Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1913-01-30
THE SENATORIAL ELECTION AND
STATE LEGISLATION.

The practically unanimous opinion.
even of the standpatters and the re-
dictionaries, is that the direct election
of senators stands fully indicated by
such deadlocks as Idaho is experiencing
and those who have personally observed
the workings of deadlock, or the
breaking of a deadlock, have their own
reasons for wanting the system forever
abandoned, aside from the reasons that
are seen from a distance and that ap-
ply only to the surface of things. The
underground operations are not in
cluded in the general objection to PFC
lcnged contests of that nature On the
other hand, it is fair to remember that
the failure to elect is due to purpose,
evidently, not to elect an unfit or I'M
satisfactory candidate and to stand out
for the election of the right man. In
the end, the choice may be an exceed
lngly wise one, one that will be gener-
ally applauded and that may have been
worth holding out for. Even at that,
there is sure to be disappointment,
either in the north or in the south or in
the southeast. That being so, since it
will be impossible to satisfy all inter-
ests and all sections, since a compro
mise is inevitable under any circum-
stances, the fact then becomes obvious
that the disposal of the question is kept
In suspense for reasons that are, after
all, secondary and of only remote con
Germ to the great body of the state.
The United States senatorship is
station of great Importance and dignity
and every state takes just pride in its
representation in that august chamber
For numerous reasons, however, the
state IS much less affected by way it's
legislature votes and acts The sena-
torial vote affects national questions
and may be entirely ineffective OF sup-
erfluous so far as state interests are
concerned, while the legislative vote
affects home and personal questions
and is detetminative Of them.
The legislature therefore in expend-
ing its time and energies on senatorial
deadlocks is withdrawing that much
service from matters that are peculiarly
its province. 1t is doing something
worse than that in creating cliques or
groups whose faYoritisms and whose
animosities win more than likelv be
prejudicial to legislative policies and
issues as they begin to arise. The as
sembly is now in the middle of its thirS,
week, with but eight weeks of life all
told. Little more than a skeleton or
ganlzatlon has so far been effected
though OF course some very necessary
work has been done in the matter q
the members finding themselves, feel
ing each other out, becoming seasonec
and arriving at the frame of mind for
serious and definitive work. That pa, +
of it must be undergone, even when
there is no senatorial election. Even
so, the complications attending the
election are not conducive to the spiri
of lawmaking, to the deliberate and
painstaking treatment of the thousand
general and local subjects coming be-
fore the legislative body, under any
circumstances. There are numerous
large and delicate questions that have
already appeared in the twelfth session
for its adjudication. The governors
is fraught with useful pro-
ptsals for promoting the states well