=Objections to the Method of Choice by the Legislature.=--One of the practical objections to the original method of choosing senators was that it frequently led to long and stubborn contests which sometimes ended in deadlocks. Not infrequently the legislature failed to elect a senator and the state was left with a vacancy in the senate. In such cases the governor could not fill the vacancy by appointment as he did when a senator died or resigned; the seat remained vacant until a senator was chosen by the legislature. From 1890 to 1912 not less than eleven states at one time or another were represented in the senate by one member only, and in 1901 Delaware, on account of repeated deadlocks, had no senator at all at Washington to speak for the state. Not infrequently such contests were broken through the selection of a second-rate man or by an alliance between the members of the minority party and certain members of the majority. _Bribery._--The breaking of deadlocks was sometimes accomplished by bribery or other improper influences. Indeed charges of bribery and corruption in connection with the election of senators came to be very common, and there is little doubt that between 1895 and 1910 a number of wealthy men found their way into the senate through the votes of legislators who were liberally paid for their support. Under these circumstances it was frequently said that the senate was no longer truly representative of the interests of the people. _Interference with Legislative Business._--A prolonged senatorial contest also interfered too much with the regular business of the state legislature. Where the session is limited to two or three months, as it frequently is, the inroads upon the time at the disposal of the legislature for looking after the needs of the state were considerable.[28] Members were badgered by candidates, passions and animosities were engendered, a party coloring was given non-partisan measures, and the votes of members on legislative measures were sometimes determined by the senatorial contest, rather than by the merits of the measure on which they were called to vote. [28] In 1897 the business of the legislature of Oregon was completely tied up for months because a sufficient number of members of the lower house, in order to prevent the election of a certain senator, absented themselves from the chamber and prevented a quorum. Not a bill could be passed or a dollar of money appropriated for meeting the current expenses of the state.