New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-10
REVISION CALLED
BEST SINCE 1887
BY WICKERSHAM
New Constitution For
ward Looking" Says
Floor Leader.
BOTH PARTIES
SUPPORT PLAN
Judge O'Brien Declares Pro-
pOsals Will Win 80 Per Cent
of Democrats.
From s,,- Corresponds, Of Tho Tribune

or DemOCTdlS.
Prom St,1 Correspondent u Tho Tribune
Albany. Sept. Q at il the most
striking piece Of constitutional gov
ernmcnt ever prepared by any conven-
ton. Il contains more forward looking
provisions than any since 1887. There
has been no such thorough revision Of
the organic law Of the state govern
mcnt since that time"
This was the statement made by
George ". Wickersham, eX-Cnited
States Attorney General and floor
leader Of the convention. when asked
tonight by the Tribune correspondent
for his opinion Of the proposed con-
stitution of the State Of New York.
which was then being read TO the dele
gates by Fred Hammond. the clerk Of
the convention
What reports have YOU had from
The people Of the state as 20 what they
think Of the work Of tho convention? ,"
Mr Wickersham was askoe.
Just now" replied Mr.. Wickersham.
you will hear from all the kickers.
All these new provisions will bring
forth objections from the people who
are squeezed by them. The people who
will support the constitution will be
heard from later. and YOU will find
them in the vast majority"
Root Asks Delegates Patience.
Mr.. Wickersham's views were typical
of the average delegate interviewed
tonight. All were willing to talk
while the long and tedious proceed
ings"-the words are those OF Elihu
Root-of reading the 1920 words of
the proposed constitution was in proc
ess.
Before the clerk began, Senator Root,
who was presiding, addressed the dele
gates:
The rule and the prophecies de-
mand that this document shall be read
in its entirety from beginning to
end" said the Senator. The chair
invokes the patience of the delegates
through this long and tedious proceed
ing"
Then the clerk began reading from
the document a masterpiece o. the en-
bosser's art, done on parchment, bound
in brown morocco, and fooled in gold.
The new constitution is a departure
from legal documents. in that the Ian
guage. punctuation and the use of cap
itals follows the style of the newspaper
rather than the ornate and heavily
labored periods Of its predecessors. To
Lemuel Ely Quigg, who in his time was
a star reporter, more than TO any one
else on the revision committee, this
change is due.
Simple Language the Rule.
The report Of the revision commit
tee, telling Of the changes made in the
vention, began by stating that only
necessary to incorporate the amend
ments adopted by the convention and
alterations to make their language con-
sistent and uniform.
II then related that the present cor
stitution, adopted in 1894, abounded in
the use of capitals, and that the COM
mttee threw most Of these capitals in
the waste paper basket along with
Twenty-Five commas and a half dozen
sets of quotation marks.
u next censored the use of the word
said" in such instances as said col.
ony," said court" said constitution, ="
etc. and substituted therefor the word
such" This was done in thirty cases.
Ii refused TO accept the spelling Of
the plural of money as monies" II
decided on moneys" 1t brought parts
of verbs together. It decided the phrase
constitute a quorum" was bad Eng
lish. and used instead form a quorum"
ha IA.
marvelled at and admired" said "Al"
Smith, ITS got my vote"
Few Democrats Oppose.
The outspoken opposition of a week
ago on the part of the reactionaries
gave way tonight TO silence or quail
fed praise. The only two who spoke
against IL tonight 10 newspaper men
were Democrats, Senator Robert F.
Wagner and ex-Lieutenant Governor
William F. Sheehan.
On the other hand, the ranking Dem
ocrats, Judge Morgan j. O'Brien, sec
cond vicc-presidcnt of the convention
praised the proposals, and said that &C
/ per cent of the Democrats of the state
would vote for IL.
THE rev constitution is not entirely
satisfactory" said Judge O'Brien, but
1t is certainly an Improvement on the
present one"
I Senator Wagner said that il the re-
apportionment article Is not submitted
separately, he will vote against the en-
tire constitution.
Mr.. Sheehan said that there were
many things in the constitution that
he would like 10 vote for, but that he
would not vote for 1t in its entirety.
To Appeal to People.
Russell Virgins, Republican. of Mid
dletown, who opposed nearly all the
progressive measures. said that the
people would have 70 be convinced oil
its worth before they would support il
To meet objections like those Of Mr.
Virgins the convention has appointed
a committee 20 prepare e message &c
the people, as announced in The Trib.
une on Monday. This committee was
working tonight on the votes on the
various proposals, and it was noticed
that Democrats and Republicans alike
voted to PASS the amendments adopted
Only a small and consistent minority
Of both parties opposed the proposals
adopted This will be emphasized ir
the appeal. This will be read to-mor
row, when its formal adoption will bt
asked.
The reading % the constitution was
finished at 1881, lacking but five min.
utes OF two hours The convention then
adjourned until tomorrow morning
when the vote will be taken.