Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-18

2& TELEGRAPH
ton whether one of the prohibitions
of special legislation relative 10
| county and city local affairs might
not clash with the proposed classi-
| fication of counties and municipan-
/ ties and Judge Reed held that IL
was generally admitted that the
| Legislature had the power to clas-
sify. Mr.. Alter remarked that IL
was the desire to make the Consul
| tuition complete in itself and to pre-
scribe matters for cities and coun-
ties within certain limits
Barred From Jobs
Fifty-nine sections. comprising
all of the first and second articles
| and l 5 of the sections of the th1rd
article of the Pennsylvania Consti-
tuition, over a dozen of which were
changed from the text of the docu-
ment of 1873, were tentatively
passed by the State Constitutional
Revision Commission in its first sit
| ting as a Committee of the Whole
yesterday afternoon. All action must
/ he referred to the Commission for
| formal passage and is subject to re-
| call meanwhile. This latter fact
was emphasized by Chairman Will
| liam /. Schaffer and various mem
! bers of the Commission during the
discussion which occupied all after
noon. The meeting was productive
| of series of interesting debates ana
| foreshadow many more.
! The Committee of the Whole in
the course of it's work definitely pro-
vided that no member of the Legis-
lature could be appointed to Il civil
4 nf nrnfit nn1pr the
State Government during the term
! for which he has been elected.
Another important amendment
| would permit the State to do its own
printing. There was no discussion
on that point or on the removal or
the requirement that the Governor
should pass upon multitudinous mat
ters, more or less of a clerical ma
ture, most of which have been re-
moved by statute. but few of which
remain to distract from the big
things of the office.
Amendment of Section 13 of Ar
ticIe III so that it would conflict
with Section IS of Article XVIII was
effected by Hampton L. Carson. for
mer attorney general, who pointed
out that the former might be con-
strued by some persons to interfere
with the provision in Article XVIII
to give adequate compensation for
| Judges. He held that the trainers of
the Constitution desired TO pro-
vide judges with compensation that
would enable them to live comfort
ably, but that changes in the value
of money had brought about con-
dition where the independence ana
the continued service of the judici-
airy had to be considered. He said
of ts,n a
salaries of judges had come before
| him in the form of a request for an
| opinion by e. r. Hardenberg, au-
ditor general, when he was attor-
ney general and he had held that
the prohibition of increase of salary
during term did not apply to judges.
Mr.. Carson cited the appointment
of Chief Justice Charles D. White
to the Supreme Court of the United
States during his service as a SEN
ator from Louisiana and said that he
considered that salaries of judges
should be advanced according to
cost of living. To meet the sit
uation, he proposed a change to
the section which would extend the
prohibition during tenure of olhce
of such civil officers whose terms
were fixed by statute. AS the terms
of judges are established by the Con-
stitution this would not affect them.
This, he remarked, would follow the
practice of the United States.
During the early discussion George
Wharton Pepper. of Philadelphia,
in reply to reference upon observa-
tions made about juries in civil
cases by clifford Pinchot, of Pike.
and Judge James II. Reed, of Allie
gheny, said that he felt that the
rttIn ~ n niffnifU n iI1rV HndinQS
in civil cases should not be changed.
Ex-Speaker George E. Alter. Alle-
gheny, who handled the amend
ments and reports of sections recon-
mended to be unchanged as acting
/ chairman of Committee No. /, said
| in reply to Ex-Judge Sulzberger, of
| Philadelphia. on the latter's sugges-
| ton that the prohibition of legisla-
| tors accepting places of profit dur
ing terms, that the Constitution
| presumed too much on the fraility
of Legislators" Remarking that a
well qualified man might be pre-
vented from being appointed
! judge because he happened to be
a legislator Mr.. Alter said, The
! present Constitution has too much
/ of a spirit of ,distrust of legisla-
| tors" Mr.. Sulzberger suggested
cutting out the provision that legis-
lators could not accept Offices Gre
| ated or in which EN- oluments were
increased during their terms. Judge
Reed said he did not think there
should be amendments suggested
| just for literary style, in which
Judge Gordon later Joined. The
Sulzberger amendment was finally
adopted and the prohibition of any
appointment to place of profit dur
ing legislative term was made.
Mr.. Pinchot wanted provision
put into the constitution to prevent
picking of bills in committees" Mr..
Alter said that such things were in
control of legislative bodies which
made their own rules.
The amendment that the Legisla-
ture punctuate bills. was abandoned
after some remarks by Judges Sulz-
berger and Gordon. the former say
ing that he did not see the value of
bringing in a new matter for the
courts" new series of causes of
litigation and astute argument and
new element of doubt, distraction
and confusion Judge Gordon re-
marking that men might be hung
because of u parenthesis," asked
how there would be interpreted mat
ter written by an author like Thomas
Carlyle. He said that he did not
think amendments involving only
literary taste or niceties should be