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Show U. S SENATORS, 1 Judge Dusenberry Favors the People Naming Theui IN STATE CONVENTION. Speech Upon that Subject Delivered by That Gentleman at the Meeting- of lhe TimpanoRToa Society at Its Session of Last Saturday Night. Readers of The DisrATCH will be pleased to read today the speech of Judge Dusenberry upon the proposition proposi-tion for the democrats to indicate their preference for U. S. senators at their state convention to be held in Ogden ori September 5th, as delivered by that gentleman at the meeting of the Tim-panogos Tim-panogos society held last Saturday evening. It has been handed in by the society for publication and space is cbeerfully given it, the subject being an important one and just now a live issue. The speech was aB follows: Mr. President and Gentlemen: The democratic territorial committee commit-tee ask conventions of that party "to consider the propriety of indicating their preference of persons to be selected se-lected by the legislature as United ! States senators from the state of Utah." 1 This proposition will approach, as nearly as possible, the same results as if there were an amendment to the federal constitution on this subject. Mr. President, actuated as I am by an earnest desire for the welfare of the people of Utah, and the extending to them the greatest measure of liberty, T am eouallv solicitous nf RRpinsr th democratic party lead, as it ever has since its birth, in giving equal rights to all men. If the people of a state have enough intelligence to choose their representatives in the state legislature, legis-lature, theii executive officers, their judges and officials in all the department depart-ment of the state and county, they have enough intelligence to choose the men who shall represent them in the United States senate. To oppost eyen the semblance of the popular election of senators is to question ques-tion the wiBdoru of our form of government. gov-ernment. The reasons for this, that exist today, did not exist at the time ot the adoption of our constitution. We know that today great corporations exist in our suites different to what existed one hundred years ago; power-iul power-iul combines that are able to compass the election of their tools and agents through the instrumentality of Btate legislatures, as they could not if senators sen-ators were elected more directly by tie people. It may be urge 1 that conventions will nominate. Yes, but behind conventions conven-tions stand the voters, and the delegate dele-gate to a contention dare not support a man wnom the members of a legislature legis-lature might vote for with impunity. The candidates nominated by a convention con-vention must appeal to the voters, but the candidate chosen by a legislative caucus appeals to no one, an J is responsible re-sponsible to no one. Men have in the nast been plPft.prl t,n tho spnato nf iho iiiitu iu LLiU ocuaio ui cue United States whom no party in that1 state would have dared to nominate ; and if we believe the naif we hear and read from republican sources the people peo-ple have reason to shudder with fear as to the fate that may await them in this fair commonwealth. For many years few questions have agitated the minds or the American people more than the Incidents resulting result-ing from the present constitutional method of electing United States senators. sen-ators. Upon occasions of these elections elec-tions bv the different legislatures open and flargrant charges of bribery, venality and corruption haye become the prevailing opinion of the American people. So great indeed has become the moral stench arising from these elections that it is alleged by some that even the man in the monn has been seen to hold hi3 noss while that orb I passeB over the states during these contests. con-tests. Public sentiment has bo far cryatalized upon the question of changing chang-ing the manner of electing these high officials by direct vote ot the people, that for more than two vears congressional congres-sional action has been invoked in the lorm of resolutions looking to the amendment of our fundamental law. Expressive of this popular sentiment was the action taken by the fifty-third congress. The house of representatives, composed of one hundred democratic majority, passed a resolution to so amend the constitution that the people should elect the senators and be it said to the praise of democrac y, but two members of that party cast their votes against the measure. As illustrative of the sentiment pre- ai linor nmnricF that, crtetat. hnriv nf ro. vailing among tnac gteat Douy or representative re-presentative democrats, 1 will give a few extracts from the committee's report re-port favoring the adoption of that resolution: reso-lution: -The public press for years (in each recurring year) has been teeming with legislative scandals in the election of senators, until bribery and corruption are, we fear, in some localities, fast becoming be-coming recognized as a pu.; of the legislative leg-islative function, while the capaci'y ot the pocket-book, rather than that of the head is regarded in like places as the measure of senatorial equipment. "Committees of investigation am the grand juries of the states haye been unwilling or unable to detect the frauds, so skillful have the manipulators manipu-lators of it become, nntil at last an outraged out-raged public sentiment has become aroused and have fouad its just expression ex-pression in the proposed amendment." "The money which corrupts by purchase, pur-chase, the member of the legislature for senatorial elections, has debauched him as a servant of the people he is sworn to serve in local