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Show . Opposes Direct Vote FSenatofs Ofclarei Remedy foe Alleged Corrup-; Corrup-; - tlon Should Begin at 8ouree. t Washington, Fob. 10. Opposing all suggestions looking to a change In the manner of electing United Stat 03 senators, Mr. Root 'A New York today to-day addressed the senate on tho resolution res-olution providing for election by direct di-rect vote of tho people., Mr. Root said lie would not have senators elected by dlioa vote, nor If they wero to be ax cleted would !ho have control of such elections trans I erred from congicss to the various rtote legislatures. F.jr congress to abandon JurlsdUUrn mer senatorial flections would He eqiWalei'd ho paid to tho governmeui'i: surrendering its power to maintain Itself. Mr. Root found In lu main proposi tion .that of clianKlnp the method of electing senators, nn effort to ovade Icrtponslblllty In U13 matter of government. gov-ernment. Declaring that tho principal reason given to- the changn to bn the. corruption of t iw legislatures, ho Raid that a moro fundamental change vould bo mado thna Is proposed. He would go to the loit of tho trouble 'y so purifying pollil. s as to obmln .belter material In tho legislatures. If the people would look properly to the s-oloctlon of legislative candidates ho was suro there would bo comparative- ittfc llttl0 comPla,nt eoncornlng "'6 elec- ' tlon of senators by leglalatlvo action and he was suro In (hat event tho agitation ag-itation for dlrecs olectlons would gradually disappear, Tho Now York ooaatnr advised great caution in amondlng the constitution, consti-tution, as ho did not Milnlc it well that tho habit should be encouraged. "Rovorenco for that great instrument, instru-ment, tho unwillingness to chango It, tho sentiment that has gathered around It, constitute tho stability Cf ' tho people of this groat nation" ho said . ! Changes That Are DeBlrable. J Especially doslrabls was it, ho j fcId, that few changes whou'.d bo i made between tho states and national nation-al government. Admitting tho expression of a popular popu-lar wiBh for popular senatorial elections, elec-tions, Mr. Root contended that the feeling is a mero assent -not a violent vio-lent desire. Naturally, ho thought, tho electorate would accept any extension of the franchise. They were tired of and impatient over such iolayu as hat now being manifested by tho Montana legislature to rolurn Senator Carter. These trouble were due to the statute stat-ute and not to the constitution. A tar reaching remedy could be found in permitting the election of senators by a plurality vote. Tho senator suggested that the amendment should bo chanced to read: "Whereas, the peoplo of tho several sev-eral states have beon proved incompetent incom-petent to select honest and faithful legislatures in thoir own states; "ifcsolved, that the constitution bo so amended as to relieve the people from tho consequences of their lnde-pedenco lnde-pedenco by taking from the stato legislators leg-islators tho power to choose senators and vesting that power In tho Bamo Incompetent hands." |