The Advocate and news., 1898-09-21

State constitutions are nothing short
of codes of laws giving instruction to
the Legislature and other agents Of gov
ernment on nearly every subject of gen.
eral public concern, and often stating
the methods which shall be used in leg
islating, If not, indeed, actually legislat-
ing on local questions
This writer points to this change, and
to the tendency to make legislative ses-
sions biennial instead of annual, and to
also limit to a short period even these
biennial sessions, as evidences Of grow
ing disposition everywhere to substitute
constitutional conventions for Legisla-
lures, and thus to take laws In bulk
from a convention, instead Of in small
lots each year from Legislature, the
code to be changed at intervals when Ii
may need It by the initiation Of the Leg
islature and the ratification Of the peO-
pie" In short, within quarter Of a
century there has grown up tendency
to practice in a slow, awkward and eX-
pensiVe way the identical mode Of legis-
lation which the initiative and refer
endum in designed to make possible In
speedy, orderly and inexpensive man
ner. Why not make new constitution
expressly providing for direct legisla-
tion, all laws adopted by popular vote to
be valid regardless Of constitutional
provisions? Then we would never need
another constitutional convention, Every
law would be part of the constitution
and the constitution would thus grow
naturally instead of being arbitrarily
framed once for all.
8. A new idea in democratic govern
ment was put forth by the Missouri con-
stitution of 1875, when the cities Of st.
Louis and Kansas City were emancipated
from legislative control to the extent
that they were authorized to make their
own charters to be adopted by popular
vote Of thei rcitizens This idea was
followed and extended to smaller cities
in California's constitution Of 1879, and
the constitution of Washington, adopted
in 1889. The plan has worked admirably
and has become extremely popular; and
it's outcome at no distant day will doubt
less be that States will become fedora
tions of self-governed cities and cOun-
ties. A recent writer ObseTves: This
movement to separate our city and State
governments, which has reached the
stage of practical experience in the three
States mentioned Is, in truth, only the
development of all the best Of the later
tendencies in thought regarding this
subject. Such a solution Of the problem
has been looked upon by all recent com
petent students Of municipal government
as the only true plan Of reform" He
even predicts complete divorce of
State and city, and declares that "the
plan in use in Missouri, California and
Washington Is but step in the direc-
tioH Of full emancipation for large Amer
ican cities when they must stand In the
same relation to the federal government
that the States do. For the good
of the cities themselves, and likewise for
the good Of the States, 1t is necessary
that our large cities should be free cit
les" England has reached similar re-
suit by different method In the act OF
Parliament creating County councils,
under which the city of London is max
ing great progress in the municipal own
ership and management Of public utili-
ties, and is doing very much what Its
elected council chooses to do, without
having to consult Parliament at every
turn. Kansas should be at least as pro-
gressive as old England, and we should
have a new constitution which should be
the first to grant actual and absolute self
government to cities and counties, thus
enabling any locality to practice social
ism whenever It's people might choose,
without being obliged to wait for all
localities to become equally progressive.
For general State purposes, Of course,
the State would still be supreme; but
every municipality should be allowed to
adopt such plans for local administra-
ticn as 1t sees fit.
4. Milton, in CrOmwells time, and
Paine, before the United States constitu-
ton was adopted, presented arguments
never yet answered against bicameral
legislatures. Why should there be two
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