USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 5 > Part 57
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The understanding was carried out April 3, 1916. The legislature' passed a statute submitting the calling of a con- stitutional convention to the people, and providing the way in which it should be held if authorized. At the State elec- tion in November, 1916, the vote on the convention was: yes, 217,293; and no, 120,979. By the terms of the act the convention was to consist of 320 members, of whom 16 were to be elected at large; 4 by each of the sixteen congres- sional districts; and 240 by legislative districts. Delegates were to be chosen May 7, 1917 ; and ballots were to bear no party or political designation.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS (1917)
As the main object of the promoters of the Convention was the I. & R., they sent out a public "appeal to liberal voters" in December, signed by David I. Walsh, former Democratic governor; Charles Sumner Bird, former Pro- gressive candidate for governor; Matthew Hale, chairman of the Progressive State Committee; Joseph Walker, former Speaker of the House; George W. Anderson, United States District Attorney; Edward A. Filene, merchant: Alvan T. Fuller, congressman-elect, and later governor; Richard F. Long, manufacturer; Harry P. Jennings, president of Boston Central Labor Union; George F. Mahoney, president, Local Electrical Workers; and F. Walter Mullen, vice-president of the American Federation of Labor.
Propaganda was carried on actively in the newspapers. Pressure was also put on all nominees to commit themselves in favor of the "I. & R." In all, about nine hundred candidates took out nomination papers for the 320 seats.
COMPOSITION OF THE CONVENTION (1917)
When the Convention assembled in the House of Represent- atives in the State House at Boston, June 6, 1917, the offi- cial returns showed 319 members qualified. Classified by
635
ORGANIZATION
parties there were 172 Republicans, 97 Democrats, 5 Pro- gressives, 3 Socialists, and 36 without party affiliations. Classified on a nonpolitical cleavage, 190 delegates were claimed in favor of the I. & R. The eventual vote on its adoption (including 10 of the 18 delegates-at-large) was 163 to 125. The strength of the Labor Party including the rad- icals was 97.
Among the delegates were three former governors: Bates, Brackett and Walsh. Morton, of Fall River, was a retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. Malone, Parker, and Pillsbury had been attorneys-general, and, Boynton had been United States District Attorney. About two thirds of the members had had previous legislative or political experience.
Roughly grouped as to occupations, the membership of the four conventions was as follows:
1780
1820
1853
1917
Lawyers and judges
31
85
77
157
Public officials
16
10
2
10
Clergymen
21
30
24
4
Merchants, business men, etc.
39
109
110
90
Farmers
122
164
124
5
Physicians
18
30
17
7
Mechanics
16
25
39
13
Hotel Keepers
7
6
0
2
Teachers and students
5
3
2
11
Miscellaneous
14
23
26
21
289
485*
421
320*
* Of these, five never took their seats.
ORGANIZATION OF THE CONVENTION (1917)
On June 6, 1917, 212 of the delegates assembled at the State House in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, and were duly sworn in by Governor McCall. James W. Kimball, clerk of the House, was elected clerk. For presi- dent the I. & R. men favored Sherman L. Whipple, delegate- at-large-a leading lawyer and prominent Democrat, and in favor of the I. & R., but without legislative experience.
By 176 to 137 the Convention chose John L. Bates-a Republican, a conservative, a lawyer, for several years Speaker of the House, and governor in the years 1903, 1904. President Bates showed impartiality and good judgment in
636
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
his appointment of committees. His knowledge of parlia- mentary law and practice, and his firmness and skill in the exercise of his office as presiding officer contributed much to the success of the Convention.
The important Committee on Rules and Procedure included Luce, Pillsbury and Walker, all distinguished by wide ex- perience and ability as presiding officers in the Senate and House. A few days later the convention completed its organization, including 24 standing committees appointed by the president.
Provision was made for stenographic reports. It was ordered that all proposals for amendments be filed by June 25, and that the standing committees to whom they were referred should report by July 16.
The rules adopted were substantially those of the House of Representatives, except that every report by a standing committee was automatically referred to the Convention sitting as a committee of the whole, where debate was prac- tically unlimited. Thence report was made to the same body sitting in convention.