legislation. The corporation that can enter the halls of a legislature and lay its unholy hands upon the members, claiming them as its own in the selection of a senator, has already destroyed the hope of a pure administration of the local affairs of the people of that state by polluting the source from which such administration adminis-tration is derived." "If the charges of corruption in senatorial sen-atorial elections are true, the reflex action ac-tion on the legislation of the states, incident inci-dent to such corruption, must be in measurable in its destruction of the ui.t.uuLC. uiy in iu ucouuttiuu Ul LUC rights and liberties of the people of the states." And again: So radical in some sections of the country has the feeling of hostility to the senate become, that the sentiment is freely expressed, that the senate has outlived its career of usefulness in the government." "Under its present mode of organization, organi-zation, and election, each year but adds to the strength of the argument that the Benate should, by a change iD the mode of its election, be made more sensibly responsive to thedemands and yoice of the people." The resolution passed the house by an overwhelming majority, and went into the senate, where three or four sugar trust and corporation democratic demo-cratic senators Joined with all the republican re-publican senators, voted it into a pigeon hole where it now slumbers, not again to be awakened perhaps until Utah shall add two democratic senators, elected, I trust, in effect by ihe vote of the people. Another cause foi popular sentiment putting these elections directly in the hands of the people, is the dead-locks and prolonged delays in passing needed need-ed laws by state legislatures, often taking tak-ing up the entire time cf their Eession, often ending in a final adjournment without enacting needed laws or electing elect-ing a senator, thus leaving that commonwealth com-monwealth without a representative In that moBt important body. We can redily recall the published scenes of the past two years, enacted in our neighboring states of Wyoming, Mon tana and Idaho, as well as more remote re-mote etates in the union. The two former states failed entirely to elect a a senator after worse than wasting the sixty days of their time. Worse than waste, because they did blacken the good name of their" state, and retard the progrees of popular free government govern-ment in the hearts of their people. The naming or indicating the persons per-sons we desire the democratic legisla-tuie legisla-tuie to elect as senators will, of course place no legal or constitutional obligation obliga-tion upon the legislature, but it will be to them a great moral obligation. It will be the voice of the people, and as democrats they will obey. The favorable favor-able action of our convention upon this measure, I firmly belieye, will meet the approbation of a great majority of Utah's people. Their heretofore po- litical education has made of them votaries of frankness, integrity and honesty; as Buch thev can but admire the opportunity extended them, tossy in effect by their ballot3. wh i shall represent them in that f-xalted body. The people of Utah, I believe, will by far prefer a certainty to an uncertainty. uncer-tainty. They want no Jack-in the-bush the-bush business in their political affair. Another reason for tbe putting of mt n in nomination for these positionsis, it is frank and fair to the people; they have the opportunity to discuss the merits and demirita of the men and estimate their capability for the office Our opponents op-ponents may haye men in reserve.who, by corrupt methods, could succeed with a legislature.but whom theyjwould not dare put before the people to stand the scrutiny of a campaign. I have heard some kindergarten philosophy advanced to the effect that some defeated aspirants may sulk in their tents, and thus withnld thair en- tneir cents, ana tnus witnoia tneir energies en-ergies in the campaicrn. I doubt, sir, if democracy has any valuable and valiant soldiers who have eo little patriotic pa-triotic and unselfish devotion to its cause. Another alleged, and as I think untenable un-tenable argument against affirmative action by our state convention, is that our political opponents will go before the people and charge our party with expressing a want o confidence in its legislative nominees. Well, let them charge. "Thrice armed is he whose cause is just." The people of Utah may at times be politically unwise, but they are neither political fools nor knaves. To the people of Utah this measure will certainly commend itself. They have ever been devotees of principle, prin-ciple, in preierence to policy. From the standpoint of expediency thev will favor it, because it boldly proclaims the men for whom their suffrage is asked, while democrats may, with propriety, point to any two of the heterogeneous army of aspirants the republican party seems to be encourag- i ing and coquetting with, regardless of I either previous or present condition of servitude, or otherwise. What a glorious consummation it would be to witness our new state legislature leg-islature at its first day's session, after duly organizing, proceed at OLCe. and ' within an hour elect two sons of Utah as United States senators! Should Utah thus elect her senators as a result re-sult of the vote of the democratic demo-cratic convention, they would be the very first men that ever entered that august body, proclaiming in effect: "We are from and of the people." Thus would Utah, upon the threshold of her union with this great nation give notice that her people lead in the van of advanced thought, and the progress pro-gress of human liberty. |