The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-01-17
The Year for Constitutional
Amendments,

Other affairs than personal politics
ought to enlist the interested attention
of the people of Vermont in this year
of 1900. The danger is that, in the
eager scramble for the high offices to
which elections involving the choice of
new aspirants and candidates will be
made, certain matters of fundamental
importance will be neglected.
The Shekinah of our rights-and
some of our wrongs-the Constitution
of the State, at the legislative session
of this year, can be taken from the
lookup and submitted to the gaze of the
people and the handling of the high
priests of the General Assembly.
There is nothing like this veneration of
the people of Vermont for the Consti-
tuition of their framing, unless it be
that of the people of Massachusetts for
the Sacred Goldfish that is the emblem
of their early greatness. Certainly
there is no other people of the United
States that so distrusts its own sobriety
of judgment, it's capacity for self con-
troll, or, it may be that is so "stuck" on
the perfection of thing of its own
devising, as the people Of Vermont
seem to be in the matter of the Con-
stitution. Neither the authors of the
Constitution of the United States, nor
the makers of the Constitution of any
other State in the Union, seem to have
encies as the men who put into the
Vermont Constitution the provision
that that instrument should be subject
to proposals of amendment only at
intervals of ten years. Proposals of
amendment of the national Constitu-
ton may be made at any regular ses-
sion of Congress, and the States, with
we believe this one exception of Yer.
mont, permit the Offering of amend
ments to the organic law at any regu-
lar session of the Legislature. The
fundamental law, like the other forces
and powers of every well organized and
highly efficient government, may be
readily "moblized" for any emergency
human wisdom and foresight had been
unable to provide.
While this is true, the checks and
restraints upon the final adoption OF
proposals of amendment are all-suf.
fcient to guard the fundamental law OF
the Nation, or of individual States
from the consequences of hasty and i'll.
advised change. Proposals of amend
ment may be made at any regular SEES
sion of the making body. If &C
cepted by both branches of that body
this act is merely preliminary. The
proposed amendment is before the PEG
pie for public discussion. To contrib
ute to its ultimate adoption it must b.
again passed by both branches of tn,
Congress or Legislature next succeed
ing its first acceptance, is open t
amendment and perfection in tn
course of parliamentary deliberation
and, if it passes the second ordeal o
legislative research, it is then, in tn
case of a National amendment, sub
mitted to the acceptance of the State
through their Legislatures, or in tn
case of amendment to State Constitu
ton, to the vote of the people of tn
State. However easy the matter {
proposing may be made, an amendment
must run a gauntlet of restriction
upon its final adoption that is an al
solute bar against the incorporation c
impolitiC or unwise changes into
Constitution, State or National.
The wisdom of permitting proposal
of amendment at any regular session {