The Topeka state journal., 1913-04-22
FROM OTHER PENS
CHECK no WOMAN SUFFRAGE

| CHECK TO WOMAN SUFFRAGE
| The overwhelming defeat of woman
suffrage at the special election held in
Michigan on Monday is significant. 1t
| indicates that many of the voters who
were not enough interested to cast
| their ballots on the proposed amend
ment to the constitution at the election
| last fall were really opposed to it, and
| this will be a bitter disappoint-
ment to the suffragists who in
sisted upon bringing up the question
again on the ground that the presi-
Dental election overshadowed the issue
at that time. The sentiment against
the measure is emphasized because
| amendments providing for the initia-
tive, referendum and recall were
adopted by apparently safe majorities.
AS suffrage was included with these
other measures in the program of the
Progressives. it is obvious that even
in the ranks of that party there is
very large element of doubt over the
expediency of swallowing the whole
Bull Moose dogma at one gulp.
Michigan is the first state east of
the Mississippi river to refer the sub
ject of equal franchise directly to all
the people at the polls. The difference
in opinion from that manifested in fa-
western states like Colorado, California
and Oregon shows that as the propa-
ganda makes it's way into the older
and more conservative communities of
ing degree of resistance. 1t would ap-
pear from the returns in Michigan
that the populous cities and towns are
almost solidly against granting the
privilege, and as it is such urban GEN.
ters which largely dominate the eIec-
tions in the eastern states. it is prob
able that, unless there shall be a radi-
cal reversal of feeling, the day of vic
tory for the movement in this part IT
the country must be far distant.-PhilA-
delphia Bulletin.
THE SENATE AND THE PEOPLE.
Now that the amendment providing
for the popular election of senators
has become a part of the constitution,
the enormous disproportion in the rep
resentation of the people in the sem
ate is becoming more marked. 1t is
the theory of the constitution that the
senate represents the states and the
house of representatives the body OF
the people. If the senate does not rep
resent the state idea pure and simple
If all the states are not equal there,
regardless Of the numbers of their peo-
pie or their wealth-then there is
reason for the existence of the senate
at ALL We cannot suppose that the
existence of that body is founded on
social rank, or family position and
wealth, as is the case with the British
house of lords 1t is merely the ex-
ponent of the home rule idea--the CEN
check on the consolidated democratic
masses of the whole nation. Theoreti-
cally, the seventeenth amendment does
not affect this principle at all. 1t is
supposed merely to make "A change in
the manner of electing the senators.
They represent the states just the
same. But there can be no doubt that
the fathers believed that the system
of election by the legislatures was a
logical accompaniment or corollary of
this fundamental idea of the senate's
position. And the almost unanimous
ratification of the new amendment is
really a warning that the old centri-
fugal principle has been weakened.
Though the senate still stands for the
states and not the whole people, the
whole people have shoulcered their
way. by this aggressive amendment, a
little further into power.-New York
Mail