Year: 1873

In England we see members OF the Commons,
who happen to inherit the peerage hmenting
the hard fate that makes them lords, in
America every member was yearning to
abandon his proud place as a Representative of
the people for the more comprehensive, the
more profitable and the better assumed duties
of Senator. The Senate retained the
power under Grant which it had wrenched
from Johnson. With power came arrogance
Instead of the saucer cooling the burning tea
from the cup the tea burned fercer. Instead
OF checking the extravagances of popular
assembly the Senate has taken the lead OF
every phase of extravagnnt legislation. 1t has
become the fountain of jobbery and corrup-
tion-the source of land grants and dishonest
reserve proposals. The country would be
amazed to know how many Senators are the
paid attorneys of railway and other corpora
ions-attorneys paid to 'practise in the Su-
preme Court" The country does know that
the most notorious men in our public life are
in the Senate, that Senators who went to
Washington poor have become rich; and they
have seen its members do spiteful and mean
things, like the rejection of Mr.. Hoar, one Of
the conspicuous men of the time simply be-
cause he had been n-tempered with the poll
ticians when they came to bother him as At
torney General. After rejecting Mr.. Hoar we
can readily understand why it removed Mr..
Sumner, the best informed man in public life
on foreign afairs from the committee and
gave the place to gentleman who probably
does not know whether the Danubian Prin-
cipalities are in Europe or Asia Minor.


The Senate is no longer q compact repre-
sentative body. 1t does not represent even
the States. In one State Senator is chosen
by the money of railroad in another by his
own money. One Senator is known to be the
agent of this interest another as the agent of
q second interest. No shrewd railroad man.
ager will be without his Senator We should
not like to guess at the number on the books
of Thomas A. Scott or T. @. Durant or Dick
Franchot. We know who represents the
Bank Of California; we should like to know
all who were owned by Jay Cooke and the
Northern Pacific The glory Of the old Senate
has departed, and we have some greedy, selfish
cliques. There is small but mainly feeble
class of respectable men like Frelinghuysen
and Edmunds and Anthony. Then comes the
muscular, aggressive class, with Carpenter,
Morton, Chandler; the moneyed class, like
Cameron, Hamilton, Sprague and Jones, and
the drift of adventures from the Southern
States, from Florida and Alabama and South
Carolina, who presume to sit in the seats and
vote themselves back pay as the successors Of
John G. Calhoun, Felix Grundy, J. p Ben
jamin, Robert Hunter and John g. Breckin-
ridge. We shall not needlessly write names,
but the country knows well to whom we refer.
1t knows that there is no feature Of this de-
plorable time more marked than the lowering
Of the Senate. When we consider the manner
motives, their greed for money and patronage,
their enmity to any measure that will limit
their power, we cannot marvel that even
Grant has surrendered. He could do nothing
without the Senate, could not even remove on
officer of his Cabinet. Of course he sur
rendered. He might have fought the Senate !;
but he saw how johnson failed. 1t required
more civic courage and foresight than Grant
possesses to see that while johnson wounded
and assailed the country he had the country
with him.


The Senate fought johnson and ended in
dividing the patronage with him. Then it
fought no longer. 1t menaced Grant until he
threw Hoar and Cox into its shambles. Then
it became acquiescent. AS long as Grant
strove to give tone and majesty to his ad-
ministration and to elevate the public service
the Senate stood in his path, like the ominous
giant who threatened the pilgrim Christian on
his way to the land of Beulah and the gates of
the house called Beautiful. To-day it is an
Independent power, composed largely of auda-
cious men, representing the lowest strata in
our political life, owing allegiance to
railroads and tariff combinations and
nopolies-caring nothing for the people
whom it does not represent, and to whom it
only owes remote and contingent RESPONSE
bilty-warring upon the Executive until it
was appeased with patronage, and then sink
ing into complete obedience to his will. The
anomaly of body of men making laws, con-
frming and vetoing appointments, taking o
direct part in every measure of peace and war,
and holding no responsibility to the people, is
o scandal to free government and the prolific
source of many Of the evils which now distress
and wound the Republic. We see no way to
eradicate the spirit of C@sarism and take
measures against future danger to our liberties
that does not contemplate an amendment and
q limitation Of the powers of the Senate. It
threatens to become rank and luxuriant
growth-a compact, irresponsible, aggressive
power-craving dynastic honors, ON assurance
of strength that does not exist in the muta-
tons of democracy, and in time conspiring
to dominate the whole Republic, as many Of
its members now dominate the unhappy
Southern members of our confederacy.