Brookhart Out

Thousands and thousands of ballots cast by lowans in November, 1924, were on trial. Nearly half were for extremely radical Republican Brookhart for Senator, nearly half for Democrat Steck. Iowa had counted Brookhart elected, but Steck protested, and the Senate Judiciary Committee began months ago investigation of the pieces of "opaque paper" which collectively were designed to express the sovereign will of the people of Iowa.

When they came to disputed ballots -- there were some 16 different kinds of them -- the committee tried to interpret from the scrawls and scratchings the "intent" of the voter. Ultimately the committee decided, 10-1, that a slim majority of the voters had intended to vote for Steck, and it recommended to the Senate that Brookhart be unseated.

Then broke forth a four-day storm of debate. The chief argument against the committee's decision against the unseating of Brookhart was advanced by Senator Bingham and others, who said that Brookhart had been elected by the rules of Iowa governing ballots, that the Senate Committee had no right to go behind the Iowa law questing for the "intent" of the voter.

But while Senators tried conscientiously to consider the question on its merits, the legal details were so complex that most of them abandoned the attempt and consulted their political interests. Even then, Republicans found it hard to make decisions. Some Republicans said half a Republican (Brookhart) was better than a Democrat (Steck); other Republicans thought otherwise. Some argued that if Brookhart was unseated he would compete with Regular Republican Cummins, who is up for reelection this fall, and might, by splitting the vote, cause Iowa to have a second Democratic* Senator. It was all most confusing.

Finally the vote came: 45 for, and 41 against, Steck. Whereupon Senator Albert B. Cummins left the Senate Chamber, returned escorting his new colleague, led him up to Vice President Dawes, had him sworn in.

* Not since the Civil War has Iowa had a Democratic Senator.