The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-11-29
6 ARE THEY ELIGIBLE ?"

The Parkersburg Journal raises
question as to the eligibility Of several
prominent gentlemen recently elected
members of the Constitutional Conven'
ton or of the State Legislature. and
seems to think these gentlemen dlsqual'
flied BY the terms Of the Fourteenth
Amendment of the Federal Constitu-
lion. An examination of the provisions
Of that amendment will show that 1t
cannot be cited to exclude any one from
the State Legislature and still less from
a Convention to revise the Constitution.
The third section Of the Fourteenth
Amendment is in the following words:
mo person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, or elector
of President or Vice President, or hold
any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who,
having previously taken an oath as
member Of Congress, or as an officer OF
the United States, or as member OF
any State Legislature, or as an execu-
tive or judicial officer of any State to
support the Constitution Of the United
States, shall have engaged in any insur-
rection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies
thereof. But Congress may, by two
thirds vote Of each house, remove such
disability.
1t will be observed that this disqualI-
fies four classes of persons who before
the war took an oath Of allegiance to
the United States and afterwards en-
gagged in rebellion, viz: members Of
Congress. officers Of the United States
members of State Legislatures, and Elk
ecutive or Judicial officers of States.
All of these are by the terms Of the
amendment disabled from occupying
either of the following four positions,
viz: Senator or Representative in Con-
gress, Elector OF President or Vice Pres
ident, civil or military officer of the
United States, or civil or militia
ry officer OF State. The
Amendment thus makes distinction
between legislators, whether they be
Federal or State, and officers Of the
United Ststes or OF the State. They
are separately and specially designated
Members of State Legislatures are
spoken OF as different class and dis
tinct from officers of States, and,
although those who were legislators be-
fore the war are now excluded from
holding civil or military office in a
State, it does not appear that they may
not be members of the State Legis-
lature.
We believe it is we'll settled that a
member of Congress or Of State Leg
islature is not an officer OF the United
States or Of the State, and the several
disabled classes were daubtless emu
mersted in the Fourteenth Amendment
having this distinction in view. An
other section of the Federal Constitu-
ton provides that mo person holding
spy office under the United States shall
be a member of either House. during
his continuance in office" II member
of Congress be an officer, this section
contrsdicts itself. The same distinc,
ton between legislators and officers is
made in the Constitution Of this State.
1t provides that mo person holding
an office Of profit under this State or
the United States, shall be member
of the Legislature" and also that mo
person who may have collected or been
entrusted with public money, whether
State, county, township, or municipal,
shall be eligible to the Legislature, or
10 any office of honor, trust or profit
until he shall have duly accounted for
and paid over such money according to
law"
Several other passages from the State
Constitution might be cited to show
that a member of the Legislature is not
REGARDED as an officer, and is therefore
not disabled from the discharge of his
legislative duties by reason OF the
prohibition contained in the Four
teenth Amendment OF the Constitution
OF the United States. And, not being
prohibited from being member of the
State Legislature, still less is he ex-
cluded from membership in a Consti-
tutional Convention which is not even
indirectly alluded to by the terms Of
the Fourteenth Amendment and whose
members no person has yet assumed to
designate IS civil or military officers OF
the State.
There are five or six gentlemen who
have been elected to the Convention,
and perhaps two or three members
elect of the State Legislature, who are
subject to the disabilities of the Four
teenth Amendment, but we presume
that no one OF them considers himself
an officer under this State or will hest
tate to take his seat in the Convention
or 10 the Legislature by reason of his
disability to hold civil or military
Office.