|
There being 86 votes in the affirmative
and 23 in the negative, the motion is carried
and the vote by which Amendment No. 7
was neither approved nor disapproved so it
is being reconsidered.
Amendment No. 7 is now before you.
Delegate Grumbacher, do you desire to
speak further on the amendment?
DELEGATE GRUMBACHER: Only
that to hope some of the votes stick.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher,
do you desire to speak further?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: If there is
another tie vote, I hope the stand-by com-
mittee on compromise will be ready to take
it up.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I would like to
speak against the amendment. I was silent
on it before because I did not think this
amendment which is another example of
the distrust of the legislature would gather
the votes that it gathered.
But having gathered half of the mem-
bers in the House who were present, there
is a real danger that it will succeed, and
I feel I am impelled to speak briefly against
it.
Delegate Bard in his questioning of Dele-
gate Grumbacher adverted to the caucus
that precedes the election of the officers of
the General Assembly. It is perfectly clear
that the majority party elects the Presi-
dent of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House and that that matter is determined
in the caucus and there is nothing we can
say in this constitution, or should say which
can affect the manner in which the caucus
of a political party is conducted.
If the Democrats or Republicans want to
conduct their caucuses in secret it is their
privilege and if they want to conduct them
in public as is the custom, that is their
privilege also, but even the election of offi-
cers if we should put them in the constitu-
tion would still be determined by the caucus
vote that precedes the formal vote in the
General Assembly.
I think we have made much of trying to
strengthen the legislature and indicate our
trust in their ability to handle their own
affairs, and while I am a member of the
Committee on the Legislative Branch and
I think we have gone a long way in that
direction, I must confess there is some
|
justice to Senator James' lament that we
have put a lot of detail in which perhaps
in other circumstances might be left to
legislative rule. While I will probably dis-
agree with him on most of the suggestions
he has to change what we have done, cer-
tainly here I find myself in agreement with
those that argue that this is a matter for
the housekeeping of the General Assembly.
If the time comes when it is thought
that secret ballots are absolutely indis-
pensable to securing top-flight leadership
in the Senate and the House of Delegates,
then I am sure the General Assembly will
adopt that procedure.
I believe there is no other state in the
union that has a provision of the type that
Delegate Grumbacher suggests here.
The Congress of the United States does
not operate under this procedure. I see no
reason why, there has been no real evi-
dence in my opinion brought before our
committee, nor certainly brought before this
assembly, which would justify this further
tying of the hands of the General Assembly
to determine their own rules of procedure.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan,
you have one-quarter minute.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I think I have
said all I wanted to say, but I do hope that
others who have views on this will speak
up because we have only one shot at it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do any other dele-
gates desire to speak in favor?
Delegate Bennett.
DELEGATE BENNETT: Mr. Chair-
man, I would like to ask Mr. Scanlan if he
will agree to do so whether or not a man
who votes in caucus cannot change his
vote —
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan
does not have any time right now to an-
swer any questions. He may later.
DELEGATE BENNETT: I have no real
objections to this. Knowing human nature
as I do, I know it is very easy to create
resentments by the way one votes, and if
he happens to be on the losing side, there
is no question but that there can be re-
prisals against him in the legislative body.
I think a man ought to be entitled to vote
his views in secret.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sherbow?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Mr. Chairman
and ladies and gentlemen of the Committee
of the Whole: I think we have been striv-
|
