New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-12
Approve the Constitution!

A majority Of the Constitutional Con
vention recommends TO the voters the adop-
ton of the proposals approved by that
body. believing that their adoption will
result in very great improvement IN the
government of the state and its civil dlvi-
sions, and thus promote the welfare OF all
its inhabitants" That is a modest est
mate of the worth Of the revised constitu-
ton. The committee which prepared the
address 10 the voters might well have ad-
vertised its wares more highly and still
been within the limits Of accuracy and
truthfulness.
There are provisions in the proposed
constitution which The Tribune would
gladly have seen included in more uncom-
promising form. There are not in 1t some
proposals which The Tribune would gladly
have seen included. Nevertheless, recog-
nizing the limitations Of human nature,
human knowledge and of legislative bodies,
no fair-minded citizen has just cause for
quarrel with the work, as a whole, which
was produced by the convention just ad-
jcurned. In the coming campaign some OF
its clauses will be subjected to bitter criti-
nsm, and clques and groups of special IN
terests will attack this provision and that
Without any thought that the fullest dis
eusson Of dement's. as well as merits, OF
the document should be estopped, The
Tribune insists that the question the voters
will have TO decide-whether to give this
proposed constitution their approval
should not be settled on the value Of any
one provision.
This proposed constitution will be sub
r1itted in three parts-the taxation article
and the apportionment article separately
the rest Of the changes in body. There
will also be submitted separately the wom-
an suffrage amendment adopted by the
Legislature. On any one Of three articles,
that Is, on which there seems probable
wide difference Of opinion, voter may
register his disapproval separately; but If
he disapprove some provision in the gen
eral body of amendments so strongly that
he cast a vote against it he will have voted
against all in the group. That would be
extremely unfortunate, for, whatever the
dement's of some few of the provisions in
this general group, the value Of the pro-
posals as a whole is unquestionable. That
value far outweighs individual defects.
What there are of those serious enough to
demand correction, as experience shows,
can be corrected in the coming years. II
the whole scheme Of amendments were to
be lost there would be wasted the entire
work and the cost of this convention and
draft constitution which is a great advance
ever the present one, under which the state
would have to continue.
Mr.. Root has pointed out how over
whelming was the majority by which each
of the amendments was adopted. 1t is
significant also that there was practically
no partisan division at any time in the
convention. The convention sought to draft
q sensible, workable constitution of mod
ern spirit, to put modern methods into the
governing of the state, and to make 1t
simpler. easier, cheaper, better. 1t was
Lot afraid to depart from the old things
where they had failed nor to retain that
which experience had proved good. The
result is good-as good as any not cranks
or single-track-m inded propagandists could
demand, in fairness and reason. For the
progress of the state, for the good of its
people, the proposed constitution should be
approved at the polls.