The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-06-11
George M. Clark, of Haddam, on the New Consultations.

New Constitution.
 To the Editor of the Journal and Courier: 1 According to the printed circulars
 which are being spread broadcast over
 the State one might be led to think
 that there was but half dozen resolu- tions offered to the Convention for their
 consideration in relation to representa-
 ton. In looking over my file find that
 there were fffty-four or flfty-six differ
 ent plans on the files offered for con- sideration, but there were but few that could get any chance for consideration
 whatever. The one representative to a
 town and sixty plan for the senate
 headed by MT. Warner of Salisbury | had the lead and nearly all the atten- l tion and until almost the last minute | few other plans could get any consider ation. But when it was found that the one and sixty plan could not win q 1 break came, and some of the one and sixty men voted for the least possible gain to the cities, which was the Bissell | plan. The Holcomb, Lines, Bennett, Clark, and Osborn plans received but very little consideration. The facts are that there were dozens of other plans that were worthy of consideration, but one faction was bound to start at five thousand population for two represen- tatives and go up and the other faction was determined to have but one rep resentative to a town whether great or small. This last faction made a great deal of talk about principle. The writ CT has been unable to see where the principle comes in. With Marlboro con- taining only 322 inhabitants and New
 Haven with 10S,000 with one hundred
 and sixty-six towns between, giving
 only one to each of these extremes is
 principle with a vengeance.
 There is no doubt about there hay
 ing been a chance for fair compromise
 being made if half dozen conservative
 men on each side could have been se-
 lected and taken the fifty and more
 plans of representation offered and
 carefully considered them on their mer-
 it's, with a desire to compromise. It
 could have been done quickly, but from
 first to last there was never any spirit
 of concession among the leaders of the
 ultra one-and-sixty delegates. They
 had rather lose seventy representatives
 than yield an iota to the cities. What follyl If there had been any, spirit of logic in them there would have been no trouble whatever in meeting the Osborn or ultra city factions half way, but there was none whatever
 Of the over fifty plans floating around the Capitol and on file the Morgan c, Bulkeley plan came the nearest to being what ought to have been adopted A slight change, a change of a single fig
 ure, would have made what ought to have been satisfactory to all parties for the General Assembly, a house of 260 members and senate of 36. That would certainly have been satisfactory to the most of the city members and ought, for the sake of peace, to have been satisfactory to the country mem bers Mir Osborn was the leader in the city movement and apparently one of the fairest delegates in the Convention, | and he would have been perfectly will ing to adopt the above compromise, and so would many more on the city side | likewise have been under his leadership. 1 That concession would have given three l more large cities one more representa- | tive each than the full Bulkeley plan and all the cities six more than the 1 Bissell plan. It is such pity that we could not have made just little more concession. Our whole life is com promise. Why not concede in this case?
 If this constitution is rejected we go | back to or stay under the old Constitu- l tion Then we shall have 255 represen- tatives and four more towns that will | come in under the five thousand limit in l the 1903 and 1905 sessions, making 259 | at that time. So far as | Haddam is concerned we would rather | have the present Constitution but to | stay the tide of discontent I shall urge | my town to vote for the new Constitu- tion. If the cities want to make pro- | gress, while it may be slow yet now is their time. They should, by all means, waive all objections and vote for the new Constitution and thereafter obtain what they want by amendment which 1 can readily be done under the new Con- stitution. It is truly the cities which will make the mistake, and not the | towns, if it is rejected, I shall vote, and get all others I can to vote, for the of the new Constitution, but | 1t will be of no benefit to Haddam or ! any other small town. Certainly not to any of the thirty towns which lose one 
 GEORGE M. CLARK of HADDAM.