Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-10-19
LA TOILETTE PROBE
TO SET PRECEDENT
Question of Local Versus Ma
tional Representation Is
Issue Haised.
OMER K. BENEDICT.

tWorld's Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON. oct. lS.-The re-
suit of the LaFollette investigation no
doubt will establish In this country
the precedent of whether n senator
represents the people of his state or
whether he represents The people or
the United States as n whole.
As pointed out by Senator j. Ham
ilton Lewis of Illinois. we must es-
tablish out of this case an absolute
precedent for the future"
Senator Gore opposed war because
he claimed the peoplJ of oklahoma
were opposed to war. Subsequent
events proved the senator WAS wholly
wrong. He opposed the draft on the
same grounds and his theory was
knocked into n cooked hat.
Cases Dissimilar.
But evidently the case Is different
with Wisconsin, as Senator Lewis
points out.
For seven days the constitutional
convention which framed our consti-
tuition and created the office OF
United States senator, more than one
hundred years ago. battled between
adopting the Roman idea OF SEN
ator representing all OF the realm,
and the Grecian idea of representing
u mere iOtdlllN. anu N''''t'
had their conflicts upon the same
question They took their example
from the dispute which had arisen in
Israel and in Judea, divided upon the
doctrine taught by Moses on the one
hand and Joshua on the other. From
where those two scholars absorbed
their theory Is speculation. However,
the whole problem now resolves Itself
TO the point: Does q United states
senator represent the United States as
first representation, or does he rep
resent primarily his state?
Hamilton advocated the Roman
idea. as well as Washington. but the
convention after wavering from side
to side declined the Roman doctrine
and accepted the theory born in New
England of her puritan town govern
ment, which was but the Grecian sys-
TEN.
stays by Majority.
One-thrd of the population of Wis
consin is German or German descent;
another third is Scandinavian, and
the other third mixed. The Germans
and the Scandinavians were against
/ war La Toilette was opposed in the
primaries by one who disagreed with
the "Peace- at-any- price" policy OF
! Wilson, as II looked at that time. La
| Toilette was nominated, ana Wniie ine
state is normally Republican by only
about 10000, La Toilette received the
enormous majority Of 100000. This
large majority would indicate that the
last-named third also opposed war.
This being true, 1t would seem that
la Toilette spoke for his state, thai
he represented the attitude OF his
state-at least the attitude of the ma
] jority voters of his state-when he
diligently opposed war and war meas
ures II the attitude of the state OF
Wisconsin has changed, either Mr.. La
Toilette does not know it, or he IL
misrepresentlng them.
Provincial Ideas.
The United States of America to
La Folette's mind. is still bounded on
the north by Canada, on the east by
Michigan, on the south by Illinois, and
on the west by Minnesota and Iowa.
| The question to be settled by the
United States senate in the investiga-
| ton of La Toilette is whether he
should continue TO represent the peo-
pie of the state of Wisconsin, or should
he extend his own-made boundaries of
the United States and represent all
| the people