Evening star., 1935-05-13
The Political Mill
BY G.. Could Lincoln.

The Democrats nave 10 seats in the
United States Senate, since the ap-
pointment of former Representative
Chavez of New Mexico to FIJI the va
cancy caused by the tragic death OF
| the late Senator Bronson Cutting. Re
| publican. Today only 68 OF these
seats are filled, however. Chavez, SEN
ator- designate, has not yet arrived in
the CAPITAL to take his seat. Rush ID.
Holt. who was elected Senator in West
Virginia last November, has not pre-
| sented himself to be sworn Ill ana
/ take up the duties of a Senator be-
cause he is under the senatorial age
prescribed by the Constitution-30
years. He Is expected to do so when
| he reaches that age on June l9.
| Whether he will be seated. however, is
still something of a question. There
/ is a very nice point as to whether
man may be elected Senator of the
United States when he is not quail
fed to serve. The Constitution lays
| down three qualifications which a
man must have to serve in the Senate.
No person, the Constitution says, shall
be a Senator who has not attained 80
years OF age, who has not been nine
wears a citizen of the United States,
| and who shall not, when elected, be
an inhabitant of the State for which
! he is chosen. Holt was elected to the
Senate six months ago. but because
| he had not one of these qualifica-
tions he and his supporters have not
been willing to risk his presenting
himself TO take the oath OF office.
| X
! Whether, by waiting until June l9,
when Holt becomes 80 years old, the
Senator elect will have cured this
defect-so far as his election in 1884
is concerned, is still to be determined.
Some of the Senators looking into the
matter are by no means certain that
he will have done So There was the
case Of Albert Gallatin, elected a
Senator from Pennsylvania in the
early days of the Republic. Gallatin
had not been a citizen of the United
States for the requisite nine years
when he was elected He was per-
mitted TO take his seat But year
later, although by that time he had
been a citizen of the United States
for nine years, he was ousted from
the Senate because he had not been
qualified at the time of his election.
The argument is advanced in some
quarters that the Holt case is really
on all fours with the Gallatin case,
so far as his right to have a seat
in the Senate is concerned. Further
more, it is argued that if a man may
be elected a Senator at 90 years of
age he may be elected when he is
% or 27 years old, and being COM
PEELED to wait until he is 80 years Of
age. deprive a State of its right TO
be at all times represented by two
Senators in Congress. Since Con-
greSs met on January Of this year
West Virginia has had but one vote
in the Senate.
\
Former Senator Hatfield of West
Virginia, Republican, has filed a petit
ton and a contest against Holt with
the Senate and it will be considered
by the Committee on Privileges and
Elections of which Senator George is
chairman. Even if Holt should be
denied a seat on the ground that he
was not qualified when elected, Hat
field would not be seated What would
happen is that the Democratic Gov
ernor of the State would appoint
Senator to fill temporarily the vacancy
and an election would be held later
In this connection, an editorial which
recently appeared in the Charleston
Gazette on May |, is not without in
terest. That newspaper is published
by former Senator clifton of West Vir-
ginla, Democrat, who served during
the Wilson administration. In this
editorial the editor speaks of 1.-The
/ unfortunate chain of events" which
has resulted in giving West Virginia
only one Senator He calls attention
also to the fact that the law of West
Virginia provides that every candi-
date for the Senate shall certify by a
statement filed with the secretary of
State 30 days before the primary
office" He also calls attention to the
fact that such a certificate was filed
by Holt
A lot OF people are interesting
/ themselves in this Holt case. The
Senate can decide it any way it likes.
since it is the sole arbiter. Certainly
! there are plenty of Democratic votes
to seat Holt if the matter is con-
/ Sidered a party issue. There seems
/ no particular reason why it should
| be party issue, however, for a Dem
ocratic Governor would Supplant Holt
| with another Democrat if he had an
( int To lra Lo-
/ suggested that he might give the
appointment to Clem Shaver, former
I Democratic national chairman. who
was a candidate for the nomination
/ against Holt.
! Senator designate Chavez was re-
/ ported today to be on the train COM
| ing to Washington to take his seat.
perhaps tomorrow, or next day. When
| he arrives the Democrats will have
SO Senate seats. When in June, how
ever, the Senate decides the Holt
case, another Democrat from West
Virginia is sworn in, the makeup of
the Senate will be 70 Democrats, "a
Republicans. Farmer-Laborite and
! Progressive. Yet, in spite of this
! huge majority OF Democrats in the
Senate, which almost matches a SINH
larly huge majority in the House, the
Roosevelt program continues to lag
in the Upper House. So far only one
of the major parts of this program
has passed the Senate, the $780,
/ 100000 work-relief law.
X X X
The fact that this strongly Demo-
/ cratic Senate is baking against the
! Roosevelt legislation is strange
| political paradox. The Senate has
been balky many times in the past,
as both Republican and Democratic
! Presidents have found. But never
has a political party held such a
strongly dominant position in the
Upper House. 1t does look as though
with more than two-thirds of all the
votes in their hands, the Democrats
could do as they desired in the Upper
House. The New Deal has split them,
| however. In addition there is the
/ Senator from Louisiana. Huey Long.
who hates the Roosevelt administra-