Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-02-01
CLASSIFIED 1IEMBERsHIP.

tered conditions. In 70 gislng the Legislative
tlcles u would seem wise to classify the member
ship OF the two houses. providing that the classes
snail De chosen at different times. 80 that st
Die number Of members OF either house viii
have had Legislative experience.
4i-s 9o04u greatly EdclllJaUe the Work OF Or
gan1zaC1on, save time insure accuracy and Ell
cheney In tie transaction of public business and
be OF 1ncalculable benefit In many ways.
LIhuIED SESSIONS.
Under our biennial system the limitation. of
Inc session to nifty dayz Is no longer advisable.
L-1cllalag sundays ana counting ont me uIne
necessarily consumed n organization and n the
election OF State Printer and United States
senator, the time remaining IS wholly IN
great State. Local and special bills consume
much time. the work done is often crude and in
upon the calendar for lack Of time to properly
consider them. This Limitation should be re-
sOnable per diem or a fixed salary. The present
compensation Of members OF the Legislature is
inadequate unjust, pars1monlOuss n1ggardiy.
SPECIAL LEGISLATION.
Special LEGISLATION is a great and growing evil,
Notwithstanding the evident purpose Of the
trainers or our constitution 70 prohibit It. The
provision that 10 special law shall be enact ed
| where general law can made applicable. % with
the construction placed upon il by the courts, is
| purpose. The result Is that special bills crowd
the calender each session, providing for rene
oLes "a specla! cases. oLIenLnes naischleVouss II
not vicious, IN character and design, adding
much 70 the general expense, retardlng public
business. and consuming time that shou-d be de-
voted to measures OF importance. An amend
ment specifically fOrbidding the passage OF any
majority, to authOrize the Issue OF bonds, OF
/ special tax levy, IN any particular case by any
municipality, to legalize the acts Of any public
officer or body, to authorize particular roads or
| and wise. Parties should becompslled TO seek a
remedy, in all ouch cases. in the courts or the
| board OF county commissioners upon whom the
needful authority should be conferredi If it does
not exist.
THE JUDICIARY.
Scarcely anything can be more important to
the people than the prompt dispatch of business
CANT, to whom the laws delay are especially
! grievaus. And this applies with. added force to
the courts OF last resort Our supreme Court
created when we had but 10000 people, is trying
to do the business of million and three-quartY
ers or people. 1t should be better paid and re-
heVed BY an amendment adding more justices, OF
an intermediate appellate court should be
created, with hnal juris fiction IN many cases
that now come on appeal error
from the courts below. Provision
should also be made for increasing the number
of district judge in those counties constituting
a single Judi aial district where one district
judge cannot transact the business. 1t might
be well, also to prohibit the creation OF judi
clal district containing less than given pOpula-
ton. or the reduction sE eny existing district
below such basis.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
Changes in the fundamental law can come
only through a convention, or by amendments.
1t would take several years TO reach the end by
convention, il the initial steps vera at once
taken. though 1 am sure that such a convention
would afford the most satisfactory means of
curing the many intrmities that have Crept into
the constitution by the lapse of time. / am
! further persuaded however, that a call for
convention can never receive the indOrsement of
a majority OF the people of Kansas. unless some
! assurance could be given that neither OF several
i important features OF the present constitution
should be In any wise alt red, impaired, or put
/ in peril, of which may mention the prOhibitOry
amendment and the homestead exemption. And
a proposed new constitution which should not
| preserve these provisions SUBSTANTIALLY as thew
are, would be overwhelmingly rejected by the
| people when submitted to them for ratification.
Az no restrictions respecting these features could
( Or q at n
sarily bind that body when once called into ex-
istence, it is doubtful If such la call would meet
with popular favor; aud the surest, cheapest and
speediest mode Of relief would seem therefore
to be through carefully prepared amendments.
AMENDMENTS.
No more than three propositions to amend the
constitution can be submitted at one time; but
1t cannot well be doubted that each proposition
may include all. or any number of the sections
OF any article; 80 that three propositions could
many articles-leg islstiVs, judicial and eZeCu-
tive, for instance. The remedy by amendments
width Of scope sufficient to reach at once the
existing defects calling most urgently for i'm
mediate cure.
TIME OF SUBMITTING.
The practice as to the time when amendments
should be submitted has followed the generally
accepted though doubtful conclusion That they
can be lega ly voted upon only at elections for
Representatives, in the eVen-numbered years.
The soundness OF this opinion or practice may
veil be questioned. AT the next election for
hspresentauVes, IS the time indicz ted by sec
ton 1, article IA, when proposed amendments
may be submitted; and lat the next election of
members to the Legislature" is the time fixed
by section Of said article, when a call for
Accordingly. up to 1873 there was no question
about submitting amendments annually or
call for a convention biennially, fOr the House
and Senate terms we're one and two years. re-
spectlvely. But the amendment TO the Legisla-
tive article adopted In 1919 extends these terms
to two and four years, beginning with the cleo
ton in 1876. the Fl. st underline biennial plan; and
1t Is commended tn this change operates to ex-
tend the limitation OF time IN said actions one
and two Of the aPporuOnment article fourteen,
accordingly. so that propositions TO amend the
constitution can be properly submitted only ~
cry second year, and a call for a convention only
every fourth year, beginning with 1876.
If this is the correct conclusion, then ar. iCle
fourteen has been altered and amended in both
sections without any action upon 1t by the peo-
PIE OF the 4eg1aIaUure, when ls Impossible. IT
the effect OF the amendment of 1875, in extending
the House and Senate term, has been to likewise
Changs the Jllae originally INDICATED oy sections
one and two of the apporuOnment article to two
and four years, them by parity of reasoning, If
that amendment had heightened the legislative
term to ten and twenty years, the time for sub
hitting amendments or a call for a convention
would have been IN the same manner extended.
But in the election of 1875, wtl the propOsiti on
10 amend the legislative article providing for
the biennial plan pr, Csitions were also submit
ted amending two Othe articles, three in all,
and as many the constitution allows st one
time; and all were adopted. And if tn effect of
these amendments was. as cOntended. to also
amend article fourteen, they must also have done
the same to article one; so that i've amendments
were made at one time, three directly
and two indirectly. Section one article
one, provides that state officers shall be chosen
at the time and place of voting for members of
the LeRislaturs,'' the same phrase as employed in
article fourteen. TO hold for the term OF two years
aud until their successors are elected and quail
fled. MEMBERS of the Legislature both branches,
since 1875, are chosen once in four years. and yet
no one has ever commended that the effect Of such
amendment was to widen the interval between
the elections for State officers from two to four
years, for such claim wouli do violence to the
plain intendment of the Constitution. 1t is only
mentioned TO show the apparent weakness of the
proposition that the amendment of 1875 50
changed the provisions OF another article-fOur-
teen-that amendments TO the Constitution
call for a convention be submitted to the
people only at elections held every second and
fourth year respectively.
The provisions If article l. like those Of article
IA, are not floating, but clear and specific and
we're not, in my opinion, changed or amended by
indiTection. If correct in this view. the neces-