Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1916-08-11
FRIDAY, AUGUST II, 1916.
THE PUPPET THEORY OF CON
GRESSIONAL REPRESEN-
TATl0N.

TATl0N.
The following letter, recently re-
ceived from the Navy League OF the
United States, is fair sample of scores
that are continually coming from every
quarter and in the interests of every
conceivable legislative project:
The Navy League has a chance to
perform signal service to the country
and to establish the value of its organ
ganization,
We need your help, Immediately.
The navy bill has passed the Senate.
Its fate is now with the House OF
Representatives.
win YOU please /. Wire and
write your Congressman asking him to
support both the construction and the
personnel features of the Senate Bill?
2 Ask some of your friends to wire
and write to the same effect? 3. Write
us what action you take and what re-
plies YOU receive, SO that we may have
complete records of the Leagues work
in this important matter?
The bill will be in conference before
this letter reaches you. We cannot al
ford to lose a minute.
@Query: paid" or collect?
We have done none Of the things here
asked of us, nor is it our intention to do
them. Somehow we have had the
notion that Vermont sends her two
Senators and her two Congressman to
Washington to represent her in the
framing of national legislation-to eX-
ercise their best judgment, after care
full study of the points at issue and the
give and take of discussion with fellow
representatives from every quarter of
the land. They should famiiarize
themselves, of course, with the views
of their constituents those views are
one of the factors in the problems up
for solution that constituents
should continually lombard their rep
resentatives with instructions as to
how to vote is thoroughly illogical and
little short of impairment; no set-re-
speeding representative will submit to
being made a machine to register the
hastily gathered judgments of distant
and, in many instances, ill-informed
constituents. Such a conception of
representative function as is implied
in the letter quoted involves an utter
overthrow of what should be the in
herent dignity of the representative Of
fee. 1t is high time for US to say to
our representatives; 1--WE have sent
you to Washington because we believe
you can represent US worthily. Counsel
with US if you desire, remembering
always that where, in your judgment,
our interests do not conflict with the
larger interests of the nation, it is only
fair that you should give them prefer
ence; but final decisions are yours
alone and by them we shall judge you
when the time for judgment comes. "
That is to make a representative a
leader and not puppet.
It's evident, though, that counter
opinion is prevalent. A business man
named Troxell is candidate for the
Republican nomination for Congress in
a district of northern Ohio. He has
been asked to state his views as to
national prohibition, and he replies;
If the prohibition issue comes before
Congress and ! have then a vote in that
body, shall vote the sentiment of my
district If any other question comes be-
fore Congress shall vote in accord
ance with the wishes of my district, or
else shall resign and let the people get
some one who will.
There is the puppet theory, full
blown. If Mr.. Troxell were seeking to
become a schoolmaster, he would
probably agree to teach that the world
is round or fiat, according to the wishes
of the parents.
Edmund Burke was a statesman, and
so his utterances nave tlmeless value.
We commend to the Navy League of
the United States, and to the countless
other organizations that ,cumber the
mail with appeals to voters based on
the puppet theory of representatives
function, this utterance of Burke's on
obedience to instructions, addressed in
TIA to the Bristol electors whom he
represented in Parliament; and we
commend it, also, to the thoughtful
consideration of would-be statesmen,
everywhere, of the Troxell type:
Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be
the happiness and glory of represen-
tative to live in the strictest union, the
closest correspondence, and the most
unreserved communication with his con-
stituents. Their wishes ought to have
great weight with him; their opinions