MATERIALS AND PROPOSALS (1917)
A manual containing an annotated text and history of the Constitution was prepared in advance by a commission com- prising Professor William B. Munroe of Harvard; Laurence B. Evans, a lawyer, lately professor at Tufts; and Roger Sherman Hoar, lawyer and writer. It contained information about previous conventions. They also prepared 36 valuable monographs on some questions to come before the Conven- tion. Evans also served as technical adviser to the Conven- tion, and rendered notable service as draftsman to the Com- mittee on Form' and Phraseology.
Three hundred and eight proposed amendments were filed, 180 of which were heard and reported on by July 17 ; but some matters were not reported until the session of 1918.
Seventy-two of the 308 proposals were disposed of in the first session of the Convention.
The debates on the main question, the I. & R., occupied the greater part of the time of the Convention, till its final adoption on November 29, too late to go on the ballot for
From the souvenir of the Massachusetts
Courtesy of Miss Florence Bridgman Constitutional Convention
COMMITTEE ON RULES AND PROCEDURE
637
ANTI-AID ISSUE
that year. The important Anti-aid Amendment, and the Public Trading and Absent Voting Amendments to meet emergencies created by the World War, were adopted and submitted to the people at the November elections of that year (1917).
THE ANTI-AID ISSUE (1917)
The Eighteenth Amendment to the State Constitution (sub- mitted to the people by the Convention of 1853, but not adopt- ed until 1855) provided that no money raised by taxation for the support of public schools should ever be appropriated to any religious sect for the maintenance exclusively of its own schools. The prohibition went no farther than sectarian schools, and the legislature yearly granted large sums to non- sectarian schools and to hospitals and institutions other than schools, even though they were controlled by religious bodies.
The issue as to such grant was raised in 1900 when the legislature refused to give $10,000 to the Carney Hospital in South Boston, a Catholic institution. The desire to pass some measure that would "take religion out of politics" was undoubtedly one of the factors influencing the calling of a convention.
ANTI-AID PROPOSITIONS (1917)
Two narrower antisectarian propositions, prohibiting the support of any institutions or societies or schools where the tenets of any religious society were taught, were filed by George, of Haverhill, and Anderson, of Newton.
These proposals were referred to the Committee on the Bill of Rights, of which Pelletier, district attorney for Suf- folk County and one of the leading Catholic laymen in the State, a member, said: "In politics all shades of opinion were represented . . . the different occupations and profes- sions from minister to wage earner, were found. In religion, the Jew, the Catholic, members of the Protestant sect, all had their voice."
The Catholic hierarchy did not then object to the measure at the hearings before the Standing Committee.
638
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
ANTI-AID AMENDMENT VOTED (1917)
The Committee reported the Lomasney proposal ( four dis- senting). Anderson reported his narrower proposal, and an amendment to the report of the committee. He did this be- cause Mgr. Roche, at a convention of the Catholic Federation held on the previous day, had denounced the proposed amend- ment, claiming that it would make the State and its schools atheistic, and intimating that the Catholic hierarchy was op- posed to it. The debate began on Friday, July 9th. At the suggestion of Coleman of Boston, the Committee conferred over the week-end and called in some outsiders, including President Lowell of Harvard, and Episcopal Bishop William Lawrence.
July 13, Chairman Curtis presented as the committee's unanimous report an amended draft of the Lomasney pro- posal, which met with general approval. Efforts to except from the operation of the law the Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic, and other engineering and technical schools in which the State supported scholarships were re- jected. At this stage of the proceedings Cummings of Fall River, avowedly speaking only as a representative Catholic layman, made an eloquent and impassioned appeal to reject the unanimous report of the committee, and to submit no amendment to the people. He contended that the Catholic layman was now taxed to support schools which he could not conscientiously use, and that to open this matter to public discussion would scatter from Provincetown to Pittsfield brands of a fire that could not easily be extinguished.
The speech was received in silence. It was the first time that personal feeling or religious motives had been injected into the discussion. The position taken by Cummings was promptly disavowed by all the Catholics of the Committee on Bill of Rights. August 22 the proposal was passed to be engrossed, 275 yeas to 25 nays. Only 9 of the 94 Catholic delegates voted against it. August 30 the Convention sub- mitted the amendment to the people.
