| Show CONSTITUTiONAL TINKERING Constitutional tinkering seems now to be the craze in several states Kentuckys convention has just finished its work of drafting a new constitution for the BlueGrass Blue-Grass state Pennsylvania is clamoring for a like convention the press of the state vigorously reminding the legislators at Harrisburg that both parties are pledged to the calling of such a convention Next conies Delaware with a demand for constitutional consti-tutional revision This tinkering with constitutions is extremely unprofitable business It leads rather to complexity I than to simplicity in government and if we may judge from tho work done in later years by constitutional conventions con-ventions the tendency is to inject no small amount of legislation into constitutions consti-tutions a thing most deplorable Constitutions Consti-tutions like machinery are all the better the simpler they are and should be confined con-fined to the statement of fundamental principles prin-ciples of government the division of tho power they create intots proper departments depart-ments and clearly define the limits of authority au-thority leaving the rest as the domain of conscience and freedom The men of a hundred years ago were well versed in fundamental law and wrote constitutions which the men of this generation will find i t difficult to improve upon Constitutional revision will be found as powerless as legis l ative enactments to correct all the evils with which states and nations are plagued This too frequent overhauling the foundations founda-tions of our political fabrics moreover is liable to endanger the whole structure |
