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Show HOW THE PLAN WAS REACHED. In these days, when so many politicians and editors would have the constitution amended, ko that United States senators would be elected by a direct vote of the people, the New York Sun has done the country a service by copying from the proceedings of the original constitutional convention conven-tion of 1787 how the present arrangement was arrived ar-rived at. It was not reached without much con- sideration; it waa under discussion many days. Running through the extracts in the Sun so msny of the old stately names appear that the most careless care-less reader is impressed, and the final approval of the work by Jefferson, Madison and Washington adds to the dignity of it. The most potent reason given by tha advocates of the change is thst it will prevent corruption on the part of legislators in the election of senators. The answer to that is that legislators are elected by the people, and they average aa high aa the people who elect them; and it has been established, at least in tine case, that a state can be nncon-sciotiHly nncon-sciotiHly corrupted cheaper than can a few men in a legislative body. But ihe principle is all wrong. If one or two state legislatures would properly punish its few corrupt members, that would end that kind of business. There is another danger; if the plan succeeds, suc-ceeds, then some other innovation will be tried, and before the country realizes what is on a national na-tional constitutional convention will be called, and after that about three eastern states will control con-trol this nation. |