STATUS OF UNIVERSITIES (1917)
The question was rediscussed October 3, on the motion of
639
TRADING AMENDMENT
Chairman Curtis to dismiss from the calendar a proposal reported by the Committee on Education to allow the legisla- ture to make such provisions by taxation or otherwise "as will afford every one an opportunity for full mental, physical and moral development."
Cummings renewed the arguments which he had made previously, but Judge Morton, of Fall River, retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, the oldest and most venerated delegate, explained that the legislature had power to exempt from taxation such things as promoted the public welfare, subject to the constitutional provision that taxes shall remain proportional and reasonable, and Curtis's motion was adopted.
RATIFICATION OF THE ANTI-AID AMENDMENT (1917)
As predicted by Cummings, a bitter religious contest fol- lowed. The Catholic hierarchy made an open and determined effort to defeat it at the polls. On the other side, the Minute Men and a special committee with Curtis, chairman, and Garland, secretary, held a ratification meeting in Ford Hall on the night before election. Appeals for and against were made from the pulpit by both Protestants and Catholics.
At the State election, November 6, 1917, the amendment was ratified and adopted by the people by 256,239 voting yes, against 130,357 voting no. Suffolk County, with its large Catholic constituency, cast a striking vote of yes, 50,113; no, 16,437.
ABSENT VOTING AMENDMENT (1917)
The absence from home in the military service of many voters brought to the fore the question of absentee voting. No serious opposition was made to an amendment authorizing the General Court to enable those absent from home to vote. The amendment was adopted by the Conven- tion by a viva voce vote, and ratified by the people on Novem- ber 6, 1917, by a vote of yes, 231,905; no, 76,709.
PUBLIC TRADING AMENDMENT (JUNE, NOVEMBER, 1917)
The shortage of housing facilities, fuel and food, due to war conditions, caused an insistent demand for legislation
640
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
that would secure to each person a fair share of those things at an equal and reasonable price. The national government had undertaken to regulate the sale of coal, sugar and other commodities in the exercise of its war powers.
Thirteen proposals to enable the State government to pro- vide shelter and to trade in commodities and the necessaries of life, were filed and referred to the Committee on Public Af- fairs, of which George W. Anderson, of Brookline, was chairman.
What was commonly known as the Public Trading Amend- ment was reported by the committee, and passionately advo- cated by Anderson; it would enable the General Court to authorize the Commonwealth or its counties, cities and towns to take, buy, sell and manufacture the necessaries of life, and to own and operate markets, docks, coal yards, warehouses, slaughter houses and other facilities. Admittedly the pro- posed amendment would allow the State to engage in lines of business which seemed a long step towards state socialism.
Stirring radical speeches advocating the broad principles of State ownership and control of all commodities were made by Brooks Adams, of Quincy, a great-grandson of President John Adams, the writer of the Constitution of 1780, and by Arthur N. Harriman, President of the New Bedford Central Labor Union, an earnest and able labor delegate.
September 26, a new draft, substantially to the same effect as the committee's report, was read a second time. At this stage Lomasney reminded the Convention that the Constitu- tion should consist of principles of government and not de- tails of legislation, and moved a shorter and more general measure which conferred on the General Court the power to authorize the State and cities and towns to provide shelter and food for its inhabitants in times of war, emergency, or distress.
This form met with general approval. The Lomasney amendment was redrafted and adopted by 138 to 47. It was ratified and adopted by the people November 6, 1917, by a vote of 261,119 to 51,826, thus receiving the largest majority given to any of the amendments.
641
PROPONENTS OF THE I. & R.
PROPOSALS FOR THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
(JUNE-JULY, 1917)
The I. & R. men met in caucus on the resumption of regular sessions of the Convention (June 12), and chose Walker floor leader, and Matthew Hale whip. The Committee on the subject began its hearings on the four proposals referred to it. The proposition was advocated by persons who had ob- served the working of the system in other States and by Hart, of Cambridge, who had studied it in Switzerland. President Lowell, of Harvard University, and Ex-Mayor Matthews, of Boston, were among those speaking in opposition.
