The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-11-03
The Constitutional Amendments.

be called upon to accept or reject
seven proposed amendments to the
lconstitution of the State OF Missouri.
l regret to notice that no newspaper
in this part of the State that has come
under my observation has commented
on any of them except the fourth.
which is for the purpose of enabling
ST. Louis to issue bonds in aid of the
Worlds Fair. AS that is local to St.
Louis alone, it should be left to the
voters of that city to pass upon.
The other six proposed amendments
are Fundamentally wrong and II they
become part of the organic law OF
the State will throw wide open the
doors to vicious legislation and breed
corrupt practices.
The first and sixth proposed amend
ments, if adopted, will in effect abol-
ish the grand jury system and leave
it to the discretion OF the judge and
prosecuting attorney to say who shall
or who shall not be prosecuted for the
commission of crime. The persons
who generally occupy these positions
are usually honest, but the tempta-
tions to dowrong to get the spoils that
could be reapedIfrom wrongdoing are
so great that the officials should not
be tempted. Judges and prosecuting
attorneys sometimes do fall. The
powers vested in the grand jury
should be allowed to remain. Ex-
perience has taught that power should
remain in the hands of the people.
The second amendment is that legis-
lation may be enacted that fifteen
cents on the hundred dollars may be
levied on all property subject to taxa
tion, for roads except in ST. Louis,
Kansas City and ST. Joseph: but all the
smaller cities iu the State are subject
to that levy. 1t is we'll known that in
most of the smaller cities in the State
the special taxes levied and collected
for the construction of streets and
sewers virtually confiscate the inter-
est of the present owner in the real
estate. Why should any city, if not
all, be compelled to bear this burden?
Why let OFF from taxation one third
OF the taxable property of the State,
situated in tie exempted cities?
The third amendment, in effect. |
would relieve a large part Of the real
estate in Missouri from taxation. 1t
proposes that where property is mort
gagged The owner shall be taxed on all |
in excess of the mortgages, and the
mortgage shall be taxed on the
amount of his mortgage note. 1t is
we'll known that a large part of the
money loaned in this State is loaned
by nOn-residents, whose notes are
made payable out of this State and
often, long before maturity, have
passed through two or three hands.
Before this legislation could be ef-
fective the law merchant would have
to be abrogated, and we would then
be out of join. with every civilized
country.
The sixth amendment is to allow the
Legislature to appropriate one million
dollars of the sinking fund of this
State to the ST. Louis fair. Govern
ments were not established for the
purpose of taxing people to give
shows. If the State wants to go into
that kind of business, it could make
it more profitable by buying a few
wild beasts, hiring lot of acrobats
and, as a side show, get an Italian, a
monkey and hand organ. Sinking
funds, school funds and all trust,
funds should be held sacred. 1t may
be said that Illinois, New York, Penn
sylvania and other States have do
mated to fairs. A ready answer to
that is, that they infringed on the
spirit of the law, oppressed the toiler.
sowed seed to the winds and reaped
anarchy and strikes. Holy Writ
warns US not to follow in the footsteps
of the wrong doer, for they lead to
The seventh amendment, in effect.
allows majority of jury to find a
verdict. The result of legislation of
this character will be to discredit the
jury system and vest more power in
the hands of judges We do not believe
the experience the people have had
with government by injunction and
Of county judges by
federal judges (whose tenure of office
is for life) will readily abandon the
jury system and submit their personal
liberty and property rights TO auto
cratic courts.
regret that your space will not
permit me to point ont other obiec- /
tions and enlarge on the objections /
already suggested to said proposed |
amendments. l trust that attention /
may be directed 10 this important
matter. What demon of misrue and /.
autocracy suggested the proposed |
aY,ap1rp 1,ar.ban. ~ /,