The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1911-08-31
No.. g.

rors OF the penitentiafy, or ejecdng
an unlucky suitor in that great city
from a homestead worth millions, on
which he had spent the most valuable
part of lifetime"
While governors and judges and
legislators were advocating a consti-
tutional convention to revise our Judi
cial system, the people, as we shall
soon see, had other reforms for which
they wished to make provision IN the
fundamental law of the state.
Revision Demanded.
The agitation in favor of new
constitution at last became somewhat
general, The people had ceased to
venerate the old constitution and now
began to lay upon it the burden Of
their misfoTtunes. Heavy taxes, the
"insolence of Office and the laws de-
lay" were charged to this source.
Like party long in power, the con-
stitution was held responsible 1t is
not known that a blighting frost late
in springtime, or a battering hail
storm in mid summer, or withering
drouth in August would hav been
charged t. the dear old constitution,
but without exaggerating it may be
said that the Affections OF the peo-
pie, with little regard to their char
acter, were traced to that instrument.
In all seriousness, many of it's pro-
visions had outlived its usefulness
and the tine was ripe for a change.
Early in January. 1S49, white a bill
to submit to the people the proposi-
ton of holding a constitutional con-
vention vas under consideration in
the state Senate, after having passed
the House, Governor Bebb, in his an
nual message to the legislature urged
the proposed submission because he
believed that all officers legislative.
judicial and executive, should be elect
ed directly by the people; that bien-
nial instead of annual sessions of the
general assembly would at less ex-
pense better subserve the interests
of the state; that there should be
some limitation on the power to incur
state debts; that the judicial system
could be materially improved.
The bill was discussed at some
length in the Senate, the assertion
being emphatically made by it's op-
ponents, and apparently without con-
tradiction, that the people were not
asking, by petition or otherwise, for
a chance to vote on holding a con-
stitutional convention. The opposi-
tion to the bill came from tho Wings,
though a number of them voted for
it, and it failed to receive two-thirds
of the votes of the Senate. On March
23, 1910, another bill making similar
provision was passed through both
Houses by the required vote, and the
campaign for a new constitution was
transferred to the final arbitefs-the
electors of the state.
constitutional convention and its
antecedent preliminaries cali into
more or less prominence three class
es of citizens:
/. Those who wished to revise the
constitution because they wish to re-
wise it,
2. The reformers, the progressives.
3. The conservatives, the reaction
aries. the standpatters.
We are tempted to add fourth
those who keep in the middle of the
road and. with discriminating judg-
ment and eye on the weather vanes,
move cautiously toward the attain
ment of the practical" the possible
and the-"probable. While these are
not conspicuous in their compromis-
ing and circumspect progress toward
the goal.
The first class, those for whom the
mere process of changing the consti-
tuition, in itself, per Sc, as the youth
full professor, proud of his latin, would
put it, while not the most numerous,
is still familiar to all. Debating clubs,
literary societies and bodies Of higher
pretensions usually have written con-
stitutions, and poor indeed is that or
ganization which does not have at
least one member with an ever-burn-
ing desire to revise or amend the
constitution" We have seen him in
action. The date and place of meet
ing, the objects of the organization,
the qualifications for member ship
in fact every part of the constitution,
become a fruitful source Of revision
and amendment. And what a wealth
of abstruse and complex parliamen-
tary detail he evolves in the accom-
plishment of his mission. Sometimes
the contagion of his pertinacity ex-
tends to the membership and precipi-
tates confusion and discord, but usu-
ally that serious contingency does not
arise aud the industrious member be-
guiles the lingering hours that might
otherwise be devoted simply to the
objects Of the association. Down the
vista of more than sixty years it is
still possible to discern the patriots
who loved and advocated revision for
its own dear sake
The other two classes, the progress
sives and conservatives, were we'll
represented in the preliminary move