July 23, eight of the committee of fifteen members (Cum- mings, the chairman, Walker, Whipple, Hale, Driscoll, Cole- man, Sherburne and Harriman) agreed on reporting a reso- lution for the initiative and referendum. It provided for legislation and amendment of the Constitution by direct action of the people, and also for the reference of laws passed by the legislature to the people upon petition. Under it the legislature might pass laws immediately; but any amendment to the Constitution on the subject must be submitted at two sessions of the legislature. If it did not adopt the proposal, then the measure might be submitted to the people at the next State election. The minority of seven members of the com- mittee (Choate, Parker, Powers, Lummus, Churchill, Young- man and Bailey) filed their dissent in a document drawn by Lummus and Churchill.
THE PROPONENTS OF THE I. & R. (1917)
General debate of the I. & R. began in Committee of the Whole, August 7; and continued, with few interruptions for consideration of other matters, until September 27, when the committee was discharged. The debate then shifted to the Convention, where it finally ended on November 28. The is- sue was debated on forty-five separate days. Fifty-seven speeches favored or opposed the measure, thirty-seven of which were much extended by questions and answers. At the outset no limit was' put on the length of speeches, and the general discussion, covering about three weeks, was without time limit until nearį its close.
642
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Walker, floor leader for the proponents, opened the debate in a statesmanlike speech, in which he set forth the suscepti- bility of the legislature to the sinister influence of invisible government. He maintained the right of the people to ap- peal from the decision of the legislature or the courts by pass- ing laws or amending the Constitution by direct popular vote. He stated that 190 delegates were pledged to the passage of some form of an initiative and referendum, but that the measure as reported was susceptible of friendly amendment. Whipple, the late I. & R. candidate for president of the Con- vention, in an aggressive speech enlarged on the evils of great accumulations of wealth from unequal and discriminating legislation, and the subservience of the legislature to "the In- terests." He pictured the inability of the courts to amend the Constitution by their decisions, and the unwillingness of the legislature to initiate wise reforms; and maintained that the I. & R. would be an aid to democracy in the attainment of social justice.
OPPONENTS OF THE I. & R. (1917)
Choate, of Southboro, generally considered to be the leader of the State bar, opened the debate for the opposition. He stressed the inviolability of the social compact made in the cabin of the Mayflower, and argued that if the present measure were adopted you might as well have no constitution at all.
He denounced precommitment of 190 delegates. It was one of the sore spots of the Convention. Alluding to it later, Pillsbury insisted that the Convention "was disqualified from the outset to properly and impartially deal with the question, and that all argument against it was bound to fall on deaf ears of a pledged-for politeness, only, I will not say a packed- convention."
Referring to this condition of precommitment, Churchill, the leader of the opposition, who next took up their case, said he did so with almost a feeling of hopelessness-yet if any speech made any votes, or confirmed the wavering, it was his. He saw nothing in the situation in Massachusetts that required adoption of the measure here; and he defended the wisdom of the Forefathers, who considered the democ-
I. & R. AND THE CONSTITUTION 643
racies of the past, and determined that a representative form of government was best and that the limitations placed on narrowness and selfishness of classes and factions by a written Constitution were wise and just.
REPLICATION OF ARGUMENTS FOR THE I. & R. (1917)
Hale replied in an argument on the principles involved, re- markable for its thoroughness of preparation, citation of fig- ures, and the dicta of former statesmen. Underhill, of Somerville, vindicated the legislature and its leadership in social legislation.
Harriman, of New Bedford, again set forth in fiery terms the unequal condition of labor before the law, which direct action alone could remedy. He was answered by Underhill, in behalf of the great mass of common people and independent labor who, he said, were opposed to all extreme and revolu- tionary measures. Coleman, of Boston, urged the adoption of the I. & R. to quiet the latent unrest, fraught with the possi- bility of violent explosion-a situation exemplified by appar- ently causeless strikes. Loring, of Beverly, president of the Plymouth Cordage, Company, one of the companies alluded to, replied in an address which was received with unusual attention.
