Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-09
History Of Pennsylvania's.
Four Constitutions

called upon to study and revise.
One of the striking things which
VIII be made manifest to any stu
! dent or our Commonwealth's consti-
tutional history is the great number
OF provisions in the present Consti-
tuition which have been carried for
ward into it in the precise language
| of the Constitutions of 1875 and
J 1890, going to show that the wise
men who formulated those two
| codes of fundamental law clearly
| apprehended and understood what
the real foundations of government
are.
'The declaration of rights in the
Constitution of 1873 is the same
charter of human liberty almost
| word for word and section for sec
ton as it appears in the Constitution
( OF 1776, and therefore, almost as it
was in its original form when it
| sprang from the mind of John Som
/ ers, famous chancellor of William
| and Mary, when he stated the rights
of free men in England in combat
| ting the tyrrany of an arbitrary and
oppressive king.
Il think none of us entertain the
thought to-day when the world is
troubled and ill at ease and when
our country is being looked to by
all the rest of the world to steady
it, that wise provisions in our or
ganic laws are to be set aside, be-
cause they are time-honored, but
on the contrary, those which great
exigencies and trying times have
demonstrated to be wise and just,
beneficent and all comprehensive,
are to be held onto with o firmer
grip.
To Study Changes
LAS I construe the legislative
mandate in the act creating our
commission, we are not to be icono-
clasts in working out the problems
which are submitted to us, but in
the light of the garnered wisdom of
the ages and of modern reasoned
thought and of our own and other
states experiences; with the new
conditions which are the outgrowth
of the past fifty years of marvellous
progress and attainments of our
people before us, we are to study
comprehensively and in detail the
provisions of our present Constitu-
ton with a view to the necessity
or advisability of changing or omit
ting any of it's provisions which Will
improve it so as to secure for our
people a form of government best
suited to their needs and most con-
ducive to their welfare.
IF we shall find changes in the
Constitution advisable we are to de-
termine the best means of effect
ing such changes, whether by the
amendment of particular sections or
articles, or by general revision OF
the entire Constitution.
THE direction of the act is that
we are to report to the next GEN
eral Assembly, in detail, such recon-
mendations as to the continuance,
discontinuance or modihcatlon OF
existing provisions or the adoptloh
of new provisions as we, from our
investigation and study shall deem
advisable and proper. 1t VIII De
our duty to make drafts of any pro-
posed amendments, or, if it is deem
ed advisable, we may draft a gem
eral revision of the entire Constitu-
tion.
Exhaustive Study
"Thus. it will be seen that our
mission is to examine the 1ounda-
tions of our State Government TO
see whether they are sound ana Sc
cure for the coming years OF trlal,
and where in our opinion they can
be strengthened to put in new rocks
of strength. I'm
higher public service can come to
free men and women in republic
than this.
The task before us calls for ex-
haustive study, unremitting work,
patient hearing of every view pre-
sented. tolerance of each others
opinions, the wisest judgment and
absolute fearlessness in arriving at
the conclusions which we deem to
be right.
"If our task is we'll performed,
we and the agencies which shall fol-
low after us, and the people in put
ting their final approval on what |
shall have it's beginnings here to-
day, will be doing not only Pennsyl-
vania. but constitutional govern
ment everywhere, a forward-looking
service"