The Senate Deadlock and the 'Powder Boat' of Political Defamation
As the legislative stalemate over the U.S. Senate seat continues, candidates trade accusations of corporate puppetry and corrupt influence.
The proclamation issued by 'Judge' Turner, charging that the opposition to his election represented 'all the power, force and influence of the great railway corporations of the state,' was a false move on his part. 'Judge' Turner has made himself responsible for a very serious charge, and it becomes his duty to support it. Senator Allen has returned a square, unqualified denial, noting that the agents of the Northern Pacific railroad are, in fact, actively working for his defeat. The majority of the Republicans of the legislature expressed their contempt for Turner’s charges by casting fifty-one votes for Senator Allen. 'Judge' Turner’s maneuver is compared to General Butler’s famous powder boat before Fort Fisher; the explosion occurred, but it only damaged the reputation of the man who lit the fuse.
“'Judge' Turner has placed his 'powder boat' under the walls of Fort Allen; the garrison of Fort Allen is much amused, but not a man has left the guns.”
The Gilded Age struggle between corporate power—specifically railroads—and legislative independence mirrors contemporary concerns about dark money and corporate influence in state and local elections. The political 'deadlock' described here was a common feature of the pre-17th Amendment era, where legislatures, rather than voters, selected senators.
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