Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-01-29
81 = - q i = 81 >
SHALL THIS BILL PASS I? :
by Tsederio ]. Haskin.
washington Herald. .

~ ~, - - = = = So VeSS y = - ~ -
4 Shall this bill pass? is q question
which In theory, must be propound.
4 ed to the legislators on every mtsas-
& ure presented to them. If the ;;5ix-
q tieth Congress, now In session, were
permitted to vote on all the bills
! that have been introduced, and were
to answer that crucial question with
q Yes" the Constitution OF the Unis
= ted States would bs thing of the
past and tie public laws would read
like the annual from an asylum for.
the Insane as edited by the inmates.
5 IL every amendment to the Consti-
tuition which has been proposed eia
Congress- in the past ten years had
been approved by that body. and
ratified by the States no Important
provision OF that ancient document
would now be effective.
il Congress should pass only those
revolutionary bills introduced in the
first three weeks Of the present ses-
sion we,would have postmasters and
Federal judges elected by the peo-
pie, the ancient punishment of civil
ostracism would be revived, the
Philippines would be free. the pro-
Etectiye tariff would he no more, ci-
garettes could not cross State lire,
~
be established, the enaoting power
would be taken from the Congress
and given directly to the people. the
right to- pint n1arket quotations
would be cut of, anu thousand and
one othor strange and fantastic
things would happen in, this great
land of the free and home of the
brave. In fact, if the reader will
y think for an hour, recalling every
strange fancy of theory Cor ,promot-
ing the general welfare or checking
evil, he will hardly think of a sim
gle proposition that does not now
appear ia the shape of bill intro
duced in the Sixtieth Congress. y
Perhaps the most unusual propo4
sition introduced at this session is a
Joint resolution proposing an amend
ment to the Constitution whereby
the people can depose any official
they have elected. When one-third
Of the voters living within the
boundaries of the territory covered
by any elected official sign spett-
ion asking for his removal, there
must be another election called to
detefmine whether the official shall
be Iemoyed or not. II the majority
vote for his removal his place be-
. COulSo NdCdnI anu I'LL cl6CIlOu
1t must be called. IL the majority
vote to retain him, he is retained,
but nothing Is interposed to prevent
the one-third petitioning his removal
( again.a This would carry US back
a almost to the days of ostracism, and
the time when an illiterate peasant
asked Aristides the Just to write
the name of Aristides upon his she'll,
not knowing that it was Aristides Of
whom he was making the request.
When the leader had thus written
his own name for ostracism he ask
ed the peasant what wrong ATistides
had ever done him, to which the IL
literate man replied: None; I do
not even know him; but i am tired
Of hearing him called the Just"
The proponent of this measure Is q
new member, Mr.. Fulton, of Okla
homa, a brother, by the way, OF Sem
ator Fulton, of Oregon.
Mr.. Fulton Is rather a busy man.
He has proposed in the three weeks
that he has been a member Of the
House, some half dozen amendments
to the Federal Constitutions. Ano-
ther proposition that he makes is
that the power of the enacting
clause shall be taken out of the
hands of Congress and vested di-
rectly In the people, He has worked
out about the most initiating initia-
tive and referring referendum that
the world has ever seen. 4
Another member who goes in for
reforming the old Constitution is
William Bailey Lamar, OF Florida,
nephew Of the distinguished Mis-
sissippi soldier, statesman, and ju-
rist, l.. @. @. Lamar. Mr.. Lamar
proposes that all postmasters shall
be elected by the people, and that
! Federal judges shall be elected In
the same way. He proposes to have
the country laid off into post office
districts, and the postmasters elect
ed by direct vote for term OF four
years. all vacancies to be filled by
election, the President having the
right to all them only until an cleo
tion can De neId. ~
The repeal Of the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments furnished
the basis of half dozen Joint reso-
lutions, and several have been of
fered providing that the Constitu-
tion be so amended as to permit the
taxation of incomes and inherit
ances, the latter to be progressive to
such an extent as to prevent the
transmission of swollen fortunes
There have been a dozen resolutions
introduced to amend the Constitu-
tion so that Senator'S shall be elected
by the people. And SO the grind