Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-10-11

Special to the Register.
Charleston, w. Va, October 10.-The
report Of the Constitutional Committee
is in the hands of the printer and will
be ready for distribution within a few
days. 1t is generally understood that
the Governor is unable to see his way
clear to converting the Legislature in
extra session to consider this report
and overhaul and revise the State Con-
stitution. So it will have to get to-
gether, if at all, under call OF three
fifths of it's members, and such call
will probably within short time be
circulated among them for signatures.
PUBLIC OPINION HERE
is pretty we'll defined on the question
of an extra session, and it is against
it. Many arguments are advanced
against the proposition to call an ex-
ira session, but the principal argu-
ments used against it are: first, that
there is no urgent necessity for an
Immediate revision of the Constitution,
and, second If it is to be revised the
members of the present Legislature
have not been chosen to perform that
work.
Any one reading the spirit rather
than the letter of that portion of the
Constitution referring to changes to be
made in it, must reach the conclusion
that it was intended that the Legisla-
ture should submit to the people for
ratification only such amendments as
experience should, from time to time,
show to be individually desirable, and
that when it was a question of over
hauling and revising the Constitution
as whole, the matter should be rele-
gated to a convention
ELECTED FOR THAT EXPRESS
PURPOSE
by the people. The object being on the
one hand to have body of more or
less fit men especially selected to deal
with the many interviewer and CO.
related questions that arise in creating
or revising a complex instrument like
a State Constitution, and on the other
hand to save needless expense where
one or more amendments were to be
passed upon singly. If this conclusion
ne correct, there is no warrant for an
ordinary observation-disclosures
verting itself into a constitutional con-
vention. Congress enjoys more lati-
tude in this respect than the Legisla-
ture, and what would be thought of
Congress elected for ordinary issues
proceeding of its own notion, without
any prediction discussion, to revise
the entire Constitution of the United
States?
But it is not now primarily a ques-
ton whether the Legislature is moral
ly exceeding it's authority, or whether
this or that amendment should
BE SUBMITTED TO THE PEOPLE.
The matter to be determined at present
whether there exists any necessity
Tor an extra session of the Legisla-
lure to revise the State Constitution.
If there is any justification for such
session, it must be that such revision
is so urgently needed that the people
cannot very we'll get along without
until the meeting of the Legislature
In 1899, or because the present Legis-
1ature is so highly and peculiarly quail
flied for the work in hand that the
people ought to avail themselves of its
services now while they can, and not
take any chances with the contingent
cies of future elections.
AS to the first reason, it cannot be
recalled that there was in the press or
on the stump during or before the last
campaign any such discussion or in
terest in the matter as would
INDICATE ANY ANXIETY
OF the people about constitutional re-
vision. And any one who remembers
the dreary and inane proceedings be-
fore the revision committee of last
spring and the absence of any general
response to the inquiries scattered by
1t broadcast through the State, must
believe that the same lack of in
terest still prevails among those who
are influenced neither by four dollars
a day and perquisities nor a petty
vanity to be dabbling in the fundamen-
tai and supreme law of the State.
And it may be laid down as a safe
proposition that the amendments
should not be submitted to the people
until there is a fair probability that
they will be adopted on their merits
AS long as there is no decided dissat-
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