Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-27

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IkA AAEEA Wl Ieuefal consult lulloH SSh
lEghaaA42ll States? This is one OF
the most important ques-
tions which American statesmen
and politicians have ever asked
themselves, and this is the first
time in the history of the republic that
it has become a live question. If such
a convention is called, how far will 1t
go in it's work of revision? 1t would
be within its power to wipe out the
old constitution and write a new one,
but as the ratification of three-fourths
of the states is required to make the
conventions recommendations part
of the fundamental law of the land,
there Is little fear of excessively radi-
cal ! 5ision.
The question of the probability Of a
constitutional convention was raised
for the first time when the legislature
of Alabama recently demanded that
the constitution be revised to permit
the election of United States senators
by direct vote of the people, and to
that end petitioned congress to call a
convention. Alabama was the thirty
first state to recommend an amend
ment to change the maner Of electing
senator's. Thirty-one states constitute
two-thirds of the states of the Union.
Therefore the question Is up to con-
gress
The trainers of the constitution de-
signedly provided that that instrument
should not be easily amended. They
provided, in the constitution itself, two
methods of amendment, but made the
exception that no amendment shall
deprive a state Of its equal repre-
sentation in the senate without the
consent nf that ctdtn Tho fret ylonfhOH
of amendment provides that two-thirds
of both houses Of congress may pro-
pose amendments at any time, such
amendments to become a part of the
constitution when ratified by three
fourths of the states.
The other method provides that IL
two-thirds of the states shall make
application therefor, congress SHALL
call convention for proposing amend
ments." If such a convention is held,
amendments proposed by it shall be-
come a part of the constitution only
after three-fourths IF the states have
ratified them. Congress has the power,
under either method, to determine
whether the ratification shall be by
the legislatures or by state conven-
tions. AS one-third of congress is able
TO defeat proposed submission of an
amendment, and as one-fourth of the
states may veto amendments proposed
either b. congress or by a convention,
it is apparent that amending the con-
stftutiol is very difficult undertaking.
The second method of amending the
constitution was ordained as a check
upon congress. Without that method
congress could refuse to submit an
amendment for which there was a uni
verSal demand, and the states would
hnWa Go II xtrac cd
that the states could secure a conven-
ton without recourse to congress fur
ther than to ask it to live up to the
constitutional provision that it "shall"
call a convention when two-thirds of
the states apply therefor.
The question now before congress
and the country is whether or not such
application has been made. The neces-
sary two-thirds of the states have now
petitioned for an amendment which
congress has refused to submit to them
for consideration-an amendment pro-
viding for the election of senators by
popular vote. What shall constitute
the application Of the legislatures of
two-thirds of the several states?" And
who shall be the Judge of the question
as to what constitutes the "applica-
tion?"
This is the situation in a nutshell:
Thirty-one states, the first one in 1895,
have petitioned for a constitutional
amendment for the election of senators
by popular vote. Many of them, but
not all, have asked for a convention
to propose this amendment. Yet they
have all united in advocacy of such
an amendment. In the face of this,
what will congress do? Can 1t declare
that these have been simply petitions
directed to it for the submission of
such an amendment and that they
have no standing rs applications for
convention? It seems that this prob
ably will be the attitude of the ma
tional legislature. Although it Is per-
fectly apparent that the constitutional
two thirds of the states do wish an
amendment for the election of senators
by popular vote, it is more than prob
able that congress will not construe
these state petitions as applications
for a convention. Neither will con-
gress regard it as incumbent upon it
to propose such an amendment for
submission to the states.
So long as congress takes that view
of the matter 1t is difficult to see how
it can be forced to act otherwise. 1t
Is settled policy Of the supreme court
not to interfere with the legislative or
executive branches of the government,
and a mandamus proceeding to COM
pei congress to act most probably
would be thrown out as soon as it
reached the court. Most of the con-
stitutional lawyers think that if con-
gress does not see fit to act there is no
legal machinery to force 1t to obey the
constitutional mandatory SHALL"
Suppose congress should, in a mo-
ment of liberality, decide that the
spirit of the constitution had been met,
if not it's letter. could the convention
act on anything else than an amend
ment for the election of senators by