Waterbury Democrat., 1901-10-14
THE DELEGATE.
Reasons Why Waterbury Should
 Send a Democrat.
HON. MELBERT CARTS BOOK.

Gives Some Timely Hints in Regard to Constitutional Amendments -Repu)- licans Now Control Nearly All the Offices Republican Delegates Will Surely Vote to Continue to Hold Them and Also Will Aid in Getting a Few More.
 The cry has gone up from almost every republican paper in the state that the constitutional convention will
 not be gathering of partisans ail'i that the business to be done there will not be for the furtherance of either
 party, but for the benefit of the whole
 people, 1t took the party in power
 quite q long time to see it's way 10 granting this convention, and many O.
 those who took part in the debate i'll the legislature to get it do not hesl- tate to say that Governor McLeHl would never have endorsed the nIli; that .old man Fyler would not have | allowed him" had he not seen his way l through the matter. In a few places 1 where plenty of men can be found 10 I stand up for the benefit of the whole i people there is no bother in selecting man to represent them in the con l vention, but in places like Waterbury I there will be some difficulty, for every | republican who has so far been men, i toned as delegate to this convention | bears the reputation of being strong | partisan.
 | The book by the Hon Melbert E. l Cary. the "Connecticut Constitution. | was the authority mostequoted in the l legislature ill the debate for this con 1 yention. Nothing more original, no l better arguments than those which l this book contained were put forth for | this convention during the fight for it 1 in the legislature. and any one after | a glance at this book would see at once l the impropriety of this city sending l anyone to this convention but a demo- | crat and a democrat of the most pro- | nounced priciples.
 l Almost every public office from the | slord to the fowl and brute'' is now republican,; things have been so ar l ranged by the legislature that it can not be otherwise than republican. The
 courts. high and low. the jury coinm1s- I sion. the game wardens. everything is
 republican. Mir Cary's book quotes '.a l distinguished member of the supreme 1 court of the state" on the extension 6f l appointments to the higher courts; ''by
 the changes mentioned in the selection ] of the judiciary there has been, ! think, decided gain. Legislative aD- pointments to judicial office are die 1 tated largely by personal considera- l tions Members of the legislature II l self are apt to receive them. if they
 desire it. and and this not only opens
 the road to bargains, but practically
 the field of choice. A caucus of a leg | islatiye body is also less responsible | fo r1rh1ia pnir1inn thon q nnlifiaaI
 vention of party delegates whose can
 didate must run the gauntlet of pop l ular election; and less responsible s;tn l than any single magistrate to whom
 the nomination may be confided." And | further on the author adds on his own
 responsibility: "The same evils com l plained of at that time, the extension
 of appointments to higher colrt | judges with reference to the higher l judges. exist now to greater or less degree in the case of all the minor
 judges appointed by the legislature.
 This evil has since been l recoonizcd in many ways. especially l in 1850 --->en an enactment was pro- | posed the members of the leg l islatur ible to most of the iln- I portanf os within it's gift, but which was defeated, as might have been expected Everyone familiar With the workings of the legislature anG
 the lobby.'' continued MT Cary. ''caa point to many cases where there has heen a contest for appointment as judge. where would be
 7o',ai.s of the ermine have not hesi-
 tn use all the arts of the poll fi.ia~ rf + admitted the world over i that ip7" shollld be selected by the executive of the state or by the people. Deals are made by the legislature and
 the only political scandals that have
 taken place in this state arose in the
 general assembly,"
 Waterbury should send a delegate 1 with influence and arguments to back | it. Waterbury should be represented
 by a delegate who would favor deprv-
 ing the legislature of great deal of
 it's power and giving the executive | more At present the constitution le- prives the governor of almost every executive power. His power of veto | is merely a matter of form; the leglS- 1 lature can override it when it desires. | On that account the governor cannot
 be appealed to by the people against l legislation which they may consider | unjust. For instance, if the people tle- | sired to petition the governor to ap-
 point a commission to investigate the
 alleged necessities of gerrymandering | the WHEuS. luey tOuiu uOl uU U Wllh
 success. for the legislature would i throw out the commissions report
 were it unfavorable to the gerryman- 1 der At present it is impossible to re
 move some of the city officials. no mar
 ter bow incompetent they may be;
 they have been hemmed i'll so with spe-
 cial laws ''This is the only state in l the Union where 15 per cent of the | people elect majority of the repre- 1 sentatives to the legislature and thus
 negative the action of the remaining
 S5 per cent. Such law as this does l not exist even i'll oppressed Ireland.
 "The conditions" says Mir Cary's book,
 "which we seek to amend in the con-
 veDtion were excellent for the days of
 eighty years ago" and it may be ada l ed that they are out of all concord
 with the conditions existing to-day.
 They are conditions brought about through the machinations and gerry
 mander of republicans and therefore this city should send a democrat to the constitutional convention-a democrat
 with influence and speech such as any,
 ~one of those mentioned in these coI-
 umns during the past few weeks.