The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-15
NEED OF A CONSTITUTIONAL CON-
VENTION FOR KANSAS.
paper read before the Wichita Bar association b.
its president, Edwin White Moore.

written constitutions. By means o
them, in the various states as well as IL
the federal union, the framework of the
government is established, and legisla
ton is bounded and controlled The
are the great charters of the people t.
their representatives., the last expression
of the sovereign power of a republic
the peoples will Their high importanc,
is duly estimated. The making of ;
constitution is regarded by the American
people as their highest civil function
Even the perpetual strife of parties fol
superiority isto great degree suspended
as the citizenship of the state approaches
the formation of a new constitution.
The presence of the ablest men Of al
parties is provided for in the manner Of
representation. The constitution of {
state Is usually the expression Of the
soundest Judgment and the highest wis
dom of its people. In the making of 6
constitution society is resolved, as il
were, into its original elements. 1t lays
anew its foundations in the light of its
latest experience and accumulated wis
! dom. The new constitution fixes the
! landmark of its progress. Thenceforward
its institutions are planted upon new
and higher plane as the people have pro-
/ crossed in understanding. Constitution
making is therefore an important feature
of the political life of the American
states, and marks the lines of our con-
| tinual progress. 1t should not occur too
| frequently in the history of state, but
a periodical recurrence TO fundamental
! principles, and a reconstruction of the
plan of government Is essential to
healthy political life. Once in every
twenty-five years does not seem too often
for the remodelling of a state constitu-
ton. This is almost the life of genera
ton, and in the rapid change in social
and business conditions, even in the old
est states, the machinery of government
Will need to be reset. Provision should
be made in the constitution itself, for the
calling of constitutional convention at
the stipulated period in the future.
Legislatures TO whose discretion the
calling of such convention is left, are
frequently at odds with the wishes and
interests of the people; and the mode of
procedure is usually so tedious that
serious ills must often be endured, to the
detriment of the public welfare. The
constitution of the state of New York
enioins the calling of a constitu-
tional convention by the legislature once
in twenty years. but successive legisla-
lures have, for number of years, per-
mitted the prescribed time to pass
without calling a convention. In order,
therefore, to secure a constitutional con-
= fpa
blage without the Intervention of the
legislature should be provided for in the
constitution.
1t is now thirty years since the
present constitution of Kansas was
adopted. Kansas was then a rudimen-
tary community. newly organized on
the western confines of population. the
great interests which now concern its
people were not then conceived of. The
defects of the present constitution. never
a model of wisdom, have for years been
painfully manifest. If the corrections
and improvements made in it by a con-
stitutional convention, were confined to
details, and consisted only in putting the
machinery of government into smoother
running order, sufficient reason would
be afforded for a new constitution. The
methods adopted by the 100,000 settlers
of thirty years ago fail in important re-
spects to meet the demands, or accord
with the judgments, of this generation.
] mean to suggest in this paper only a
few of the subjects which, to my mind,
would demand the consideration Of a
constitutional convention.
First-The greatest of modern
problems is the
railway question. The railways |
have become so large and |
a part OF modern social |
and so dominate all the bust
ness life of every community, that they |
are at once necessary to the existence, |
as well as menace! to the prosperity of /
every community. The power of rail |
way corporations has grown to enormous |
by the maSsing of their |
wealth and their forces. The question .
Of how to cope with this power, and to /
for the public the best benefits |
of railway service, without on the other |
hand Gripping the ability of the rail
ways to render such service, calls for the .
greatest thoughtfulneSs. If the means
were devised. another query would be,
now far to make the matter the subject
extent 10 leave it to legislative provision?
Much. If not all, that may be needed in
he way Of railway control. can be exer-
Used by the legislature under the present
This. however, does not
ully meet the difficulty. The indisposi-
ion of legislatures TO act, their liability
othe corrupting influences of the corpOr-
Ltions themselves, and often their in
affords sufficient reasons for
enactments. A new con-
titution might at least contain
provision for the regulation of
ailroads by commissioners, at least two
# whom shall be elected by the people.
Experience has shown that some such
lexible machinery as this is the only
easible means of controlling railroads.
The interstate commerce law, whose dis
nal failure or, perhaps, worse. its injury
o public intereS 5, is conceded, affords
n illustration of the difficulty of regu-
lting railways by general laws. New
onditions constantly arise which no
oresight can provide for, and the rail
Dads. with their great power and
realth. and the ability which is always
{ their command, never fail to turn {
hese conditions to their advantage The
should be directly respon-
IDLE to the people. At the same time ,
revision should be made for securing
pom such board at least one member of
pecial skill and knowledge in railroad
The management of rail-
Dads has grown into an extremely COM
Heated and difficult business. 1t requires
high order of business ability and long ,
Experience for its mastery. IL is in this
aspect that commissioners usually fail
] their contests with the railroads. In :
lew York and Massachusetts, the railroad {
uestion has been much more success
llly dealt with. because those states have :
aken the precaution TO secure ability I
oual n fba- ~ thu ra5.rooda The -, [