The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1922-04-14
HRYAN's ELIGIBILITY

the Tampa Tribune, the Interpretation
placed by George P. Raney, chairman
of the State Democratic Committee,
on sections of the constitution of Flor
relative to the qualifications of mem
Der of congress from Florida, A. B.
McMullen, president of the Tampa
Bryan club, has issued statement in
which he pertinently cites the provis-
ion of the federal constitution that
makes both houses of the federal con-
guess the sole judges of the election
and qualifications of their members.
Further. Mr.. McMullen cites an opin-
ion rendered by Mr. Raney's father
when the latter was chief justice of
the supreme court of Florida, exactly
opposite to the opinion expressed by
the state chairman.
Mr.. McMullen's statement follows:
while there is a provisin in the
state constitution as quoted by Mr..
Raney, this provision has nothing to
do with the qualification of United
States. senator, for the reason that
the Constitution of the United States
is the supreme law of the land and
fixes the qualification of a United
States senator, Article 3, Section g.
requiring only that he shall have
been nine years citizen of the Unit
ed States and when a citizen of the
United States and when elected an in
habitant of the state from which he
shall be chosen. And the United States
Constitution further provides, in Ar
ticle l, Section 5, that each house
shall be Judge of the elections, re-
turns and qualifications of its own
members. And our own supreme curst
has discussed the authority of the
state to question the qualifications of
a representative in congress, (Which
law will also apply to a SENATOR
in the case of State of Florida ex rel
H. Bisbee, Jr., VS.. Board of ST. Can
vassers, II Fla, Dec, 80, in which
Chief JUS ice Randall says that the
qualifications of member of CON
gress cannot by any possibility be
brought into question in a proceeding
in the state court and can be tried
only by congress, and that when a
congressman is elected he is entitled
to demand a certificate of election
and the legality of it must be sub
mitted to congress to pass upon.
But above all we have a case in
our supreme court. in 2S Fla. Dec.
PIP. 441-510, inclusive, covering eighty
pages OF discussion of this law, in
which the opinion was delivered by
the Chief Justice, who was the Hon.
orable George P. Raney. father of the
George P. Raney whose letter was
published in the Tribune, being the
case of State of Florida ex rel Fran
els P. Fleming VS.. j. L. Crawford,
secretary of state, in which the au-
thority Of the state to question the
qualifications of a United States SEN
ator are discussed at length, and he
therein quotes the section Of the Con-
stitution of the United States which
have cited above and makes this
comment:
The Constitution OF the United
States has not elsewhere given to
this court (referring to the Florida
| supreme couro the power to pass up
on the legality of the election of a
United States senator, but by the last
of the provisions quoted above it has
expressly excluded from it the right
so to do. The Constitution of the
state has not attempted to confer any
such power upon US nor has congress
nor our own legislature. nor is it inn
agined that any such attempt would
be made
And he there cites former opin-
ion of our own supreme court in -
Fla, p. $50. by Chief Justice Randall,
in which he says the Senate of the
United States is the exclusive Judge
of the election, return and qualiiica-
tons of its own members. Whether
an election of senator by a state leg
islature is in conformity with such
regulations as are prescribed by con-
gress or whether for want of strict
conformity Herewith it is illegal and
void are questions which this court
has no jurisdiction to decide.
Judge Raney in the Fleming case
goes on to quote the Bisbee case
with approval and following such quo
tation says:
THUS again the court does not
permit its jurisdiction and right of
the relator in procuring the evidence
of an actual election to be defeated
or interfered with by it's inability to
consider questions of the legality of