The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-14

There may be a method of per-
forming "A miracle answered Prof.
Beard, and when the Constitution OF
the United States is amended you see
miracle performed. The way TO
alter the Constitution Is so hedged
round with barriers and the necessary
procedure such a tumble OF chaotic
routine that no wonder the brainiest
legislators OF the land laugh when the
subject is merely mentioned. II is
Ike telling a man there is a way "
getting to the Panama Exposition Il
he'll only hunt up an engineer AMI
fireman, go to the roundhouse, fire
up a locomotive, switch to the main
track, couple to a train and pass all
the danger signals safely between here
and the Pacific coast working on an
obsolete time table.
Article V. Of the Constitution pro-
vides four modes by which the Com
stitution may be amended but il does
not describe at all the details Of the
procedure. wo-thirds OF both houses
of Congress may initiate amendments;
or Congress may authorize a Consti-
tutional convention upon the applica-
ton of three-fourths of the States
through their legislatures. Congress
may provide that all amendments pro-
posed 10 the Constitution shall be- rati-
fed by the legislatures OF three
fourths OF the States. or by the con-
stitutonal conventions Of three
fourths of the States. This is pretty
various sort OF proceeding, isn't it?
"Only one Of the four possible modes
OF amending the Constitution has been
used in actual practice; namely that
OF initiation by Congress and ratifica-
ton by State legislatures. Many
times. however. different States have
proposed calling conventions. but that
Is as far as the movement got--a
proposition 10 call constitutional
convention by a single State of the
three -fourths necessary TO accomplish
anything. As there is no set detail
of procedure, you can readily see there
is too much left to haphazard in the
States getting together. II one State
starts it there is no guaranty that the
other States will take it up. Two
or three might string along. and 9TH
ers, not being compelled by law to
| take part in the pending convention
movement, would omit taking action.
80 you see that 1t isn't so much
that the people may not have wished
to amend their Constitution as It Is
| there was no good way of getting
down to doing It. Too much machinery
TO set in motion. Need for united ac-
/ ton and yet so much that Is necessary
/ left to the separate States.
DO you know that approximately
! 500 attempts have been made &c
amend the United States Constitution
since It's adoption? Yes. there have
| been that many of official record, but
only seventeen Of them have got by
! II took the four years war OF lS6l-6'
To ada three of them. Between l7S!
, and 1889, or in the first century under
/ the Constitution, the count of at
tcmpts was just 1856. Some Of these
= passed one house and not the other
Some passed both houses, but wer,
not ratified, Some were proposed by
state conventions, but did not gair
the approval Of Congress, At the very
first session of Congress under the new
Constitution there were application
for "A convention to discuss changes.
You know how long the agitation
for the election Of United States Sena
tors by direct vote continued befnr,
the Seventeenth Amendment could b,
adopted, The people wanted that
amendment without the sllghtes
doubt. Were they able to get VIVA