The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-06-04
TIT. sEyESTEENTH.

With some attention have observed the
editorial re1oicings at the final PRONUNCIATION OF
the seventeenth amendment to the constitution
All are along the same line-that the people have
taken the power of eecting United States seaa-
tors which at the beginning of the republic they
delegated to the legislatures Of the respective
States. It is another step toward direct popular
control of the federal government, taken after n
long interval Few know that under the con-
strution the members of the lower house of con-
gress may be chosen by the State legislatures
IL the people of the respective States so prefer,
and that in some States representatives were so
elected until period comparatively recen..
None OF contemporaries give any special,
direct reason why we may expect better United
States senators from popular elections than we
had from elections by the legislatures. The
general idea seems to be that the voters at large
are less likely to be subjected to corrupt or
merely political personal influences than the
small bodies composing the legislatures, On the
other side. those who opposed the amendment
predict that there will be steady lessening CT
the power and lowering of the intellectual ch'r-
acter of the upper house. The result is matter
vi UPiHiOu stiiSliy 4hc S3pci iHSHt ~ new aiiu
nobody can determine positively how 1t will work,
1t will relieve the legislatures of a task which
at times has hindered their other work, dis
tracted attention. perverted legislation and
caused scandal. One obvious and immediate re-
suit will to be increase the power of the negro
vote In those Northern States in which Il holds
the balance of power In the general vote. Here.
tofore the negroes have had no more than two
Or three votes at the most, in any legislature.
Now they will have many thousands of votes
directly for senator. The effect of this will be
watched with curious interest by students of
political development,
Here in Virginia the amendment will have No
effect except TO offer opportunity for appeal from
Che decisions of Democratic primary elections. In
Its own independent way this State had gone
forward and provided for popular election of
senators by the Democratic voters voting direct
~ In open primary. The power Of choice was
taken from general assembly, which had
nothing to do but to confirm the action Of the
majority of the primary and when formally did
that work to comply with the terms Of the con-
stitution. and furnished 1t In ten minutes. 1t
as one CT the queer twists of our locE politics
that r1ost Of those who most eagerly and in
sistently have urged the principle OF popular
election ere the supporters of gentlemen VINO
were defeated by 1t as have it here. Here
after, the nominees OF the primary must go be-
fore the people second time and submit their
claims to the voters of all parties at the regular
election. This is not likely to have important
results at any time in the immediate future;
but the fact should be an additional Incentive
- guarding our electorate and restricting it, as
m as possible to the intelligent responsible
and property owning elements Of our popua-
finu .-E-