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clde upon the party candidate for the
senatorship. There are several can
didates for the honor. The party is
split as to the nomination and sev
eral votes will decide the winner.
Finally comes the chance for the mem
ber to betray his trust He thinks to
himself, I was not instructed, I can
vote as I please. There Is no appeal
from my vote. It makes very little
difference to me who he is just so that
he is a party man. Several offers are
made to the legislator, bidding for the
rote commences, and the man paying
the most in money or patronage gets
the vote. Take the average legislature
of pne hundred and fifty members.
The dominant party has the average
of ten members majority on the joint
ballot, thus giving it eighty votes in
the caucus. Forty-one votes will de
cide the winner. So that you see
that the candidate receiving this num
berbut a trifle over twenty-flve per
cent a trifle over one-fourth of the
legislature , gets the nomination and
the remainder of the party will sup
port him.
Let us suppose for instance that the
caucus cannot agree and the time
comes for a vote to be taken on the
floor of the legislature. A deadlock is
precipitated on the legislature and
they ballot on and on for weeks and
months until the last hour of the ses
sion. Finally perhaps they turn the
dock back, and lest the party lose a
seat in the senate, a compromise is
made and the .nan elected is scarcely
ever known except as a man who has
always supported his party. "While
this is going on no stato business is
being transacted. In Montana and Ne
braska the four present senators were
elected after the clock had been
turned back a compromise on all four
three of them dark horses, whose
names had not even been considered
tip to that crucial moment And at
that one moment when all is at stake
oh what a chance there is for brib
ery and corruption to creep in. I re
member the instance in Kansas sev
eral years ago, when a bribed legisla
tor regretted his deal and lay on the
table of the speaker two thousand
dollars more than the whole salary of
the senator to be elected. Over twenty-five
times his own salary.. Should
not something be done to prevent such
workings as this? When a candidate
for the senatorship can give more
than his whole salary when a legisla
tor can receive such amounts and his
honesty be so severely tested, I say
that there should be something done
to curb such outrages and protect the
people from the candidate.
But often the legislature fails even
to elect a senator as the present case
in Delaware will plainly show. This
state has no representatives in the
United States senate and all because
the legislature refuses to elect one
Addicks a gas magnate and he, on
the other hand, says, you must elect
me or elect nobody. So far he has sue
ceeded in keeping that state from hav
ing a single representative in the up
per house for nigh four years. While
these deadlocks last there are very of
ten very disgraceful scenes being en
acted in the legislature. For an in
stance of this I cite the case in Ken
tucky several years ago, when, to pre
vent bloodshed, the state militia, com
prising several hundred men, were sta
tloned in the capitol and on the very
floor. As long as this system lasts, as
long as there Is a deadlock, there can
be no assessments, no taxation, no im
provements and no appropriations. Al
is subservient to the election of a
senator. The legislature elected for
the very purpose of carrying on the
states business is embroigled with
other questions and consequently the
business of the state must suffer. This
shame is crying out for a remedy. I
say that these concrete facts cannot be
answered by the advocates of the
present system. They have existed and
that proves conclusively that they can
exist again. These wrongs are unan
' swerable, unalterable, and vicious in
all their tenets.
I ask you, is this method, which we
see carried on before us in every sec
tion, is this the method that the fath
ers proposed? Is this the scheme that
the quotations about the fathers of the
republic are meant to justify. A change
s needed and I venture to predict
that the will of the people as de
manded by the legislatures of thirty
four states, and thrice demanded by
he house of representatives of the na
tion at large by practically a unani
mous vote, I predict the change will .
come and carry away the old scheme
under which so many evils are mani- ;
est
But to the second question asked
by our opponents. Will your scheme
cure these evils? I answer a most
emphatic Yes!
There can be no Gerrymander, be
cause the vote will be taken of the
whole state as it is for governor, and
other state officials. Under this sys
tem every one knows that Gerryman
der is impossible. Now to the next
statement the voter will be able to
cost his vote for the election of a
senator directly, thus declaring his
views on the national situation, and
when he is called to administer a re
buke, as he desired to do in the Iowa
case I cited before, he may vote for
the candidates he chooses. Thus he
may vote distinctly on both the state
and national issues. What a Utopia
for the party-laden voter of today.
What a chance for him to be a free
American, the sovereign in his own
idea, having power to reprove and to
commend. When this time has come
and I predict it at no distant date
one long mile will be passed on the
highway of political independence of
the voter. You speak of him as cloud
ed by the will of his party. Give him
but the chance and changed condi
tions will make you marvel. There
would be no need for party caucusses
and the deadlock would be an Im
possibility. In one day the vote of
the state could be taken, its legisla
ture could go to their business, as
sessments could be made, taxes could
be levied, highways improved, schools
built in short, the legislature could
do the work its proper functions de
mand. The election of senators by
popular vote would in one day do the
work of months in short, it would rid
us of all the evils foisted by the pres
ent system.
