, 1889-10-30
THE CONSTITUTION

house in favor of the adoption Of the con-
stitution was an emphatic and %unequivo-
cal success. No errors of JUDGMENT were
committed by any of the speakers and
nothing was said which on sober second
thought might better have been left un-
said. The speakers Of the evening we're,
of course, all in favor Of the adoption Of
the constitution as the first great step
toward the accomplishment of statehood,
but they frankly stated and frankly mel
all the objections which have been made
TO the constitution. Not a single issue
was lodged and the statehood matter was
given a more vital importance than it has
yet attained in the eyes of many people.
As was stated last evening there are. Of
course, objections to the constitution as
it Is framed. In the history Of the world
there has never yet been framed a pro-
nunciamento Of principles against which
some objections might be urged and per
haps sustained, but as stated by Father
Nugent, u fundamental laws are less
open to objection and more closely fit the
territorial situation than any which have
been presented for any Of the states.
The general tendency of the c~onstitu
ton is in the right direction. Through it
the purity of the ballot box is more care.
fully conserved and restraints are placed
about the requirements of citizenship
which make that distinction better appre-
ciated when il is once attained. The great.
est good to the greatest number Is the idea
which it holds ever in view. The rights
of ths masses are closely regarded and the
unwarranted assumptions of powerful
corporations are iudiciously restrained.
Safeguards are provided against the reck-
less piling up of public debt and wise
provisions are made against exorbitant
taxation. The salaries OF public officials
are placed within reasonable limits and
the fee system, which has become odious
IN the eyes of the people, is practically
abolished. Provisions are made for care
fully guarding public funds and covering
all interest accruing from them into the
public treasury instead of the pockets of
the officials.
To counterbalance these and other good
provisions objections are raised by various
persons on various grounds, but all of
these objections combined are insigni6-
cant compared with the unmixed good
uhi,h mill rasul, 10 tha nao,lo C.o,, "a,
adoption.
THE LEADER would have preferred to
see woman suffrage submitted as a separ-
ate proposition to ascertain il its contin.
uance was desired BY a majority of the
people. The constitutional convention was
very strongly of the opposite opinion, but
this aud some other proposed amendments
may be submitted to the people at some
future time.
Last evenings meeting strongly EN-
phasized the very significant fact that
there is a great deal Of good and com
psrativelY little bad in the constitution
and therefore the voters should be willing
to sink their petty preiudices and vote for
a constitution which is of such vital i'm
p~ortance at the present stage Of the ter
ritory's history.
Outside Of the territory the constitution
has been received with unmixed satisfac.
iiou by many OF the most intelligent
thinkers of the country. II therefore
behooves the intelligent voter to think
twice before he votes against a constitu.
ton which many competent authorities
have pronounced TO be the highest type
Of fundamental law yet achieved in the
Union.
Wyoming now needs some powerful i'm
petus to thrust it forward into prominence
and prosperity. Day by day it is being
despoilcd Of its military force through the
influence Of neighboring states. Its Just
claims to congressional attention are per.
sistently overlooked, but aboye all the
vast and i~nexhaustible s~torehouses oil
mineral wealth are remaining year after
year untouched and, except IN the case Of
coal alone, Of no more present practical
value than though the territory did not
contain them. The world needs many OF
the minerals found in the broad bosom Of
Wyoming, but capital is coy under terri
torial conditions and statehood is the only
loadstone to attract and hold it.
Every citizen OF Wyoming has a duty
to perform on next Tuesday and we hon.
estly believe there isn't a man who casts q
ballot against statehood who will not live
to regret it.
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