The star-progress., 1921-05-04
VOTES
CONTINUE FOR
THIRTY DAYS MORE
Resolution Authorizing Ex-
tension of Session Passes
Unanimously
100000 WILL BE
THE EXTRA COST
Can Not Finish Important
Work in Seventy-Five Day
, Limit Set by Assembly

nc GO1SIIuGO1a4 COuFCHI4OA wiz
have thirty days extra life, That is
to say, instead OF finishing its work
and adiourning without day at mid
Night Saturday, May IA, the body
will continue in session until June
IA, in order to whip the new organic
law of the state into shape by that
date.
This resolution extending the Life
of the convention went through by
unanimous vote, and it was agreed
that the necessary expense funds for
the longer session would be borrowed.
It is said that the extra expense will
be fully one hundred thousand dollars
or a total cost to the state of about
three hundred thousand dollars, or
more, for the framing of new con-
stitution.
1t was patent some time ago that
the convention would not be able to
complete the work in hand by May IA,
and various propositions were made
in order to gain further time in which
to finish up. Several delegates
favored a plan OF adjourning until
fall or winter, comittees meantime
going carefully over the work and rec
trying all errors and getting the sub
ject matter in shape for the final o. K
of the convention when it re-assembl-
ed. This plan, however, did not seem
to gather much strength and the plain
proposal that thirty days extra time
be added appealed to the sensiblities
of the delegates and that plan was
adopted.
The session of the convention, ac-
cording to those who have been on the
scene, resembles more or less the
average and usual session of the Lou
isiana legislature, in that much time
was frfttered away at the beginning Of
the sitting and much more valuable
time has been also frittered away
since. Members have at last begun
to realize that the usIess waste of
time at the start has been a strong
factor in hampering the work and
causing much delay both in committee
and in the convention itself. 1t will
be recalled that it required two weeks
time for President Bouanchaud 70
select the members Of the several
committees, during which time little
Of note was accomplished. Then
there has been the usual by play OF
politics and legitimate and illegid-
mate efforts to encompass an end.
All of these factors, with large num-
Der of others thrown in for good
measure, have initiated against the
smooth work which the convention
was supposed to do.
Well informed people state that the
size of the convention has also been
another factor as the body has been
too unwieIdy and too difficult to hand
lie. The case of a constitutional con-
! vention held in one OF the eastern
/ states is cited as an example. The
convention assembled, organized, ap-
| pointed a committee OF, say, twenty
| five to draft the constitution, and this
committee in turn appointed a sub
! committee Of one man and he drew
/ up the organic law. The committee
approved it, submitted it to the en-
! tire convention when it re-assembled
and it in turn also approved the in
strument and formally ratified it.
/ That constitution has stood the brunt
! for more than one hundred years and
| is still the law of the commonwealth.
/ Somewhat autocratic, maybe, bur
the example set might well have
been followed by the Louisiana con-
vention, with a few notifications that
would have fitted modern conditions.
| These facts are leaking out now, but
/ It is too late, and the next best thing
to do in order to rectffy past mistakes
is for the convention to get to work
earnestly and give the state the best
constitution possible, without regard
to the political aspirations OF any
man OF group of men.