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Show SENATE REFORM. St ii practically certain that the (juiiel 8tatos sonute will be reformed. Tho eol we.lis of precedent ha v; lux'ii burned awar in tho fires of a war criji. The country will rejoice that the senate sen-ate is to be a help rather than a handicap handi-cap tu t io nal ion. Many woro bfin-ning bfin-ning to think that the senate should be abolished became it had become a dead weight upon tho national machinery. Now thvy will hope that its energy and brains ran be used to the maximum. There can bo no doubt that ability of the highest order lias been points to want-; in the seuale. Interminable dia-cusion.s dia-cusion.s have revealed a power in the senate tlsnt wag continually submerged. Great thoughts found no outlet in action. ac-tion. The senate was not only a eheelv nXn tho house of representatives; it was a check upon itself. Jf the two-thirds clotnro rule is , auopicu me senate can be made a workable work-able institution, but cloture by majority vota would bo better. Tho two-thirds rule is a compromise with old-foyism. The rule will have an immediately ood effect in smoking out some of the senators who blamed the, filibuster upon others although they had opposed the bill to arm merchant ships. After the senate session had expired by limitation they grew vociferous in their own defense. de-fense. They declared that they Dover had stuod in tho way of a vote, that they had desired a vote but that the real filibusters had not given them a chanco to vote. Now they will have a chance to vote for cloture aud show their good faith. And even if they oppose cloture it will carry and then they will be bound by their own excuses not to fiilibuster. Tho sincerity of these senators is under un-der suspicion. They refused to sign the manifesto denouncing the filibuiitcr, but they declared that they had not aided or abetted tho filibuster. They will have a chance to show whether they have offered of-fered their excuses in good faith. |