South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-03-20
URGE BEST MEN
FOR CONVENTION
Speakers at Dinner Discuss
Phases of New ConStitu-
ton for State.

best interests or all the people, Was
the keynote sounded at the New
Constitution Discussion" supper.
given under the auspices of the Cit
liens League Of Indiana Monday
night, at which prominent public
men and political leaders from all
parts OF the state, a representative
audience of over 500 men and wom-
en-. about equally divided. which
damned the Y. NJ. c. A. gymnasium
TO listen to the discussion. Delega-
tons from Elkhart, Plymouth, Mish-
awake, Knox, Goshen and Rochester
We're present.
Gov. James p. Goodrich billed TO
make the principal address Of the
occasion, was unable to be present
and his place was taken by Sen. III.
Z. Negley of Indianapolis. who, at
the last session of the state legisla-
ture, introduced the bill calling for
constitutional convention. Sen.
Negley discussed several of the most
important provisions proposed TO be
EN- bodied i'm the new constitution.
Advocates Reforms.
Legislative and judicial reforms,
home rule for cities, initiative, ref
erendum. revised taxation laws, a
! better workmen's compensation law,
! permanent prohibition and woman
suffrage were among the provisions
/ advocated for the new constitution
/ by the seven other speakers of the
evening. each of whom gave 1O-min-
ute talks on the subject.
A revision of the present taxation
system was advocated as the most
/ important of the many provisions 10
| be included i'm the new constitution
by Sen. Negley in his talk. He ex
/ planned the new conditions which
have made the present taxation sys-
| tenn in Indiana unjust and unsatis-
! factory. While not declaring in ia
! vOr Of an excise corporation tax sim
/ liar to that advocated by Gov. Good
| rich as a provision of the new con-
stitution. he declared that such a
/ tax would follow the revision of the
! constitution. The need of legislative
and judiciary reform, explained at
\ fuller length in some of the other
I speeches, was also pointed out by
! Sen Negley, who took up the ques-
! ton of lengthening the sessions of
| the legislature and suggested a 90
day session with a restricted period
| of so days for the introduction of
/ important bills.
People who come into the con-
vention interested in only one prop
| ositiOn must be watched" said Sen
/ Negley in discussing the necessity
/ of keeping the convention open and
alive to all the interests of the peo-
pie and on a strictly nOnpartisan ba-
| sis In this latter connection the
/ speaker urged that delegates be Sc
! lected without regard TO their politi-
cal affiliations solely upon their
merits and fitness for the work at
hand
Calls Legislature Farce.
Calling the legislature under the
present constitution bi-annual
/ farce, the first speaker on the pro-
gram, John A. Lapp of indianapolis,
! director of the state bureau of leg
1 islative information, said that legis-
/ lative reform was the most funda-
mental thing to be taken into con-
sideration in the new constitution
! He pointed out how $50 laws were
! railroaded through the last Iegisla-
/ ture during the last two days as
compared with 60 in the rest of the
/ session, and urged a lengthening of
the time of the sessions so that more
attention could be given the i'm
portant bills that come up. More
efficiency, a provision preventing the
! passage of special legislation un-
der general terms and other
! changes tending 10 make laws more
simpler better enforced and more
responsible were advocated. If YOU
I deliberately tried TO organize a body
/ for doing things ineficiently you
| couldn't beat the average legislature
under the present system in Indi-
ana" he said in conclusion.
An enlarged supreme court with
/ the abolition of the appellate court
was advocated by :he second speak
err. Judge w. II. Eichhorn, of the
/ circuit court at Blunton. Judge
/, Eichhorn pointed out the weakness
I OF the present judiciary system in
Indiana and emphasizing especially
the need OF measures tending to
take the judiciary out of politics,
abolition of the present justice Of
the peace system and a simpler
means OF impeaching incompetent
and corrupt judges.
Makes Comparison.
T. +. Theme OF Fort Wayne, the
third speaker on the program, de-
clared that the Indiana legislature is
an institution comparable only TO the
Russian duma, but that the last
legislature when il passed the bill
calling for a constitutional cOnven-
ton gave evidence that like the
duma il is beginning 10 wake up.
His bad impression of the legisla-
ture he said, had been derived from
years of unsuccessful efforts on the
part Of himself and others 10 secure
better legislation governing the af-
fairs OF cities.
Home rule for cities has a double
advantage. BY taking a needless bur
den from the shoulders of legisia-
tors IL enab les them 10 turn their
attention TO more important mat
tiers. and il places the management
OF local affairs with men who know
something about those affairs and