Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-04-11
A QUEER BILL.

One OF the most extraordinary bills of the
present session of COngrCss-aud among the
i've thousand introduced there are some very
queer ones-is that of which Reprcsentive
McCod of Iowa is sponsor and which pro-
poses constitutional convention Of a charac-
ter hitherto unheard Of. The bill provides for
the appointment by the President, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, of q COM
mission, to consist of seventy-six persons,
two from each State, of different parties,
for the purpose of considering and proposing
to the several States the propriety Of calling a
convention by at least twothirds of the States
TO propose amendments to the constitution.
The members of the commission arc to be
called together bya proclamation Of the
President after their appointment They arc
to sit not exceeding thirty days, at such time
and place as he may designate, and are to re-
ceive the same pay and cmoluments pro rata
as members of Congress. The convention
should it he called by the States, is to meet
July A, 1886
Mr.. McCOid supports the plan of the pro.
posed convention by pointing to the uncx
ampled growth Of the country during the
past century, the development of new inter.
ests and the important constitutional ques
tons that have arisen. He says that the
science OF constitutional government has
steadily advanced with this growth in the
several States, their constitutions having
been amended more easily than the federal
constitution could be, and many of them by
conventions similar to the ono now propos
| ed, and that a large number of constitutional
amendments have been introduced in Con
gress, recommended by Presidential mes.
sages and urged by the public press.
Among the subjects to which these pro-
| posed amendments relate are the Presiden.
tial succession, the election OF President aad
| Vice President, the exercise Of the veto
power, woman suffrage and number OF
other subjects, such as the regulation Of
| trade marks, the establishment of Federal
system of popular education aud the freedom
| of tie civil service from political control,
which have come up for action since the
constitution was adopted, and with which
Congress now has no power to deal.
The appointment Of the commission is,
Mr.. McCoid says, simply preliminary
step TO bring about concentrated action bv
two-thirds Of the States; and he suggests
July d. 1897, as the date for holding the con-
vention, because that year is the centennial
anniversary of the submission of the origi-
nal commission to the original thirteen States
"A suggestion which throws an air of SEN
tlmcntality over the whole business. Why
not put in 1892, because that year is the four
hundredth anniversary OF the discovery Of
America? But the whole scheme il 80
bizarre that such a point is OF minor impor.
lance To carry it INTO effect would be q
usurpation Of State rights on the one hand
and Federal rights on the other, and in the
third place, constltution-makin il no such
easy job as the author of the scheme seems
to think. 1t is great deal better to try for
while longer the old methods. which have
served us in the past, not enthusiastically, IL
not quite perfectly.