Evening star., 1926-12-18
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

eff and when" the Senator-elect-by.
appointment from Illinois ventures to
appear at the bar of the Senate for
| the purpose of taking oath as a
Senator-something is going to drop.
That is all arranged, the trap is set,
the bait is attached, and even the
Vice President assures Senator Ash
urst that he may spring the trigger
upon the first sniff OF the quarry,
and everything will be privileged
and in order. One may imagine the
unsuspecting quarry and his surprise
| "If and when" Senator-by-appoint
ment Smith arrives with the certifica'
ton of his appointment by Gov.
Small, to succeed the late Senator
| Mckinley, for the short session, in
| advance Of his full term by election
| the first incident will be a debate as
to whether he is to be led on to take
the oath and then be expelled, or
| whether he is to be met at the en-
| trance by Sergeant-at-Arms Barry
and barred with the mace from enter
| ing the sacred precincts at all. AYE,
there's the ,rub"'
1t will be spirited debate, with
many references to the historic prec.
edents and especially to the Ameri-
can Magma Charta and it's intents and
purposes and the vital importance of
| keeping the togas spotless from the
world. Mr.. Smith Is charged with
having spent too much money-about
half million--in his efforts to. secure
| the primary nomination. His oppo'
! nents view with alarm the peril of an
oligarchy which may close the way
to public service for all except multi.
millionaires, and the Republic cease
to be a Government by just people" "
| AS there will be no chance to quote
it after Senator Ashurst and his CO.
horts begin, let us quote it right now:
/ iii fares the land, to fastening ills
q prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men
| decay"
j. x X :,
One argument already heard in the
|. .cloakrooms is that, even IL Mr.. Smith
did discount the anticipated salary OF
many senatorial terms, in his eager.
ness to earn $1,000 a year on Capitol
| Hill, that was all done in q previous
election. before the vacancy which he
| is now appointed to fill, and therefore
| has nothing to do with the case. "
But history and precedent are in
exorable-in the hands Of an opposing
party. Already, Senator Walsh of
Montana has cited the debate of 80
years ago in the case of Senator
elect Roach of North Dakota, wherein
Senators Hoar, Chandler and Platt
all argued that taint on the record
of q Senator-elect, even If 1t had come
years prior to his election, should be
considered. The Senate must be kept
pure. Mr.. Roach, years before, had
been accused of embezzlement as an Of
fetal of an Eastern bank, and although
he had reimbursed the bank in full
and had subsequently lived an upright
life for years in North Dakota, never
theless that criminal taint was suf-
ficient to justify the Senate in exclud-
ing him.
There Is one detail in which the
Senate differs from Judge Lynch's
court" Judge Lynch" was noted for
his rule to hang a man and try him
afterward, but, under the precedents
of the Senate, that high court may
execute a defendant Senator-elect, and
refuse ever to enter into the merits
of the accusations against him. For
instance, in the case of Humphrey
Marshall, in 1896, the committee re-
fused to investigate the charges of
fraud; even though he requested in
vestigation, the committee said, LAS
the Constitution does not give jurisdic-
ton, the consent of the party cannot
give it. and, therefore, the memorial
Containing the charges) should be
dismisS~'.''
Probably the most dramatic case
-melodramatic and astonishing
was the exclusion from the Senate
Of Albert Gallatin, in 1894, on the
ground that he had not lived nine
years as a citizen of the United
States, although he had been dis
tinguished officer In Washington's
army, during the Revolution, and had
been a member of the Pennsylvania
constitutional convention, member
for some years of the United States
House of Representatives, where he
was the leader of the Republican
party, and upon election to the Sem
ate he was sworn in and actually
served three months before his polit-
ical opponents, the Federaiists.
brought charges that he had not
been a citizen nine years, as re-
quired, before election to the Senate.
The charge was purely technical,
for although born In Geneva. Swift
zerland, he had come to America at
the age of 10 Gin 1780) and demon
strated his loyalty by his service in
the Revolutionary Army, and his
ability as a statesman in the House.
He was opposed to strong central
government and had neglected to
take the oath of allegiance to the
confederation until 1885; hence he was
not eligible to the Senate until 1874.
instead OF the year he was elected