The Washington herald., 1913-04-13
THE POLITICAL SITUATION

The three events which marked po-
litical development last week will leave
their impress upon the history of the
country.
The ratification of the constitutional
amendment providing for the direct
election of Senators by the people sig
naIizes a radical departure from the
system of representative government
upon which this republic rests. The
,ew tariff bill will make or break the
Democratic party. The income tax
law. made possible by constitutional
amendment. emphasizes the modern So
cialistic tendency to make the rich
bear the burdens of the poor.
The direct election OF Senators
brings us face to face with new con-
ditions. In view of the fact that the
people have declined further to trust
their Legislatures and propose to ex-
ercise power through the will OF the
majority. it may seem unnecessary to
discuss the inevitable. The new sys-
tenn is the law of the land, and will
so remain unless the people, in the
light of experience, return to the old
method One cannot help observing,
however, while saying a requiem over
the things which were, that since the
beginning of the government more
than thousand men have served in
the United States Senate, and that
the number to which the breath OF
scandal has attached is enthusiastically
small
If any one thing more than another
has led to this change in the manner
of electing Senators it is the criticism
that the Senate is not responsive to
popular sentiment If this means that
the Senate has not adopted hastily all
the fadS and isms which find lodg-
ment in the popular mind, the charge
is true. but il it means that the Sen
ate has failed to pass measures which
were really requisite to national wei
fare. the criticism lacks substantial
foundation. As a matter of fact, our
forefathers intended the Senate to be
a conservative body. George Wash
ington is credited with saying that il
was the saucer into which the hot tea
of the House would be poured to cool.
The term of Senators was fixed at SIX
wears in order that they might serve
through and beyond some passing
wave of public excitement. The adop-
ton of the new system of electing
Senators demonstrates that if a move
ment has real foundation it will
eventually prevail.
Much is expected to be accomplished
by the reform. There are to be no
more vacancies in the Senate. The
corruption of Legislatures is to be a
thing of the past. The Senators them
selves are to be in closer touch with
the people, although, so far as this
benefit is concerned, it is a serious
question whether or not the fear of
the will of the majority will prove
a two-edged sword. The minority is
sometimes right If Calico had been
a candidate for Senator under direct
election by the people he would have
been Overwhelmingly defeated on the
issue that the earth revolved around
the sun.
1t is possible that the new system
will operate to the disadvantage of
men who have the misfortune to pos
sess moderate means. Ability is one
thing, but the power to maintain a
thorough organization and an active
publicity bureau, both of which cost
money, may prove more effective in
securing votes. The only remedy for
the evil which would grow out of
this condition of affairs is for the
State to bear the cost of the campaign
or else place limit upon the ex-
penditure of each candidate Some
lllllS ike iillS NC uOilC 10 dtOlu
a repetition of the recent Wisconsin
case and to prevent conditions which |
might become national sendal..
The first Senator to be chosen under
the new amendment will, in all proba-
bility, be Mr.. Bacon of Georgia. Mr. |
Bacon is already the choice of the |
people of his State by a majority of |
10000, but the Georgia Legislature |
does not meet until June, and, in the
meantime, he holds commission from
the Governor When the Legislature
assemblies it may, under the amend
ment, authorize the Governor to renew
the commission, or it may direct that
special election be held, as otherwise
the commission would hold until al
year from next March 1t is likely
that the special election will be orr