The opposition then assert that this
would entail on us the possibility of
a senate, whose tendencies would not
e conservative. T,et me answer them
n one word it is the term of the sen
ator rather than the manner of his
election that accomplishes this con
servatism. It is the fact of his term
being three times as long as that of
the representative that breeds his con
servatism. You then advance that
the people would not re-elect the sena
tors. Let me answer this by telling
you that I searched for figures and
failing to find any and being curious
as to the real truth of this state
ment, I compared the lists of mem
bers for the past thirty years and I
find that a senator is elected on an
average of one and one-half terms,
while the usual member of the lower
house serves three and one-half terms.
So that when they tell me that the
people seldom re-elect, I know that
they are making false statements,
statements that they have taken on
the face as the truth, but a study of
this question, and the figures that I
have obtained convince me that a
representative serves three and one
half terms, while a member of the up
per house is elected but one and a
half times. Thus proving that the
people elect three times as often as
do the legislatures. The figures in this
present congress as compared with
six years ago show us that out of 356
members of the house who were there
six years ago and six years is the
term of a senator I find two hundred
and forty-six are still members over
two-thirds. We find the figures almost
the same in the senate, where out of
90 senators, 62 are still members. Thus
showing the average to approximately
be the same. If we go back to 1890,
we find that but 27 out of 90 senators
are In that body now. Taking all
these figures it can be seen that the
percentage of elections by the legis
lature as compared with that by the
people Is one-third, while the terms
served by each In the matter of years
Is nearly the same.
The senate Is often called a club of
millionaires often the American
house of lords. To find out the truth
of this statement, I find that there
are twenty-seven millionaires In the
senate almost one-third. For my in
formation on this subject I consulted
the World Almanac of this year.
But perhaps the evil that Is most
harped on bv these opponents of prog
ress Is the fact that in the system that
we propose the senator would be nom
inated by a party convention. Those
opposed to the popular election of sen
ators forget that each of the members
of the legislature are nominated by
county conventions equally, if not
more susceptible to the control of a
boss than 13 a state convention. If
there Is a chance for bribery in the
state convention why then Is there
hot more chance for bribery In num
berless little conventions. The power
of the local boss over his henchmen
Is far more potent than i3 the power
of a state boss if there- is such a
thing. And they forget that behind
the bosses, behind the nominee of
the state convention comes the voice
of the people, who in their power can
choose their own masters. This evil
has been so much complained of that
many have considered a way In which
t could be absolutely avoided. The
system in operation in many of the
southern states and found so capable
to avoid the system of boss is the
primary system. Under this scheme toe
power of a boss is "nulla bona" for
anyone may run for office and go
squarely before the people with as
much power behind him as the nomi
nee of a bogs. So we see that if the
state convention is an evil, it can be
remedied by the primary system in
connection with the popular election
and by the combination of both of
these schemes all of the present evils
would be obviated by being rendered
mpossible.
When we meet'our opponents on the
highway and challenge them to combat
or the people's rights, when we de
mand' that in this day of enlighten
ment the people's rights must be re
spected, and their voices heard, they
fall back to their old argument about
the constitution. We believe that the
burden of proof is not upon us to
prove our system wise, for it is based
upon the fundamental tenets of our re
public If the power to elect senators
s not In the hands of the people di
rectly, there must be reason for it and
this reason-we demand. If our op
ponents fail to show you reason for
keeping from the people their just
due, if they cannot substantiate the
scheme on better grounds than that it
has apparently worked well, they have
failed to justify a scheme that is un
democratic, unrepublican and vicious
in all of its tenets.
When we have met the opposition
and proven that our system, the real
defender of the people's rights, would
cure the evils that now exist and would
reep other ills from brewing, they re
treat behind the shelter of the consti
tution.
I admit that in proposing amend
ments to this sacred instrument, that
gre?it care should be taken not to de
stroy or injure a single fundamental
principle of the republic. But if per
chance some stone of the superstruc
ture is imnronerlv laid or if properly
laid, has become worn by abuse or cor
roded by "dcrrTt methods unknown and
unforeseen by its builders, surely the
hand cannot be deemed impious that
seeks with loving touch to adjust the
misplaced stone, or apply some life
giving lotion to that "ark of the cove
nant," that bulwark of liberty for
ourselves and 0"r posterity.
WILLIAM W. BRIDE.
HORRORS OF PROSPERITY.
LHtl Twentieth Century Slave Who Toll
Twelve Honrs a Day While Revel at
til Clubs and Theatres.
This Is an era of prosperity there
can't be any doubt about it for the
trusts and great capitalists. It is also
an era of slavery child slavery as
revolting as the world has ever known.
