Waterbury Democrat., 1902-06-10
OSBORN PREPARED PAPER
Reform Association of New Ha-
 ven Sends Out Statement

1 Shows Up the Weakness of the Pro posed New Constitution and Advises 1 All to Vote Against It-The Plan Proposed Guarantees the Increase of the Power of the Small Towns New Haven. June 1O.-The Constitu- tional Reform associations executive committee to-day issued resolutions de- lining the purpose of .ne organization and it's attitude toward the plan of rep resentation adopted by the constitutions
 al convention. The statement was pre- pared by Colonel N. c. Osborn of this
 city. It is as follows:
 To the Voters of Connecticut:
 The Connecticut Constitutional Re form association owes it's allegiance to no political party. The we'll being, of the state and the preservation of repub- lican principles of government have alone been it's motive ill agitating for a revision of the constitution of ISIS. The result of the deliberations of the constitutional convention, as a whole, is repudiated by the association be- cause it does not remedy the evils which it was assembled to remedy. It is no reply to make, in view of this fact, that the proposed constitution should be approved because in other re- spects Improvements in the organic law have been made. No improvement has
 been made which cannot be made by the amendment process. The entire new constitution with the exception of the section which deals with the 1egis- latiye department, gan be adopted by the general assembly as a single amendment and be as speedily enforced as any one of the thirty amendments which have been made since 1918. The postponement of the advantages to be enjoyed will in no way imperi1 the welfare of Connecticut They should not be permits to deceive the cleo tors with reference to the real evil pro- posed.
 The plan of representation in the general assembly submitted for popular approval continues and seeks to make permanent the political control of less than thirty per cent of the people,
 It does not fairly recognize popu1a- ton anywhere. It throws sop to New Haven and ignores New Britain. It smiles on Hartford and frowns on Meriden. It makes a giant of Haddam and dwarfs Waterbury. It simply re- arranges inequalities and re-imposes on Connecticut an unjust and arbitrary form of government which the people condemned when they approved the convention.
 1t increases the size of the general assembly, gives control Of both houses to the minority of the population, in- creases the cost of legislative session over $60.O00. and guarantees an expen- allure of an additional $1OO.OOO to pre- pare the Capitol building for a body twice as large as that required by the Empire state of New York.
 By lowering the unit of population from 5000 to 2.0O0. now required by the constitution to determine the repre- sentation of new towns in the house of representatives, it guarantees the in- crease of the general assembly after each session from the small towns. and makes possible and easy the multiplica- ton of the little towns by the division of slightly larger towns, all below 1O.- GOO ill population. This alone is a menace to the welfare of the state.
 It raises dead men. absentees and sick men to the dignity and power of active and earnest citizens by requiring
 majority of the registered voters to approve another constitution conven- tion before it can be assembled This is nullification of the bill of rights, a proceeding without precedent or para1- Tel in the history of the state.
 For these reasons alone the Connec- ticut Reform association recommends the rejection of the proposed constitu- tion and warns the electors against the specious and false philosophy that it is "a step in the right direction" It is unworthy of a liberty loving people Reiect it.
 The statement is signed by the Con- necticut Constitutional Reform assocf- atfon.