The Newtown bee., 1901-10-04
Hawleyville are the happy parents of a son, born on Sunday. THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF
 THE TOWNS OF CONNECTICUT
 ARE IN DANGER.

doing all in their power to sustain our sacred rights by dropping party lines, local issues, and every thing that would interfere with our standing sOlidly together with a determinat ton not to surrender single right, and go to the NO against the holding of COnsti | tutional Convention, the sole object of | which seems to be to take from the | towns of the State rights which are the | towns by sacred guarantee, and which will bring l54 towns under the complete control of l4 towns or .,ities.
 Among the benefits or privileges which are threatened bya convention are:
 The right of town representation in the lower house of the General Assembly.
 The right of each town to manage it's
 The right of each town to elect it's own officers. s$
 The right of each town to lay it's own taxes, s.5-
 whereby comes the value of property and local prosperity to agricultural communities.
 The Constitution of our State, adopted in 1918, gives to every town, large or small, two Representatives in the lower House of the General Assem- bly,. Later, towns which were set off from original towns accepted of one representative for reasons satisfactory to them. Our national legislature has the same principle of the represen- tatiOn of States in the United States Senate, and the State of Nevada, with apOpulatiOn of AZ, GOO, has two Senators, as well as New York with it's 8,OOOOOO of population; while in the other House of Congress representation is based upon population. What would Con- necticut amount to in the United States Senate if the nation should say representation by population? Where would have been the manufacturing 50 years had it not been for her United States Senators? And yet the reformers are striving through a Constitutional Convention to take from 154 towns their rights in the lower House of the General Assembly and give it to IA cities. These IA cities have majority of the population of the state, and therefore can protect themselves, while the 154 towns would have their all taken from them, and be left unpro- tected. These IA cities can now elect the Presidential electors, Congress- man, Governor, and other state officers, and all officers elected by the popular vote, except members of the lower House of the General Assembly,
 When the present proposed amend ment to the Constitution for the in- crease of the State Senate, and redis- tricting of the same according to pop ulation, is adopted by the people, New Haven city will have five Senators, while the country district will have to be more than doubled in territory to hnx nx,n 1n oit; then have permanent majority in the State Senate; and still the small re- form element in these cities is demand- ing Constitutional Convention, that they may also obtain a permanent ma jOrity in the House. Will there be a citizen of the towns that will not spend the time on Monday, October :, to go to the polls and resent this demand? Has there been any dissa tisfaction, or even injustice, shown by the people against the present method of repre- sentation? May we not therefore ex- pect (if we do our duty fully that the business men and the laboring men of our cities, who are not politicians, or office seekers, will vote with us? Come out as one man and vote down the proposed convention, thereby WrOnging no one but protecting all.
 Why leave it to politicians in the city, who, leading masses of voters, can con- trOl affairs of State and legislation? The Fyler amendment was the sure step for accomplishing representation in both Houses of our General Assem- bly by population. It was defeated by more than to l. Why was this vote in the General Assembly to bring this convention before the people passed? Ask your representatives, if any questionable means were used to se- cure it's adoption, and to defeat a re- consideration?
 Vote against the holding of consti- tutiOnal Convention for the following reasons:
 1. Because it Is wrong.
 2. Because it is not needed.
 3. Because it will open the door to- we know not what.
 4: Because it's object is to centralize citizenship into trust.
 5. Because it will cost the people of the state an enormous sum of money, concededly without any beneficial re- suit.
 6. Because the proposed amendments for redistricting and enlarging the Senate gives the cities a majority in the Senate, and the intent of a Consti- tutional Convention is to destroy the prestige of the towns in the House, and give the cities control of both houses, and to remove the land and probate records of the towns to county seats, as in New York State, establish ing system that is both expensive and incOnvenient.
 '. Because it will take from us the right to elect our Judge of Probate and justices.
 8. Because it will bring about re- dIstricting>o of our Probate Districts.
 9. Because it will create Boards of