Section 4 Article 1. of the Constitu
tion of the United States provides
that—
The times, places and manner of
holding elections for Senators and
Representatives shall be prescrib
ed in each State by the Legisla
ture thereof; but Congress may at
any time by law make or alter
such regulations, except as to the
places of choosing Senators.
So far as Representatives are con
cerned, Congress has never exercised
this power. Every attempt to pass
a Force bill has been defeated.
In 1860 Congress undertook to reg
ulate the election of Senators, but the
statute merely prescribed a uniform
rule of procedure, without interfering
in any way with the powers of the
States.
The Bristow amendment to the
House resolution for the election of
United States Senators by vote of the
people leaves section 4 unchanged. So
far as the letter of the Constitution
is concerned, the powers of Congress
might not be increased by the ratifi
cation of the amendment in the form
drafted by Senator Bristow 7 ; yet the
feeling is general throughout the
South that such an amendment would
be perverted into a referendum in
favor of Federal control of the fran
chise and would revive latent powers
that have never been exercised.
It is easy enough to say that these
fears are exagerated, but they have to
be dealt with, and it is doubtful if a
single Southern Legislature would
ratify the Senatorial amendment in
the form in vrhich it is presented by
the Senate. Without assistance from
the South the Constitution cannot be
changed and there can be no popular
election of Senators.
The Bristow amendement is un-
SUMMER SCHOOL
Well adapted to the needs of pupils desiring to concentrate their efforts upon a limited num
ber of studies.
