Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-08-06
The New Constitution.
Speech of Judge W. H. West,
AT BELLEFoKTAINE, july 3, IS14.

AT BELLEFosTAINE, JULY %, 1914.
Mr.. Chairman, Citizens md Nesgh6or'
of LoQan CouTny-I shall not indulge
in any animated strain which IS Gus
tomary in public discussions. L an
here 10 speak of the various features o
the proposed new Constitution and tht
reasons that influenced the Convention
in recommending ii. Believing, as
sincerely 90, that the instrument pro
posed presents a model second 10 ina
of the organic law ri no State IN th'
Union, | simply wish and shall en-
deavor to address myself to your rta
son and not your prejudice, TO couVinc'
your understanding, out not TO arouse
YOUR passion. / shall, therefore, speaF
briefly OF some of the leading features
of the proposed instrument. ana rs th'
time is short ana .he subject 10 large
without further preliminary remarks
/ shall proceed AT once TO the work ln
hand.
The Constitution of 1851 provided
TWO MODES FOR AMENDMENT,
One by the legislative submission OF
separate amendments concurred in and
recommended by three-fifths OF each
branch of the Legislature; the otner,
the Submission OF amendments by the
intervention OF Constitutional Con-
vention, called once in twenty years
for that purpOse-not separately, but
generally authorizinga a revision of the
entire instrument, or general amend
ments of particular parts thereof. Thus
it was provided that It The Legislature
should declioe to make provision for
remedying defects in the Constitution
which experience or changed condition
might develope, the people should
havean opportunity oftaking the mat
ter into thei.- oWn hands, and, iude-
pendentiy OF the Leg Stature, effect
such amendments and apply sucn rem
edies as, in their judgment, were
thought best. This was the condition
of affairs until the call for The recent
Convention.
DEFECTS OF THE PRESENT CONSTITU-
TION.
Shorty after line adoption Of The
presedt Constitution experience and
our changed condition developed the
fact that there were defects in that iD-
some more and some less
important. Among these were the op-
porlunities of stealing into the Public
Treasury under the gulse OF law to eff
feet peculalions and plunder. Others
arose out of The facility for furnishing
oppor, unity 10 municipal corporations
to indulge In eXtravagant EXPENDITURES
and increased public Indebtedness
without limit. Others arose from the
policy and moDOpoli-
zing tendencies of ouf great corporate
insl ,tutiOns thai have been built up iii
the State. Others-aDd probably the
most SeriOus-arose from the utter and
absolute inefficieDcy of our judicial sys-
ten TO meet the wants spr,nging from
the increase of business and population
in the Stale.
WHY NOT REMEDIED BY THE LEGIS-
LATURE?
Attempts have several times been
made by the Legislature to apply a
remedy by SUBMIT ng constitutional
These attempts, how
ever, were met and successfully defeat
ed, by the statement that the time WAS
not far distant when the people would
be called upon to vote for or against
Constitutional Convention--that the
Convention would probably be called
together, and that, inasmuch as other
minor deiecIs in The instrument requi
red TO be remedied, it was wholly un-
necessary 10 submit separate pioposi
tiOns by the General Assembly until
the arrival of that period when The
Convention should be called, when The
en.ire Constitution might be revised,
and when The defects, great and small,
might be remedied at one and tue same
tine; that therefore we would better
beal awhile with the evils under
which we were then laboriug than To
attempt to make any separate amend
ment through the Legislature. These
; rsuments prevailed, and the proposed
we've succesSiVely de-
feated.
After the lapse of twenty years, in
1871, as the Constitution required, a
vote was tlken upon calling the Con-
Convention. 1t WAS free
and voluntary vote upon your part.
You vo,ed to call that Convention.
You voted to elect delegates to the
Convention. You empowered that
Convention to act, and to present such
a form of Constitution or such forms Of
10 the various parts ofthe
Constitution as in its judgment aud
wisdom il might think best. 1t has
performed that labor; the result of their
action is now before you, and it does
seem marvelOusly strange that afuer
those gentlemen have performed this
labor, the same aTgument-conversel
applied, however-should be resorted
to to defeat the work of that Conven-
tion that were employed to defeat the
efforts of the Gederal Assembly in secu-
ring amendments to the Constitution,
that if you vote down the
you will not suffer much
from it, and nothing very seriously
detrimental can result, for the reason
that the General Assembly has full
power, by submitting amendments to
correct these evils. And thus the
whole thing is thrown back upon the
General Assembly again, and when we
get back to the General Assembly and
ask it that it shall submit proposition
for amendments to relieve US from
those difficulties aud embarrassmeDts
BY which our system is surI ounded,
again the same argument is applied,
'Oh, it is not necessary to submit
DOW; just wait until an
'ther fweny years passes and Con-
Tention will be called" And thus We
cave The whole question of remedying
hose evils tossed back and forth be-
iween the Convention and the General
Assembly like battle door or shuttle
.ock, and no relief results from it. This
5 the state of affairs and the condition
n which we find ourselves to-day.
,HE CoNvEN rION'S WORK CONSIDER
ED AEFIRMATIVELY.
Now. 1 wish simply to speak Of the
and motives that influ-
need that Convention in doing what it |
did. 1t was actuated by |
desire TO promote as far as possible
,ublic economy, public virtue, impair
ial justice and administrative efficien-
y in all parts of the Govern ment, by |
he Constitution it was about to pro-
,oSe.
These were the underlying principles,