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from personal experience I know that being
on the firing line is a strain.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Kathleen
Robie.
DELEGATE ROBIE: Mr. Chairman and
fellow delegatess, as one of the non-bar
members of this Convention, I would like
to express my thanks and appreciation to
Chairman Mudd, and also to Delegate John-
son and the other lawyers who led us
through this legal maze.
I confess at the time I felt a little
sympathy for the words of Carl Sandburg
that I ran across the other day in A BOOK
OF DAYS. The poem was entitled "Lawyers
Know Too Much" and in there Carl Sand-
burg said: "Why is there always a secret
singing when a lawyer cashes in? Why
does a hearse snicker hauling a lawyer
away?"
But I rise not to bury the barristers but
to praise them. We thank them all for our
legal education and we feel that this has
been a very fine job.
THE CHAIRMAN: And the Chair on
behalf of all the lawyer delegates thanks
Kathleen Robie as a lay member of the
Convention.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The next item on
the agenda is consideration of Committee
Recommendation GP-4. Let me inform the
Convention that on your behalf, I have
made a representation which I am sure you
will carry out.
We do not wish to carry this recommen-
dation over. At the same time I think it is
entitled to the full consideration of this
Committee of the Whole.
Delegate Boyer was obliged to leave a
few minutes ago, and, unfortunately, the
Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Delegate
Wheatley, has been taken ill. Delegate Key,
a member of that Committee, will present
the report, but in accordance with the plan
previously worked out when Delegate
Boyer intended to present it, the principal
presentation will be by Delegate Bard upon
whose proposal this recommendation is
largely based.
The Chair has assured Delegate Bard
that the fact that his proposal is coming
up at a late hour this afternoon will not
deprive him of the earnest consideration of
this body. Delegate Key.
As previously indicated, we have made
special effort to have the legislation on
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LB-2 distributed to you before you left. It
is now distributed by the pages. This item
will be on the agenda early next week. I
urge you to take LB-2 with you, it will
make fine weekend reading, particularly
before and not after the Thanksgiving din-
ner.
Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: Mr. Chairman and
ladies and gentlemen of the Committee of
the Whole: I hope that you will give us
your considered attention, and most be-
nevolent consideration of this most contro-
versial proposal. The general provisions
for consideration cover delegate proposal
numbers 250 and 285, which dealt with con-
sumer protection. The articles as proposed
by the Committee will read: "The General
Assembly shall by law provide for the pro-
tection and education of the citizens of the
state against harmful and unfair business
practices."
This article was considered by the Com-
mittee to be a fundamental duty of the
state government to provide for the pro-
tection of the public against unethical and
deceptive business practices.
This duty of the state warrants consti-
tutional expression to assure that existing
protective law in this area will be con-
tinued and expanded.
Every citizen must be guaranteed a real
opportunity to protect himself against the
deceptive representations of persons who
would take his money without giving rea-
sonably fair returns.
After consideration by the Committee as
to the meaning of the terms in the article,
the recommended language was set forth to
mean that the General Assembly is given
a broad mandate to do those things listed
in the article. The word "education" on line
6 is included to make clear that the state's
duty is not discharged solely by restricting
or punishing unethical dealers after the
fact, but must also include substantial ef-
forts to assist the public in recognizing an
improper transaction before the fact.
The word "unfair" on line 7 is chosen
to encompass not only the concepts of dis-
honest, dishonorable, deceptive or unethical,
but also bargaining advantages arising
from special knowledge available to the
trade but not to the general public.
The word "business" on line 7 also is in-
tended to encompass any exchange of goods
or services for compensation or any induce-
ment to enter into such an exchange.
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