The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1918-03-14
A SERIOUS PROBLEM
IS The LEGISLATURE
Incompetence and Corruption
Have the Majority
EVEN PERJURY DISREGARDED
Those Not Directly Perjured,
Guilty of Constru ctive Dishon-
esty,- Reckless.-I m p osin G
Taxes.-People to Blame.

n SSf@S w &%Aa1AAASs
Introductory to the following
editorial from the Florida Times
Union of Jacksonville, it is but
just to state that at least one-third
of the members of the Florida leg
lslature are men of brains and in
tegrity and, if they were permit
ted to control, the Legislature
would not be, as it has been for
years, disgrace to the state and
a fraud upon the taxpayers and
citizens in general. The Times
Union Of Saturday says:
The Punta Gorda Herald re-
grets the necessity of electing a
Legislature this year. = 1t says the
Legislature is the greatest fraud
that is imposed on the people.
Accepting the unfortunate necessi-
ty of electing a legislature at all,
The Herald insists that the people
elect "men whom they positively
know to be honest, courageous and
capable. " There are plenty such
men in Florida, but, as a rule, they
are afraid to run because they are
satisfied they are not the kind of
men the people want. Whatever
the legislatures of Florida have
been, the people Of the state are
responsible. The Herald says:
"The voters should make every
candidate for the house Cor the
senate) give his sacred pledge as
to the policies, reforms and other
foolishness which he intends to ad-
vocate; and, if he is elected and
comes home without having tried
to fulfill his pledges, they should
make a st. Stephen of him. Vir-
tually every member of the last
Legislature pledged himself to re-
peal or amend the Bryan primary
law, but the law still exists. unre-
pealed and unamended. There is
one thing which every Legislature
for the past fifteen years has
sworn to do and has not done
doesn't that convince you that the
Legislature is a fraud and not to
be trusted ?-and that is, make a
reapportionment of the member
ship of the legislature. The Her
aid would, therefore, urge the vot-
ers to require every candidate for
representative to hold up his right
hand and swear that, if elected, he
will do all he can to secure fair
and just reapportionment.
The Herald is none too severe
in it's denunciation of the guilty;
it cannot be. A man who swears
to do a thing and then refuses to
do it, ought never again to be be-
lieved in a court Of justice on his
oath, for he has sworn falsely and
will do it again if he can profit by
it. But it is a mistake to say ev-
cry legislature for the last fifteen
years has been sworn to make
legislative reapportionment.
The constitution requires the
first legislature that meets after
taking the state census to reappor-
ton the state. Every member of
the legislature takes an oath to
support the constitution and,
when he does not do what the con-
stitution commands, he perjureS
himself. But only one legislature
in ten years is commanded by the
to make this appor-
tionment and only the members of
the legislature commanded to
make it perjure themselves by a
failure to do it.
But while the constitution re-
quires this of only one Legislature, |
any other legislature can do 1t If
the one commanded to fails or re-
fuses; and, when the Legislature
whose duty it is to make the reap
Continued on last page.)