OCR Text |
Show A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 71 appears that we are on the vcrgo of having a National constitutional convention. Mr. Henry Litchfield West has been looking up the matter and publishing the results in The Forum of October and November. Tho constitution con-stitution may bo amended on the nPf plication of the legislatures of two-thirds two-thirds of tho Stales. On such an application ap-plication it is made tho duly of Congress Con-gress to call a convention for proposing propos-ing amendments. Amendments when proposed by the convontion and ratified by tho legislatures of thrcc-Courths of the States, or by conventions in three-fourths three-fourths thereof, will become parts of the constitution. The Slates have taken up the question of electing sonalors by popular vole in place of by tho legislatures, as now provided. Thirty-ono States have- ratified rati-fied tho application fo Congress to call a convention lo propose.' this amendment, amend-ment, viz: Alabama, .Arkansas, California, Cali-fornia, Colorado. Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kontucky. Louisiana, Louis-iana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana. Nebraska. Nevada, Now Jersey. Jer-sey. North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania. South Dakota. Tennessee, Texas. Utah. Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. There are forty-six States. Probably it. would be held that tho application .-.f Miirl Tt-n Sfritrv; in TIPI'OSKarV ill OT- dcr to rcquiro Congress, according to the constitutional provision, lo call a convention to propose amendments. If that werc.hcld to bo the ease. Ihc application ap-plication of one moro State would bo necessary. Jt will bo easy to got that State, becauso Florida. Mississippi, or South Carolina, where the United Stales Senators aro now practically chosen by popular vote, would unquestionably agree in applying to Congress to have the national convention called lo act on this question. There are some questions involved, however, in .this matter, ono of Ihcm being the length of timo within which an application might be presumed to be valid. Some of tho Slates mfldo this application a good many' years ago. The question might come up also as to the power of succeeding legislatures to withdraw that application when made by a legislature that had gono before. In the case of 'Wyoming it is understood under-stood there was an informality which will require correction, but there will probably be no difficulty about having that application made in duo form. So far, no State has withdrawn its application, appli-cation, but there is still time for somo of them to do so, and such withdrawal is possible. t However, granting that all of the applications ap-plications should stund as made, there is still eomo uncertainty' about Ihu convention. con-vention. Thel(!onslitution being silent as to the composition of such a convention con-vention and the 'representation that would compose it, a large question would here be opened. That is whethor the representation in such convention should be by Stales only, each State being allowed the same number of delegates dele-gates in this convention that it has in the Senate, or whether the convention should be made up ot delegates proportioned propor-tioned according to population, or by a mixture of the two methods. Possibly a representation that, would give lo each State one delegate for every Senator Sen-ator or Keprcscntativo would be satisfactory. satis-factory. Congress will probably be required re-quired lo settle this and many other points in connection with the convention.1 conven-tion.1 Perhaps the most important question, of all, however, 16 whether, in case a convention is called and meets, its action ac-tion could be confined to tho one point upon which tho Slates hud made their application. Wo believe the rnlo of the constitutional convention is that there is no limit, to its activities or jurisdiction jurisdic-tion once it is is assembled and organized; organ-ized; anil in case of ihn calling of the ''convention a great many other subjects than that of tho election of United Slates Senators by tho people would undoubtedly be proposed. Among these I may be assumed the income tax, about 'which a proposition is now pending. Another An-other would be giving Congress more power over corporations, and the power to require corporations doing business in more than ono Slate to take out national na-tional articles of incorporation. Another An-other would be to clearly define the jurisdiction of Congr.css over interstate inter-state commerce. Another, Congressional Congres-sional coulrol over trusts and combines. Another, giving Congress jurisdiction lover marriage and divorce. And an-(other an-(other highly important one, rclensing 'the country from fho doctrine of irrc-I irrc-I vocable charters a's declared in tho j Dartmouth college case. There would evidently bo ample material for such a convention to busy itself with, and business, too, 'of this highest possible importance. It is surprising indeed to .see how tho constitution has been irlade to meet the needs of modern business conditions und modern life; but there is a general feeling that a remodeling of the instrument in-strument is necessary from tho conditions condi-tions of the present day, and is made liiecessarv by the changes that have oc-ciiircd oc-ciiircd since the timo when llu- nopu Iation occupied on!- a little strip along tho Atlantic coast, and when tho moans of travel were ao tardy 1 lint it would take weeks to go from what is now ono community to another within a State. With our means of instantaneous communication, with transportation that whirls us in an hour whore formerly a day or even two days would have been taken to make the trip, and with tho immenso expansion of the business of tho country und the changes in tho forms of that business all this would occupy tho time of such a constitutional convontion, and the actions of such a convention might well be assumed lo be of overwhelming importance to the country. But when the convention has finished its labors there would still bo an uncertainty un-certainty as to what would be done with tho matters favorably acted upon by it. Tho constitution roquires that such proposals for amendment as made by that coiivouliou would have to be ratified by three-fourths of tho Stales. But: how?" Heretofore .ratifications by the States of constitutional amendments has been by Iho legislatures of those Statos. But in thesodnys of referring everything to tho people, it is quite nossible that tho constitutional convention conven-tion itself might require that the States should ratify by popular vote. The Federal Constitution itself is silent upon this point. Undoubtedly, however, how-ever, tho understanding of the fathers was that such ratification should be mado by tho legislatures or tho Slatcn; yet il was not so expressed, and although al-though such ratification has heretofore always breiv by the legislatures, there is no doubt tliat ratification by the pcoplo pco-plo would conforni quite as well to the letter and spirit lof the constitution as by legislative action. Tho whblo matter is surrounded by a good deal of uncertainly. Much is left to discretion, and little is laid down in the letter pf the constitution itself. In case of" tho ratification referred' re-ferred' to by ono more State, it will become tho duly of Congress, under the constitution, lo call a National convention con-vention at once for proposing amendments. amend-ments. But it is not entirely sure that Congress will do this immediately. It is required to do so, to bo sure, but it ..mi fnlm it limn about, il. and un questionably the Senate, which has presented pre-sented a solid front against that particular par-ticular amendment, would want, to deliberate de-liberate a good while before conseutiug to Ihc calling of :j constitution convention con-vention which' would chaiigo the method of electing its members; and in case Congress should sec fit to delay tho calling call-ing of the convention, .there is no possible pos-sible means of forcing it to speed. |