The Paducah evening sun., 1910-03-18
STABBED IN THE HOUSE OF IT'S
FRIENDS.


STABBED IN THE HOUSE OF IT'S
FRIENDS.
s Ollie James, astute politician, and
: Jealous of the name of his state.
sounded the depth of concern he fell
over the temporary defeat of the con-
Istitutional income tax amendment la
the Kentucky senate, when he deliv-
Iered strong speech IN the congress
yesterday, attempting to fasten the
responsibility on Governor Wilson.
Mr.. James declared that the governor
has nothing to do with the constitu-
ltional amendment and that Il re-
mains only for the secretary of state
to forward the enrolled resolution of
the legislature to Washington. That
probably is true: but If the resolution
adopted by the Kentucky legislature
to forward the enrolled resolution OF
his chagrin that It is an impotent
bit of paper, containing no reference
to incomes, and void as far as ratify-
] ing the proposed amendment to the
federal constitution is concerned. 1t
was a bold speech he made, but he
missed the essential. Governor Will
son sent the resolution back to the
legislature, because d omitted the
word Incomes. and the senate failed
to correct the error.
III the governors sanction was
not necessary to the amendments
validity, his veto does not invalidate
It; but IL the resolution as passed is
Iinherently directive, II is void
whether the governor sanctions II or
not. The only thing Governor WILL
son can be accused of doing, is to
call the attention OF the legislature
to a fatal omission, whether inten-
tional or not. and he did 1t in ample
time for the legislature to correct the
fault.
Mr.. James failed to throw the re-
Isponsibility on the governor; but his
speech did serve to call to the atten-
tion of the country to how Kentucky's
Legislature failed to carry out the
wishes of the people. expressed in
convention and through the press,
and indicated the method, which is
being used to defeat the ratification
of the amendment by three-fourths of
1.-The states.
The "malefactors of great wealth"
N the east are not fighting in the
open against the amendment: they
lare staying out of their own legisla-
lures. But down here in the south.
, where public sentiment is practically
Unanimous for the amendment, legis-
} lators are pledged to It's enactment
} and party platforms pronounce in
favor of 1t, we take II for granted
that the legislatures will adopt the
} resolution, and no one is on guard.
I When a legislature. like the one
which just adjourned at Frankfort,
ties itself up with absurd two-thirds
lrules, which makes the membership
but puppets in the hands of a rules
committee. the bribery of a few is
sufficient to prevent the passage OF
any kind OF measure.
1t must be said to the credit of
Senator w. V. Eaton that he made a
gallant fight at the last moment for
the resolution, and that a majority
of the members favored It; but IL is
little to the credit of a set of free
men. that, after they find they have
bargained away their liberty and the
interests of the people and volun-
tarily placed themselves in the hands
of corruptionists, they vehemently
protest against the action OF their
self-imposed masters. Like Ollie
James speech, their vehemence but
accentuates their shameful humilia-
ton, and accomplishes no good. They |
were sent to the legislature to repre- |
sent their constituents and they were |
expected, not only to abstain from |
disloyalty and bribery themselves,
but to keep themselves free to do |
what they thought hest for their con-
stituents, the state and the nation.
There is no parliamentary excuse for
a two-thfrds rule, d. was adopted for |
the purpose of holding the mapority |
party In leash. and 1t was used TO |
prevent the passage of bills for the |
public welfare. That this Is so, is |
proved by the very fact, that, while |
a majority favored the constitutional |
amendment and some OF the senators
OF the majority party fought for II,
they we're prevented from passing II
by the very rules they adopted of
their own free will.
Unless a warning is sounded
throughout the south, the defeat of
the resolution in Virginia, and the
postponement for two years in Ken
lucky, will be repeated elsewhere.
and the income tax amendment will
be aSsasinated in the house of its
friends.