The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-06
A BAD BEGINNING

In framing their State Constitution the people of Oklahoma seem to have gone on the idea that good constitu- tion must necessarily be long one. After a tedious and sometimes stormy session lasting 115 days they turned out an organic law covering about one hundred thousand words. That is certainly big start for new State and we predict that twill be but a short while before the intelligent and thinking people will regret that they put so much into the instrument. A great deal of 1t is legislation, pure and simple, and should have been left for future legislation. In the words of The New Bedford Standards:
 No very wise prophet is needed to see what will happen in Oklahoma. The people of that State have tied themselves up with respect to many matters where freedom and elasticity of Legislation are eminently desirable. That the constitution can be amend ed is true; but amendment is always laborious process, as the experience of many other States demonstrates. The probability Is that in actual prac-
 
 be ignored as laws are ignored else- where This Is unfortunate, because the basal element of Iawmaking needs to have respect and stability.
 That this is true will become appar- ent as time passes. Putting laws in- to a constitution Is not good states manship, as they will learn as time passes. No human wisdom is equal to the task of foreseeing what may come to pass when a new State starts on its career. When the time comes to make laws to fit all the conditions that may arise, the lawmakers will find themselves blocked and handicap ped by constitutional regulations and prohibitions which will prevent needed legislation in one direction or prevent reform in another. The Ok lahomans of the future will wonder at the presumption and lack of fore- sight of the delegates who formulated the worry and expense of getting it amended in order to cure defects which should never have gotten into it.
 We have an old saying to the effect that 1t is better to start right than to attempt to get right after a wrong start has been made, and that is what the Oklahomans will learn in the long run. In some respects perhaps they should not be seriously bla ned. The two Territories comprised a varied Tn- terests were not only divergent but opposing. majority of the delegates were wholly inexperienced in all af- | fairs of government, and it Is no | islander on them to say that many of them were totally united for the du- ties required of them. Each wanted | a Constitution and each wanted to | put something into it. Locality, poli- l tics, racial questions and personal i'm | terests were all in evidence and nat urally there was many disagreements, clashes and contradictions
 It Is perhaps not to be wondered at that under such conditions the pro- ceedings were long drawn out and that the completed instrument is in congruous and must prove unsatisfac- tory when 1t comes to be tested. Then will come demands for amendments, changes and corrections which will require time and money, and perhaps fail to accomplish all that is desired or expected. They may be forced even to call another constitutional convention to remake what has been bungled in the beginning. From what
 we have read of 1t. and from the com ments of those better informed we look on this beginning of a new State as an unsatisfactory and disappolntlne