New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-15
TILE SEIEATEENTH AlENnNENT.


THE SEIENTEENTH AMENDMENT.
The vote in the House of Representa-
tiycS on Monday makes certain the SUD
mission Of Seventeenth Amendment
to the federal Constitution. The few
surviving Southern brigadiers in That
body fought. bled and were trampied
upon i'm vain attempt TO exact as
price for the approval of direct elections
for Senators the remuneration by the red
eTal government. so far as the Senate Il
concerned, of its prerOgative To regulate
the processes by which members OF the
national legislature are chosen. The
Democratic majority in the House had
held up the direct election amendment
for more than year in the hope OF
forcing that surrender on the Senate.
But the Northern Democrats M last
yielded to the inevitable and rode rough
shOd over their protesting Southern as
SOCiateS
The Tribune has repeatedly urged that
if the amendment was to he submitted
il should be submitted on its own merits
and not tied up with an offensive ana
dangerous concession to the extreme pre-
tensions of the state rights school 1t is
we'll that such a concession was not
made, ana that the question, since it is
To- he presented 80 the state legislatures
will he presented in its simplest form.
We have never believed that the direct
1, . pf
q wiser choice Of Senator'S If the voters
do not take the trouble To elect as mem
bcrs of their legislatures men capable Of
acting intcliCeutly on their behalf il IS
by no means clear that they will he more
prudent and saCacious i'm choosing Sen
atorS for themselves. II We saw con
| vincing reasons 10 believe that the level
| Of ability and character in the Senate
would be raised by direct elections we
! should of course. gladly support the
/ direct system Of choice In the states
which have voluntarily put ii into opera
/ tion has not justified any great conf
| 1ence in its power 70 elevate the stand
| ards of public life.
/ Six states Of the Far South Florida.
/ Georgia. South Carolina, Alabama. Mis-
| sissippi and LouiSiana--are likely 10 re-
| iect the amendment. and four more
states-ArkanSaS, Virginia. North Caro-
/ lima and Tennessee will certainly show
no enthusiasm about adopting it. Its
| fate cannot he determined for at least
two years. vet its ratification seems far
more probable than the ratification Of
the Sixteenth Cor income tax Amend.
mcut seemed two years ago.
II used TO he accepted as an axiom OF
politics that amendments 10 the COnst-
tuition in our day were practically out
of the question. The commissions of the
! Civil War forced through three amend
ments, but that revolutionary period ex-
! ccpted, the amending power had lain
unused for more than a century -Four
years ago the discussion Of amendments
Of any nature was commonly deprecated
as purely academic. Now suddenly the
country has discovered that the process
/ Of amendment is not too difficult or com
plicatcd for ordinary use More modifi-
cations are likely 10 he proposed in the
near future if the Sixteenth and Seven
/ tcenth amendments are adopted. That
/ complete reversal of attitude is one Of
/ the most curious Developments i'm poll
/ tics of recent years
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