Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-11-24
Euentttg Gtlat

The Sproul administration plans
to make the study of the Constitu-
ton of 1873 by the Commission of
twenty-five announced by the Gov
ernor last night one of the monu-
mental achievements of the Della
ware countian's term and it is the
plan to have the work of the body
which Will be called to meet in Har-
rlsburg within a month or so go
before the people the November fol-
| lowing the Inauguration of the
Spfoul successor. Two Legislatures
VIII be called upon to vote upon the
proposition for revision or omission
before they are submitted to the
electorate. Voters of PENNSYLVANIA
nave ratified changes to the Consti-
| tuition at six elections held in as
many years, the Legislature of 1919
having agreed to submit a couple oc
propositions as well as advancing
| others. The Constitution of 1873 is
the fourth under which Pennsyl-
Vania has been governed The first
was the document of 1875, adopted
In Philadelphia under the presi-
dency of Franklin; the second was
adopted in Philadelphia in 1890. i'm
mediately following the adoption OF
| the Federal Constitution, and was
presided over by Mifln; the third
was adopted in Philadelphia in 1888,
the convention moving from Harris
burg where it met in 1887 with John
Sergeant, of Philadelphia, as presi-
! dent, and the fourth, the present.
adopted in Philadelphia on Novem-
Der 3, 1873, the convention having
met here about year before and
! moving to Philadelphia. William
| Nj. Meredith, of Philadelphia, was
chairman, John H. Walker, of Erie,
| being chosen to succeed him when
he died. The first constitutional
convention was composed of 96, the
second So, the third of 1873 and the
last of the same number.
The Constitution of 1873 was rati-
fled by 253,744 to 10S,594 A dozen
years later dissatisfaction with it led
to efforts to bring a new convention,
but the only such proposition to go
before the people was defeated No
vember 3, 1891, by the decisive vote
of 42O,59S to 1883. Since then
there have been efforts to pass bills
! for constitutional conventions, the
campaign of 1912 stimulating such
| projects. In the last session three
bills for constitutional conventions
| appeared, but the administration
sponsored the idea of a commission
to study and recommend revision
rather than hold convention at this
I time which
proved in many letters coming to
the State Capitol.
| The first amendments to he rati-
fled were those voted upon in 1901,
when the three amendments relative
to voters and their qualifications
were adopted, this theme having
been much discussed in the nineties.
The largest number of amendments
ever made was in 1909, when nine,
with a schedule for operation, were
adopted. One was defeated. These
amendments abolished the spring
elections and changed tenures of of
fee and made other alterations
mainly in public office. Two years
later the Philadelphia debt limit
and courts amendments were adopt
ed, the first having to be changed
by another amendment adopted in
1915. In 1913 there were five
amendments submitted and three,
including the first proposed bond is
sue, went down. Two years later
four more amendments went before
the people on a referendum and one
was defeated The last change was
the good roads bond issue of 1918,
which was ratified when Governor
Sproul was elected.
In the last session of the Legisla-
ture more than a dozen amendments
to the Constitution were proposed in
resolutions submitted and many
more were projected, but did not
get to the legislative stage. The
commission named to study the
Constitution is virtually authorized
to include the whole State govern
ment in its recommendations.
There is nothing inhumane in
feeding garbage to hogs such as is
done in Harrisburg and other places
in Pennsylvania under municipal
contract. but which has been both
ering officials of the Lehigh County
Humane Society, who wrote to Sec
retary of Agriculture Frederick
Raq,russen, asking whether he
thought it a good thing to do. The
secretary, who has been studying
live stock raising, promptly replied
that feeding garbage to hogs elm
mates waste and really produces
meat of a satisfactory quality. but
he declined to go into the question
of the feeling of the hogs on the
matter, except to note that they
quickly cleared up vegetable refuse.
The Lehigh people were troubled as
to whether the feeding of garbage
to hogs as sole diet did not make it
monotonous and if that was so
whether it could not be construed as
not humane. The secretary replied
that for centuries hogs had been fed
garbage and appeared to thrive
upon it, while there was no question
&c to the fact that il eliminated