The tales that come from these slave
pens are more pathetic and heart
rending than any that have ever been
told before with perhaps the excep
tion of the slave ships. The little
black picaninnies of the south before
the war were happy and free in com
parison with the pale-faced, scrawney
little things who toil in the thick dust
and foul atmosphere of the tobacco
and other factories of the jeat cities.
And what is it all for? It is permitted
so that the millionaires and trust
magnates may have prosperity, and
the nation something to gloat over in
that it has more millionaires, cor
poration and trust magnates, than any
other nation of the earth.
Mr. John R. Rathom, in last Sun
day's Record-Herald, told of the lives,
sufferings and surroundings of some of
the pitiful little white slaves in the
factories of the city of Chicago. In
some of the other large cities the slav
ery is much worse. Still the million
aires prosper. Still the trusts expand.
Still millionaires grow richer and the
supine and indifferent people vote to
keep the government in their hands
and that of trusts. Mr. Rathom's ar
ticle was as follows:
It is very dark on these fall nights
down in the wholesale district in the
neighborhood of the Rush street
bridge. The chill of winter in the air
adds to the gloom, and the great black,
bulky factory buildings keep sentinel
watch all about it. It is as if they
were proclaiming "Here is our do
main. Where our shadows fall there
we are supreme."
This forbidding kingdom has its
subjects. The men of affairs who are
mentifled with every step of the city's
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progress owe allegiance to it, and are
proud to proclaim its sovereignty.
But we must not look for them here
tonight Away out on the boulevards
where the trees are still full of their
glorious crimson and gold, in beautiful
homes where they rest after the cares
of the day; in the club houses on
Michigan avenue . where they discuss
the . responsibilities of life, like the
responsible factors of our giant growth
that they are; in the theatres where
the talented players of the world por
tray for them entrancing stories of
the past, or of our own civilization
there, where every known comfort
takes them to its bosom to soothe
and refresh them for the struggle of
the morrow, they rest contented and
happy.
Why linger then in this gloomy do
main? Surely its towering walls and
slippery cobblestones can have no
message for us when all human life has
temporarily abandoned it. But wait;
just a moment, let us wait Not all
human life, for through the gloom,
here and there, are flickering gas
lights in the windows and figures are
passing back and forth, and feet are
moving, and if we come a little closer
we can hear the whirr of . factory,
wheels and the clank of machinery in
its even monotone of strength.
So we will step back in the shadow
of an archway and look a little farther
into the marvels that are being spun
into this wonderful web of activity.
The shadows deepen. Here and there
thrcsgh the break in the fog a star
sparkles; a long way oil it seems.
Soon a bell clangs out, and then we
see the shadows passing more swiftly
still in the windows; the lights vanish
altogether, and the clatter of an army
of workers sounds on the worn wooden
stairways.
Now for a sight of the brawn of,
American manhood the faithful toil
ers whose labor can. move all human,
things in giant strides upward; whose
stayed arm can throw all the world
into stagnation. Hats off, then, as
thfy come, for approaching us are the
piilars of the republic, those who by
(heir labor reap health, by their health
reap contentment, by their content
ment open the source of every human
joy.
And here, out onto the dirty, road
way through the frowsy doors they
come. And at the sight of them die
all our gathered thoughts of admira
tion, and in their place come bitter
ness and pity and shame.
For the night toilers here are not
men at. all, but women, and girls, and
little children. Had we seen tho wom
en alone, white and hollow-eyed as
they are, the thing would have been
enough to shock us. Had we seen
none but the tall, thin, frail girls
just reaching womanhood the appall-"
ing conditions that had brought about
such a sight might have seemed In
comprehensible. But when out into the chill night
stagger the little hopeless, helpless
creatures whose forms and faces mock
the name of childhood, what can we
do for the first few moments but turn
white and sick and stand dumb before
the revelation, or curse the iniquity
that takes a baby life, squeezes it dry
of love and hope and ambition, of heart
and of brain, and gives to it, in token
of the generosity and the prosperity
of our great merchant princes 5 cents
an hour and an early grave.
Exaggeration here may be doing
someone a grievous and wicked wrong.
Conditions may not be as bad as they
appear to us in the first few moments
after the pitiful procession gropes
down the wooden stairways. Let us
push back and smother as far as possi
ble the feelings that would otherwise
overwhelm us, and become, for a lit
tle while, impartial investigators.
Two little girls, clutching hands as
they move out into the night, are just
in front of us. They stumble and slip
along over the cobbles and then make
for the opposite sidewalk, where they
hug the pitiless unfriendliness of the
factory walls and make for "home."
We will go with them.
A tap on the shoulder, and both
faces, such poor, helpless, old-woman
faces, are turned inquiringly, without
fear, to our own. A few kindly words,
a look, of wonder for the uncommon
