592 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

(Referendum on the Constitution)

Q. Governor, what's your position on holding the vote on this Con-
stitution in connection with the primary or general election?

A. I don't believe that the Constitution should be hooked into the
general election. The reason is that there are so many people who
become tremendously involved in candidates of one party or the
other. It's entirely possible that they might overlook the constitu-
tional question at that time or may, in reaction to the failure of their
particular selected person for high office in the primary, take out
their feelings on other questions on the ballot in reaction to the de-
feat of their candidate. So I think we ought to get this done in an
atmosphere that's not loaded with political implication and I think
it should be done in May as it was originally thought out.

Q. Governor, in the election to the Constitutional Convention there
was a very light turnout. Do you think that now that the Con Con is
on and hopes to end soon that the turnout will be greater for ratifica-
tion or denial of the new Constitution?

A. I think it will be greater because there is really something here
of interest that's been discussed and in the news over a long period
of time. I don't think it will be as great as an election for individuals.
I don't think that it's necessary that it should, because even when we
consider the turnout at a general election we find that people who
turn out to vote for candidates still don't vote for questions. I think
we'll have as many people voting on this particular question as would
vote on it — and probably more than would vote on it — at a general
election.

(Crime)

Q. Governor, the Police Chief of Miami, I believe, decided on a
hard-nose crackdown on crime and got the support of the Governor
of Florida. In that attitude toward crime, what are your feelings? Do
you think it's, time to crack down on this?

A. It's been time to crack down, and I don't see how you can say
we should crack down in an area where my desire as well as my voiced
expression of sentiment is that we are cracking down and will crack
down and continue to crack down as hard as we can. I am concerned
about it. I read the papers just like anyone else does and I listen to
the radio and watch the television. Now there's not a day that goes
by that there aren't a raft of serious crimes committed. To some extent
we can attribute the coverage to more sophisticated news reporting,
but I think that there is statistically a higher incidence of crime per