The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-07-24

of personal as against representative gov
eminent, of which we have had quite
, enough for the present. To make matters
still worse, the Vermont governor gets out
of calling the state legislature III extra
ordinary session to vote on the suffrage
! amendment by the himsiest kind of spec
ial pleading, and question begging by the
easy process of raising another and IT.
relevant question.
Governor Clement is presumably OPP.
posed to woman suffrage. He says he has
learned that an overwhelming majority OF
| the legislature is prepared to- vote for rat
/ ification of the amendment Thereupon
he discovers that while for nearly cen
fury and half we have amended the
constitution by legislative or convention
action, this is subversive of state rights
! that no legislature ought to act upon an
amendment unless it is elected upon the
! issue created by the submitting of the
amendment and that the constitution
ought to be amended so as to establish
+ this rule. This is the pith and substance
of his objection to calling special session
although in justice it must be said that
he admits the alternative of constitu.
! tional change in the state of Vermont to
bring the states organic law into harmony
with that of the nation. In either event
however, the governor assumes the right
Of frustrating the public will as represen-
ted by overwhelming majority sentiment
| in the legislature he refuses to convene
by merely begging the question at issue
and raising this other as to whether or
not the federal or state organic law ought
to be changed. All the history of amend
ment making is ignored. The fact that
L ~. ]
And the sole viii of the executive is set
up in opposition to a nationwide senti-
ment against the desire of his party in
state or nation. against the majority Of
the members of the legislature. And all
this, upon the flimsv ground that a de
feet in the amendment process has been
discovered.
Governor Clement processes to be
greatly alarmed over the possibilities OF
| lobby Influences upon legislatures in rela-
| ton to constitutional amendments No
| doubt these are many and Grievous Per
| faps lie can show us how these dangers
can be avoided. Possibly he can explain
how, even in the event of each amend
ment being made the subject of a referen-
| DUN, the public as well as the legislatures
can be protected against the influences a
| interested persons or organizations Mean
while he may feel inclined to set in mo
! ton the processes looking to an amend
ment to the constitution providing a new
| method of making amendments But hc
might well find moment to inquire
whether or not it Is healthy for the coun
| try when one man blocks prospective leg
islation which be doesn't favor personally
on the ground that the process isn't salts
| factory to him. Under that rule of per
| sonal government, il would be possible
for the governor of almost any Of om
states to veto almost any law he desired
for personal reasons to kill. on the ground
that the rerrescnt alive method OF lawmak
ing isn't quite as he would have it.
| But there is little use in argument OF
comment. The governor doesn't want
/ the legislature to have chance to vote
on suffrage and that is about all there is
/ to it. If he would say so, and take the
ground that no emergency exists which
makes a calling Of the legislature impera
/ tive, VIC could respect HIM and his 30
sition, even while disagreeing with him
/ But to call in question the whole represen
tative process. and take refuge in a pro
I test against long established methods II
! amendment making is so much like pal
! try side-stepping that it produces only
resentment