Daily Tobacco Leaf Chronicle

The Louisville Commercial (Republican) writes a strong article commending the bill of Senator Call, of Florida, which proposes the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the people instead of by the Legislatures, and assigns many strong reasons for such a change.

The growing sentiment for this change is a guarantee that it will be made in the near future, if not by the present Congress. It is not a party question now, but unless this Republican Congress makes the change it will be a party question by the Democrats next campaign. Gen. Palmer is now a candidate for the U. S. Senate, subject to the endorsement of the Illinois Democratic State Convention and will not agree to make the race without nomination, which shows the tendency of public sentiment in the west.

The Republicans have been making a great pretense and calling loudly for ballot reform. It would make a government mule weep to hear Blocks-of-Five Dudley pleading for ballot reform, and yet when the Tennessee Legislature passes strict laws guarding the rights of suffrage, so that the humblest citizen may go to the polls unmolested by voters, the Republicans set up a mighty howl. The kind of ballot reform the g. o. p. wants is a law that will allow all Republicans to vote and keep the Democrats away from the polls.

A man over twenty-one and under fifteen years of age, is not a man in this country unless he pays poll tax or is excused for some unfortunate disability, and no man who is proud of his manhood will set up a howl against the poll tax suffrage law. Men who are in the habit of evading the poll tax and selling their votes to the highest bidder on election day are simply dead beats, a hindrance to education, a clog on civilization, enemies to honest government.