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The Chair believes that it is at least
worth the effort to have a meeting of that
Committee at the present time. In order
to do this, the Convention would have to
recess for perhaps an hour, because of the
fact that the other matters on the agenda
are either not ready to move forward im-
mediately or are of such a nature as to re-
quire the presence in the chamber of all
the delegates.
The Chair therefore proposes to call on
Delegate Powers to move that the Com-
mittee of the Whole rise so that the Con-
vention can take a recess.
For what purpose does Delegate Malkus
rise?
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President
and members of this Convention. This is
an unusual procedure.
THE CHAIRMAN: For what purpose
does Delegate Malkus rise?
DELEGATE MALKUS: Just to speak,
sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: There is no matter
before the house. If you will permit me, I
will let Delegate Powers make a motion,
and then we will recognize you to speak
on the motion, if that is your purpose.
DELEGATE MALKUS: May I be recog-
nized next?
THE CHAIRMAN: You may.
DELEGATE POWERS: I move that
the Committee of the Whole rise and re-
port that it still has under consideration
Committee Report EB-1.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there a second?
(Whereupon, the motion was duly sec-
onded.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The motion is not
debatable, but go ahead, Delegate Malkus.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
members of the Convention, and honor-
able body:
I do not want to oppose the motion. The
only thing I want to do is to say that this
is an unusual procedure. When the ad-
ministration of this Convention faces a
possible defeat, they always find a hole to
crawl in.
And, Mr. President, I have listened with
interest. You have strength in the judiciary
and strength in the legislative branch. I
do not know how they have done it, but
by all means, let us make the governor all-
powerful.
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What you have forgotten is this: In a
democracy the people are the most im-
portant thing. Let us make this a three-
way power control, but for heaven's sake,
let's give everybody the right to vote,
everybody. Cut the voting age down to
nineteen, but let us also, at the same time,
get rid of all the elected officers.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Malkus,
the Chair suggests that your remarks are
not directed to the motion.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
I know that this is a hard place for a
person to express his opinion. This is not
democracy at work. This is kind of a
controlled situation, and I have to find
these little opportunities to tell you how
I feel.
THE CHAIRMAN: You seem to be
doing that quite frequently and at length,
but do you have any remarks to address
to this motion?
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
my voice is coming back, and unless you
use the mace and throw me out of these
chambers, I shall continue to talk, be-
cause the one thing that this body is for-
getting is the people. Nobody cares about
the people — let us make the governor a
king. Let us take care of the judiciary, let
us make the legislature all-powerful, but
for heaven's sake, don't let the people have
anything to do with it.
Let us elect one person on the statewide
level, and maybe a little while later a
lieutenant governor, but I am pleading for
democracy. You may not understand what
I am talking about, but I am pleading that
the people should have a right to vote.
Let us not take all the elective officers
away.
Mr. President, I will continue later on.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I believe it is
an undebatable motion, but since the prece-
dent has been created, I would like to say
that the procedure is not quite that un-
usual.
You will recall that the federal Con-
stitution bogged down on the question of
whether there should be one house based
on population or one house based on rep-
resentation by state. The matter was re-
ferred to a special committee, and out of
the proceedings of that special committee
evolved a compromise upon which this na-
tion was built.
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