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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1963)
Revised Constitution Plan Faces Stiff Opposition; Will Require Strong Support "A NEW CONSTIU T10 FOR OREGON" J (This i the last in a series of articles about the revised Coosti- tulbn proposed by the Oregon Constitutional Revision Commis sion. The articles were written by Hans A. Linde, professor of con stitutional law at the I'niversily of Oregon and a member of the Commission.) Will Hie revised Constitution ever actually become the Consti tution of Oregon? A reader who has staved with these columns this long will have .realized that the Commission had to make many diflicult choices. Any revised Constitution it report ed to the 1963 legislative session would contain some proposals about which reasonable men could differ. What hope is there that the Legislature, in turn, can agree on a revised Constitution to submit to the people of Oregon? The Constitutional Revision Commission itself faced the ques tion squarely. "Some of us dis agree with portions of the pro posed draft," it reported; but "the proposed Constitution is in our collective judgment a model- for a modern state having Ore con's historical, political and eco nomic background; it is far super ior to the existing 1837 Constitu tion, lis adoption by the Legisla tine and the people will give Ore gon one of the three or four best Constitutions among the 50 states." Fifteen of the 17 mem bers joined in these conclusions; two dissented. And the Commission concluded its report with the "hope that the 52nd Legislative Assembly and the people of Oregon will look upon the Revised Constitution in the same manner as has the Com. mission: as a framework to be re garded as a whole, rather than as a set of isolated recommenda tions." How realistic is this hope? The political dilemma of con stitutional revision was clear to the Commission and is unavoid able. Opposition from) many sep arate sources, each minor in it self, will criticize individual pro visions of the revised Constitu tion. But who speaks for the slate's interest in its Constitution whole SUPPORT FOR CONSTITUTION'! Gov. Mark 0. Hatfield has urged the Legislature lo refer the revised Constitution to the public without drastic reworking. In his inaugural address at the begin ning of the present legislative session, the Governor said thai the Legislature's "greatest lega cy" can be the adoption of a rea listic, modern Constitution. 'Sec retary of State Howell Appling, on the other hand, opposes this pro posal.) The revised Constitution has won strong editorial support from newspapers throughout the state a skeptical group not common ly enthusiastic for new proposals. The Mcdford Mail Tribune agrees with the Governor's state ment to the Legislature, adding that it should be "this Constitu tion." "Give the voters a chance to pass on it," it writes. The Pendleton East Oregonian reminds the Legislature that "it preferred taking the responsibility of a convention" in deciding on a new Constitution, and concludes that "it would be tragic if it were the wrong decision The Daily Astorian calls t h e revised Constitution "worthy of adoption by the legislature and and "not radical." "A milestone in 103 years of state government in Oregon." says the Eugene Register-Guard. Most concede that one or anoth er provision is lairly debatable and could be changed. But they opjiose partial measures or furth er delay. "Buy by the package" urges the Oregonian, and the Oregon Jour nal warns "Delay will gain noth ing" and opposes a "piecemeal job. The Oregon League of Women Voters has taken a leading role in the efforts, first for the con stitutional revision program, and uow for the revised Constitution The state's Young Democrats are another group backing the revi sion as a plan for a future mod ern state government, although the revised Constitution offers no special political advantage to ei ther party. A non-partisan Citizens Commit tee for the new Constitution has been organized under the joint chairmanship of former Govs. Robert D. Holmes and Charles A. Sprague, to represent citizens in terest in constitutional reform in all parts of the Mate. On the other hand, some organ izationsthe state bar is one have expressed opposition lo parts of the revised Constitution or rec ommended delay. THE CITIZENS' ROLE What is the individual citizen's role in constitutional revision? Ultimately, he w ill make the final decision if the Legislative As sembly can agree lo submit a pro posed Constitution to the voters. But he need not remain a pas sive spectator until this happens. These steps are open lo every in stitutional Revision Commission. Requests for a copy can be ad dressed to the commission at the State Capitol iRoom 114 Sa lcm. 2. Suggest that one's group luncheon club, church, local un ion. PTA. veterans' organization. grange, chamber ol commerce inform itself about the proposed Constitution. Chairman George Layman and other members of the Commission have spoken l scores of audiences to explain the Commission's work. Groups like Portland s City Club and the Met ropolitan Civic Club of the Eu gene - Springfield area have cre ated special committees to make thorough studies of the revised Constitution. 3. Form your own judgment about the merits of the revised Constitution. Then express your opinion to your legislator and the legislative committees now wont ing on the proposal. These committees of the House and Senate, under the chairman ship of Representative John Del lenback of Mcdford and S e n Walter Pearson of Portland, have held weekly public hearings. And they have begun considering House Joint Resolution 1 the revised Constitution article by article and section by section Now is the lime they need, to know w hether there is public interest in the proposal. There are many oth er urgent problems demanding the time and attention of legisla tors at this session, and constitu tional revision will look to many as the easiest to shelve. CAN OREGON LEAD THE WAY? Constitutional revision by a non partisan, deliberate commission study has been called "a great experiment in progressive govern ment" that, if successful in Ore gon, would become a model for many states. In telling the United States Senate of Oregon's revised Constitution, Sen. Maurine Neu- berger herself one of the ear ly sponsors of constitutional re form in the Oregon legislature summed up the question now fac ing this state: "Constitutional reform is some times attempted as a last resort, when decades of neglect have led to financial crisis, political or ad ministrative scandals, or hogged down judicial systems. Oregon's experiment is to see whether a state can make necessary re forms while the record is still good. "Perhaps this cannot be done. Perhaps only the spur of immedi ate crisis can overcome inertia, disinterest, and preoccupation with day-to-day problems. "If the effort fails, the cynicism of self-styled political rralists will gain new evidence. If live effort succeeds, 1 predict that a scare of states will seek to follow where Oregon has pointed the way." "I prefer to hope," said former State Representative Neuberger, "that Oregon's legislative assem bly w ill rise to the occasion." HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls. Ore. 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