Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-08-12
GATHERED BY THE WAYSIDE /.

! case Of the prohlbitory amendment
there will be nothing for any commit
tee to do, in either house, but to con-
slider the joint resolution when intro
duced and to report favorably or other
wise thereon. But a committee can
hold back for some time report and
complicate the political situation. A
committee can always make recon-
lamentations as to amendments, but no
amendment can be made to the joint
resolution for prohibition If any
amendment should be made, even
| cutting of tail off comma, it woulu
invalidate the whole thing. So it will
get before the legislature in the exact
form 1t passed the last legislature. In
case any committee should not make
a report on the same as soon as the
members think proper, either house
can by direct vote of the members
present secure possession Of the bill.
No committee Is, or ever will be, SUI
perior to the house which gives 1t all
the authority it possesses. All COM
mittees could be abolished by one act.
they are merely for the convenience of
the body and have no actual authority.
Despite this fact, in nearly every gem
eral assembly Of Iowa, in recent years,
efforts have been made by committees
to obstruct legislation in an arbitrary
way; and with equal regularity all the
presiding officers of both houses have
always ruled against any such arbi-
trary action and the chair has been
sustained. 49,
AS every one who has ever looked
in a ppnara1 lnry
enough to understand the kindergarten
principles knows. joint resolution Is
Il variation of a bill, and is always
treated exactly as bill. The rules of
both houses provide specifically for
this. The joint resolutions have all tho
force and effect of laws, but they do
not ultimately go into the code. and
that is why they are enacted as joint
resolutions rather than as bill. But
appropaa tons are made by joint
resolutions, additional employees ars
authorized the salaries Of clerks and
others fixed in the same way, and all
propc sails FOR amending either the fed
eral or state constitution are embodied
in joint resolutions. Unless this was
done, they would not be, included III
the final records Of the legislature
which are in the custody of the secre-
tary of state. And yet the amazing
doctrine has recently been discussed
here seriously that a joint resolution Is
not to be treated as bill-therefore
that it is not certified by the secre-
tares signed by the presiding officers
and signed by the governor. If this
was true then a general assembly
might appropriate vast sums by means
CT a joint resolution without giving
& governor a chance to review the same
and enter his objections. A Legislature
might adopt joint resolution for an
amendment to the constitution, wholly
visionary, or one clearly unconstitu-
tional or in form to be of no avail, yet
the governor would be helpless to pre-
vent the expense Of vote thereon.
But OF course it is well recalled how
when the joint resolution No. cams
to the governor, a delegation of pro-
hibiton workers gathered at his table
and witnessed the ceremony of signing
the same by Governor Clarke. Tho
joint resolution had been signed by the
presiding officers Of the two houses
after It's enrolment and 1t Is on file
with the other bills OF the Thirty sixth
general assembly. @trcs
The duty, or privilege, Of signing
joint resolutions proposing constitu-
tionalvamendments.tis upon the speak
er. Of the house. the president of th>
senate and the governor Of the.state.
all and equally. The doctrine is that
for all purposes of legislation the gov
ernor is part of the legislature. and
when the law refers to passage Of an
act by the Legislature 1t means the
general assembly and the governo.
This doctrine is so we'll known that I'll
is familiar to every school boy.
1t is therefore certain that some timo
in the year 1918, either at the1tim Of
the June primary or at the time Of the
November general election, the voters
of Iowa will be called upon to decide
for themselves whether the present
prohibitory law shall be exchanged
for a provision in the constitution for
bidding the sale of intoxicatin liquors.
Many of the leading temperance peo-
pie believe that all their effort from
this time forward should be devoted to
arousing a sentiment so favorable to
constitutional prohibition that approval
will be certain. Il will be recalled that
a great many sincere temperance peo-
Pile question the advisabilty Of amend
ing the constitution, and it will be nee
years.