The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-10-23
REVISE STATE
BASIC Law, IS
GOODRICH PLEA
Former Governor SCOTS at
Arguments Offered
by Opposition.
HITS AMENDMENT IDEA
Only Seven of 381 Efforts
for Constitution Change
Have Succeeded.
BIZ Times Special

1ndiana's Constitution was not an
act of God, but was made by men
back in 1851, by men who were deal
ing with conditions prevailing at
that time, when there was not a
single city in the state, former Gov
ernor James P. Goodrich told a
large audience here on Wednesday
night.
The meeting, at the First Chris
tan church, was for discussion of a
constitution convention for Indiana.
Goodrich assisted the opposition
to the convention by pointing out
that arguments advanced do not
Withstand the light of Hoosier ex-
perience.
Even those who oppose a con-
Stitutional convention realize the
necessity of a great many changes
in our basic laws" the former Gov
ernor pointed out. But they insist
that these changes can be brought
about by amendments"
Few Amendments Get By
He then cited the history of
amendment attempts in the state.
| showing that 381 attempts to amend
the Constitution have been made
since 1851 and only seven were sue
ceSsfull, five of these growing out of
the Civil war.
Not single amendment ever has
been adopted at a general election"
he declared.
$50 it seems that the argument
for amending the Constitution,
rather than making a new one, fails
when applied TO nearly eighty years
Of actual experience"
The ''reverential attitude" toward
the present Constitution assumed by
William L. Taylor, indianapolis at
torney, particularly was assailed by
| the former Governor. He ridiculed
the comparison made by Taylor
with the Ten Commandments and
the Sermon on the Mount.
SCOTS at Comparison
Certainly the Ten Commandments
and the Sermon on the Mount are
not out of date" Goodrich declared.
and continued: They law down
certain fundamental moral and
spiritual principles governing the
relation of man toward his fellows
and toward his God.
1T is pure bunk to class the In
diana Constitution with either Of
these great documents.
I'VE might admit that, in the
main, the Bill of Rights section Of
our Constitution should be veneer
ated, for almost every paragraph
was purchased by the blood and
sacrifice of our ancestors. We are
not suggesting change in that re-
spect.
But the Indiana Constitution
was not delivered from the hand of
God amid the thunders of Sinai.
nor was it promulgated by the Son
of God.
Drawn by Average Men
"It was drawn by men from every
walk Of life, by men no ADLER, on
the average, than will assemble in
a constitutional convention today,
men who were not preparing a Con-
stitution for time and eternity, but
preparing a document to meet con-
ditions as they existed at that time,l
and with no thought that some onet
eighty years later would compared
the result Of their deliberations with
the Ten Commandments and the
Sermon on the Mount"
In closing, Goodrich urged APP
prevail of the constitutional conven-
ton in the balloting next month.
"The time is ripe for a conven-
ton in Indiana" he commended. 1.-THE
spirit of the time is suited to it.
1t is a constructive, not a destruc-
tive, movement and I am convinced
it contains not single element Of
danger.
Competent to Act
ITO think that the people of In
diana, after eighty years of educa-
ton and training. with an unsur-
passed system of public schools and
free education, are not as compe-
tent as wereour forefathers of eighty
years ago, to reform and restate the
basic law of the state is nconceiv-
able.
Il would despair of the future Of
the state we love had I so little faith
in the intelligence and virtue Of the
people Of Indiana.
81 am convinced that the people
of Indiana will rise to the occasion,
select the very best men in all
counties, and out of it all there will
emerge for submission to the people
of the State a Constitution that will
stand as model among all the
states of the Union and justify the
faith Of our fathers in US of this
day and generation"