop
ular choice of United States senators.
The legislature OF 1898 adopted
resolution applying to congress to call
constitutional convention to for
mulate and submit an amendment for
this purpose. The legislature of 1901
passed a similar resolution, and so did
the legislature OF 1908 and the legis-
lature of 1907. In the meanwhile,
Nebraska had incorporated into It's
state constitution a provision for o
preferential vote upon candidates for
United States senator, and later fitted
this in with It's direct primary law to
open the way for nomination OF candi-
dates for senator the same as for
candidates for other elective offices
Incidentally, it may be worth noting
elsewhere, have made noisy profession
OF devotion to the proposed election
of United States senator's by direct
popular vote, except that at the
eleventh hour they seized upon the So
called Oregon plan for purely partisan
purposes, they are entitled to little or
no credit for the advanced position
Nebraska has taken. All the legislaN
lures that have gone on record with
resolutions calling upon congress to
provide for submitting the desired con-
stitational amendment have been re-
publican legislatures.-. barring the
Legislature of 1893. in which the pop
ulists were in control. f.t ,ytl -
Another point worth. noting .is that
IN all the successive memorials to con-
gress from Nebraska asking for a d.
rect elections amendment, the demand
was for that, and that alone. and not
coupled with any cession to the state
of the supervisory power over SEN
atorial elections now possessed by con-
gress. In other words, II the senators
and representatives In congress from
Nebraska heed the voice. of their own
state, as embodied in these memorials,
they will vote for the resolution OF
submission with the Bristow amend
ment, no one out here ever having
harbored the slightest notion OF
Weighing It down with any states
rights side issue.
The direct choice of United States
senator's by popular vote has reached
a point now where 1t cannot be de-
layed much longer. Nebraska has been
so many years in the forefront Of this
movement that 1t is entitled to rank
as q pioneer. after nearly all the
sisterhood OF states has Joined and
followed In the marching column.