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Show CHOOSING U. S. SENATORS. Not long siuco, in commenting upon the awkward and aboritivo efforts being be-ing made in Congress to change the method of electing U. S. Senators from tho present to a method of electing by popular vote, wo urged that tho contentious con-tentious Janguago which now appoars to be a stumbling block should bo left out altogether, and tho constitution tampered with as little as possible in this respect. We urged also that it was not fair to requiro all of tho States to ooruo under a rigid rule whether they wished to or not in this respect, since some are opposed to tho popular election of Senators, and some not only favor it but have alroady, in effect, established it. We suggested suggest-ed that, in place of tho cumbersome language that is now proposod on this proposition, section 3 of article 1 of tho Federal constitution should simply bo changed to road: "The Senate of the United States shali be composed of two Senators from each Stato chosen as said Stato may direct," instead of "chosen by tho Jcgitlature thereof," as the constituticn now rends. Wo urged that an amendment in this form would piobably net be opposed by any Senator: that it would allow every State its just preference in this matter, mat-ter, and that, if the prepositions had been submitted in that form in the fifst place, it would no doubt b.y now havo been adopted as a portion of the constitution, and be in effect through the. ratification of threo-Jourths of tho Stales. Wo find precisely tho same idea in the current number of Harper's Weekly, Week-ly, which says, after giving a brief account ac-count of various propositions and amendments, and tho present status of the proposition: The amendment that should bo adopted Is the following: The Senate of the "United Slates shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people, or by the legislature thereof, as the peoplo shall determine, for six years, and each Senator Sen-ator shall have one vote. The electors In each Stale shall have the qualifications qualifica-tions requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the Stato Legislatures. Legisla-tures. .That, precisely conforms to tho suggestion sug-gestion which wo made on the same subject. .The editor of Harper's Weekly reinforces his proposition by tho following argument: That Is, each State should be allowed to elect ltj Senators In any way It sees fit. If the people of Oregon want as they do to choose them by popular vote, let them do eo. If the people of Vermont, on the other hand, prefer as they do to let their Legislature mako tho choice, their wish also should be respected and upheld. To enforce upon a sovereign State a method obnoxious to tho people of that State Is an outrageous violation of tho spirit of our Institutions and of the principle of homo rule upon which our Government stands. A .Senator is an embassador of a Slate to the Federal Congress, How he is selected Is tho business of nobody outside out-side of Ihat State. 'so long as the method of choosing be orderly and calculated to eufeguard truo expression of tho people's desire. If an amendment to the effect proposed pro-posed should como out of conference, wc should feel that fuith had been kept. What more could any State ask? Who could find a single good reason for complaint? com-plaint? Political reform?1 Yes. by all means; but ever and forever In strict conformity with the course marked by the Intelligent discernment of communities communi-ties themselves, not by arbitrary and despotic authority exercised from without. with-out. Can it be that wc arc. tho only real Democrat left in this country? What! The editor of Harper's Weekly iu-timates iu-timates that his suggestion is thnt of porhaps "tho only real Democrat left in this country." But the suggestion in Tho Tribune, was prior, to that in tho Weekly, and was not mado by a Democrat, either. Still,- whatever pnrty name may bo claimed, for it, we hold that this is the truo idea if tho constitution con-stitution is to be amended at all on this question. But, iih we have said before, since every State is at. liberty to make its Senators elective by popular vote, .either on the Oregon system or by convention nominations, tho legisla-tur'c legisla-tur'c to ratify by its voto its party nominee, wo sea no real need of nmonding tho constitution at all. In this matter tho popular voice can prevail pre-vail in any Stato that desires to havo it so. Precisely as tho electoral college, col-lege, which was originally designed to be tho independent body thatVould, in fact, olect tho President and "Vice-President "Vice-President of tho United States, has been changed to a mere recording body to carry into effect tho popular will, so any Stato can mako tho legislature merely the recording body of tho pop-ulnr pop-ulnr will in the choice of U. S. Senators, Sen-ators, whennver it chooses so to do. And for this latter purposo thero is no moro need of amending tho con-stitution con-stitution than thero was in making the chango which, in offect, deposos tho oloctornl collcgo from its intended mgii importance to a mero body of formal for-mal record. |