New Britain herald., 1930-09-06
HAS RUTH HANNA MCCORMICK
 RUINED HER CHANGES?

When an individual attacks an or ganization of which he hopes to be- come a part he shows a lamentable lack of knowledge of human nature. Ruth Hanna Mccormick, in our opinion severely jeopardized her chances for a seat in the United States senate when she hired in vestigators to watch the members of the Senate who, in turn, were scrutinizing the expenditures that she made in the primary campaign for nomination. Of course she stlll has to be elected. If she is chosen by the voters she will then have to face a fight for the seat, and her opponents will be many in the Sen- ate, which has the right to deny her the seat. Naturally many of the Senators. beyond the immediate campaign investigation committee will be offended at her temerity in shadowing Senator Gerald P. Nye and feel that she has offered an in suit to the office of Senator which does not promise well for votes in her defense.
 The Senate has rather broad powers in deciding the suitability of an individual for position in the body. It may not cite her investigat- ors as reason for her dismissal, but any number of pyeteXts might be seized upon, the amount of her campaign expenditures for instance. When resentment is aroused many
 excuses may be found.
 Senator Yves committee was act i ing quite within its rights when it began the election investigation of campagn expenditures-the Con- stitution provides that leach house shall be the judge of elections, re- turns and qualifications of it's own members-may determine the rules of it's proceedings, punish it's mem- bers for disorderly behavior, and. with the concurrence of tvo- thirds, eXpel a member Whether Mrs Mccormick was acting within her rights in hiring detectives to shadow Senator Nye and asking what he was going to do about 1t is still to be shown. Unquestionably many Senators do not think so. pos sbly two-thirds of them.
 The Senate's charges against vari- ous individuals elected to the upper house have sometimes resulted ill unseattnG. During and ,>fter the ! Civil War. both the SeIlaLe and the House expelled members for dis loyalty. Other members elect were refused seats for the same reason. In 1870 t was tried, in vain, to e&- clude a representative on mora! grounds. He was tried for whipping Negro soldiers under his command and bribing prospective witnesses against him at a military court by giving them circus tickets.
 In 1882 delegate elect from
 Utah territory was excluded from Congress tor polygamous practices and in 1890 a representative from the state of Utah for this reason. In 1904 a move was made to expcl Senator Smoot on the grounds that
 he belonged to the Mormon church
 and it was recommended, by the majority of the Senate committee ! on privileges and elections in 1906
 that the Senator be expelled for hay
 ing taken an oath which involved
 hostility to the nation. The Senate. l however, as q body, supported Sen ator Shoot in 1907 and the vote to
 cXpel was lost by 27 Yeas to 4G Nays
 In 1884 Senator elect John i 1 Niles right to a seat was challenged | on the grounds of insanity. but the i Senate granted the seat to him,
 There might be a possibility of | attempting to deny Mrs. McCormick 1 a seat on the grounds of her l shadowing Senators, though there Is 1 no precedent for such an action l Certainly some move will be made If , she is elected, and certainly she will l go before a body that is already