RELATION OF THE I. & R. TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
After three weeks of debate it became evident that some sort of an I. & R. measure would be adopted. The contest centered on application of the principles to constitutional amendments, without which the proponents insisted the Con- stitution would remain an unalterable crystallization of obsolete political conceptions.
Lummus, of Lynn, and Dellinger, of Wakefield, introduced amendments to exclude constitutional amendments from its operation. The Boston American (whose personal represen- tative, Grenville S. MacFarland, maintained an office nearby for consultation with members) bitterly assailed them for this action, and offered prizes for the best caricatures of them. Luce protested, saying : "Influences outside of this chamber
644
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
appear to have resorted to every device conceivable that might make it impossible for a self-respecting man to vote for this measure." Sullivan, of Salem, wished the Committee on Rules to take the necessary steps to protect members of the Convention from such scandalous attacks upon them, par- ticularly referring to the issue of that date in which it stated "Slackers Give Foes Chance To Hit I. & R." Lomasney with his usual directness' said: "I trust the Convention will re- strain itself. What is the use of making fools of ourselves The liberty of the press is sacred," in which view of the matter he was sustained by his favorite foe Pillsbury, and the motion was dismissed by general consent.
Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, visited the Convention, August 22, when the matter of con- stitutional amendment by means of the I. & R. was under discussion in the Committee of the Whole, and at the invitation of the president delivered a short address to the Convention to the effect that an easy way of amendment was the essence of a sound constitution, that the readjustment of it to meet changing conditions should be within reach of the people after adequate consideration and discussion. This statement made a marked impression on many delegates.
LORING AMENDMENT TO THE I. & R.
It was now evident that unless a more feasible way than the existing method of amending the Constitution were sug- gested, the I. & R. would be adopted. On September 6, Lor- ing, of Beverly, chairman of the Committee on Form and Phraseology, introduced a motion to substitute for the pre- pared I. & R. method of submitting constitutional amend- ments, a provision by which such amendments should be con- sidered in joint convention of two successive legislatures. In that committee, interested parties habitually met on a nonpartisan basis to settle technicalities. This proposal, therefore, received careful consideration of both sides, and found ultimate approval.
THE I. & R. AMENDMENT SUBMITTED (OCT., 1917)
September 7 it was voted to close the debate on the 12th by two set speeches for each side. Cummings and Walsh
645
FINAL FORM OF THE I. & R.
represented the proponents, and Luce and Parker the oppo- nents. All four speeches were notable and important discus- sions of the subject, but at that stage could have no appreci- able effect on the result. Voting began September 13. The first test vote, on the Dellinger "Amendment to Exclude the Constitution from the Operation of the Measure," was re- jected 129 to 148. The Loring amendment was not then pressed to a vote.
September 27, the I. & R. with all the adopted amendments was reported to the Convention. October 9, Loring again moved his amendment, which was strongly supported by Quincy, and also by Walker, speaking for the majority of the Committee. Youngman, one of the minority of the com- mittee, and Luce, conservative, then joined in its support, and it was adopted.
Although the restriction of constitutional amendments from the I. & R. had settled the most important controversy, and it was now generally conceded that the Convention would ultimately submit the main proposition to the people, the questions of matters excluded from the measure, and the practical details of its operation, remained to be settled.
Little objection was made when it was proposed to place in that category some changes in the Constitution which the Convention had already refused to adopt. In the form finally adopted, the following subjects were excluded from the operation of the initiative: measures relative to religion; the appointment, qualification, tenure or removal of judges; the reversal of judicial decisions; the powers, creation or abolition of courts; measures restricted to particular towns or localities; specific appropriations; the Anti-aid Amendment; propositions inconsistent with the Declaration of Rights; the right to compensation for property taken; the right of trial by jury; and any part of the Consti- tution which specifically excluded matters from the operation of the I. & R.
FINAL FORM OF THE I. & R.
Many amendments were offered to perfect the measure; many others, meant to defeat it or make it unworkable. So many of these changes were proposed and adopted that
646
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Walker finally complained that the bill was being written by its enemies and not by its friends. Finally, the measure be- came so involved that the Committee on Form and Phrase- ology, on November 8 was given leave to absent itself from the sessions of the Convention, and to devote its time to the drafting of a proper measure embracing the provisions already adopted.
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