Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-20

qualifications, one of which was that
a Senator must have been nine years
a citizen of the United States and
must be an inhabitant of the State
when elected to represent that State
! in the Senate.
The majority cited the cases of three
men who served in the Senate before
they were 80 years old in past years
They we're Henry Clay of Kentucky,
Armstead Mason of Virginia and John
Eaton of Tennessee. But the majority
made no claim that these precedents
entitled Holt to seat, since no ques-
ton of their having reached the requi-
site senatorial age was ever raised in
the Senate when they presented them
selves to be sworn in.
House Case Is Cited.
The majority did place reliance,
however, on one case in the house,
where the man, John Young Brown of
Kentucky, who had not reached the
age of rs years specified in the Con-
Stitution for membership in the House,
had waited until he attained that age,
after his election, and had then taken
The oath of Office.
The minority report said, in part:
I'VE think the plain language of
the Constitution means that a United
States Senator must be 30 years Of
age when his term begins. While in
the case of Mr.. Holt the age require
ment lacked a little less than six
months in time, the principle involved
would be the same If he lacked five
years and six months. To decide that
person elected to the United States
Senate could wait until shortly be-
fore his term had expired and until
he had arrived at the age of 80 years
is placing a construction upon the
provisions of the Constitution that is
wholly unwarranted; would establish
principle which might readily result
in greatly diminishing the number of
Senators provided for by the Con-
stitution.
This is the first case of this kind
that has been brought to the atten-
ton of the Senate. 1t is admitted by
the majority of the committee that If
Mr. Holt had presented himself to
the Senate on January 8. it would
have been the duty of the Senate to
decline him his seat. because he had
not arrived a. the constitutional age.
The contention is made, however. that
the fact that he did not present him
self until he arrived at the age of 80
years. presents an entirely different
question, and the Senate ought now
to decide that question in favor of
seating him. We submit, however, that
the question cannot be so easily dis
posed of without violating precedents,
and without putting ourselves and our
successors in very embarrassing po-
sition.
Holt has received his salary as
Senator since the beginning of his
term and has had an Office assigned
to him as Senator in the Senate Office
Building. The minority contended
that if he was not Senator, then he
was not entitled to receive pay.
Senator Hiram johnson in his
minority report said that he had re-
luctantly come to the conclusion that
Hollis election was void since he was
not qualified at the beginning of his
term of Office. He made much, in his
argument, of the cases of Albert
Gallatin and of Gen: Shields, both of
whom were denied seats in the Senate
in earlier days because they had not
been qualified as having been citizens
of the United States for nine years at
the time they began their service in
the Senate.